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Considering other airlines?? Cheaper??

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by vwhiten, Aug 27, 2015.

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  1. Valgal

    Valgal VIP Whale

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    I understand supply and demand. It just seems that fares have not budged much even with a huge drop in fuel costs-- unless it is Allegiant, Spirit, or Frontier. I am considering either Allegiant or Frontier for the cost. A direct flight is 3 hours - so I am not concerned with a long flight. My trip this month on Southwest from Austin to Las Vegas left much to be desired. They seemed very disorganized and dysfunctional the day we flew out. Southwest, Allegiant, and Frontier are the only ones that fly non-stop -- which I really prefer.

    Four years ago the round trip price per person was around $200 -- now I am lucky if I can fly Southwest less than $400. I have a room booked for January 21-26 at MGM at a ridiculously low rate for a low roller like myself. I wish Frontier had those $20 rates available in January.

    I know you get what you pay for. I just want to be on time - or not horribly late or cancelled flight - and of course #1 safe. Anyone with similar thoughts on trying a "discount" airline.

    Thanks
     
  2. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    It's mostly based on supply/demand. I always fly SWA to/from Vegas and my flights are almost always full. So they have no reason to ever lower them or put them on sale. The price is always ~$400 give or take $25. When I fly to other cities though I've noticed a wider range of fares.
     
  3. Mirageluvr

    Mirageluvr Let's Ride!

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    I've been checking rates from Washington DC/IAD/BWI to LAS from 12/13 to 12/18 and the best rate I've found is Southwest for $250 a person, with two free checked bags. Early am flight and a 5pm departure arriving just after midnight. Looks good to me. I also noticed that SWA doesn't show up on travelocity.
     
  4. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Correct. SWA saves money by not paying ANY other sites/companies a sale commission. You can only book at southwest site.
     
  5. Valgal

    Valgal VIP Whale

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    The plus side of southwest is the Rapid Rewards. I can usually shop my way at Christmas time through at least 1/2 of the airfare. I also participate in the surveys as much a possible. But, this year they also increased the amount of points needed for airfare -- things just get harder and harder.
     
  6. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    Sorry you had a poor recent experience with Southwest. I pretty much standardized on them years ago and have never looked back. 80% of my travel is a short Reno/Vegas flight, but I also prefer them on longer jaunts as well. I get out of the gate "on-time" for the most part and arrive on-time or earlier, my bags arrive and they have a pretty good selection of flights out of Reno.
     
  7. gilly from philly

    gilly from philly Low-Roller

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    I normally avoid Southwest as much as possible, however I just booked them for my end of September trip. $64 dollars each way out of Midway was something I could not argue with. There are cheap fares out there, you just have to look and have a little luck.
     
  8. Kobra2848

    Kobra2848 VIP Whale

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    Southwest is also our preferred choice when flying since my wife cannot spend a week in Vegas without two checked bags and two carry on's. This last year the fares have stayed around $150 each way from 109 to 129 in the past. Allegiant is moving to town so I'm sure if a deal comes around I would give them a try.

    Mark
     
  9. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    Without going to LA or the Bay Area, we have two flight options -- horridly restricted schedules on Aerosollegiant or US Scareways through PHX, so you can see why we put up with the six-plus hour drive (though Terri has used the former twice then came back with me).

    Everything has a cost, be it money or time or convenience (inconvenience typically). There are bonus plans to consider. If the world was perfect we could get everywhere on Alaska, but we can't, so we accrue over the year what is best described as EveryAir miles, and particularly me; hey, we end up with a lot of magazine subscriptions each year. Find what works for you -- that whole cost thing -- and off you go.
     
  10. hammie

    hammie VIP Whale

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    I am always willing to try something new and so far I have been pleased with Spirit and Frontier. Last week Spirit had a $99 rt fare from Philly to LAS, so with one piece of checked luggage, paying for an exit row one way and the "Big Seat" on the red eye return, the fare was $236. About $150 less than US Air/American or Southwest. Flight times actually worked well for me too.

    Why Legacy Carriers are not increasing flights, I'm not sure, it could be due to staffing or equipment reasons. Maybe its because of all the mergers. However, they are all making great profits now and thankfully the Ultra Low Cost Carriers are keeping prices in check.

    I screwed up and missed a chance to buy $20 tickets on Frontier, Philly to Miami the other day. The sale was on, but the flight was sold out when I went back to buy.
     
  11. Bernie2

    Bernie2 MIA

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    I'm locked into SW this year especially since I've got over $1600 in vouchers. This is the first time that I've had that much in vouchers and will probably never get that much again The bump days were Saturday (MDW) and Wednesday (LAS) and both were this summer. They were certainly flying full this summer or so it seemed to me. Since Jet Blue, Virgin America or Frontier aren't really close by SW is the carrier of choice. If, one can get to the DC area boy do they have competitive flights.
     
