United Raises Fare...Who's Next?

[Gecko7]

United rased fares again this week. Please see the attached story for all the details. Who's next the curise lines?

 

Gecko7:(

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23633611/

[Wennfred]

Copy/paste the link so we can read it, Its good to book your airfare way way in advance.

 

 

Fred

[Gecko7]

I guess that would help:D

 

I've edited the OP

 

thanks,

 

Gecko7:)

[habby]

Copy/paste the link so we can read it, Its good to book your airfare way way in advance.

 

 

Fred

 

 

And keep your eye on the airline website. Sometimes they offer promo fares that are only available for a day or even just a few hours. I just booked a flight for $295 which had been running $360.

[cruisernh]

Do you normally look at the airlines website like usair or aa or do you look at others that you cab look at them all?

[habby]

Do you normally look at the airlines website like usair or aa or do you look at others that you cab look at them all?

 

Since we live very close to an airport that is a hub for one of the major airlines, we generally just look at that airline. And, luckily my sister and sister-in-law both work for airlines so I can sometimes get companion passes for their airlines. If that were not the case, I'd start by looking at the Internet "multiple carrier" websites, you know the ones where you can bid for prices, to see who flies from where you are to where you want to go, and then take it from there.

[ShedQueen77]

Yeah, I got notice of this. My "Y" flight tracker just informed me that the price on the United flight I was watching took a $70 pp jump.

 

It's not just United though. The Delta flight I was watching took a $50 pp jump today too.

 

Darn it.

[cruisnpat]

They will all be raising their rates with the gas going up like it has been.

[Mikel1733]

At $400-$500 for a round trip flight I will be done flying. Although I love cruising there comes a limit for me. I'm glad I've done the traveling I have through the years. :(

[VentureMan_2000]

It gets pretty tough to cruise when the cost of Air approaches the cost of the cruise. :(

[ShedQueen77]

Isn't that the truth? Airfare to Tampa from MLI is running about $100 shy of the cost of our cruise per person. I'm still contemplating shoving everyone in our hybrid Honda Civic and making the drive there.

[Mikel1733]

Isn't that the truth? Airfare to Tampa from MLI is running about $100 shy of the cost of our cruise per person. I'm still contemplating shoving everyone in our hybrid Honda Civic and making the drive there.

 

We're to the west of you and the closest port would be Galveston at about 18 hours I believe. I'm not sure I'm up to that drive.

[ShedQueen77]

We're to the west of you and the closest port would be Galveston at about 18 hours I believe. I'm not sure I'm up to that drive.

 

According to MapQuest, the Tampa airport is a 19 hour and 47 minute drive from our house. We live over the river in Iowa; about 40 minutes from MLI. I'm not sure I'm up for that drive either, especially with three kids in tow, but the price of airfare might force me to get used to it right quick!

 

I am sort of disappointed that airfare has become the downside of planning our cruise. I'm waiting for AirTran to release their January rates. Their December fares for the same dates we want in January are running at about $250 pp. The "off peak" times are running about $200, which is way better than the $300+ ones I've found with less than desirable arrival times.

[Gecko7]

For those of us forced to drive the costs are also going up. $3.15 per gal. of regular unleaded adds up fast. Some ports don't always offer a variety of destinations. Galveston, New orleans and Mobile all have similar ports and all are drivable for me. I wish they offered some different itineraries so I would always have to fly to MIA or the west coast.

 

Gecko7:)

[VentureMan_2000]

$3.15 per gal. of regular unleaded adds up fast.

 

 

 

I'd love to only be paying $3.15 at this point. Regular is 3.50 to $3.61 per gallon here... and $3.70 to $3.92 for premium... :eek:

[ShedQueen77]

This is my estimate:

 

Here to Tampa Airport and back: 2574 miles

 

My car gets an average of 45mpg on the highway (usually about 50, but I'm estimating low). I would need about 57.2 gallons of fuel to make the trip.

