Would anyone care to explain why airlines charge twice as much if you book a flight for less than two weeks in advance. Jean and I had to book a flight to New York last week. My old buddy John, we have been friends since childhood, finally succumbed to Cancer on Thursday. So here we are in Rhinebeck NY again but this time for a funeral. On the flight here friday night I kept wondering why we paid twice as much for our seats as everyone else on the plane and it wasn't even a full flight. Sup with this Shit. Maybe some of you airline guys can tell me...

Cus they can. PR is not their concern.

Tim

Because they can. Most airlines have funeral discounts (they have some fancy name for it). Call either the 800 number or have your travel agent (if you use one) arrange it. They normally need a bit of info just to be sure you are legit, like date of funeral, place of funeral, name of funeral director, etc.

ICEMAN:
Back in Feb of '08 my mother passed away in Fresno. Skywest was the only carrier (United) that flies directly DEN-FAT. When I called the regular reservation number they said they knew of no such bereauvement rate. My wife did some calling around and finally got ahold of a clerk with United who deals with such flights. She was very helpful and our tickets were about half price AND they were open ended as far as the return flight to DEN.
As was stated by bigdawg they needed funeral info to verify.
Still flew Skywest on the same flight as if we had purchased regular tickets.
My wife said she called the United 800 number and asked for special services. She said the agent said it had to be a family member.
HC

I think you can get some help from them for a family death but this is a friend. Anyway it just pisses you off I hate getting ripped off. Anyway New York foliage is in full color and this is my favorite time of year back here. Maybe I'll visit Dutchess county airport later in the week. A big storm blew through here last night and today the air is cold and clear. A big change for us from the 90 degree heat we left in San Diego.

The reason that they charge you more for booking late is that they assume you are a business traveler. Business travelers usually book at the last moment and have the need and cash to get there. Not fair, just the way the system is set up.

If you have the need to travel on short notice again try one of the on line discounters like Cheaptickets.com or Travelocity. I've been quoted a price of $1400 for a short notice ticket by the airline reservation site and then purchased a seat on the same flight, same airline on the same day for $160.

It may not be right but that's the way business is. Fuel suppliers price gas at the pumps based on the economic vitality of the neighborhood. It's called pricing zones and it's legal. The exception is if you have a gated community full of high power politicians like one just east of Atlanta where Papa Bush and pals live. They have a gas station that sells for $1.00 less than surrounding stations but then the average schmuck cant gain access through the gate to purchase it, not even if you flash your republican party registration.

Also, travelers booking fares well in advance have the luxury of shopping for that fare. That's when the airlines have to be competitive to market to that price conscious segment. Less than 2 weeks out, you're either desperate, or you're a business traveler, like Mr. Ed said above.

There's also an incentive for the airlines to fill as many seats as possible well in advance so they can possibly market their fares differently as the date of the flight gets closer. Empty seats on a flight are bad for business.

It really sucks because sometimes regular people need to fly without notice too.

I flew on Southwest flight a couple weeks ago, and if you've flown Southwest, you're aware of the check-in process. You can check-in online 24 hours in advance, and the earliest check-ins are rewarded with lower numbers in the boarding line-up, meaning the earlier you check-in, the early you board the plane and get a better seat choice. All in all, it doesn't really matter unless you really snooze and end up having to sit apart from your wife because no two seats were available together.

Anyway, I had A48, and so I passed another guy in line who had like A59 or something. He started mumbling this passive aggressive tirade about how he couldn't understand why Southwest does it this way. He probably wouldn't have been pissed had he been at the front of the line.

The reason they do it is to have positive confirmations for those seats within the final 24 hours. They can more easily resell or double-book the empty seats that weren't confirmed. They reward passengers for this crucial information with a tiny pittance in the form of seating priority.

We could all go on and on, but the airlines are sort of in a bad way too. If they had to rely on infrequent travelers like us who normally buy super cheap airfare online well in advance, they'd go under. It's the undiscounted business fares and convenience charges for last minute bookings that keep them afloat (in my somewhat-read opinion.)

