Much has been written about how the airline industry, to put it mildly, is up shit creek without a paddle. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know. But I do know one thing: When it comes to ticket prices, the airlines make no goddamn sense.
This hit home with me when I tried to buy a plane ticket to Chicago. I need to go there in mid-August for a meeting, and schedules dictate that I leave on Thursday and return on Sunday. Anyhow, I figured that one of the airlines that offers direct flights to Chicago from Tucson would be cheapest.
Nope. One direct-service airline wanted $374, but that required leaving Chicago very early in the morning. It was $447 if I wanted a return flight later in the day, which I did.
The other direct-service airline–allegedly a “low-cost” airline–wanted $479.60. Yikes.
I had non-direct options that were cheaper. The least inexpensive flight I found was a multiple-airline flight, available through one of the online travel sites. I’d get a direct flight to Chicago, but on the way back to Tucson, I’d have to fly through Atlanta–which any map will tell you is not really on the way. This would have more than doubled my in-air travel time on Sunday, so even though the ticket was a “mere” $309, I declined.
I ended up reserving a flight that requires a layover in Phoenix each way for $377. It only adds a couple of hours, tops, to my flight time each way, and it allows me to come and go when I want to.
So, my reservations are made, but these prices baffle me. We’re in a world where longer, multi-leg flights on “regular” airlines cost a lot less than direct flights on “low-cost” airlines. Does anyone understand this?
This article appears in Jul 13-19, 2006.