Airlines? Cost? Back to Tampa/Orlando Florida.

[Kontiki]

After the Appalachian Trail, my plan is to take a bus down to Portland Maine and then fly out of Portland to Tampa Florida I'm curious to any of you that have flown back to Florida after your hike. How much do one way tickets generally cost (flying back in September). I'm just trying to get a ballpark idea.

[BonBon]

Cheap if you fly from Bangor to Orlando/Sanford on Allegiant air. My ticket was less than $100. Allegiant air.com

[Ktaadn]

I think you are looking for expedia.com

[bemental]

I think you are looking for expedia.com

I personally prefer kayak.com, but to each their own.

[colorado_rob]

Just another vote if that allegiant air thing isn't available, forget expedia/kayak/whatever, jut go straight to southwestairlines.com (SW doesn't sell tickets through 3rd parties) and book a 1-stop (Atlanta) flight Boston to Orlando for about 110 bucks on September 21 (as an example), no baggage fees, no change fees (if your itinerary changes, and it almost certainly will).

Easy to get to Boston from Katahdin. shuttle to Milinocket (free), a cheap ($10-15?) shuttle from AT lodge to nearby town (is it medway?), Concord bus lines to Boston Logan airport ($30?). voila! Home free. Well, not free, but maybe $150 total.

[Slo-go'en]

Fares are constantly changing and prices vary depending on how far in advance you book. Also, it may be much cheaper to fly out of Boston then Portland. But to get an idea, check some airline booking sites and see what it would cost to fly say a week from now.

[peakbagger]

With Southwest and Allegiant in Portland unless you hitch to Boston it will be less expensive out of Portland and lot less hassle. Thru hiker season can be slack time of year if done early but can run into Leaf season after mid September when things can get very busy until Mid October and then you run into Snowbird season.

[Dogwood]

I've long done away with Expedia, Kayak, Orbitz, etc sites for lowest airfare searches. Instead I use the ITA site clicking Airfare Search for the lowest advertised flights. http://www.itasoftware.com/ ITA makes software for the airline industry. I then go directly to the airline with the flight info since you can not book directly with ITA.

The only cheaper possible options I know of are Priceline or some special situation such as stand by, trading in airmiles, etc which are all unadvertised rather unique situations.

[Traveler]

Given its 7 months in the future, airline prices will change weekly until then. If you are looking for a budget figure, I would check a legacy carrier (United, American, Delta, etc) ticket price for the travel route you want, and use next week as the travel date. The price will be pretty hefty given short notice booking, but that will probably be closer to the actual cost of a flight you want to book two weeks out in September when fares can be significantly higher than February.

Just a thought.

[Kontiki]

Thanks for the replies! I've never heard if Allegiant. Thanks for the tip BonBon.

[WingedMonkey]

It's certainly smart to be aware of different prices and availability options back to Florida.

Form me however, I never started making a real return plan (reservations) until I got to Maine.



Stuff happens.......

[trclark]

Dogwood - thanks for the information!