I so wish the airlines would just flat rate all tickets to $1500.00

That would get all the welfare people back on grayhound and grandma back on the train.

Travel would once again be bliss

mr scout wrote: and grandma back on the train.

Actually, I think rail travel is still a viable transportation option that needs a little more love in this country. I heard on the radio yesterday about a proposal in CA for a $45 billion package to build high speed (220 mph) rail systems between all major cities.

They noted that this proposal, unlike proposals in the past, hasn't met with any resistance from the airlines because the airlines make very little, if no money off the shuttle flights, i.e. LA to SF, or LA to PHX.

During the Golden Age, airline travel was luxurious and only within reach of the wealthy. The first flight attendants were even required to be nurses. But now, it's hard to reconcile 40 million dollar aircraft burning $5 fuel, with $300 seats.

Next time you need to fly short notice try Jet Blue. One day notice, 2 adults, 339.00 per person from San Diego to JFK. 154.00 per person return to San Diego. The leg room is OK with TV in seat. If they have finished the construction at JFK it is not to big of a hassle.

45 BILLION Somebody do the math at $50 a ticket, when will I get my tax money back? Never I guess because it will be as sucessful as Amtrack.

a64pilot wrote:45 BILLION Somebody do the math at $50 a ticket, when will I get my tax money back? Never I guess because it will be as sucessful as Amtrack.

I think 220 mph is a little more enticing than Amtrak. Ever ridden the train system in Europe or Asia? It works well. Also, hopefully less freeway traffic if people can stomach adhering to a schedule.

I guess rail is expensive to install:

From the Daily Vanguard:

The MAX project, known as the I-205/Portland Mall project, is part of a $557 million plan to build a Green Line from Clackamas to Portland State University in downtown Portland, Clark said.

That's about 10 miles though the city, but the light rail is one of the few options remaining for a city with a growing traffic problem and no room to expand or widen existing freeways. This is at least one way to relieve the amount of cars on the road. It's bad. We're talking parking lots on the freeways around here. The light rail system is popular too-- during rush hour every car will be pretty packed, but the population of Portland is fairly hippy-minded and really embraces this kind of stuff.

But yeah...45 BILLION.

I have studied the California High Speed initiative quite a bit as it will significantly impact dwindling state revenues here. One thing that appears most fishy is that it is being pushed hard by the special interests that will directly benefit - Construction trades, etc.

Some of their math doesn't add up, either. I have ridden the Amtrak trains up and down the San Joaquin Valley. It has travel times extremely comparable to vehicle travel, going between Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno, Bakersfield. It can make unproductive time driving very productive getting work done on the way to meetings The San Joaquin tickets are currently in the $50 price point ballpark, and they run on track already owned and maintained by UPRR, yet without the subsidy it would go away tomorrow. It seems inconceivable that at a similar ticket price one could go twice as far three to four times as fast all the while paying down debt on new track and equipment.

My guess is that the real answer is that high speed rail will have an extremely difficult time beating Southwest on price, and certainly won't even come close on travel time if they truly plan to stop in all of the larger valley cities like the proponents offer. Who knows, that might be a ploy to grease the skids on local opposition to the Environmental Impact Report or something.

Flynengr

Mauleaviator wrote:Next time you need to fly short notice try Jet Blue. One day notice, 2 adults, 339.00 per person from San Diego to JFK. 154.00 per person return to San Diego. The leg room is OK with TV in seat. If they have finished the construction at JFK it is not to big of a hassle.

We did fly Jet Blue and yes it is a nice new terminal. Tickets cost 1200 bucks for both of us, which on second thought isn't as a
expensive as I thought, but is more than we've paid in the past. I suppose I should just forget it and enjoy the nice new terminal and shut up. I wish their seats would recline a little more. I can't sleep sitting upright any more. I did much better at that when I was on SDPD> Any way I have a funeral today in the little town of Hopewell Junction. Here it is 6:30 AM and I'm blathering away on BCP> Went shopping at Danbury mall yesterday with the woman and watched t & go's across the road at Danbury airport.. Funny how you gravitate to airports no matter where you are...see ya.

