American Airlines

[wrp96]

AA is generally NOT price competitive out of San Deigo. What about driving to OC (John Wayne) or LAX. Or take a shuttle flight, if you don't want to drive. LAX/Miami is a main AA route, so lots of sale fares. Even the non-sale fares out of LAX are much cheaper. Should be able to get to Miami for $300.00 on AA almost anytime.

 

The last several times I've flown into San Diego, AA beat out every other airline, including Southwest. Of course, they did that by overbooking the flights. When I fly AA into and out of San Diego now, I plan an extra day into my schedule, don't check any luggage, and be prepared to volunteer if they've overbooked. I've gotten an extra day of vacation in San Diego, plus another trip to San Diego paid for with the travel vouchers from volunteering.

[Tracey and Bryan]

I've been checking AA every so often from San Diego to Miami for March 2006, The only time I saw it dropped to 346.00 round trip PP, thats down from 408.00 now its back up to 446.00 I use www.bookingbuddy.com so I only have to enter my Dates once and select all of the airlines and online travel agencies.

 

You should also try www.farechase.com It works a lot like the other site you listed. I also found SAN to FLL on American for the week you need it for $338 which is about what you quoted.

 

If you're willing to drive to LAX, I'm sure you can find better deals. Currently, you can fly SONG Airlines that week from LAX to FLL for $306.

 

Good luck!

[joric]

Fly with AirFrance.

See the airfare and book now on the site www.shoppingnowonline.com :)

[Wennfred]

AA is generally NOT price competitive out of San Deigo. What about driving to OC (John Wayne) or LAX. Or take a shuttle flight, if you don't want to drive. LAX/Miami is a main AA route, so lots of sale fares. Even the non-sale fares out of LAX are much cheaper. Should be able to get to Miami for $300.00 on AA almost anytime.

 

Thanks ! I never thought about that, I have flown into L.A. before, taking one of them small AA Eagles.. good Idea, will check on them flights today.:)

[Wennfred]

Wennfred, I did a quick check from San Diego to Miami (3-4-06 through 3-11-06) on a couple sites. The average seems to be $412. I checked ITA and the cheapest there for the same dates is $385. That's not a huge difference.......but it's something to keep your eye on.

 

Check ITA for me to see what comes up, 18 March 2006, return 26 March 2006.

 

Thanks.

[greatam]

Thanks ! I never thought about that, I have flown into L.A. before, taking one of them small AA Eagles.. good Idea, will check on them flights today.:)

 

I did not mean an AA Eagle. That would result in the same fare or even higher on AA. What I meant was one of the shuttles, like Southwest, Alaska, America West (?), who fly a lot of flights from San Deigo to LA or Santa Anna. Like the $29.00 fares on Southwest. However, taking a shuttle to LAX will take as much time as driving, and be more hassle. Figure 1 hour pre departure, 30 minutes in the air, then claim and recheck luggage. I would drive, if I was you.

 

This is the best I can see on your dates. Flights to Fort Lauderdale are generally considerably cheaper than into Miami. Delta has a cheaper fare, but it flies from LAX. You can't drive to LAX from San Diego for $65.00. The flights below are $332.30 pp. from San Diego. Good luck!!!

 

 

San Diego, CA to Fort Lauderdale, FL: 2283 miles 6 hrs 48 min

American Airlines American Airlines Flight AA1474 on a MD-80 (jet) in coach class

(food for purchase)

Departs San Diego, CA (SAN) Sat, Mar 18 7:10a 3 hrs 0 min

Arrives Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) 12:10p

Layover in Dallas/Fort Worth 1 hr 9 min

American Airlines American Airlines Flight AA2038 on a Boeing 737 (jet) in coach class

(food for purchase)

Departs Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) Sat, Mar 18 1:19p 2 hrs 39 min

Arrives Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) 4:58p

 

Fort Lauderdale, FL to San Diego, CA: 2283 miles 7 hrs 14 min

American Airlines American Airlines Flight AA1697 on a MD-80 (jet) in coach class

(food for purchase)

