Washington DC to Orlando
 

We have had a flight change from 12.30pm to 8.50am for our United flight from Washington DC to Orlando on the 4th January 16.

Just wondering how early we will have to be at the airport (Dulles) to get checked in, and how long does it take to get to the airport from Georgetown. I am thinking we would have to at least leave the hotel by 6am, there will be 4 adults and 2 children. I am thinking a taxi is going to be the best option.

Any advice/suggestions appreciated. I wish we had booked these flights ourselves instead of the travel agent. United is code share with Air New Zealand.

Don't kick yourself.

Booking this flight yourself would have made no difference.

You MAY be able to have yourself rebooked on a different and more convenient flight but not likely if you are a group rather than one or two people. This is actually something a travel agent may do better than an individual. They do it all the time for corporate travelers.

In your position, I would probably try to move to a Dulles hotel the night before, but I am paranoid about Washington traffic. Others can tell you when you would need to leave to be at the airport early enough to get through security.

I'd also move to a Dulles airport hotel the night before. Dulles is a shlep, like 35 miles (and a $70+ taxi ride, but that wouldn't matter - you'd be paying it early or late).

You don't have to accept that flight change. The only other nonstops that day are at 5:10 PM and 10PM. Your connecting flight options would take much longer.

You can probably cancel and get a refund. jetBlue has two flights with 6 seats available for $79.10 each from Washington National (DCA) to Orlando. There are other jetBlue and American nonstops for $110 pp including a couple that are just before noon from DCA.

cancel and get a refund - definitely an option if the flight is on a separate one-way ticket. If it is on a ticket with other flights then be careful.

The only other nonstops that day (on United and from Dulles) ...

<i>I am thinking we would have to at least leave the hotel by 6am, there will be 4 adults and 2 children. I am thinking a taxi is going to be the best option.</i>

6 am would be fine. You will probably want to book a cab to make certain your group of six can travel together and for one fare. You're still talking about staying at that Best Western? Cost will be in the $70 range with tip. Driver will be able to use the Dulles Access highway going directly to the airport.

(If you do decide not to book ahead or if your cab doesn't show, it's easy to hail one in that neighborhood at that time of day.)

JMO, don't go anywhere near a multi rider shuttle service.

The notion of spending the night closer to Dulles isn't a bad idea. You could metro to Wiehle Ave/Reston and get a cab from to your new hotel to achieve some cost savings. Non am or pm rush hour. There are a number of Dulles area hotels with airport shuttle service -- worth asking if they have metro shuttle service as well.

Obxgirl still booked at the Best Western but keep looking for better options!!!
We arrive in Washington mid Saturday afternoon around 3pm on the Amtrak, and leave again at 6am on the Wednesday. I think shifting to a hotel closer to the airport would be a real hassle, we will just have to get up VERY early.

Thanks everyone for your ideas.

Most tickets on United are non-refundable/non-changeable unless you purchased flexible tickets. However, the rules may be different purchased through a travel agent. You may not get a full refund, if at all, but then I don't deal with travel agents.

I know booking directly through United and a flight changes, they give you an option to change the flight one time if the new flight time is not convenient.

I agree with the others that recommend staying at the airport. You will need to be there at least 2 hours before.

nelsonian, if you haven't accepted the schedule change yet, then you might have an option of a refund or choosing the later flights.

Here is the United policy on schedule changes:
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...le-change.aspx

It doesn't matter that the ticket was not booked with United.
It doesn't matter that the ticket is non-refundable/non-changeable.

What matters is that the scheduled departure time changed by two hours or more.

mrwunrfl I wish I had read your post earlier. The travel agent has rebooked us on the 8.50 am flight.

Console yourself!

You get to see that fabulous and now expanded Dulles terminal which when it opened, and despite its architectural "brilliance" [some people hate it] was practically deserted because nobody wanted to "drive that far" to get a flight anywhere.

And it is NOT 35 miles from your hotel (more like 26) and as you were informed upthread, the taxi gets to use the reserved airport access lanes.