Yes,
I've ridden the ICE train in Germany a few times, I used to live there.
You wouldn't believe how much noise a train moving at high velocity makes. In Germany the ICE slows down because of the noise most of the time. The Autobahn had a lot of speed limits that were for noise. Wonder how the noise issue will be handled in California?
Damn thing (ICE) sounds like a jet taking off when it's hauling butt.
Trains work in Europe because BIG cities are very close together compared to here.
Public transportation works there because society is different. Bums don't ride public transportation there. Friend of mine used to build city buses here in the US. They had to change the steps from plywood to fiberglass because the bums would urinate there and the urine would rot the steps. That's not a problem in Germany, I assure you. Germany was like America of the 50's. Man worked, wife didn't, people, kids especially were respectful to their elders etc. Crime, except in the big cities was essentually 0. The street lights turned off at 10 O'clock.
There were no School busses in Germany, not one. The schools were small and close together. Kids came home for lunch.
No, you can't make comparisons between here and there, it just won't work.
Don't even get me started on Korea. Zane, you would hate Korea. In Korea, if you don't work, no problem, you don't eat.

Hey! I used to bum rides on trains when I was young just for the fun of it.
HC

I've only ridden Amtrak twice, both on trips from SoCal to Klamath Falls. It was...meh, okay I guess. It really took us through some parts of CA I've never seen by car-- some good, some bad. And it wasn't a great deal in terms of price.

I really enjoyed riding the trains around Italy. It was probably the most pleasant and relaxing time of the trip for me....except when I bought the wrong ticket on a friday and had spend the whole trip from Venice to Rome standing in the airlock (or whatever you call it) with some stinky guy's armpit in my face.

I don't think proximity is a viable limiting factor for rail travel in the US. Railroads are what founded goods and passenger transport in this country, but since the auto industry boomed, it's been like the forgotten retarded stepchild locked in the basement. With some investment, it could provide an alternative to flying (high-speed rail.) I wonder how the energy usage per passenger transported ratio compares to airline travel?

Didn't think about the noise issue with high-speed though. Was it a Mag-Levsystem like the Chinese have? I wonder how loud that is?

I can't believe Iceman is in Hopewell Jct. I used to live there when I was in grade school. I can't remember my address but it was on the main road through the area. My first small aircraft ride was in the back of a C150 (yes the luggage area, I was small) out of Dutchess Co. airport.

iceman wrote:

Mauleaviator wrote:Next time you need to fly short notice try Jet Blue. One day notice, 2 adults, 339.00 per person from San Diego to JFK. 154.00 per person return to San Diego. The leg room is OK with TV in seat. If they have finished the construction at JFK it is not to big of a hassle.

We did fly Jet Blue and yes it is a nice new terminal. Tickets cost 1200 bucks for both of us, which on second thought isn't as a
expensive as I thought, but is more than we've paid in the past. I suppose I should just forget it and enjoy the nice new terminal and shut up. I wish their seats would recline a little more. I can't sleep sitting upright any more. I did much better at that when I was on SDPD> Any way I have a funeral today in the little town of Hopewell Junction. Here it is 6:30 AM and I'm blathering away on BCP> Went shopping at Danbury mall yesterday with the woman and watched t & go's across the road at Danbury airport.. Funny how you gravitate to airports no matter where you are...see ya.

Butch,
My sincere condolences on the loss of your friend.

Once aviation gets in your blood it is there forever. Someone said that a pilot is either in the sky flying or looking at the sky wishing he was flying.
$1200.00 for the 2 of you is not bad. It can cost that much to fly one way per person across country on the other airlines. That is the same I paid for my wife and I when we went to my mother in laws funeral to JFK.
Have a safe trip home and eat some real pizza.
Bill

Had some Absolutely FANTASTIC NY pizza yesterday and am bringing home some good Italian Sopre Sat.... EEHHHH.