Departs Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) Sun, Mar 26 1:18p 3 hrs 17 min

Arrives Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) 3:35p

Layover in Dallas/Fort Worth 48 min

American Airlines American Airlines Flight AA1961 on a MD-80 (jet) in coach class

(food for purchase)

Departs Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) Sun, Mar 26 4:23p 3 hrs 9 min

Arrives San Diego, CA (SAN) 5:32p

[Wennfred]

Thanks, I like what I see, and I now know what u mean, we take America West to Vegas all the time, I will check them and southwest for that morning. :)

[gumballz]

Ouch......I checked ITA for you on those dates. The cheapest is AA for $476. I bet spring break is going to make your tickets higher, unfortunately. We're flying out April 2, 2006. That's still spring break, but not the peak time. Hang in there though, you never know what might become available! :)

[gumballz]

Tracey......I'll definitely let you know when we're down there. A favorite place for the girls to go is Fashion Square. We went to Arrowhead last weekend........it was nice down there! Do you get to Prescott much?

[dsclark]

AA is a terrible airline. As time goes on, their service goes down, that's a fact.I have never had one of their flights arrive on time. Last Dec, they got me to Miami two hours late (last flight out of DFW) so I got to arrive at my hotel at 2:00am, the day of the cruise. Just for laughs, they sent my daughters luggage to CHI and told me they couldn't guarantee that it would be sent back to MIA at 9:00am ("They don't always read the messages we send them"). You want stress? Try not having your luggage hours before you board and wondering if you'll see again! On the way back, AA cancelled our filght at the last minute and we spent the night in Ft Lauderdale. Oh, I did say that AA is a terrible airline. Anyone who disagrees is wrong. How can I say such a statement? SImple-along with all the horror stories, the US Postal Service cancelled their contract with them three months ago. They said that their chronic tardiness was the reason why they terminated their contract with them. Still want to fly with them???

I flew Delta the other day for the first time in a decade. Both flights arrived a couple minutes early- go figure.

[gumballz]

Hmm, sounds like you've just had bad luck with them, that's too bad. Thanks for the input, but I'm going to trust them this time. I already bought the tickets :)

[JGR01]

I am a firm believer in flying the DAY BEFORE the cruise departs.

 

No matter what airline..they can have mechanical issues or there can be weather issues.

 

Planning ahead makes sense .. I'm not going to bash any 'terrible' airline or any airline's fares .. especially when you are flying next year. For all we know there may be a couple more bankrupt airlines by then .. BTW .. you do realize most airlines only allow booking 330 days before flights.. and many popular destinations for spring break are booked at that long lead time by agencies as well as travelers.

 

I was on a flight last weekend from MIA-JFK that arrived late, had weather delays in boarding, cargo delays and eventually left 2 1/2 hours late. 5 people onboard were panicing .. their JFK-Rome flight was leaving in under 30 minutes from when we arrived.. and at a different terminal. At least two pax were flying to Rome to directly connect with a cruise of the Med. I think they made the flight (AA met them with a shuttle van and drove them on the tarmac) .. BUT they may have missed the flight .. then missed the ship and started with a ruined vacation.

 

GO A DAY EARLY!

 

Now some people advocate using cruise-air since they know you are coming and if you are late 'the cruise line is responsible' logic. Krap! You miss the ship .. you got problems NO MATTER who is going to help you out. I did two cruises in Jan this year .. both NOT adhering to my advice (I could not skip work so had to travel day of cruise) and once was fine .. and once was delayed and on the LAST shuttle to the ship from the airport. NEVER AGAIN!

[dsclark]

Hmm, sounds like you've just had bad luck with them, that's too bad. Thanks for the input, but I'm going to trust them this time. I already bought the tickets :)

 

It's not just me, the US Postal Service ditched them because of their poor service. Think about it- how many pieces of mail did they send through them before canning them? Sure, you can brush off my experience with them as "bad luck", but you can't brush off the US Postal Service's objectivity in firing them for poor service. You can contact them and find out just how bad AA was. That's not bad luck or badmouthing, it is objectivity.

