Airline ticket price

[LaraW]

I know its only $20, but I bought a ticket to go visit my grandma in April for $201, and it seemed at the time like it was probably the best price I was going to get.

I got an email from Travelocity about tickets from Denver to Chicago, and sure enough, my flight went down to $181.

How annoying! Usually, it goes the other way, where I wait to buy a ticket and end up spending more $$!

[KathrynY]

Oh, that really stinks Lara. :( I hate missing a good deal.

I bought airline tickets yesterday and was really shocked at the FEES! I fly at least 3-4 times a year, and I just don't remember them being this high. Maybe I haven't been paying attention...

[1MegMeg]

Lara,

I completely empathize and feel your pain! Last week DH and I purchased tickets on American Airlines to go to St. Louis (from Tampa) for my best friend's law school graduation for $200 each. Like you, I had been watching the prices for a while and this was the lowest I had seen in quite some time so I figured I better move while the getting was good. Well wouldn't you know it that Southwest is now having a "sale" and tickets are $135 each. Booo!

Since there is nothing I can do about it I am justifying the extra $65 each because our AA flights are nonstop both ways (SW isn't), they are slightly better times, and we have actual assigned seats (SW doesn't assign seats ahead of time, you just board according to your "section" based on when you check in). Also, the AA plane is a row of two seats, then the aisle, then the row of 3 seats and DH and I have seats on the "two" side on both flights (SW is row of 3, aisle, and row of 3). Like I said, there's nothing I can do now so I thought I would come up with creative ways to justify the cost. :p

[oceanjasper]

I hate it when that happens too!

I know this might be a long shot, but did you happen to buy your ticket on a credit card that has price protection? The credit card I have will give you back the difference (up to $100) on each item you purchase that goes on sale within 60 days of purchase.

[donleyk]

I was shocked at the price differences. I booked airfare to Florida early in January and paid $282.pp to fly April 16-23. We had to change the week we went (going earlier, IMO prime spring break time) and I ended up getting airfare at Southwest (not my favorite carrier) for $178pp. I hope it is worth the hassle of flying SW. :rolleyes:

[leightx]

I love Southwest!! Maybe it's because I'm in a smaller market (Austin), but I pretty much refuse to fly anything else if possible (unfortunately, it's not always possible to places like Atlanta or the NE). I can get more direct flights through them - everything else must make a 2 hour stop in either Dallas or Houston. I don't mind the seating - I just print my boarding pass out at home before I go, so I'm always in the A seating group. The flight attendants are the funniest and nicest in my experience. And their frequent flier program rocks.

[aggie94]

Leigh,

I hated Southwest before I moved to Austin - hated the cattle call boarding, hated the standing in line in your boarding group to board early (and be assured plenty of overhead space and picking a good seate), etc. It's true, living there, it's really the only choice for flying, especially direct flights. I hated having to connect through Houston to get ANYWHERE so I quickly gave up my loyalty to Continental and started flying Southwest when I began traveling a lot for work. And the frequent flyer program can't be beat, now that I've actually used it and easily earned a bunch of free tickets. That said, I can certainly understand the animosity towards Southwest, because I used to have it, but Southwest can be VERY convenient depending on where you live and what your options are. Oh, and I love their website - it's by far the most user-friendly for searching for and booking flights online than any other airline I've used.

[LaraW]

I wish I could fly Southwest! Denver really doesn't have a decent discount carrier, except for ATA. It is fine for flying to Chicago, but that is really about it.

Well, after a little more investigation, my actual flight time only went down to $196, so I only paid an extra $5. I don't feel quite so bad anymore.

Kathryn, I'm with you on the FEES! I don't know why they have ot break it all down. Why don't they jsut make that the price of the ticket? :rolleyes:

[leightx]

Denver - that's the other place I can't get to on SW! :( You'd think that they could manage to get at least 1-2 terminals there, seeing as how it's a lot more "southwest" than, oh, Long Island. Or Seattle.

Eva - I think living in Austin practically forces you to love SW. They have all of the best terminals (front and center - directly across from Book People and Amy's ice cream :p ), and there are usually direct flights to most everywhere I need to go (Arizona, Vegas, and CA especially). I must admit - I'm terribly lazy and never ever stand in the cattle call for boarding. I basically wait until almost all of the A's are on the plane, then stand up and get in line. I've never understood the people that stand around for an hour before the plane even gets to the terminal! Then again, I'm usually traveling alone, and I don't really care where I sit...

I do wish that America West had more flights out of Austin - they have a good frequent flier program as well (and 1st class!).

[aggie94]

Originally posted by leightx
I've never understood the people that stand around for an hour before the plane even gets to the terminal!

That's me. :o :o I am usually among the first 3 people in line. :o I hate to fly, and I get motion sick, so I like to sit as close to the front of the plane as possible, and next to a window. And I want my bag in the overhead bin right above where I'm sitting. :rolleyes: So I get in line early to make sure all those happen. NOTHING upsets me more than being forced to check my carry-on (which is why I don't fly America West anymore if I can help it - it's happened everytime I've flown America West, because their overhead bins on some flights are about 3 inches tall and don't accommodate rolling bags and they refuse to gate check anything but strollers :mad: ).

So yeah, I hate America West. :rolleyes:

[leightx]

LOL!!! Ok - now I understand! :D In that case, I can see how flying SW would be annoying. I very rarely carry on my luggage, since I almost always have to lug around this god-awful projector in an indestructable day-glo orange case, and I check that sucker as fast as possible. Might as well check the suitcase too!