 

If gas costs $3.50 a gallon (estimate), I'd be looking at $200.20 in gas for the whole trip.

 

(Disclaimer - if my math is right! lol. I'm working on about 2 hours of sleep. Midterms suck!)

 

I can't get ONE round trip air ticket for that price, yet alone 5. :(

[Gecko7]

This is my estimate:

 

Here to Tampa Airport and back: 2574 miles

 

My car gets an average of 45mpg on the highway (usually about 50, but I'm estimating low). I would need about 57.2 gallons of fuel to make the trip.

 

If gas costs $3.50 a gallon (estimate), I'd be looking at $200.20 in gas for the whole trip.

 

(Disclaimer - if my math is right! lol. I'm working on about 2 hours of sleep. Midterms suck!)

 

I can't get ONE round trip air ticket for that price, yet alone 5. :(

 

Don't for to add hotels along the way to/from, tolls parking at the port if needed, food and any other incidentals while haveing to drive.

 

I agree however if its a family of 4 or 5, you may not be able to beat the price of driving 2 days. But again you hae to add those days to your trip too.

 

Gecko7:)

[pms4104]

The reality is that the cost of everything keeps going up and up ... I've watched bananas at our local grocery go, in 2 weeks, from 59 to 79 cents/pound, and gas in my Chicagoland suburb just hit $3.43/gallon for regular.

 

While I do not like the rising air prices, that is part of the reality of our entire economy tankiing and the dollar becoming more worthless by the day. And our country's debt is owned primarily by foreign companies and governments.

 

Gone are the days of super bargain-priced air ... but, again, everything costs more than just a few weeks or months ago.

 

'Tis part of the new and very harsh reality.

[Tbay-eh]

Being from Canada we have been facing this for years. Not this cruise but a previous one we had to pay 785.00 per person round trip for four of us. Right now we are paying the equivilant of your $4.65 a gallon and again we have paid this for a long time. We have oil sands in Alberta but still pay through the nose. I really do empathize with you as your increases happened recently and quickly.:cool:

[pms4104]

Should you decide to hit the road in your hybrid, keep in mind you may end up driving for a long time in snowstorms before you get out of the midwest. It may seem tempting to drive ... just be sure you're prepared for an interesting drive. I'd allow way more than 2 days to drive to Florida in the middle of winter.

[JJPNYC]

Airlines trying to raise fares, even if by this high amount, is nothing new.

 

Also what isn't news is the airlines quietly withdrawing the fare increases when not everyone matches the increase.

 

The airlines are a heard mentality so it's monkey see, monkey do.

[Gecko7]

Airline reality, is they burn fuel too and the public doesn't understand that when adjusted for inflation you still aren't paying for air travel in todays dollars.

 

Part of the airlines problem come from supply and demand. Even with what we think are high prices the market is still flooded with seats meaning too much supply. If the carriers would reduce inventory or to merge you will really see prices soar.

 

Gecko7:eek:

[ShedQueen77]

Should you decide to hit the road in your hybrid, keep in mind you may end up driving for a long time in snowstorms before you get out of the midwest. It may seem tempting to drive ... just be sure you're prepared for an interesting drive. I'd allow way more than 2 days to drive to Florida in the middle of winter.

 

Interesting to say the least! :) If DH can get a few extra days from work off, we'd probably leave a few days ahead just in case. Midwestern winters are tricky to travel in. I'm struggling to find flights that don't connect in Northern cities, trying to avoid weather delays. I'm trying to avoid O'Hare, Detroit, and Minneapolis without much luck.

 

I really don't think we'll be able to coop the kids up in a car for that long without them killing each other or us killing them! lol If faced with having to cancel our cruise due to the airfare issue, you'd better bet we'll be driving though!

[Gecko7]

Driving....Ugh!

 

Gecko7

[Gecko7]

does anyone know if the other airlines matched this fare increase?

 

Gecko7:confused: