Airline Tickets

[J-Man]

Okay, my bad, I used the wrong term, however the news here kept saying that NW was bought by Delta and would be merged together. So... are you both right?


Mayhaps. I'll have to see if 3 one-way tickets will be cheaper than 2 round-trips. If so, NYC here I come! Either way, I WILL be at the X Japan show so I better figure something out!

All of that aside, I bought a round-trip from Dallas to NYC 2 days before I left last week... $307 total, though the prior day it was $450. Hopefully things wont change too much between now and then! *gulp*

If you want a real cheap flight check SW to MacArthur ISLIP($325 US AIR) airport on long Island they are usually real cheap, or a flight to Stewart Newburg ($275 AIRTRAN) north of NYC(about 45 minutes). Those could save you a ton of money.

 

[sh0kr0k]

If you want a real cheap flight check SW to MacArthur ISLIP($325 US AIR) airport on long Island they are usually real cheap, or a flight to Stewart Newburg ($275 AIRTRAN) north of NYC(about 45 minutes). Those could save you a ton of money.

Yeah that's true, I should check out the smaller or further airports. I can sit for a while on a subway if it means saving me money to see the god of all bands X Japan (yeah, I said it!) and still go to PP. I got my phobia of subways out of my system last week after I discovered antibacterial hand spray!! W00t! [/neurotic tangent]

I'm not going to buy any plane tickets, period, until the X Japan tickets go on sale. If I can't get one of those (oh I will!) that changes all the plans for the rest of the year. Until then, I just have to keep my fingers crossed. Thanks again for the tip!

 

[jaimek]

No way. SW stands solidly on it's own today. Just about the only one out there that is. They have a solid customer base, and a VERY loyal employee group.

I've always been impressed by SW until the mechanical issues that cropped up recently - I flew them all the time out of BWI, and who needs movie screens in the plane when you've got smartassed flight attendants keeping you entertained?

 

[J-Man]

I've always been impressed by SW until the mechanical issues that cropped up recently - I flew them all the time out of BWI, and who needs movie screens in the plane when you've got smartassed flight attendants keeping you entertained?

Wasn't really mechanical issues, but A case of the FAA wanting a certain inspection to be done, and SW being a little late doning it and the FAA making an example of them. The flip side of that was that since they use mainly the 737 class planes it was noticeable, other airlines flying 737's were also not doing the inspections but they tagged SW. SW is still the safest airline in the world to fly.

Your right about their flight attendants they are a hoot, in fact on one flight one time. A flight attendant got myself and the three guys i was traveling with and made us either sing a song or serve drinks, you can guess which one i did as i can't carry a tune in a boot. It was so much fun.

 

[kellsco]

Wasn't really mechanical issues, but A case of the FAA wanting a certain inspection to be done, and SW being a little late doning it and the FAA making an example of them. The flip side of that was that since they use mainly the 737 class planes it was noticeable, other airlines flying 737's were also not doing the inspections but they tagged SW. SW is still the safest airline in the world to fly.

Agreed.

Remember all those flights that were canceled just last month causing all sorts of issues for people? American, Delta and United were all involved in that. The most remembered being American as they caused most of the problems. Why did all this happen? Because the FAA announced a directive requiring carriers to VERIFY their compliance with airworthiness standards. If all those airlines had NOT missed THEIR FAA regulated inspections, or not performed FAA required repairs, they would not have had to pull all those planes, and cancel all those flights to become compliant.

Your right about their flight attendants they are a hoot

On one flight we played a game with some of the people in the first 6 or so rows with our attendant. We all said where we were traveling from and to and if anyone knew a fact about those places they said. If not we gave a fact. It was fun and I know I actually learned a few things about places I'd never been to before.

If you ever serve drinks on one of my flights John...make it a double.

 

[J-Man]

I really hope everyone is amking flight reservations NOW, with the price of oil going up and up the price for tickets is going to follow. Everyday you see in the papers that such and such airlines is adding $$ for a fuel cost. So book now, as I don't think the price will go down as they have in the past.

 

[Yippee38]

Remember all those flights that were canceled just last month causing all sorts of issues for people? American, Delta and United were all involved in that. The most remembered being American as they caused most of the problems. Why did all this happen? Because the FAA announced a directive requiring carriers to VERIFY their compliance with airworthiness standards. If all those airlines had NOT missed THEIR FAA regulated inspections, or not performed FAA required repairs, they would not have had to pull all those planes, and cancel all those flights to become compliant.

The real deal (according to what I heard) was that Southwest had not done the maintenance required. The other airlines AFAIK had done the maintenance, but not in the way that the FAA wanted it done.

FWIW, Airworthiness Directives MUST always be complied with. Records must always be kept of that compliance as long as that airplane continues to fly. So verifying compliance should have only been a matter of pulling the maintenance records. This isn't something new.

