Cheap Flights?

[reinko]

As a passenger, I thank you for checking it instead of bringing it on board for your non-ticketed lap child and then getting honked off when you can't take up a seat with it.

You are very welcome,  even though there were only 20 people on my flight this morning from Boston.

Good to be back in the MKE.

[jsglow]

Word.

SWA sucks. Wish Virgin had more routes out of ohare.

I find it interesting that almost everyone has a very strong opinion on SWA, either pro or con.  Not really sure why that is.  Perhaps it's their 'somewhat different' business model.  Although I must say their distinction these days from the various legacy carriers has diminished considerably.  Anyway, chick and I fly them almost exclusively using the legacies mostly for international.  I guess my two major reasons are MDW vs. ORD plus the ability to make flight changes without incurring a fee.  Rarely does the baggage fee come into play but it would have on on our ski trip.  To each his own I suppose.

[Coleman]

I find it interesting that almost everyone has a very strong opinion on SWA, either pro or con.  Not really sure why that is.  Perhaps it's their 'somewhat different' business model.  Although I must say their distinction these days from the various legacy carriers has diminished considerably.  Anyway, chick and I fly them almost exclusively using the legacies mostly for international.  I guess my two major reasons are MDW vs. ORD plus the ability to make flight changes without incurring a fee.  Rarely does the baggage fee come into play but it would have on on our ski trip.  To each his own I suppose.

Don't get me wrong. Most other airlines suck too. A few suck slightly less than average (mostly the non-legacies that aren't Southwest...like Virgin and Alaska).

At the end of the day I fly United because it is the airline I fly for work and I have miles and a credit card with them, and I fly infrequently enough for leisure (once or twice a year) that I hardly ever pay for a flight with the miles I accrue.

[4everwarriors]

Exactly how many kids have been killed or seriously injured on a plane because they weren't in a car seat?  If the plane is hurtling towards the ground at 500 miles/hour, it isn't going to help much.

Apparently you've never flown through turbulence where stuff get tossed 'round the cabin, then. But hey, if it's not worth an additional average of $400-$500 bucks/ticket on average ta have your kid secured, then I'd suggest redefinin' priorities or workin' a little overtime, ai na?

[warriorchick]

Apparently you've never flown through turbulence where stuff get tossed 'round the cabin, then. But hey, if it's not worth an additional average of $400-$500 bucks/ticket on average ta have your kid secured, then I'd suggest redefinin' priorities or workin' a little overtime, ai na?

No, it's not worth four or five hundred bucks per trip when the odds are overwhelmingly in my favor.

Since you didn't answer my question, I will do it for you. The number of deaths prevented by requiring a lap child to use a car seat is .4 per year.  Putting all lap children in a car seat would cost $1.3 billion per year.  In other words, saving one life would cost over three billion dollars. 

http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/when-good-intentions-make-bad-policy-car-seat-edition/

I'll take my chances.

[Jay Bee]

I find it interesting that almost everyone has a very strong opinion on SWA, either pro or con.  Not really sure why that is.  Perhaps it's their 'somewhat different' business model.  Although I must say their distinction these days from the various legacy carriers has diminished considerably.  Anyway, chick and I fly them almost exclusively using the legacies mostly for international.  I guess my two major reasons are MDW vs. ORD plus the ability to make flight changes without incurring a fee.  Rarely does the baggage fee come into play but it would have on on our ski trip.  To each his own I suppose.

I hate Southwest because they are loud and obnoxious on flights.

All commercial airline travel blows, but Southwest adds in being loud, annoying smiling dorks to the mix. Shuttup and let me sleep.

[warriorchick]

I hate Southwest because they are loud and obnoxious on flights.

All commercial airline travel blows, but Southwest adds in being loud, annoying smiling dorks to the mix. Shuttup and let me sleep.

Yeah, but all of the legacy airlines have those old, fat flight attendants that have 30 years of seniority.

[Coleman]

Yeah, but all of the legacy airlines have those old, fat flight attendants that have 30 years of seniority.

