Machol Miami does not endorse or recommend
any particular airline. The information is provided here only in order to
assist the participants in Machol Miami 2008 to find the most convenient flights to
the event.
December is high season in Florida, and some flights may be
expensive or sold out if bought at a short notice. Many airlines typically
offer special "sale" air fares just when the summer ends. The
beginning of September is usually the best time to grab those rates, which may
be surprisingly low. Some "sales" last through October and
November, but seat availability for the best dates may be limited or non existent.
The bottom line: please book your flights early to get the best airfares and
most convenient dates.
Both Fort Lauderdale airport and Miami International Airport are
convenient gateways to the event. The hotel is right by the Fort
Lauderdale airport, and provides a free shuttle service from and to the airport,
so flying to Fort Lauderdale airport is more convenient. The Fort
Lauderdale airport has gone through a tremendous expansion in the last few
years. What used to be a sleepy, cozy airport has been replaced by a
mega-size international facility, to the sorrow of some locals and the great
benefit of visitors from out of town. The airport is served by scores of
airlines; many are budget airlines that find it easier to operate there
than in Miami. Miami International Airport is linked to Fort Lauderdale
Airport by a train service. If you land in Miami you can take the Tri-Rail
to the Fort Lauderdale Airport station - the Sheraton is across the street from
it. See more details in the South Florida section.
Most major US airlines fly to Fort Lauderdale, Miami or
both. Both Delta
Airlines 1-800-221-1212 and US
Airways 1-800-428-4322 have a strong presence in Fort
Lauderdale airport, and sometimes offer very competitive airfares. Delta
also operates its low-fare subsidiary Song Airways, on flights to Fort Lauderdale.
Other major airlines which offer flights to
Fort Lauderdale and Miami include American Airlines, United Airlines and Northwest Airlines.
From Canada there is a service to Fort Lauderdale both on Air
Canada and on the charter company Air Transat
(1-800-655-8284).
Low Fare
Airlines
All the airlines listed below fly to
Fort Lauderdale or Miami. Many of them tend to offer low fares, but
this is not always the case - so check carefully. The order of the listing
reflects the tendency to offer low prices -- those who tend to offer lower
prices are listed first. Click on the route maps below to enlarge them.
Spirit
Airlines 1-800-772-7117
Spirit Airlines flies to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach
from the Midwest, the Northeast and California. They frequently offer
convenient departures and budget rates with no restrictions. They use the
convenient downtown airports such as Chicago/O'hare, Washington DC/Reagan and New
York/LaGuardia in several cities served by multiple airports . Some other of their
departure airports include Detroit, Newark, Atlantic City (30 minutes from
Philadelphia), Los Angeles and Oakland/San Francisco Bay.
JetBlue
Airways
1-800-538-2583 (1-800-JetBlue)
JetBlue operates a fleet of all new Airbus planes,
equipped with individual 24-channel video monitors. It usually offers
budget-priced flights with no restrictions, and sometimes has great internet
fares. The airline offers several non-stop flights a day from its hub
in New York/JFK to Fort Lauderdale. It also serves (via JFK) other
airports such as Rochester
NY, and from the West Coast Seattle, LA/Ontario, LA/Long Beach and
SF/Oakland.
America
West 1-800-235-9292
This
airline has an extensive network of flights from the West Coast to Fort
Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach. It serves cities such as Seattle,
Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego
mostly via its hub in Phoenix, Arizona. It also flies to South Florida
from Dallas and Houston as well as Vancouver, BC.
Southwest
Airlines 1-800-435-9792
Southwest
has an extensive network of flights across the county, and it offers flights to Fort Lauderdale not only from the southwest, but also from the
northeast. Some of its flights from the northeast are routed through
Baltimore/Washington airport.
Air Tran
1-800-247-8726
This
airline serves
both Fort Lauderdale and Miami, usually through its hub in Atlanta.
Flights depart from Minneapolis, Chicago/Midway, Boston, Buffalo, New
York/LaGuardia, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington DC/Dulles, Dallas/Ft.
Worth, Houston/Hobby and, of course, Atlanta. The airline tends to offer one flight a day which is cheaper than the
others - check it out.
American Trans
Air (ATA)
1-800-435-9282
