Finally, cheaper fares

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DandyDon

Colonoscopy Advocate
ScubaBoard Supporter
Messages
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Location
One kilometer high on the Texas Central Plains
# of dives
500 - 999
I have been so put out by the major airlines giving New York travelers cheap fares to Cozumel but charging Panhandle-South Plains Texans so much more. I think I paid about $650 last year! SWA didn't seem interested in helping either as they'd not bother with itineraries LBB-CZM or AMA-CZM, meaning I'd have to book two tickets and hope they'd work together okay: LBB-DAL and DAL-CZM.

SWA started looking better recently when they finally started publishing LBB-CZM thru fares, at least into the first week of August. I like to go for my birthday later in the month, in part because US kids are back in school and the town is a little less crowded, etc. SWA isn't booking that far out yet, but I checked Matrix as a lark to see what American and United were offering. Big surprise!

I don't know if I'd call this the Southwest-Effect, since my dates are beyond their range, maybe. SWA is offering fares as low as $489 with free bags and changes in late July, on planes that would force me to arrive after 8pm and on return be at the airport by 7am - yuck! Whatever the cause, American is offering flights as low as $394, and - I grabbed it!

upload_2019-12-17_14-55-38.png

That's $80 cheaper than flying to Cancun! Well, the $394 fare is Basic Economy, sit where they tell you when they're ready to decide, no changes - use it or lose it for those exact flights, so I paid $30 more to select my seats now and reserve the privileges of changing for a fee if something comes up in the next eight months. I'll book Trip Insurance that covers many risks, but I like more flexibility. I'll still whine about almost a 3 hour layover going, arriving at 3pm instead of noon like we used to get, and almost a four hour layover returning, not getting me back to Lubbock until almost midnight and a home arrival around 2am, luggage fees for all of the gear I like to pack, and - the airline can & will change anything they want to change between now & then, but this is still a nice improvement.

United isn't even show itineraries that week.
 
I have the same issue with flights out of CLT. People who layover here in route to CZM can fly cheaper than we can!
Our flights are in the $900 and $1000 range for summer CLT to CZM!!!
None of the airlines are my friends.....
 
Move to NYC...:)
 
United sucks.
Yeah, I miss Continental. Many good memories with that line.

I have the same issue with flights out of CLT. People who layover here in route to CZM can fly cheaper than we can!
Our flights are in the $900 and $1000 range for summer CLT to CZM!!!
None of the airlines are my friends.....
Ok, you do get the worst fares maybe. At least you can dive 165 miles to Charleston and get to CZM for half of that. I have to drive 70-100 miles to my closest choices, so I'd do that.

Move to NYC...:)
That'd be a cold day in Hades.
 
United sucks.
AA is never ontime. I'd rather deal with SWA cattle boarding procedure and fly with them over AA or United any day. Delta is good but I hate them because I am hub captive and they never treat us Georgians with the deals they do on other markets.
 
Matrix shows some pretty cheap flights from DFW in August but they are Interjet with layovers in MEX, most are 24 hours +. American is still over $600. It is great to have options though, I bet they will be dropping more soon.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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