<p>Hope this doesn't sound too silly, but while planning our trip to ND, I showed d the plane she would need to take into South Bend. Her reply, "I'm not getting on that thing!" Needless to say, this will be a problem if she wants to attend ND.</p>
<p>We are not big flyers - probably once a year for vacation on large jets, and she is a calm flyer during these trips. (I'm another story!) The plane she needs to get on, and I guess I do as well, is an Embraer 145 which seats about 50 people.</p>
<p>Would love to hear other people's experience flying on this type jet. It is very bouncy? Smooth ride? </p>
<p>Son has travelled this way many times into SB. We have also flown into SB via the small planes as well. The bouncy/smooth rides probably depend a lot on the weather--there is really no predicting what kind of ride it is. Consider the convenience of flying into SB. Son has never had a problem--flights have generally been on time and luggage has never been lost. He has said many times that he absolutely did not want to fly into Chicago. He has heard a few horror stories! And, until he has a horror story of his own out of SB, will continue to fly into there, even on small planes. You really can't beat the convenience--this past weekend (Spring Break), he flew back to SB, called us as he was retrieving his luggage, and was back on campus within 30-45 min of landing! It may be more costly for some to fly into SB, but for us the convenience and timing of flights was more important. Plus, as far as cost, we start searching weeks ahead for good flights with respect to cost. I will also tell you that if you must make connections with planes to get to SB, consider what city that connection might be. Son says it is much better for him to connect in ATL, rather than Cincinnati or Cleveland esp during winter months(snow and ice). His roommate could not get back to campus until yesterday because of connections in Cleveland. His flights were cancelled and could not get another flight until yesterday morning. Fortunately, he was still at his home airport and was not stuck in the airport in Ohio. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Hi NYmama, My son and I flew from Chicago to South Bend in the summer of 2006 for a Notre Dame football camp. We had absolutely no trouble whatsoever. The flight was very enjoyable and the South Bend airport is very small, but friendly and very service oriented. We had a great time!! We rented a car from there to drive to Notre Dame. I would highly recommend taking the toll road and not going through the older parts of South Bend. I had downloaded maps and directions from Mapquest, but it was so much easier to take the toll road than to take the route suggested by Mapquest. Hope this info helps.</p>
<p>Your username tells me you're from NY, and I'm gonna assume lower New York, which is where I'm from. That being said - flying into South Bend is definitely the way to go, and I recommend connecting through Chicago O'Hare. The way that I personally prefer is White Plains to South Bend through Cleveland, but those flights are not consistently available and often more expensive. </p>
<p>More practically, I suggest LaGuardia to O'Hare which has hourly shuttles; so if you get to the airport, you can usually just get on the next flight, as opposed to waiting until yours leaves. Also, the shuttles run from a different, separate terminal - I believe it's called the Maritime Depot or something like that - which is quiet and much more convenient. They fly Embraers, which, while small, provide by far the most comfortable flying experience I've ever had. They fly smooth, the seats are wide, spaced out, and comfortable. And above all, they are quick - the flight to Chicago rarely takes more than 2 hours. </p>
<p>However, the flight from Chicago to SB is a different story. Often they are tiny, cramped, and not the smoothest flight. But, keep in mind, those flights only last about 45 minutes - much better than a possible 2 and a half to 3 hours on a shuttle bus from the airport to campus.</p>
<p>I've traveled from home to ND and back in every conceivable way and combination - driven, flown through O'Hare to LaGuardia, South Bend to Cleveland to White Plains, Midway to LaGuardia. I've even taken a train (don't do that, trust me). So yea, the two options I've given are definitely the preferred and most efficient.</p>
<p>My husband travels every week from South Bend to DC. After trying different options, he has found the South Bend airport to be by far the most convenient option. The downside is that there are few direct flights, but he has had a positive experience with connections through Detroit. The only delays/cancellations were weather-related, and very few so far this year. Connecting through Chicago is more iffy, as there seem to be regular cancellations of the Chicago-South Bend flights, for no apparent reason. You can save money by driving to Midway, but then you have to drive to Midway. The South Bend airport is extremely convenient to the ND campus, and you can park practically outside the gate.</p>
<p>My daughter has flown back and forth from ND to Atlanta several times, and has flown in and out of Midway, usually because of the significant fare difference v. flying from SB. Almost all the (Delta) flights from ATL-MDW are the Embraer 170, which is slightly larger than the plane you described. It is a nice jet. </p>
<p>For us the issue of flying out of SB v. Chicago comes down to price v. convenience v. flexibility. We usually go through Chicago when price is the main issue. But you can't beat SB airport for the convenience. And we learned the hard way over Spring Break that if your flight out of SB is delayed/cancelled, there may not be a lot of other options available, like there would be out of Chicago.</p>
<p>I am actually a big aviation enthusiasts and I can assure you that the Embraer 145 is a relatively safe plane. Moreover, you are probably flying it from a city such as Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, or Cleveland, all of which are relatively close cities to South Bend and should present no problems. </p>
<p>I also agree with HoundDad that choosing Chicago vs. South Bend comes down to price and convenience. The cheapest way to go, if you're from New York and you live somewhat close to the city, is to use Islip airport and fly Southwest into Midway.</p>
