Travel for Championship Qualifying Teams

[Kims Robot]

As a rookie team, we are trying to figure out how we book travel to Atlanta if we qualify at one of the regionals, since we can't preregister. It seems like it would be a lot more expensive, and difficult to schedule.

How many teams had to do this last year or the year before? Is there any way to get the team on the same plane? Does FIRST save package deals for teams in this situation? Is there any way to get reasonably priced flights? Will we be able to get blocks of rooms, or will everyone be scattered?

Is there anything we can do ahead of time? (other than fundraising of course... we are raising with the goal of having enough to go, so that we can always save it for next year if we dont).

Any ideas/suggestions? Im sure this has come up before, but I wasnt able to find what I was looking for in a search.

[Kevin Sevcik]

I have been advised that AirTran has good last minute prices for flights, since that's what our team used last year. Also, I'd imagine planning on hotels father from the Georgia Dome and out of downtown so you could get better prices there too. Other than that, I have no clue, as I'm not the actual travel person on the team.

[Alan Anderson]

It's not completely insane to plan to go to Nationals even if you don't qualify to compete.

[Ricky Q.]

We qualified in the second-last week of regionals last year by winning Midwest. We were able to get package deals through THC still at a hotel not too far away and everyone was on the same floor.

It was impossible to find flights without splitting our team of about 40 into 5 or 6 groups, and then the prices were outrageous. We ended up chartering a bus.

We also managed to raise all the funds for this from sponsors in two weeks, our community is great.

All the pre-planning we had done for nationals last year was to raise as much as possible, and go crazy with arrangements at the end.

[KathieK]

Check out the Travel Tips in the White Papers for some ideas...

If flying from Rochester is expensive, look into alternate airports. If you use a bus to get to your hotel from the airport, it will cost around $600. The MARTA will save you money but may not be convenient if you have a lot of luggage.

Consider traveling with only a skeletal crew if you qualify at the last minute - but make that decision NOW. A lot of teams do that.

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

As a rookie team, we are trying to figure out how we book travel to Atlanta if we qualify at one of the regionals, since we can't preregister. It seems like it would be a lot more expensive, and difficult to schedule.

How many teams had to do this last year or the year before? Is there any way to get the team on the same plane? Does FIRST save package deals for teams in this situation? Is there any way to get reasonably priced flights? Will we be able to get blocks of rooms, or will everyone be scattered?

Is there anything we can do ahead of time? (other than fundraising of course... we are raising with the goal of having enough to go, so that we can always save it for next year if we dont).

Any ideas/suggestions? Im sure this has come up before, but I wasnt able to find what I was looking for in a search.

I think Airtran is your best be from Rochester.
I don't know if Jetblue flys to Atlanta or how often.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

I think Airtran is your best be from Rochester.
I don't know if Jetblue flys to Atlanta or how often.

jetblue doesn't fly to Atlanta last I checked. I wish they did. They aren't very cheap last minute either, they'll run you around $400+ (Although that was for a transcontinental flight, so it may be cheaper)

Atlanta is the largest hub for Delta, so you should be able to get some pretty cheap flights from them too.

[Chris Fultz]

In 2004 we stayed at a Homewood Suites in northeast Atlanta, near a large Mall. Less than $100 for rooms that had space for 5+ and included free breakfast.

We had to drive in each day but saved a lot on the hotels and food.

Not as good as being right near the Dome, but lots cheaper.

[Carol]

We are planning on chartering a bus this year and leaving at 10:00 Tuesday night, on the theory that people will sleep through most of the ride (Dramamine works well for this..). It's only a little cheaper than flying for us since they have to change drivers on the way down. From Rochester I wouldn't be surprised that they might need three drivers. In Atlanta we aren't using the bus but taking MARTA.

If I remember correctly, some of the bus companies had a 2 week cancellation, so you could make the arrangements now and still have time to cancel if you don't qualify.

[Kims Robot]

Thanks for the suggestions all, I will look into these.

As for the bus ideas, I know teams have done it, but our teacher & chaperones requested (probably more for their own sanity) that we not do the 16 hour bus trip (thats 16 hours without stops!) if at all possible. My guess is that we will just have to book what flights we can and hope that we have enough chaperones (all if we qualify of course).

If anyone has more ideas on airline transportation that late in the game, we would love to hear it!

instead of us flying this year, were takin coach busses and driving. yippe lol
-Court-

[Jessica Boucher]

Originally Posted by Cory

jetblue doesn't fly to Atlanta last I checked. I wish they did. They aren't very cheap last minute either, they'll run you around $400+ (Although that was for a transcontinental flight, so it may be cheaper)

Atlanta is the largest hub for Delta, so you should be able to get some pretty cheap flights from them too.

From Atlanta-Airport.com:

Passenger Airlines at Hartsfield-Jackson
TERMINAL NORTH
Code Airline Telephone Concourse
AC Air Canada 1-888-247-2262 D
JM Air Jamaica 1-800-523-5585 E
FL AirTran 1-800-247-8726 C
AA American 1-800-433-7300 T
HP America West 1-800-327-7810 D
BA British Airways 1-800-247-9297 E
CO Continental 1-800-231-0856 D
3C Corporate 1-800-555-6565 D
F9 Frontier 1-800-432-1359 D
D9 Independence Air 1-800-359-3594 D
KE Korean Air 1-800-438-5000 E
LH Lufthansa 1-800-645-3880 E
YX Midwest 1-800-452-2022 D
NW Northwest 1-800-225-2525 D
UA United 1-800-241-6522 T
US US Airways 1-800-428-4322 D

TERMINAL SOUTH
Code Airline Telephone Concourse
AM Aeromexico 1-800-237-6639 E
AF Air France 1-800-237-2747 E
EV ASA 1-800-325-1999 C
DL Delta Air Lines 1-800-325-1999 A, B, D & T
DL Delta Air Lines 1-800-221-1212 (INT'L) E
OH Comair 1-800-325-1999 C
SA South African Airways 1-800-722-9675 E
H1 Hooters Air 1-888-359-4668 B

[bhweezer]

We take charter buses, and leave right after school gets out. It is only about a six or seven hour drive.

[Liz C]

This is kind of recent news - Delta has been apparently having some tough times, and is therefore doing all sorts of things to attract customers (coincidentally, as someone mentioned before, Delta is based in Atlanta) As of today, they began slashing prices, and there are some great deals. There was some information about how late you can book to get the deals, but i can't remember the exact dates. Here's a website if you'd like to see for yourself. It might also be a good idea to sign up for their e-mail programs so you would be able to find out any specials right away
http://www.delta.com/home/citypages/...ares/index.jsp