NOTE: In the June issue, we’ve got SEVEN different posts– please be sure to scroll through all of them! And click on the “COMMENTS” link at the bottom of each post to let us know what you are thinking.
- Airline News
- Delta News
- AirTran News
- ATL Airport News
- The TASTE of the TICKET
- Summer Travel Tips
- Special post about winners of of 4 business class tickets
Happy Reading!
–Chris McGinnis
FARE SALES. FARE SCHMALES. Don’t be fooled by fancy marketing techniques…while airlines continue to churn out and promote summer fare “sales,” have you actually checked out the fares? For summer travel at convenient times, fares are getting much higher than we’ve paid in recent years—especially if you are trying to fly from ATL non-stop on a route not served by AirTran or another low-fare carrier. The only other way to save money during peak summer travel season (roughly June 20-Aug-20) is to take one-stop flights, or early morning or late night flights. Many of the decent fares are gone for convenient morning and afternoon flights favored by business travelers. Advice: If you see a fare that feels right, go ahead and buy it because fares are not coming down any time soon. Silver lining? Hotel rates are at about the same very low level they were last summer. Car rental rates have come down, too. And gas is expected to remain at about $3 per gallon on average all summer.
FARE EXAMPLES: Roundtrip fares between ATL and Europe during July and August are already well over $1200 and moving higher, fast. The cheapest nonstops to Portland, OR are now $600 roundtrip. Nashville nonstops are now over $400. El Paso, TX, $500 round trip. Jackson, WY, $420. More competitive business travel routes are still reasonable for July flights, but the lowest fares are found on slow days or inconvenient times: for example, you can still fly to Boston or Denver for about $250 round trip. July roundtrip flights to San Francisco and LAX are in the $300 range. New York (LGA) and Chicago (ORD) are still relative bargains with fares dipping below $200 in some cases. Do you have any examples of freakishly high summer airfares? If so, click on the COMMENTS link below and LET US KNOW.
BIG GOVERNMENT ON YOUR SIDE? Even those frequent flyers who think we’ve got a socialist in the White House might appreciate the strong pro-consumer stance the administration has taken when it comes to airline abuses. Over the last week, it’s proposed more fair and sensible new rules for airlines to follow:
- Higher penalties paid to flyers who are involuntarily bumped from flights.
- A 24-hour grace period after purchasing a ticket in which you can get a full refund.
- Inclusion of all taxes and fees in airfare advertising.
- Refunding of checked baggage fees if bags are lost or late.
Earlier this year, the administration took a very tough stance on tarmac delays, imposing a new three-hour limit, which is forcing airlines to adopt new ground-handling procedures to avoid unusually stiff fines. Despite loud protests from the airline industry, the administration has not backed down. According to this ABCnews.com article by emerging travel-writing star Scott Mayerowitz, this new “get-tough” stance is in marked contrast to previous administrations that preferred to let airlines police themselves— something that clearly did not work. What do you think? Please click on the COMMENTS link below and LET US KNOW.
ITA SOFTWARE SEARCH. When it comes to searching for airfares, I’m a big fan of the meta-search sites like Kayak.com and Fly.com. But there’s another one that flies under the radar that’s even better called ITA Software. (It’s not heavily marketed and PR’d because it’s mostly a development site that provides the backbone for other search engines.) Anyway, it’s always been a little bit unwieldy, but they’ve come out with a much cleaner, easier matrix display interface that you should check out and use when you can. Overall, it seems to provide the most comprehensive list of available fares, and now has easy-to-use filters and charts to help you make a good decision. http://matrix2.itasoftware.com
BUH-BYE TO LIQUIDS BAN? In his recent MSNBC post colleague Chris Elliott surmised that the TSA has quietly stopped enforcing the ban on liquids and gels in carry-on bags. Based on a lot of frequent flying over the last six months, I’ve noticed the same thing…I never take my toilet kit out of my bag any more. I don’t separate 3-oz. toiletries and place them in the one liter plastic bag. And the TSA does not stop me. I was even in London last week and packed two 5 oz tubs of shaving cream in my carry on…and just carried on. What’s been your experience? Please click on the COMMENTS link below and LET US KNOW!
