Looked into flying anywhere lately? When you do, brace for sticker shock. Price with a American airlines, nonstop round trip Vegas to Dallas is $1400 total for my wife and I. Southwest was more!!!!

Looks like I'm going to have to suffer Spirit or Frontier and their 28 inch seat pitch if the trip is to be affordable. Even then there is the added catch that their headline numbers do not include any bags, and both airlines are notorious for cancellations. Mind you, some research suggests that Sun Country are worse in that respect, even beyond the bad old days of America West.All this after the FAA and other similar bodies worldwide hauled the industry over the coals for selling flights that they could not possibly supply.

I wonder if the airline industry is pulling the same stunt as the car servicing trade, trying to claw back what it lost during COVID. The way prices are going I can see them cutting their own throats when the traveling public decide that traveling just isn't worth it. This and other pressures on the industry make me wonder if there will be a major reset at some point. I foresee mass airline collapses, leading to far fewer flights and airline travel becoming too expensive for all except the well heeled and the business traveler.

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Release the Kraken

The way I look at it, flying should be free. How many billions of dollars do the taxpayers have into these entities in bailouts?

The last flight I took ( 6 mo. ) RI to GA was under 200 round trip

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

Seems that we working/tax paying people are just slaves to the system. Whether it’s airlines, banks, auto manufacturers, or whatever large industry, they are guaranteed profits no matter how they manage their company, thanks to the taxpayers being on the hook. The only businesses that seem to take on true competition and market risk are the small/medium size businesses. The big corporations have bought their place in the system, they’re too big to fail, don’t you know…

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NRA Life Member

All depends on what time of year and how far in advance you can book. Traffic is up and the number of flights are down. There's a pilot shortage among other things.

Considering the crowds, I'd drive that one. I hate crowds that much. Probably around $300 in fuel plus a hotel room each way. Stop in NM somewhere?

First, if at all possible I'd much rather drive than deal with flying in general, the price usually being one of the factors I find distasteful. However, driving is not always an option as with a recent situation that required travel from Orlando to San Juan, PR, and back, in a day. Although I hardly consider it 'cheap', I was able to secure a round trip on a day's notice for under $600. That includes upgrading to roomier seats in the exit aisle. I'd not flown with Jet Blue in the past but was pleasantly surprised by the overall experience and was able to complete my brief but intense journey without a hitch. Flying does serve a purpose but I still prefer to drive when possible.

Driving is out for a couple of reasons. First, it would make our schedule very cramped for the trip back due to other upcoming events.

Second, I am reliably informed that I-40 across northern AZ is essentially unusable across from Kingman to the NM border. My buddy traveled it a few weeks ago in his RV towing a car trailer. He said that parts of the road were so rough that things broke on his trailer, and he saw multiple modern cars with blown tires. He said it was impossible to drive at anything approaching highway speed. You cannot dodge ruts and potholes that extended the whole width of the highway.

The US-93 from the I-40 to Phoenix is similarly afflicted, and there's been no sign of anybody preparing to fix these roads. That leaves us with a long, two-lane drag south to I-10 near Blythe before heading East. I'd consider it were it not for our schedule.

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Release the Kraken

Google says I can fly round trip from Dallas on Frontier for $ 129 which would be $ 258 for two.

I have not flown for many years.

Today cost to fly and cost at destination mostly kill our thoughts.

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Who are? "They"

OP- I would suggest running searches again. My wife and daughter just flew from Denver to Kona via Oakland on Southwest, and roundtrip total for both was under $1200.

When we retired, and still in good health, we decided to travel. Taking cruise ships and destination vacations have been in our bucket list.

If we don't do it now, maybe we won't be able to later.

Besides, don't want to have too much money left because our kids would just spend it on silliness, or the nursing home will take it all.

I DO look for the best values, but If I'm going, I'm going.

Here's a suggestion....
Over the last 2 years I have taken out credit cards from the major airlines. Spend a few bucks and pay it off and you will earn mileage points. Our last 3 trips have been for free. Then, cancel the card.

Using how stops and over how many days? The devil is in the detail on these apparently cheap flights. My original post was made not 30 minutes after I had been on Google looking at flights last night. I'll look again.

Yes, you can travel cheap on Frontier, but the seat pitch is painful for anybody over 5'9". Don't take the published flight time as indicating how long you will be squeezed into the inadequate space. I always add 20 minutes at each end for taxiing, and that assumes there is a gate for you. Oh, and there are no included bags in that price. Been there, done that with these "cheap" airlines.

Everything quantitative written about flying, particularly the price and the time it takes, has been massaged to hide the real pain. Start with that assumption and work downhill from there. It's like booking a hotel in Vegas. Room rate is X, but when you get here there's another 0.75 times X to be added in fees, and they are not negotiable.

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Release the Kraken

OK, I've just been on Google and cannot get close to that from any airport in Alabama. Where would you fly from?

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Release the Kraken

Beware those cheapie airlines. My neighbors daughter, SIL, and four kids, 7,6,4,2 were left high and dry in Orlando this past winter.
Frontier cancelled their flight, closed down their customer service, without warning, and left them to find a flight back to RDU.

Ten hours in the airport with four young kids.

They finally were able to get an American flight home at a cost of $1800, one way. They were just happy to get out of Orlando airport.

Since buying a car to leave in Florida, my mom flies down on Allegiant Air. They fly out of Sanford Orlando which is a 70 mile drive. If she flew out of Daytona which is less than 10 miles from her house, she'd have to lay over in ATL or Charlette.

Allegiant Air is too cheap and non stop. I got her a flight last year that was $39 for her, and about $75 for a checked bag. She does carry on bags now.