I've noticed they have started turning over. Still a few old broads on every United flight but one or two cuties as well now

[WarriorFan]

flights:  www.skyskanner.com
seats: www.seatguru.com
Get a credit card with priority pass membership if you fly economy a lot... or use your points/miles/$$$ to fly business and take the stress out of it.

My simple story:  As a 150k-200k mile per year flyer, 10 years ago my company stopped paying for biz class so I went cattle class for 2 years and became a very angry person.  Now, I pay the difference myself and haven't flown back of the bus for about 8 years.  Travel is easy, show up at the airport at the last minute, grab a water from the lounge, last on the plane and there's room for your carry on (never check bags), first off and first at immigration (saves an hour in some of the dumps I travel to, like O'Hare, LAX and other 3rd world countries).  I use whatever airline has the cheapest business class and am often amazed to find it's not that much more than economy when I do need to pay. 

[4everwarriors]

WSJ has a good piece today on da best and worst airlines, hey?

[Coleman]

WSJ has a good piece today on da best and worst airlines, hey?

here it is: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-and-worst-airlines-of-2015-1452709957

Proves true what I said about Alaska and Virgin.

[JWags85]

Don't get me wrong. Most other airlines suck too. A few suck slightly less than average (mostly the non-legacies that aren't Southwest...like Virgin and Alaska).

I personally hate MDW, unlike some people, so that only adds to my dislike of Southwest.  I now have pre-check, but I've come within 5 min of missing 2 different flights at MDW due to the terrible layout and procedures of their security.  Each I was flying a random time (Thursday at 2PM and Saturday morning around 10) and they were funneling people in a foolish fashion.  ORD has its issues, sure, but Ive had better experiences and while neither are sterling, ORD has been slightly better with delays than MDW the last few years, which shoots that comparison in favor of MDW that people like to bits.

Southwest is silly cause unless you check-in within 2 min or pay extra, you're in spot F34734848 and you have to sit in the queue forever.  Bag fees are nice, but I rarely check anyways.

LOVE Virgin.  My personal story with them, I fly them to LA when I can get a good fare.  Flew a couple years ago, got delayed leaving work and ended up getting to O'Hare 40 min before my flight.  Got a TERRIBLE security line, ended up having 3 old people in wheelchairs wheeled up to the front of my scanner line, get to the gate 7 min before and they've closed the doors and locked it, 15 min before departure as policy.  It was the last flight at around 7, given their low number of flights, and I was pretty peeved. 

Head to the Virgin gate, talk to an attendant, super helpful, put me on standby for the next day, ask if I want to confirm a seat for $X, I'm about to say yes, and she tells me not to worry about it, I'll be fine, tentatively notes to give me an aisle seat.  I get there the next morning, both staff remember me by name, said they got me into the first boarding group, and I was all set.  It was smooth, friendly, and amazing.  Likely didn't do anything out of the ordinary, but it was a great departure from what I'm used to, no pun intended.

[Coleman]

I personally hate MDW, unlike some people, so that only adds to my dislike of Southwest.  I now have pre-check, but I've come within 5 min of missing 2 different flights at MDW due to the terrible layout and procedures of their security.  Each I was flying a random time (Thursday at 2PM and Saturday morning around 10) and they were funneling people in a foolish fashion.  ORD has its issues, sure, but Ive had better experiences and while neither are sterling, ORD has been slightly better with delays than MDW the last few years, which shoots that comparison in favor of MDW that people like to bits.

Southwest is silly cause unless you check-in within 2 min or pay extra, you're in spot F34734848 and you have to sit in the queue forever.  Bag fees are nice, but I rarely check anyways.

LOVE Virgin.  My personal story with them, I fly them to LA when I can get a good fare.  Flew a couple years ago, got delayed leaving work and ended up getting to O'Hare 40 min before my flight.  Got a TERRIBLE security line, ended up having 3 old people in wheelchairs wheeled up to the front of my scanner line, get to the gate 7 min before and they've closed the doors and locked it, 15 min before departure as policy.  It was the last flight at around 7, given their low number of flights, and I was pretty peeved. 