[pjbrock]

That first of April is spring break so a big time for airfare-it' s not likely t come down much. I just booke d for San Juan later in April with AA. Had been watching the price and it was startingto creep up. Better to catch it at only $10 more than to wait any longer.

[Tracey and Bryan]

I have our flights booked through AA for October PHX to MIA. I booked with them because of the fare and because I think they will still be in business in October. ;) As fuel prices keep going up, I'm really getting concerned about the future of all of the airlines' various employees.

 

We all have horror stories from many different airlines. We could talk all day long about that I know but, I'd rather share advice about cruising and travel planning. I'm sure the poster who was sharing the horror story about AA was simply trying to give good advice based on their experience and so I will try to do so as well.

 

The best advice I could give would be the same as another poster, always fly in at least the day before and not on the redeye! If I were flying from a "snowy" part of the country in the winter, I'd probably fly in a couple of days prior to my cruise.

 

Every airline is subject to weather problems. Some airlines are more prone to have mechanical and poor staffing problems than others. As long as you plan your flights with some fluff time, you can handle the irregular situations. Also, if you planned ahead and still have problems with your flight and there is any doubt in your mind that you may miss your Cruise departure time because the airline messed up, please advise the Customer Service Rep of your situation, they will usually try to accomodate you even if it means putting you on a another airline. If you don't get results after speaking to them, politely ask for a Supervisor. If you don't get results then, politely ask for the Manager.

 

Also keep this in mind, if the airline has messed up and is not going to be able to get you to your port of departure in time, advise them about the itinerary of your cruise and ask them about flying you to your first port of call. They would have to communicate with the cruiseline to do this but if they made the error, they should do this for you. Of course, they are not responsilble for bad weather, but they may still help you out anyway.

 

This advice is offered based on my experiences as a traveler and as a past Supervisor for an airline.:)

[Tracey and Bryan]

Tracey......I'll definitely let you know when we're down there. A favorite place for the girls to go is Fashion Square. We went to Arrowhead last weekend........it was nice down there! Do you get to Prescott much?

 

Gumballz,

 

I'm glas you enjoyed your shopping trip. Your girls must be close in age to my daughter, 16 3/4. We don't get to Prescott as much as we'd like. Do you know of any Bed-in-Breakfasts that you would recommend? Do you know anything about the "Pink Jeep Tours"?

[gumballz]

Tracey......I've seen the Pink Jeep Tours Jeeps....but never see them actually giving a tour.......just sitting there. I know the PJT in Sedona is a popular tour though.

 

As for B&B in Prescott.....I'm not sure on ratings, but the Hotel Vendome is a very popular one. It's supposedly haunted. People swear that they see the ghostly outline of a woman in the hallways. It looks nice on the outside and I've only heard good things about it, but I've never stayed there. I'm sure there are more B&B in the Victorian part of town.....I'll look into that for you and give you some names. Here's a photo of the hotel in the winter: http://www.prescott-lodging.org/images/vendome.jpg

[gumballz]

Oh, and Tracey.......my girls are 14 and 16, so yes.....close! :)

[HHW]

I am not sure if this is helpful..

 

I purchased airfare for my DH and I with AA a month ago and did not book a seat for our toddler- thought we'd gamble on a seat being vacant.

 

So, I was checking flight prices Monday and saw that the price had dropped about 140.00 pp and thought I would buy a ticket for our daughter so we wouldn't gamble on getting her a seat.....

 

I called AA and asked if they would refund me the difference, and they did! Of course, there is a 50.00 charge, but when you are saving 140.00pp, the 50.00 "loss" was worth it!

 

Also, on caveat..., as I was doing all this, I noticed my flight times and numbers had changed...they canceled my original flight to Miami and put us on a flight 1 hour earlier. I had to request a flight change to a later filght b/c we can not make the flight they switched us to.

 

Hope this helps....

[gumballz]

Hmm.....well it's worth keeping an eye on definitely. If mine goes down I'll have to see if they'll do that for me. So far it's only gone up.......A LOT. lol Thanks for the info HHW