[Chris is me]

Southwest tends to be usually the cheapest and definitely the easiest to get a few dozen kids on with the open seating and the free checked bags. I don't have much experience with the airport system out there, so I can't tell you which is best to leave from. But $200 per person each way is what I quoted when I was looking for how to get there from Hartford a few days ago; if you call the airline directly I'm sure you can get a group rate that's much better.

Chartering's main advantage isn't cost so much as logistics. Getting 30 kids through an airport on six different flights that all arrive at different times and then getting those kids to and from venues and hotels can be a lot more challenging than a very, very long bus ride.

Have you guys considered renting 3-4 15-passenger vans? This is how Shaker did regionals for a few seasons and it worked okay. The downside is that you'll need multiple adults per car to drive the extremely long distance.

Best of luck with your fundraising endeavors. Too bad we didn't qualify too, or I'm sure we'd be talking about splitting a bus!