Just checked, and this is the cheapest flight this month to Cincinnati.

We just caught on to the CC thing and going to give it a try.

We always wondered how business class could be so full when we travelled to Italy and France. We looked at upgrading and it was close to 10G’s or more, each. Crazy.

A good friend advised us on how to work it. Advised how miles, beat cash back, for people who wish to travel often. New card coming next week.

She's lucky. A 70 mile drive here doesn't get you a third of the way to another proper airport. Many moving here from the midwest or the east coast have trouble adjusting to the lack of choice when it comes to travel, medical treatment, buying guns etc without long drives or having to go to another state.

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Release the Kraken

Years ago, I had to make a last-minute trip from Dallas to San Diego. American's fare was stratospheric, and Southwest's only slightly lower. However Southwest's fare from Oklahoma City was downright reasonable. Last minute fares at that time were better when flying from less popular locations. So I drove to OKC (3 hours) and flew from there. Check out the cost of flying to OKC and driving to Dallas, it might be worth the 6 hours extra driving time. If you're going to be renting a car anyway, the cost for that should be about the same.

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What, me worry?

That's an interesting thought I'll file for another trip. We are on a fairly short turnaround, so that 6 hours of driving becomes significant. Then there is the whole taking a rental car from one state to another thing. Some companies seem dead set against that.

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Release the Kraken

So two of you are flying for $1400? Hmmm...

On the one hand, that's not too bad...I have an upcoming flight from Washington, D.C. to Denver, Colorado, and the cost is about $600.

On the other hand, there is no rhyme or reason to airline pricing these days. It's totally inconsistent. I will be traveling to Europe twice in the fall -- two round-trips on two different airlines going to two different countries -- and economy airfare for both flights was about $600. Why should it cost more to fly from Vegas to Dallas? That makes no sense...

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Where Law Ends, Tyranny Begins

I book a flight for my wife and I first class to Hawaii 279 days prior to departure for next January. Those same seats and flights have doubled in price, coach is now within $100 of what I paid for first class. Crazy times for sure!

As long as you're returning the car to the same facility you've rented it from, I can't see why they'd care where you drove it.
Just don't take it into Mexico!

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What, me worry?

I've done the one way car rental a couple times. I told them ahead of time, they didn't seem to care

1) was stranded in Detroit in the blizzard of '99. Rented a car in Detroit and drove it to the Cincinnati airport (in KY).

2) drove a car from Indiana to Wisconsin.

I forget which rental companies.

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Common sense isn't so common.

I don't know why but my wife is a "flight wizard." Last August I flew to Colorado Springs, one stop in Dallas (yeah, I know Denver is way cheaper but wildly inconvenient) for $750 R/T from Orlando. August this year just about same flights for both of us were $420 R/T with the Dallas connection. She did buy them 3 mos in advance and at 70 that might be considered gambling. Joe

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Behavior Creates Destiny

Yeah, one of the issues with this trip is that the go decision has come way late for my tastes, but happy wife, happy life, applies. Even so, had this been planned months ago, there would have been no way for me to go with the expected work schedule and other vacation plans. Events at work in the last three weeks have moved life around, somewhat.

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Release the Kraken

Round trip Vegas-Dallas for around $500. Trade off 2+days by train vs
3 hours flying.

I fly from Love field to Vegas to visit my daughter and grandson but I use a private jet service…..cost me a few hundred more but no lines not fussing with security….it’s the only way I fly. 700- 1000 dollar round trip, depending when and what time I leave, versus 700-800 AA….but I hate AA so prefer to give my money to the private jet service…..check them out JSx.com. In fact I am headed out there next week to stay over the 4th of July. 700 bucks round trip…..

IMO it is because of the dynamic pricing models they are using based on demand. If they start to get a trend of interest in certain flights, they begin to bump the prices up till demand moderates. It works in reverse as well; low demand and prices drop until seats are sold or demand increases.

I would keep checking to see if prices moderate and check less ideal flight times. Sometimes scheduling and convenience are worth just paying the price.

Out of curiosity what did you expect to pay ?

I think the last time we traveled we paid about $900 for the round trip, all in, with American. I wasn't expecting prices to have jumped 50%.

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Release the Kraken

JSX must be booked out, or their website is weird. I can put in dates but the "Search" button never goes live.


*** NEVER MIND, SCREEN SIZE ISSUE ***


Cost a little over $2k for the dates we want.

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Release the Kraken

I get that paying the premium isn’t for everyone and if you have to be there on certain dates, it isn’t competitive pricing. And they don’t fly all over the. US, but for where they fly for me, the ease of use and convenience for a lone traveler, who has blown more than 300 dollars on bad gun deals, this has made it easy to see my 5 year old grandson pretty regularly. And once you try it, you will never go back flying mass transit……sorry it did not work out for you.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I think where you live has a lot to do with it. Right now anything into Vegas is crazy expensive. Might have to do with the world series of poker going on right now.

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Forum consigliere

Booked in April but paid about that for 4 of us to go to Hawaii.

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Front sight and squeeze

Believe me, I am not dismissing JSX for future consideration. I think it is a fantastic concept, and would certainly use it for urgent travel or to send my wife on her own to see her lads. Many thanks for showing it to me.

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Release the Kraken

It does seem to be a domestic travel issue. I think the tickets I got recently for an upcoming European trip are actually cheaper than last year. As other have pointed out, flight prices vary in mysterious ways.

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Release the Kraken

I fly a lot and always look on Expedia and it scans all the airlines for the best price. When I find the best deal I contact that particular airline to arrange the trip directly with them that way if there is a problem it's easier to deal with them than through a third party. However, many times the price is cheaper through Expedia then it is directly through the airline.