qmck1999 Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 I have group of about 30 kids going from PHL to DFW in June 2007. Would PL or HW give much of a discount for that many tickets? My organization also uses a travel agent. Any suggestions?thanks Link to comment
thereuare Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 You can't book that many tickets on priceline or HOTWIRE... if you need everyone to be on the same flight then priceline/hotwire is not an option for this group trip. Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases Link to comment
dahammer Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 you might want to call Southwest Airlines, but they don't have direct service to Dallas from Philly, you will have to go through Midway. You may also want to consider a private charter. Link to comment
qmck1999 Posted September 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 much obliged, thanks. Link to comment
lowballer Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 you might want to call Southwest AirlinesMy goodness, that would be the Pre-Boarding Group From Hell. Thirty kids on WN would block out an entire letter of the alphabet! Link to comment
dahammer Posted September 15, 2006 Report Share Posted September 15, 2006 that would be the Pre-Boarding Group From Hell. Thirty kids on WN would block out an entire letter of the alphabetyou can print out your boarding pass the night before and the kids could sit where they wanted :) Then again, boarding would be doubled since they would have to change planes in Chicago.....I can see a future episode of A&E show Airline in the works :) Link to comment
LoneStar Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Every airline has a group sales department. You usually need 10 or more passengers, and they don't even need to travel on the same flight.There are a couple of different types of discounts you could negotiate. To get a good price, though, your group might have to be a bit flexible. My suspicion is that your travel agent will NOT get you a good price, unless she is a particularly good agent familiar with group trips.I think it would be MUCH better for your group to travel nonstop, but that will be somewhat problematic (from a price standpoint) because there are only 2 airline (USAirways and American) which serve this market nonstop. The suggestion to call Southwest is, unfortunately, not useful in this case because the Wright Amendment prohibits them from offering service from PHL to Love Field, the airport they serve in Dallas. Neither American nor USAirways are likely to want to give you a cut rate deal. So you have your work cut out for you! My advice is to try to get each ticket for under $200 roundtrip (at least before taxes) -- not sure that's possible, but it isn't crazy. Every once in a while there are even lower fares in this market, but the odds of snagging 30 seats at a cheaper price is very remote.A charter might help, but your group may be too small. A small regional jet (the smallest commercial aircraft realistically able to travel this distance) seats 50, although there are a few that seat 37. Feel free to PM if I can be of further help to you. I will likely be facing a similar youth-group travel dilemna, and while I've got tons of experience with individual travel, I wouldn't mind gaining some experience on a group contract. Link to comment
dahammer Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 FYI, 90 miles south of PHL, it looks like Baltimore-Washington (BWI) airport has better fares Link to comment
thenewbie Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 FYI: Southwest has codeshare agreements with ATA, so you can fly from PHL to DFW with a connection in Chicago. Link to comment
LoneStar Posted September 20, 2006 Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 Ah, yes, the magic of "codeshares." So Southwest could technically sell you a seat to Dallas/Ft. Worth, but you'd be flying ATA from Chicago.Of course, it would be nonsensical to choose this routing unless it were signficantly cheaper. Right now, it does not appear to be. Link to comment
qmck1999 Posted December 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 ok thanks, I'll pass this info on to the group director and she can decide. Lonestar, thank you for the offer of a PM. Link to comment
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