Airfare from the midwest makes me want to cry

[kenish]

I always look at Rockford, as it's about equal distance for us to Milwaukee as it is Rockford. The destinations are just so limited and prices aren't usually as good as I'd like. The free parking is a big incentive, though.

 

One big caveat about "secondary" airports like Rockford, Mesa (Phoenix), Sanford (Orlando), Newburg (NYC), etc. They are usually chosen by discount airlines such as Allegiant because there's little or no competition, and the airport lease and fees are much cheaper than larger airports.

 

The caveat is there may be only 1-2 daily flights, and in some cases only 2-3 flights per week. If your flight is cancelled due to weather or mechanical problems, the next available flight may be a few days later. And they can't rebook you on another airline since discount airlines rarely have interline agreements. Of course you can purchase a very expensive, last-minute ticket on another airline but that may be out of another airport a few hours' drive away. (Rockford for example is only served by Allegiant).

 

Definitely leave at least 1 (and preferrably 2) days in advance for any time-critical travel. Good practice on any airline but the impact of a flight interruption can be much more severe flying discount airlines out of smaller airports. Just balance this higher risk with the fare savings.

[Nadersmom]

I always look at Rockford, as it's about equal distance for us to Milwaukee as it is Rockford. The destinations are just so limited and prices aren't usually as good as I'd like. The free parking is a big incentive, though.

 

Agreed. The limited destinations make it less appealing.

We checked on Allegiant for our trip to Port Canaveral in November and weighed the options as opposed to flying out of Milwaukee with Southwest. Southwest flies to Orlando, and Allegiant flies to Sanford Airport.

 

You cant really check October flights yet for Southwest so I based it on May, and then June flights, and compared the same to Allegient, taking the free parking and convenience into consideration. It is still much cheaper for us to take Southwest out of Milwaukee, no bag fees, no charge to sit together, automatic check in, ect. compared with free parking, but checked bag fees, carryon bag fees, seat selection fees, ect.

 

I cant remember exactly how much of a difference it was, but it was more than $100 per person. But Man - Man it sure is nice to only have to drive 20 minutes home after you get back from vacation ;)

[Koali]

Some additional tips on looking for flights. It may not apply because you are flying during holiday season. Booking about 6-8 weeks out will usually yield the best flights. Booking midweek will usually have cheaper rates. Surprisingly to me, flying on Saturdays are cheap, returning midweek is also cheap. Mondays and Fridays are typically business flyers.

 

You can try pricing out airfare for a trip in March/April and see what rates are going for to get an idea of what to expect will be "normal".

 

 

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[rocketlegs]

I'm in South Dakota and there is no way we could drive to Miami. We drive up to MSP and fly into FLL. Right now tickets for our cruise time are down to $221. Bing.com/travel says prices are still falling so I'm not buying yet.

[FlyerTalker]

I'm in South Dakota and there is no way we could drive to Miami. We drive up to MSP and fly into FLL. Right now tickets for our cruise time are down to $221. Bing.com/travel says prices are still falling so I'm not buying yet.

I'll take that bet and wager they won't drop much more, if at all. But you have big exposure to the fare going up.

 

Are you willing to bet a big number for a significantly higher fare just to save a few bucks?? And it would be just a few, while there's no limit on the upward swing.

[Zach1213]

$221 sounds like a hell of a deal to me. I hope for your sake that Bing is right, because I would truly be in awe if it went down.

[Zach1213]

Some additional tips on looking for flights. It may not apply because you are flying during holiday season. Booking about 6-8 weeks out will usually yield the best flights. Booking midweek will usually have cheaper rates. Surprisingly to me, flying on Saturdays are cheap, returning midweek is also cheap. Mondays and Fridays are typically business flyers.

 

You can try pricing out airfare for a trip in March/April and see what rates are going for to get an idea of what to expect will be "normal".

 

 

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Just curious what "best flights" means? I assume "best" means different things to different people. I.E. - someone's great schedule is another person's terrible schedule.

[waterbug123]

Booking about 6-8 weeks out will usually yield the best flights. Booking midweek will usually have cheaper rates. Surprisingly to me, flying on Saturdays are cheap, returning midweek is also cheap. Mondays and Fridays are typically business flyers.

 

As for cheaper fares booking 6-8 weeks out or on any particular day of the week: Good luck with that. There are no absolutes; it is all based on supply and demand. You even alluded to that when you mentioned high demand days due to business travel.