WATCH YOUR TICKET EDITOR CHRIS MCGINNIS on GOOD MORNING AMERICA talking about summer airfares. (Short but sweet!)
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Chris;
Regarding ATL-EWR fares. Last week booking 3 day ahead for a Thursday Morning Out, Friday Night back fare was $1113.40. Even the ticket agent at ATL was suprised! He said you can go to Europe and back and with Diamond status and get the upgrade.From now on, ATL-LGA or even ATL-PHL if necessary.
On a recent departure from HHH, TSA discovered a small tube (5g)in my brief case. pulled it and I had to put in my qt bag.
Last week in London my wife had a 2.7 oz contact lense solution container taken from her at Heathrow eventhough it was under the British 100ml limit and it was presented to security in a separate quart ziplock bag.
Last month, in departing from Newark to Atlanta, my 4 ounce bottle of Listerine and a 5 ounce jar of arthritis salve were snatched by security and unceremoniously dumped!
I forgot to take my ziplock bag out last week and went right through security in atlanta. that’s not the first time I forgot and have never had TSA say anything. Kind of makes you wonder…..
Sent via email from Suzie
No longer eligible for upgrades, not boarding in Zone 1, competing for seats in the front of the aircraft…because of competition with Northwest frequent flyers who are now part of the program. For a 25,000-30,000-mile flyer there are really no perks for me to stay loyal to Delta especially now that the cuts at CVG have vastly decreased my ability to conduct business on a one-day round trip flight. I’m thinking of checking out United and USAirways. If I’m going to have to connect out of CVG to my final destination anyway I might as well fly on an airline that’s going to value my loyalty even if it’s not at the 50,000-mile level.
Regaarding ITA Software note that their new “Matrix” still isn’t the end-all-be-all flight search site. They now provide something useful that others don’t-namely info on premium economy for the few international carriers that offer it. HOWEVER, they still didn’t “connect the dots” when I went after fares from ATL to DUB. Sure, they showed BA/Aer Lingus, P.E. & coach, but searching Air France on their site showed P.E. not only to CDG but also on the connecting flight to DUB. Further, the A.F. fare was less.
All this was made necessary because I couldn’t get award tickets on Delta despite a 30+ date flexiblity more than seven months out. (See my comments elswhere regarding Skymiles redemptions).
The new government fines for tarmac delays represent bureaucracy at its best, The fines are totally disproportionate to the “harm” involved and can amount to millions of dollars per flight AND None of the fines are payable to the inconvenienced passengers. So, airlines which continue to struggle financially, will simply cancel flights that might have taken off late, even hours late. There are no fines for cancellations.
Lets see, which would I choose, 1 or 2 or 3 hours on the tarmac or sleeping in the terminal and trying to rebook? With the new fines most airlines won’t even try to wait past the 1 hour mark.
Two subjects: (1) liquids on flights (2) Delta Silver Medallion demotions.
LIQUIDS–yes,have forgotten to removed liquids several times at different airport security and nothing was said. MEDALLION: Silver level is now practically worthless since Diamond and partners were added to priority boarding, one does not board with other Medallions and is lucky to be in Zone 2. Sometimes SILVER status isn’t even mentioned…
Regarding TSA and liquids, I flew DFW to ATL last week (6/4). TSA made anyone who had liquids or gels remove them from their carry onake luggage for scanning. I also saw a TSA rep take a bottle of water from a traveller, and disposed of it at the security lane. I have been in and out of DFW (from ATL) a lot over the past few weeks, and this type of activity apppears to be the norm.
Chris…Remember, Gov regulation never works. The airlines will find ways to make up this revenue in other sneaky ways. I say let the market regulate the airlines, not the government.