Head to the Virgin gate, talk to an attendant, super helpful, put me on standby for the next day, ask if I want to confirm a seat for $X, I'm about to say yes, and she tells me not to worry about it, I'll be fine, tentatively notes to give me an aisle seat.  I get there the next morning, both staff remember me by name, said they got me into the first boarding group, and I was all set.  It was smooth, friendly, and amazing.  Likely didn't do anything out of the ordinary, but it was a great departure from what I'm used to, no pun intended.

The nice thing about ORD is that while there are lots of people, you have a lot of business travelers who know what they are doing through security.

MDW is all SWA fliers, very few of whom fly for business, and it is a complete sh!tshow, as you said.

[warriorchick]

The nice thing about ORD is that while there are lots of people, you have a lot of business travelers who know what they are doing through security.

MDW is all SWA fliers, very few of whom fly for business, and it is a complete sh!tshow, as you said.

I live 13 miles closer to O'Hare than Midway, and from front door to gate, it is still quicker for me to fly MDW than ORD.  That's true even when I use O'Hare's parking lots and use a private offsite lot at Midway.  One of the last times I flew out of O'Hare, I was catching a six a.m. flight on a weekday.  I got to the terminal at 4:30, and it took me 30 minutes to get through security.

Also, O'Hare flights get delayed way more often than Midway.  I used to travel on business with colleagues who all flew out of O'Hare while I flew out of Midway.  When our return flights were scheduled to leave within a few minutes of each other, I almost always beat them home.  There were times I called them as i was getting off the plane at Midway, while they were still stuck in Philly or Charlotte on a flight delay,  just to give them sh!t.

[🏀]

ORD > MDW.

Except for flying to Vegas.

[jsglow]

ORD > MDW.

Except for flying to Vegas.

Why would you make that distinction?  Again, this is all preference.  I much prefer Midway overall but can't understand why you think MDW > LAS is particularly attractive.  (BTW, while I fly lots of places, LAS is by far my most common destination.)

[Skatastrophy]

No, it's not worth four or five hundred bucks per trip when the odds are overwhelmingly in my favor.

Since you didn't answer my question, I will do it for you. The number of deaths prevented by requiring a lap child to use a car seat is .4 per year.  Putting all lap children in a car seat would cost $1.3 billion per year.  In other words, saving one life would cost over three billion dollars. 

http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/when-good-intentions-make-bad-policy-car-seat-edition/

I'll take my chances.

That is the definition of a strawman argument.

That's like saying it's okay for obese people to be spilling through the handrail into my seat because it would cost over $1B a year for them all to buy an extra seat. Though that money would be saved from their collective McDonald's budgets.

Children small enough to fit in a lap should be stowed under the seat in front of you so that they're out of the way. I believe that's a compromise that we can all agree upon.

[🏀]

Why would you make that distinction?  Again, this is all preference.  I much prefer Midway overall but can't understand why you think MDW > LAS is particularly attractive.  (BTW, while I fly lots of places, LAS is by far my most common destination.)

Their flight times are the best.

[martyconlonontherun]

I hate Southwest because they are loud and obnoxious on flights.

All commercial airline travel blows, but Southwest adds in being loud, annoying smiling dorks to the mix. Shuttup and let me sleep.

I dislike the way southwest doesn't assign seats. Why would I want to wait in line for something that takes longer while one the plane. Just let me sit and call me when I can go to my seat. Besides the little kid enjoyment I get from a window seat or trying to sit by a cutie, I really don't care where I sit. If its at the back of the plane, who cares, it takes a total of 3 extra minutes to get off the plane. I just sit and check scoop on my phone.

I think all airline travel blows. I love how people think it is a huge deal to have to pay for a $3 soda or for your luggage. If the cost of a soda and bags are less than the difference in flight ticket, go for it. If not, choose the all-inclusive airline. Stop thinking you are getting screwed when you choose a budget airline. They serve their purpose of getting you from a to b and i personally love it.