And at that hour even the dreaded I-66 which runs a couple miles away from my old house won't even be filled with traffic.

Enjoy your day and flight south.

That extra chill that y'all will get in the early morning in DC will just help you appreciate the temps in Orlando even more.

I suppose I would book a taxi/van/limo on the 2nd for the morning of the 4th. Even sooner for a shared ride van.

Not to worry, but am wondering if a Kiwi is considering the possibility of winter weather messing with her plans.

Yes the idea was Christmas in New York with our daughter and her fiancee, so would my wish is a little bit of snow Christmas day, ( for the grand-children) and then warm weather!!!!! Hmm last year apparently it was very warm on Christmas day.

We have a 4day stopover in Waikiki on the way over, and 7 days in Orlando, so will be a mixture of warm and freezing cold weather I imagine over the 25 day trip. It will make packing a bit difficult.

Not planning on any storms happening though that will shut airports etc. (if it happens we will just have to go with the flow).

With that many people, I would tell them we're leaving at 5:45 but book the taxi for 6:00. That way everyone should be ready to leave at 6. Maybe your family can tell time better than mine - LOL!

Traffic shouldn't be an issue at that time especially on Jan 4. You will still have some folks off for the holidays. And once you arrive at the airport, I wouldn't think the lines would be horribly long that early.

I flew through there a lot a couple of years ago and they are very organized and things move pretty quickly.

I am getting very frustrated, just had another e-mail from the travel agent, with a further flight change. The flight is now leaving at 8.15am, not 8.50am. We will have to leave our hotel even earlier now.

Bummer. That's an offer that you can't refuse because the change is only 35 minutes. Agent/you could contact United about this and complain and try to get a better option - refund or other change. Likely, though, that United would say no because you accepted the first, longer, change.

I don't see any good nonstop options, though that 10PM flight is only $80 on the 4th and $110 on the 3rd.

How is that IAD-MCO flight ticketed? If you a separate ticket for just that flight then you could consider taking a loss on it and buy a new ticket (or if it was the last leg on multi-city ticket). If your ex-MCO flight is on the same ticket then this is not an option.

If your ticketing allows you not take that flight then your loss would be the cost of a new ticket. That would be $80 pp for the 3:59PM jetBlue flight from DCA. Or $110 for the 11:50 AM nonstop from DCA on American. Or other options, including flying on the night of the 3rd.

>>I don't see any good nonstop options ...

I mentioned that because while United would probably refuse the refund they might still allow you to take a different flight even though the recent schedule change was short.

On Jan. 3, as things are now, you might have the option of changing your flight on the 4th by paying a same-day change fee. I think it is $75. Am not sure how you would have to go about doing this, but it might be you calling United or maybe online. I'd be careful, though, that the don't mess up the remaining reservations for later flights on the same ticket (am not sure how valid my concern about this point is these days).

The SDFC is probably not a good option for you, but am just considering your options.

Caveat emptor, though: the advice I just gave you might be worth less than what you paid for it. The one thing for sure is that if you just keep what you've then you won't be standing in MCO on departure day with a big bill to pay because everything is messed up.

Here is advice with no potential downside: get your ticket numbers and the airlines' confirmation codes and go to the airliness website(s) and check on them. Your TA might have their own confirmation code that is different from the airlines code. You're pretty smart, I think, and maybe you know this. But, you want to know the ticket number(s) and the airlines codes, and take the info with you, because it might be useful at some point.

It is time now for me to check with ANA and United to make sure everything is still cool and groovy with my spring trip to Japan. I trust but verify.

They may well have another "schedule change" between now and January so stay tuned.

Nothing wrong with the Best Western @ under $100 per night in January, but it looks like The Melrose is only $15 per night more (no breakfast included however).

That is super annoying, nelsonian! :(

I used to love Dulles.
The main terminal, designed by Eero Saarinen really is beautiful, especially the exterior. It is a fine example of modern-futuristic architecture, was quite unique at the time. He also designed the Gateway Arch in St Louis and the old TWA Terminal at JFK.

