Flying the same day.....Want opinions....

[betcat]

A girl is doing a christmas cruise out of Italy. She check in early at the airline(northwest) The flight is delay comming in. They turn the flight in 25 min. Because of the hour delay she gets to Memphis in time to see her flight takeoff for Europe. Next flight is the next day. The way she had it planned she was going to get to Italy at 8 in the morning and be on the ship by noon and sailing by 5. Now she will get to the ship the day after it leaves. She will try to catch up to it from there. Yes northwest is sorry, but that is all she is getting from them. Like my son and wife says there is a new story everyweek.

[Keith1010]

A girl is doing a christmas cruise out of Italy. She check in early at the airline(northwest) The flight is delay comming in. They turn the flight in 25 min. Because of the hour delay she gets to Memphis in time to see her flight takeoff for Europe. Next flight is the next day. The way she had it planned she was going to get to Italy at 8 in the morning and be on the ship by noon and sailing by 5. Now she will get to the ship the day after it leaves. She will try to catch up to it from there. Yes northwest is sorry, but that is all she is getting from them. Like my son and wife says there is a new story everyweek.

 

I agree with all that you said except I would add that there is a new story

happening every few minutes to some passenger around the world.

 

Keith

[betcat]

This is just out of our little town of Pensacola, FL. I put FL in big letter because this had nothing to do with weather. It was a great day here today and in Memphis. Its just part of flying. Its amazing how much this question comes up and how big of problem it is. And how easy a 100.00$ hotel overnight would fix it. Pretty cheap insurance!

[Keith1010]

"All the way from Canada" LOL. Like we are on the other side of the world or something LOL. It's the same 3 hour flight as it would be from New York, Detroit, or Chicago.

 

I agree with the others who say it's preferable to fly the day ahead, and you even said that was your preference as well. That said, it's not a big deal to fly the day of, especially from Toronto to Florida. Air Canada has 2 flights that day into Miami before noon, and also 2 flights into Ft Lauderdale that would also suit you (one mid morning arrival, the other early afternoon arrival) should the need arise.

 

Obviously, that won't help if there is a snow storm that day. Monitor the weather forecasts, and if Sunday is looking bad, phone Air Canada and ask about flying out on Saturday. You have the advantage that with the early flight, your plane will be there the night before. With all it's warts, Toronto airport can handle snow pretty good, and they also have the largest de-icing facility in the world to help minimize delays (their world's highest fees do count for something LOL).

 

Make sure you show up early for the flight. As you may or may not know, in addition to security, you also clear US immigration before boarding the plane.

 

We have friends who live in Toronto and they flew to Europe last weekend. They left Canada/Toronto in the big snowstorm. They had difficulty getting to the airport because the snow was coming down so hard. And, their flight was delayed three hours. As a result, they missed the connection and spent the entire day at an airport trying to get a connecting flight. And luckily for them they were not on a cruise.

 

And, earlier this year another couple we know from Toronto missed the first day of our sailing and had to catch up to the ship in another port.

 

So, what I am saying is that these things happen everywhere and while I am sure that those in Canada can deal with snow better than my home USA state can, that does not prevent airline flights from being delayed.

 

And, in this case it almost prevented someone from getting to the airport in the first place.

 

Keith

[harleyglide]

I booked the first filght of the day on one of the big boys airlines,but lil concerned as there always canceling at ohare for any reason,while a smaller airport like midway seem not to have all the same problems:mad:

[jayscore]

I never had a problem with same day flights until last April. We were to leave MSP at 7:30 AM. The plane arrived on time, and we boarded as usual. Then, the "voice" announces there seems to be a slight structural problem with the plane. It took them two hours to get it straightend out and we finally took off. By time we got to MIA, collected our luggage, and found the cruise rep, it was 3:30 PM!:eek: It was a weird feeling at the dock; no lines, and everyone looking at their watches. We just found our cabin as they announced muster drill! Next time we're going in a day early, even though it'll cost us for the price of a hotel room. Just my 2 cents worth.

[MACDADDY]

Booking a day early is not always the best. We booked airfare for the day before our cruise and it just so happened that on the day we were to fly there was a storm on that day and all flights were cancelled. we could not get another flight out of LGA to MIA for two days. This would make us miss our cruise Luckily we we able to drive 150 miles to another airport the day of the cruise So flying in the day before is not always the best option

[DanJ]

Booking a day early is not always the best. We booked airfare for the day before our cruise and it just so happened that on the day we were to fly there was a storm on that day and all flights were cancelled. we could not get another flight out of LGA to MIA for two days. This would make us miss our cruise Luckily we we able to drive 150 miles to another airport the day of the cruise So flying in the day before is not always the best option

 

Yeah, but booking for the day of wouldn't have worked for you either. Booking for the day before will alleviate the vast majority of risks, but as in your case, "stuff" happens.

[Keith1010]

Booking a day early is not always the best. We booked airfare for the day before our cruise and it just so happened that on the day we were to fly there was a storm on that day and all flights were cancelled. we could not get another flight out of LGA to MIA for two days. This would make us miss our cruise Luckily we we able to drive 150 miles to another airport the day of the cruise So flying in the day before is not always the best option

 

Certainly booking a day earlier is better than flying in the day of the cruise. And yours is an example of that. Even though you couldn't get a precise flight from your airport you were able to get over to another airport. If it was the day of the cruise you might have not made it. So, that is what I am talking about. In our case we have more flexibility so we arrive even earlier but for those who don't a day early is better than not flying in early.

 

Keith