[JWags85]

Also, O'Hare flights get delayed way more often than Midway.  I used to travel on business with colleagues who all flew out of O'Hare while I flew out of Midway.  When our return flights were scheduled to leave within a few minutes of each other, I almost always beat them home.  There were times I called them as i was getting off the plane at Midway, while they were still stuck in Philly or Charlotte on a flight delay,  just to give them sh!t.

No offense, but that is complete confirmation bias.  If you look at any number of rankings over the last few years, MDW usually leads O'Hare in terms of percentages of delays, or they are within a percent of each other.  Parking and airport size are completely fair arguments, I never drive, always cab or train, so its not an issue for me, but the "O'Hare is more delayed" is just factually untrue outside of your personal experiences.

Why would you make that distinction?  Again, this is all preference.  I much prefer Midway overall but can't understand why you think MDW > LAS is particularly attractive.  (BTW, while I fly lots of places, LAS is by far my most common destination.)

For whatever reason, though its not measurably cheaper than other airlines for the most part anymore, Southwest's Chicago to Las Vegas flights are noticeably cheaper.  I fly United 90% of the time, but I fly SW to Vegas every year cause its $100 cheaper, and like PTM says, lots of great flight times.  Usually the only time I'm on SW or at MDW in general.

[warriorchick]

No offense, but that is complete confirmation bias.  If you look at any number of rankings over the last few years, MDW usually leads O'Hare in terms of percentages of delays, or they are within a percent of each other.  Parking and airport size are completely fair arguments, I never drive, always cab or train, so its not an issue for me, but the "O'Hare is more delayed" is just factually untrue outside of your personal experiences.

Actually, the data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics supports my claim:

http://www.transtats.bts.gov/OT_Delay/OT_DelayCause1.asp

If you use time frames going back 1,3, and 5 years, Midway's on-time arrival performance is higher.

[reinko]

People who complain about a getting to destination,  VIA a FLYING METAL TUBE @ 600mph, at a fraction of the cost of driving,  in about a 1/10th of the time make me chuckle.

[jsglow]

I dislike the way southwest doesn't assign seats. Why would I want to wait in line for something that takes longer while one the plane. Just let me sit and call me when I can go to my seat. Besides the little kid enjoyment I get from a window seat or trying to sit by a cutie, I really don't care where I sit. If its at the back of the plane, who cares, it takes a total of 3 extra minutes to get off the plane. I just sit and check scoop on my phone.

I think all airline travel blows. I love how people think it is a huge deal to have to pay for a $3 soda or for your luggage. If the cost of a soda and bags are less than the difference in flight ticket, go for it. If not, choose the all-inclusive airline. Stop thinking you are getting screwed when you choose a budget airline. They serve their purpose of getting you from a to b and i personally love it.

I think that's what most anti SWA folks complain about.  I actually prefer the unassigned method modestly but can understand why someone else sees that differently.

[jsglow]

I hate Southwest because they are loud and obnoxious on flights.

All commercial airline travel blows, but Southwest adds in being loud, annoying smiling dorks to the mix. Shuttup and let me sleep.

Just too easy Jay Bee.   

[jsglow]

For whatever reason, though its not measurably cheaper than other airlines for the most part anymore, Southwest's Chicago to Las Vegas flights are noticeably cheaper.  I fly United 90% of the time, but I fly SW to Vegas every year cause its $100 cheaper, and like PTM says, lots of great flight times.  Usually the only time I'm on SW or at MDW in general.

As some of you may recall, chick and I own a 2nd home out in suburban Vegas.  If one can be somewhat flexible, right now you can shake hands with $64 each way.  My 'great price' threshold used to be $99 each way and that had worked its way up to $119 or $129 but with oil tumbling.....

We'll typically have 1-2 booked trips in the 'SWA bank'.  If we can go, great.  If not we'll re-book knowing that money is good for a full year.