Hey all,
We just booked our April vaca and we are starting the quest towards finding good airfare. Normally, we fly out of Chicago but to be honest, the fares appear to be creeping up over the past few years. To get a good flight (re:days AND times that we want) we are looking at $300 a person. Bummer part is that, believe it or not, I cant use my miles on AA unless I want some real crappy times. (Finding that you have to book almost a year in advance to get what you want if flying on miles.)

I would say that I would consider SWA, but to be honest, I am just not too thrilled about the whole open boarding thing. Never liked it, probably never will. In the past, AA and SWA have had pretty much the same fares out of Chi-Town.

So, here is the question... we may try flying out of Indianapolis. Its only about 30 mins further away but is a smaller airport. But I can get flights on Northwest for about $200 each.

Being that I have not flown NWA much over the years, what's their service like,etc? Also, if anyone has any comments about the IND airport, they would be appreciated as well. I think the combo may be a good thing and will save us $600 between our whole traveling party.

Thanks in advance.

Ok, this is not what you asked - but....

Have you tried Southwest? I was really anti-open seating, and then due to some work stuff, ended up flying them a bunch on short flights, and found it's really not all that bad.

I think the new seating policy may help as well, so that you don't have to stand in line once you get to the airport (that's the part I like the least, currently).

Seriously, check out their flight schedule from Midway to Orlando, and if they have direct flights at reasonable times of the day, it might be worth it. (They open up the next set of dates, which includes April, on November 8th)

(I don't think I've flown Northwest for quite a while, so can't help you with their current level of service.)

Have you tried Southwest?
Yes, I have a few times. And to be honest, if it was just my family and I, would consider them again. They are not necessarily my first choice, but on the flip side, they do have a good schedule and competitive fares (notice how I did not say cheaper/cheapest) down to MCO. At the same time, I am not a fan of the open seating, and Midway is not really my first choice of airport because of a few different factors. (Location, parking, baggage claim - all play a role as well.)

With that said, being that I have "the Moms" coming with us this time, we would rather take an airline that participates in DME's resort check in and baggage handling for the return trip. When we did a trip in 06 with "the Moms" using SWA dragging the luggage back into MCO was kinda of a pain. At the same time, NWA's fare's are about the same as SWA's, once you compare with taxes, and it is reserved seating. (I am a bigger guy, which can make a difference at times.) Parking is way cheaper at Indy and as mentioned, the time to get there is pretty much the same.

I know that some people swear by SWA and that is great. We have tried them a couple of times and we will probably use them again, especially since they have changed the boarding policies. But then again, in my opinion, there are times when the lowest fare is not the best fare.

But then again, in my opinion, there are times when the lowest fare is not the best fare.
You can say that again!

Unfortunately, Delta is the only other airline that flies direct from New Orleans, and their times are horrendous for trying to get in park time on arrival or departure day. So I really don't have a choice for my Orlando trips.

And I totally get wanting to minimize the hassle with the Mom's involved! But supposedly SWA and Disney are in talks to make them a participating airline. I did notice that they had a Year of a Million Dreams promotion on their website when I checked on the next ticket release date, so I'm hoping! (Though since I rarely check a bag, it's not really an issue for me!)

But supposedly SWA and Disney are in talks to make them a participating airline.
If that did happen that would be a plus for sure and would also impact my decision to use them even more. Im sure if that happens, there would be many cheers from many!

I'm a bit hesitant to reply because I know there are negative stories about every airline, and my experience with NWA is only one trip 1 1/2 years ago, but I won't ever fly with them again. The route was Denver to Detroit to Montreal with a change of planes in Detroit. The service on the first leg was awful, attendants were downright surly. Then we sat on the plane AT the gate in Detroit for over 30 minutes because they couldn't get the plane door open. :eek: When my father heard what type of plane we were on (sorry I don't remember) he commented that he wasn't surprised they couldn't get the door open because the plane really should've been in a museum. We nearly missed our connection (had to do the concourse sprint) and NWA wasn't even helpful in getting those of us with tight connections to where we needed to be. On top of that even though originally we had all been seated together, when we got our boarding passes they'd moved us all around the plane on that first leg. Our "kids" are old enough to sit on their own, but still not a lot of fun. The second leg was much smoother and the attendants much nicer, but not enough to make up for the first leg!

Unlikely you'd have anything like we did, but FWIW I thought I'd let you know our experience.

GMan, we lived 'bout near where you are. We always flew out of MDW (avoiding ORD at ALL costs) until right before we moved up here and then the IND option became a real one. The time it took to GET to the Chicago airports made the 30-45 minute difference no big deal (I'm from NW Indiana originally). If the price is right, I'd certainly consider it!

I've always found IND to be fine. Smallish, but not too tiny. Certainly not difficult to navigate. Pretty much like MSP, really. Viable option!

Now as to "Northworst" (as some call it here in their hometown)--it's hit or miss. I find some flights to be just fine, including our recent in/out of here to Boston. Some attendants were nice; a few were surly, but it didn't affect me b/c I wasn't causing trouble. ;)

If you're taking the "moms" then perhaps the less stressful IND rather than MDW/ORD would be an excellent choice.

Hello. I'm from Indianapolis and we're flying to WDW on NWA in two weeks!

As was said before, the IND airport is fairly small and therefore easy to get around, including the terminal, parking, and baggage claim. I would much rather deal with it than either Chicago airport.

I don't recall having any particular problems with NWA in the past. I WAS surprised when I booked our flights on-line and our seat assignments for four people came back completely separate. But I just e-mailed their customer service dept. and the next day they had put us back together again. I hope it doesn't change again at check-in, but then my kids are only 2 and 6.

Hope this helps!

I live in Indy and have always had a wonderful experience with Indianapolis Intl It is smaller than O'hare, but never had a problem with parking, traffic, flights arriving on time, etc. another airline to consider if you're looking for a good fare is Airtran, they have at least three direct flights to choose from any given day, and so far, we've almost always gotten the lowest fares through them.

I lived in Valparaiso and in Portage, so it was truly a split which way to go. I posed this question to the hubby last night and he said he'd still go to Midway. I disagree and would go to Indy. So, that helped a whole lot, didn't it? Split vote!! That happens with us on election day too! :geek: