Virgin vs TUI flights?

meryll83

All it takes is faith and trust...
Joined
Nov 23, 2006
A friend of mine is considering flying to Sanford with TUI, and someone mentioned to them to be aware of potential extras they would charge that are included in Virgin...

We’re regular Virgin flyers but have never flown TUI so can anyone provide any advice on what they might need to consider?
 
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We flew into Sanford once, and it is definitely better to fly into MCO if you are headed to WDW in terms of transfers etc.
Otherwise, I can't help (we flew First Choice then, and since then always fly VIrgin)
 
We are going package to Sanford with tui from Bristol, the package worked out around 1k / 1.5k cheaper for a 2w holiday to AKL than virgin. Trust me but I checked ( virgin have always been preferred)
We did tui brs to sfb last year and it was honestly the best flight I've ever had. The new Dreamliner was great, comfortable and all inclusive.
If you can get the Dreamliner do it, it's the first time I've got off a flight in the USA without feeling like a frazzled mess.
Ok a bit frazzled. And a bit of a mess.
But only a bit.
 
We did tui brs to sfb last year and it was honestly the best flight I've ever had. The new Dreamliner was great, comfortable and all inclusive.
If you can get the Dreamliner do it, it's the first time I've got off a flight in the USA without feeling like a frazzled mess.
Ok a bit frazzled. And a bit of a mess.
But only a bit.
Haha, bless ya!
How can you tell if you’re getting the Dreamliner? Is it obvious during the booking process?
Are the other planes not all inclusive?
 


I think Tui always use the Dreamliner for flights to Sanford. We used it in 2016 and the flight was good. When booking you pay extra for luggage, seats and meals and on board you pay for drinks and I think upgrades on the entertainment package. Sanford airport is easier to manage than Orlando as it is very small so it's much quicker to get through security. However there are a lot less shops and restaurants and of course no magical express so you need to sort out your own transfers. I haven't flown with Virgin so I can't comment, but even with additional extras and transfers it usually works out cheaper.
 
I think Tui always use the Dreamliner for flights to Sanford. We used it in 2016 and the flight was good. When booking you pay extra for luggage, seats and meals and on board you pay for drinks and I think upgrades on the entertainment package. Sanford airport is easier to manage than Orlando as it is very small so it's much quicker to get through security. However there are a lot less shops and restaurants and of course no magical express so you need to sort out your own transfers. I haven't flown with Virgin so I can't comment, but even with additional extras and transfers it usually works out cheaper.
We did tui last year and didn't have to pay extra for luggage or for drinks or food on board and had all entertainment included 😊 we did have to pay for seats tho
Sanford doesn't have the charm of Orlando int but there was one bartender in the bar who refused to let us feel sad at going home, every time someone ordered a drink she would shout woooooooo! She had an infectious laugh that lady!
 
I've flown TUI a few times now and can hands down say the dreamliner is far better than the Virgin 747 (TUI only use the dreamliner) Its 60%ish more quiet onboard and has a much lower cabin pressure. Sure Sanford is a little further away to WDW but still under an hour, and with it being a smaller airport it's much quicker to navigate through immigration ect.
 


This is very interesting 😊

Bristol is our local airport but I'm always hesitant to book with TUI. Last year they was considerably cheaper than VH ( not surprising ) but we have always gone with virgin from Gatwick.

The only thing now is that we was going to use the magical Express and not hire a car but we may have to flying into Sanford.

Also....am I going mad but I swear that Tui flights were moving to a different airport in Florida? Further than Sanford? Help :scared:
 
This is very interesting 😊

Bristol is our local airport but I'm always hesitant to book with TUI. Last year they was considerably cheaper than VH ( not surprising ) but we have always gone with virgin from Gatwick.

The only thing now is that we was going to use the magical Express and not hire a car but we may have to flying into Sanford.

Also....am I going mad but I swear that Tui flights were moving to a different airport in Florida? Further than Sanford? Help :scared:
That's correct about changing airport but not untill 2022, if you book a package with TUI they offer free hotel transfers aswell.
 
This is very interesting 😊

Bristol is our local airport but I'm always hesitant to book with TUI. Last year they was considerably cheaper than VH ( not surprising ) but we have always gone with virgin from Gatwick.

The only thing now is that we was going to use the magical Express and not hire a car but we may have to flying into Sanford.

Also....am I going mad but I swear that Tui flights were moving to a different airport in Florida? Further than Sanford? Help :scared:
That's correct about changing airport but not untill 2022, if you book a package with TUI they offer free hotel transfers aswell.
Ah ok, I'm not going crazy!

I didn't know about the free transfers with Tui! So is it a coach from Sanford to a Disney resort?
 
My last post went totally wrong- it seems writing on here from my phone is not successful :sad2:
 
I've flown TUI a few times now and can hands down say the dreamliner is far better than the Virgin 747 (TUI only use the dreamliner) Its 60%ish more quiet onboard and has a much lower cabin pressure. Sure Sanford is a little further away to WDW but still under an hour, and with it being a smaller airport it's much quicker to navigate through immigration ect.
100% agree. Immigration was soooo much quicker for us.
 
This is very interesting 😊

Bristol is our local airport but I'm always hesitant to book with TUI. Last year they was considerably cheaper than VH ( not surprising ) but we have always gone with virgin from Gatwick.

The only thing now is that we was going to use the magical Express and not hire a car but we may have to flying into Sanford.

Also....am I going mad but I swear that Tui flights were moving to a different airport in Florida? Further than Sanford? Help :scared:

Ah ok, I'm not going crazy!

I didn't know about the free transfers with Tui! So is it a coach from Sanford to a Disney resort?
Yes they just provide a coach from just outside arrivals to which ever Disney resort you are staying at.
 
We personally prefer Virgin. When we went with TUI we were restricted with hand luggage and checked baggage allowances. We're not big packers but those extra kilos makes a difference especially with hand luggage. We did appreciate the quick immigration process and how quick it was to get out of the airport but that's where I would draw the line. We used the free transfer but were subjected to a 20-30 mins (on top of waiting for everyone to get on board) sales pitch telling us how to book restaurants and fast passes which if you're like us we booked these ages ago!

Also there isn't anywhere after you landed (that I could see) to go grab a snack. Sometimes my husband gets hangry and after a long flight and if the food has been a bit naff he's living on the edge. At MCO we like the option of grabbing a Starbucks/McDonalds/Panda Express for an energy boost before our next leg of the journey!

Also I would mention on the return when you go through security the food/shopping options are sooooooo limited. We were there for what seemed ages and there was nothing worth looking at. We ended up doing laps around the chairs out of boredom. The food options were pretty poor. We're not food snobs and like cheap and cheerful but the food court was a ghost town with no one there or any food anywhere! It looked like a porter was out back making fries!

BUT and this is a big BUT if the price of the holiday was significantly different then I would still go to Sanford!
 
Yes they just provide a coach from just outside arrivals to which ever Disney resort you are staying at.

I think this is only if you book a package. Last time we booked flights only with Tui we had to sort our own transfers - unless it's changed, which would be great!
 

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