 

I'm in South Dakota and there is no way we could drive to Miami. We drive up to MSP and fly into FLL. Right now tickets for our cruise time are down to $221. Bing.com/travel says prices are still falling so I'm not buying yet.

 

Just how low are you waiting for tickets to go? If I saw $221 I'd snatch that up in a skinny minute.

[Nadersmom]

Yep! $221 RT ticket from South Dakota to Florida sounds like a pretty good price to me ;)

 

I know that time makes a difference, but based on current fares, I'm looking at $320+ per person to fly from Milwaukee to Florida.

[CruiserBruce]

$221 sounds like a hell of a deal to me. I hope for your sake that Bing is right, because I would truly be in awe if it went down.

 

What Zach said...$221 is a darn good price. Are you going to quibble over maybe getting $213? That is silly.

[Zach1213]

Yep! $221 RT ticket from South Dakota to Florida sounds like a pretty good price to me ;)

 

I know that time makes a difference, but based on current fares, I'm looking at $320+ per person to fly from Milwaukee to Florida.

I live in Kansas City but grew up in Chicago, so I get to Chicago several times each year to see family. The flight is (in the air) 55 minutes, at most. I haven't seen $221 for quite some time on that route, let alone the significantly longer distance South Dakota to Florida.

[TeresaJ]

I'm in South Dakota and there is no way we could drive to Miami. We drive up to MSP and fly into FLL. Right now tickets for our cruise time are down to $221. Bing.com/travel says prices are still falling so I'm not buying yet.

 

Book it! Fabulous price. When are you going?

 

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[ilovethesun]

Sorry I have been MIA - busy times, as always. Thanks so much for all your insight. I'm hoping to just kind of hold out and see what happens with flights and probably plan to drive and book flights if we get a good deal. We've flown out of Midway a bunch of times, Peoria, Bloomington, St Louis - we're really open to anything so I guess I will just play it by ear! :)

[TruckerDave]

Thanks for clarifying. Yeah, at this point it's hard to remember what changed right after 9/11, and what changed later after additional wack jobs like the shoe bomber pulled their stunts. Either way, while the security experience is different than it used to be, it really doesn't have to be the hassle some posters seem to perceive it to be. As I told him- you know what to expect, just be prepared for it and it's not a big deal.

 

 

Folks thinking US security is bad, they should travel overseas. The Dominican Republic searched my carry on. Colombia searched my carry on twice and got the wand (or metal detector) three times before boarding. The US system, while annoying sometimes, is quite quick and painless compared to other places

 

 

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[ducklite]

Folks thinking US security is bad, they should travel overseas. The Dominican Republic searched my carry on. Colombia searched my carry on twice and got the wand (or metal detector) three times before boarding. The US system, while annoying sometimes, is quite quick and painless compared to other places

 

 

Sent using a small piece of f

 

 

It depends on where you travel to. We have found security in some countries no different than the US, others much more stringent, and some a bit too lax in our opinion.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[DwayneG]

Many of the airline web sites allow you to also check prices a few days before or after. Going to Vancouver this July, cruise leaves Monday. I planned to fly up Sunday to be safe but found I could save $100 pp by flying Saturday. With 6 of us that more than pays for extra night hotel and food.

[Zach1213]

Many of the airline web sites allow you to also check prices a few days before or after. Going to Vancouver this July, cruise leaves Monday. I planned to fly up Sunday to be safe but found I could save $100 pp by flying Saturday. With 6 of us that more than pays for extra night hotel and food.

 

Yeah, that's always handy. I sometimes leave a day early on business trips because of this. For example, I just recently booked a business trip to Australia, and should have left on Friday. However, it was $600 cheaper for a business-class ticket to leave on Thursday, so even with the one extra day of meals and lodging, my company still comes out $300 or so ahead...and I get an extra day in Melbourne, my favorite city in the world.

 

So I highly recommend looking at other days and seeing if it's cheaper, even with an extra night of hotel, to go early. It's certainly not unheard of.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Zach1213

[FlyerTalker]

Zach....have you picked up a DrizaBone coat at the Coats R Us outlet at QVM on one of your MEL runs?

 

And to continue his thought, that also applies on the other end - staying longer to take advantage of lower pricing due to lesser demand after "cruise day".

Edited January 24, 2014 by FlyerTalker