The reason this became such a big deal for the FAA was because they had egg on their faces. The news media didn't talk about this though. Each airline has at least one dedicated FAA Safety Inspector that reviews and approves all maintenance practices. They also audit that maintenance. So Southwest not performing certain inspections means that their FAA Safety Inspector allowed them to put off those inspections when they should not have. The other inspections not being done according to how the FAA wanted them done is another matter, but to some extent, the FAA Safety Inspectors should have caught that too.

BTW, keep in mind that no matter what you pay for your tickets, you may end up paying a fuel surcharge on top of that depending upon what happens to fuel prices. Crude prices have risen 40% since the beginning of the year and show no sign of slowing. It costs one major airline approximately $60 million dollars per year in operating costs for every dollar that crude oil increases. Since January, crude prices have risen almost $40 per barrel. Do the math.

 

[Jibrille]

My solution to our gas problems is to cancel Nascar. Such a waste.

And I used rewards points to get our tickets a few weeks ago. But flying out of an airport south of here as opposed to Albany because it was about $200 cheaper pp and parking/driving will cost us $100 at most.

 

[rockyracoon]

Yippee, does the airline industry have any money invested in trying to find different alternatives to being dependent on crude oil? Or is that something that just won't be happening, period?

 

[Yippee38]

Yippee, does the airline industry have any money invested in trying to find different alternatives to being dependent on crude oil? Or is that something that just won't be happening, period?

Not that I know of, though I haven't read any industry stuff in a while. However, I can tell you that several of the engine manufacturers are working on engines that are significantly more efficient than the current engines. Don't know how close they are to being usable though, and that doesn't do anything for the existing fleets.

Even if some alternative to crude were available, the cost to retrofit the existing fleets would be astronomical. In addition, there is the downtime that would be required which would also cost the airlines revenue.

 

[J-Man]

Today American Airlines announced that beginning June 15 it will start charging passengers $15 each way for your first checked bag, and $25 each way for the second checked bag. This is totally stupid, but not as stupid as what else they are doing, they are going to cut domestic flight capacity by 11% in the 4th Quarter of this year, whick will result in job cuts. And the airlines wonder why customers hate them.

 

[Dark One]

/\ Wow, scratch American Airlines from getting any of my future business. Charging extra for your first checked bag is pathetic. I hope other airlines don't follow suit.

Jason

 

[Thorn23TX]

Today American Airlines announced that beginning June 15 it will start charging passengers $15 each way for your first checked bag, and $25 each way for the second checked bag. This is totally stupid, but not as stupid as what else they are doing, they are going to cut domestic flight capacity by 11% in the 4th Quarter of this year, whick will result in job cuts. And the airlines wonder why customers hate them.

I saw that today as well, J-man... so much for buying my tickets a few months ago (February to be exact) in an effort to save money. By the time PPUSA rolls around I'm sure they'll find another way to "generate additional revenue" off of a previous purchase.

 

[J-Man]

I saw that today as well, J-man... so much for buying my tickets a few months ago (February to be exact) in an effort to save money. By the time PPUSA rolls around I'm sure they'll find another way to "generate additional revenue" off of a previous purchase.

You won't have to pay the fee as your ticket was bought prior to June 15, they are not grandfathering this so your safe.

 

[nailz]

/ Wow, scratch American Airlines from getting any of my future business. Charging extra for your first checked bag is pathetic. I hope other airlines don't follow suit.

Jason

I haven't checked luggage in YEARS. It's completely worthless when you can carry on a small suitcase, and a backpack.

 

[rockyracoon]

Man, I actually wish they'd charge people for carry-on luggage instead. I've never been on a flight where somebody with a carry-on bag didn't cause problems/delays for others. In fact, I'd be willing to pay a significant premium to ensure that those who can't understand the concept of "airplane etiquette" are not on the flight, or are at least dealt with in a timely and efficient manner.


Even better would be a new policy: Those with no carry-on luggage get to exit the plane first.

 

[Dark One]

I haven't checked luggage in YEARS. It's completely worthless when you can carry on a small suitcase, and a backpack.

Oh yeah, obviously it's easier not to check when you can, but sometimes you just have too much to pack or you can't go without larger liquid containers if you're going on a longer trip.

 

[Dark One]

In fact, I'd be willing to pay a significant premium to ensure that those who can't understand the concept of "airplane etiquette" are not on the flight...

That would basically eliminate half the passangers.

It's amazing what people try/or are able to get away with on an airplane.

 

[KingsGene]

Just got my airfare for Chicago/Atlanta roundtrip for $280 on AirTran. No long ass drives for me this year...

 

[Pellaz]

I'd happily pay extra for a "no crying babies" flight.