Air Travel Kills Me

[Doofus McFancypants]

looking for flights up to PA for a wedding. Atlanta to Allentown
ABE is very expensive to fly into but is really convient $500 per ticket !!!
Even Newark is over $300 a ticket!!

Add to that effective May 1st all passangers are CHARGED FOR THERE 2ND checked bag $25.

Good Gawd. traveling with 2 kids - beteen checking car seats and crap - i am 2 bags over!!! and that assumes i don't exceed the Shrinking "Max Bag Weight"

Makes the 14 hour drive look more promising - but still not ideal with a 4 yr old and an 8 mo old.

Geeze I gotta move back north - travel is to expensive.

[trebuchet03]

what carrier?

[Doofus McFancypants]

the direct flight was Delta - this is there hub..
The USAir and others for 1 stop were actually about the same ( at least on Expedia)

i did find a flight for 300 a ticket to ABE - with 2 stops
How the heck can flying from ATL - Charolette - DC - Allentown be less $

I am going to check Priceline - see if i can get a bite for $150 / ticket.
I think those all include at most 1 stop..

steve

[RH77]

Rule #1: Don't try to make sense of the airlines -- you'll just get even more upset.

I would check some low-frills carriers to maybe get you as close as you can, and perhaps you can rent a car and drive the rest of the distance (were you going to rent a car anyway?).

Airtran also has their hub there. Southwest can perhaps get you there cheaply (SW generally doesn't show up on Expedia, etc -- web direct).

It reminds me of the line in the Lampoon's movie where Chevy Chase buys the "Family Truckster" on the Family Vacation:

You think you hate it now -- well wait 'till you drive it. Same with the airline trip -- pain in the kiester.

I subject myself to an average of 4 flights/week for work and it seems to be getting worse with prices and variety of flights. Work picks up the tab, and my choice is Northwest for my locations (they've treated me the best, 99% of the time -- other airlines over the last 8 years... not so much).

Good luck finding something. Just keep looking and brainstorm options...

RH77

[Doofus McFancypants]

i love that line - so fitting...

was not going to rent car - wifes family is there.
good point on web searches - i will check them out this evening.
doing the math on driving - expect the roundtrip drive to take about $600
not to mention "pain and suffering" with the kids...

i am thinking a transition point may be about $900 USD....
If i can get airfare ( and the additonal bag charges) for under 900 - i will probably take it... If not i think driving will win out.

Anyone else ever play the "Do i drive or do i fly" game? expecially with kids - if so how do you deside where is the transition point between a long drive or a flight?

Steve

[Lazarus]

Good luck. I ran into that the other day going to Wichita best price I could find was almost $1,000 buck roundtrip and it was going to take 6 hours to get there. I just rented a car and drove 8 1/2 instead.

In the long run when you figure showing up to the airport early and getting a car at the other end it was just as fast to drive it door to door. I was actually fresher after the drive then flying. Something about hanging around airports wears me out.

You might look into what Rick's talking about and get close and drive the rest of the way.

Keep us posted please the airlines are in an interesting time.

[RH77]

My rule for work, is about 5.5 to 6-hours to drive will likely take longer to fly if it's a connecting flight (and if it doesn't get grounded or delayed).

For family trips don't forget to include food and lodging into the price (plus pain and suffering).

Our family rule is 8-10 hours in the car or bite the bullet on flying (you have to figure time as money if you have limited vacation time or time at your destination).

There's generally 4 of us, so we just rent a car to cut the wear and tear on the newer sedan (or if you need something bigger for hauling everyone and cargo).

I can't put a dollar figure on it since every family's budget is different.

[LostCause]

How about the train? Trains here on the West Coast seem extremely slow and horribly expensive, but I figure the East Coast should have a more developed system...

How about the bus? Greyhound?

I would drive, but specifically at night. Not only will the traffic be light, but the kids should have an easier time falling asleep. When you arrive at your destination you'll be tired as hell, but a quick 4 hour nap and later a good night's sleep will bring you up to speed quickly. When camping with my dad and his friends when I was younger, we used to do that all the time...except I'd never fall asleep.

Plus, you apparently have a wife. You drive halfway, she sleeps halfway...switch.

- LostCause

[dremd]

When I look for Airline Tickets I Look up each airport within x miles of departure and destination points, then cross what carriers go each place. Then go to each of their websites, check prices. I know long hard process. But I pulled off a $160 Round trip to Vegas Last year on Alliance air like this (from an airport I'd never heard of, but 100 miles away) .. Worth a Shot.

I'm SUPER cheap about air travel. Your cost/ Benefit ratio may vary. Train Could be Fun with a 4 year old