Now, I find going to/departing from there a chore. From my limited recent experience, I would probably take the bit of extra trouble to change hotels and get one with a free airport shuttle the next morning, especially with an even earlier flight.

When you do call for a taxi, don't forget to tell them six people with luggage. They should ask anyway, just covering the bases.

Looks like we can get a partial refund from United, enough to cover our flights on either Jet Blue or American Airlines which leave from Reagan. The travel agent says they can't book the Jet Blue flights but can do the American Airlines one. They are both about the same price.

<i>Looks like we can get a partial refund from United, enough to cover our flights on either Jet Blue or American Airlines which leave from Reagan. </i>

That will immensely improve your airport commute.

<i>Now, I find going to/departing from there a chore</i>

I'm perfectly happy to fly to/from Dulles but we typically drive and leave a car in the economy lot. Or the 5A bus is a good option with only a small carry on. I won't do early morning Dulles departures though.

Good. Am wondering what a "partial refund" is. No answer to my question about how that segment was ticketed, so I will guess that it was on a ticket with other flights. So, maybe it was a partial refund of that ticket, but was a full refund of that segment. I'll guess that the refund amount was US $95, give or take five bucks.

Right now at aa.com you can get 6 tix at $111 each and it says there are 7 seats left at that price. jetBlue has 6 tix at either $79 or $111. Those prices are for Jan 4, DCA-MCO nonstop, 6 adults.

If I can buy a ticket online (in California) from Nelson to Wellington then I think you would be able to buy a jetBlue ticket. But the $79 tix are for 3:59 PM and later and maybe you don't want to fly that late. If that is the case it is a toss-up between AA and B6, and I'd probably just go with AA (more schedule) and stick with going thru the TA.

Back on Sep 8 I think I saw an AA flight that was "just before noon". Today, there is no flight between the 8:50 AM and 1:45 PM departures. Seems that AA cancelled that noonish flight.

I had to do another AA search for 1 pax before I determined that because I thought it might not show for a search for 6 pax. That confirmed to me that the flight was cancelled (or maybe it is sold out, but I doubt it).

But a ticket for 1 pax is $98 when it is $111 each for 6 pax. Am not sure how that works. Could be 3 tix at $98 and 3 at $124 for a $111 average.

That reminds me of my second trip to NZ, this time with my brother. I searched at the NZ site for 1 pax and got a price. Then I searched for 2 pax and got a higher price - the same for both tix. I ended up booking one at the lower price and one at the higher price. But, I wasn't concerned about us sitting together (we did, tho) or that if the flight was cancelled we be put on different flights (I guess that was possible). Am thinking that the benefit of having all 6 passenger on the same ticket outweighs saving $13 on a couple tickets.

The most you can save by getting multiple ticets (two) would be $65. 5 at $98 and 1 at $111 (maybe).

But, am hoping the point is moot and that you already jumped on the opportunity to fly AA from Reagan with the cost covered by the UA refund. Please say this is so, so that I can give you high-five.

Thanks mrwunrfl for your information. I am about to book the JetBlue flights, it is at a better time. I cannot believe that our original United tickets cost
$ 210US each, we are getting a refund of $ 144. Yes the travel agent said that there was 1 AA seat at a cheaper price but thought we should all booked together.

I swear that I just saw that 3:59 jetBlue flight $44 each for 6 adults (same for 4 plus 2 kids). But five minutes later I don't see it. Maybe you got them. Maybe multiple queries drove up the price temporarily.

But that 11:49 departure time seems perfect to me.

The reason that your fare was $210 was probably because you booked way in advance. Some airlines don't publish their fares as far in advance as United, so less competition at the time. Also, they don't know what the demand will be that far in advance, because most people aren't buying yet. So they offer a safe price until they see what the competition and demand are.

I still wonder what happened to the $66 difference between the purchase price and the refund. Bottom line, though, is that you will end up saving money by making the change.

Have booked the 11.49am Jet Blue flight. Now lets hope it doesn't change!!!

((Y))((Y))

Here's another link, in case you need it:
http://www.jetblue.com/travel-agents/schedule-change/