  12. TxFoldEm

    TxFoldEm Tourist

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    I usually fly Southwest. I fly out of Dallas Love Field. The prices seem to be lower departing from that airport as opposed to Austin. Me and my wife booked roundtrip tickets for a total of $296 for the both of us. If I was willing to fly back at bad time, could have gotten it cheaper.

    Is flyng out Dallas an option?
     
  13. yooperguy

    yooperguy Low-Roller

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    I'm in the upper Midwest, have used Allegiant for my last 3 trips to Las Vegas. I have had no complaints with the service, its nonstop no-frills transpo. However, I just booked 2 round trip tickets in October, and see that there is another $100 per ticket ticky-tack fees, taxes, and B.S. charges I didn't have to pay this past June. Probably has everything to do with the recently settled strike. Oh well, Allegiant is still about $175 cheaper than the next guy.
     
  14. abileneblues

    abileneblues Low-Roller

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    I notice that our flights to Vegas from Hobby all tend to be full or almost full (maybe 2-3 seats not filled), so, as somebody else mentioned about their route, there really isn't any reason for them to lower prices.

    I, too have standardized on SWA. They fly out of Hobby, which is closer to me than Bush Intercontinental by about an hour. With rapid rewards, we haven't had to pay for a flight in 5 years. We're about to qualify for a companion pass again. The companion pass allowed us to do 5 RT trips to Vegas and two to Austin this year on points/companion. We essentially pay for nothing but the tax and EB, if we purchase EB. With no bag fees, it's a financial no-brainer for us. Are there some things that I wish they did differently, of course, but they might not be as cheap if they did it like I want it.
     
  15. BlueBellThunder

    BlueBellThunder VIP Whale

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    Wow you got a great deal. I'm flying next week to Vegas PHL to LAS. I paid total about $800 for 2 big front seats and total of 4 checked bags(2 each way). I still think I got a good deal considering that the legacy carriers were $500 per ticket minimum.
     
  16. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    I got 50,000 points for getting a SW Visa card, get points for using it, get a lot of points for dining at various restaurants in my area, get a lot of points for doing online surveys (enough for a free flight in the last 10 months). So I'm pretty locked in with SWA and have had no complaints.
     
  17. bobby jones

    bobby jones VIP Whale

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    never mind duplicate in another section
     
  18. dylanfann

    dylanfann Tourist

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    I have flown mostly Allegiant and Frontier. I live in Northern Wisc., so I either have to fly out of Appleton with Allegiant, or fly out of Milw. with Frontier. I pay for parking if I fly Allegiant out of Appleton. I drive a bit farther to Milw., I don't pay parking, because I have relatives that live in Milw. Frontier has had some FANTATSIC deals as of late. I booked a trip for two with a checked bag, and $49 membership in the discount den, for $293. That was for two people round trip, non stop. Both airlines are discount airlines, yes, IMHO I would say Frontier is slightly better than Allegiant. Allegiant does not have has many choices for flying, one or two days a week, one flight per day. This can be an issue if there are plane problems, causing delays. Allegiant doesn't usually have another plane available if one of theirs breaks down. I think Frontier's planes are slightly nicer. I haven't checked yet, but I know one airline allows a bit larger carry-on, and I think a heavier checked bagged. I have had small flight issues/ delays with both airlines. Neither airline compensates the passenger for the delay. Allegiant gave us a non-alcholic drink after about an 8 hour delay. Frontier gave us free tv for about an hour delay. I just try to get the best deal price-wise. I can be flexible with my travel dates, so I just try to wait for the lowest priced deal and book it. Right now it appears Frontier is running the best deals. It seems like every couple days I get an e-mail about another deal from Frontier. So, it doesn't hurt to wait a bit and see what comes along.
     
  19. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I've had good luck with Frontier and US Air ("now part of the AA family") recently. In our market, Frontier has cut some flights and US Air is iffy with the impending merger. We've had flight cuts and higher fares with the Untied/Continental, Frontier/Midwest and Delta/Northwest mergers.
     
  20. chef

    chef Resident Buffetologist

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    For a couple decades, I was one of SWA biggest fans. Still am, but not so much when it comes to prices.
    In past year, Frontier has become a better friend to me. They've been kicking SWA's butt when it comes to airfare.
    Being close to an Allegiant regional airport, that has been another option.
    So, instead of 100% devotion to SWA, be it Midway or Milwaukee, it's more like 25%.
    Fortunately, I am in the unique position of having three major airports (ORD, MDW, MKE) nearly the exact same driving time from my house, making price comparison easy to do.
    Last week, I took Frontier from OHare to Salt Lake City, SWA from Salt Lake to Vegas and Allegiant from Vegas to Rockford, IL.
     
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