<p>Nearly one year ago today H, D, and I spent an entire day (12 hours) sitting in the SB airport, waiting for our flight to Chicago (which connected to our flight home). After having the flight moved later and later, it was finally cancelled (thunderstorm problems in Chicago). By this time it was 8-9 pm at night and there were only two airline personel on duty at the desk to handle ALL the people who needed to be rescheduled. While standing in line to find out what flight we were to take, we got the airline on the phone. They had rescheduled us alright, but out of CHICAGO. I guess they forgot we were still in SB. We told them that if they would guarantee we were on that flight the next morning, we would get outselves to Chicago. We took the last train leaving the terminal to Chicago, had to rent a $250+ hotel room for the night, get up four hours later to catch our early a.m. flight out of Chicago. These things happen, but it was not fun.</p>
<p>I know this is not exactly what you asked, but I mention it to bring up the fact that we had HOURS that day to visit with many, many ND students. In their words, "this happens all the time". SB is a wonderful little airport very close to the college. It has one room that has all six or so total gates that they have. They have a place to get decent food and a candy store. The rental car agencies have counters right there in the terminal. The problem we found is that EVERYTHING closed at 6 p.m. After that, there was nothing to eat or drink, except out of machines. (We had eaten lunch there, but thinking our flight would surely leave, had neglected to get dinner before things closed up!). If it was not for the advice of the ND students, we would not have known about the train, how to take it to Chicago, where it came in once in Chicago, etc. I think the problem stems from the fact that it is such a small airport and their flights are almost all connections to someplace else and get easily bumped from the schedule.</p>
<p>I think this experience did factor into D's decision to attend a school a little closer to home where she could get direct flights.</p>
<p>I am from 2 hrs N of NYC I fly from Stewart Newburgh or Albany. We had a great experience. Flightswere overbooked and we willingly gave up our seats so now we are flying for free to Az to see my daughter who is there and then flying for $8 to next years football game not bad for a day of sitting around. The planes are fine the ride was smooth but that is always dependant on weather.Your risks are much greater in a car. Have Faith!!</p>
<p>Actually that is a great plane. I have flown over 1,000,000 miles in my lifetime and the embraer is a great ride. Fast and smooth! Very reliable as well. In fact I do not think they have ever had a major accident.</p>
<p>I travel quite a bit and often on small planes. When my husband first saw me (25 years ago) getting ready to board one of those small 50 seaters, he said, “You’re not going on that thing!” But I’ve flown many times and they really aren’t bad at all. They’re slightly more bumpy than a larger plane, but the convenience definitely outweighs any of that. The biggest inconvenience for me is that the overhead compartments are much smaller, so you often have to gate-check your carry-on bags. Then you have to wait for them to retrieve them when you get off. Usually that is very quick, but sometimes it takes awhile and can be a problem for a quick connecting flight.</p>
<p>Here is another option if you can’t find good flights from South Bend-
we were using frequent flier miles which only fit with Chicago flights, so my son takes the Coach bus right from the Notre Dame bookstore to the Chicago airport (O’Hare, but it also goes to the closer Midway- there are just haven’t been flights from that airport home that worked so far). The negative is the timing of the bus; it does run every 2 hours, but it adds all the more time to the trip (2 + hours), especially coming back if you just missed one. However, by the time the South Bend plane flies into Chicago, it isn’t alot more time in the long run.</p>
<p>there really isn’t an easy way - the bus takes forever it seems and the flights could easily be cancelled. </p>
<p>the best advice is whichever one you choose, try to plan it around the bus schedule or the connecting flights. The trip home in december worked perfect for me - i flew from south bend to chicago, had about 40 minutes so I got something to eat and then flew home (the bus would have never made it to O’Hare in time like the plane did). However, coming back the plane to South Bend was delayed so it took like 4 hours total, so the bus would have been faster. In addition, just something to point out - security at South Bend takes much much less time than at Midway or O’Hare - just something for thought.</p>
<p>When traveling you need to be as flexible as possible. Both the bus and South Bend airport are really hit or miss. Sometimes they work out, but often times they don’t. Just have backup plans ready and try to design your schedule with contingencies in mind. In other words, plan your bus/flight schedule during a window when there are lots of options available.</p>
<p>As our student is heading into last semester of school and having flown in and out of the SB airport since fall of '06, no problems that I can think of minus luggage late on one return trip and even then, the airline had it delivered to the dorm with no issues. Yes, it has been on small planes–again no issues. Also, flights have been directly to ATL, then making a connecting flight. In scheduling flights, we have tried to book as early in the day as schedule would allow–thus providing for less travel backup and offering the possibility of catching a later flight should something happen to original flight. There have not been any issues with cancellations, etc. Guess we have just been lucky! Usually student takes a cab to the airport and back for the return, many times sharing with other students at the airport. </p>
<p>We have visited in and out of Chicago-Midway (Southwest) and rented a car to drive to campus. No issues, either! We have avoided O’Hare at all costs–we learned many years ago even before all of the TSA, etc. that O’Hare can be a nightmare of an airport. Unfortunately tho, I know that many people have no choice.</p>
<p>Guess the only downside to SB airport is that it is a small airport–very small!</p>
<p>Thank God we live in FL, Allegiant out of St Peter/Clearwater direct flight to South Bend. Never been late or delayed. They do not fly every day.</p>