Veags travel plans watch
Things look good. I found a good airfare with Volaris for around $380 (all prices in USD). It requires a 5 hour layover in Guadalajara, but the next best fare, with Continental for around $440 requires a 4 hour layover in Dallas.
The hotel is 99.999% certain to be MSS at $220 for six nights. The Fremont gives me the same rate, but from all I've heard the MSS is better. The 0.001% chance belongs to the Fitz at the same rate as MSS. As before, the MSS seems a better choice.
Of course I first need to renew my passport ($80 or so) and get a new US Visa (unclear, but around $140 for a ten year visa)
So, around $820 for the trip, plus whatever cash I take along for expenses (I'd better win that IP Buffet bet <wink>)
Of course this all may change if something better comes along. Two years ago I booked at IP for under $180 for 5 nights.
I'm not sure anyone wins at the IP buffet ;)
Check this site for some of the email deals that get sent out by various hotels: http://smartervegas.com/
Quote: slytherGuadalajara! whoa! I forget where you are coming from.
well, yes. But ask DJ about some ridiculous flight arrangements he had to make once.
Quote:I'm not sure anyone wins at the IP buffet ;)
I'm counting on it. if everyone loses I win ;)
Quote:Check this site for some of the email deals that get sent out by various hotels: http://smartervegas.com/
Thanks!
Quote: thlfI know your pain. We would love to go to Mexico for vacations. There aren't squat for nonstops out of Vegas. We've looked at both Cabo and Ixtapa.
You can fly to San Diego, cross to Tijuana and fly from there to Los Cabos. For Ixtapa you'll have to head to Mexico City first.
Try these sites:
http://www.volaris.com.mx
http://www.interjet.com.mx
http://www.vivaaerobus.com.mx
These low-cost, sort of, airlines don't appear in travel agency sites searches.
Now, Volaris flies to Guadalajara from Vegas, and Viva Aerobus flies from Guadalajara to Los Cabos. Neither flies to Ixtapa.
I get the feeling I'm going to bump into that same sesspool of idiocy every time I travel to Vegas.Quote: Nareedwell, yes. But ask DJ about some ridiculous flight arrangements he had to make once.
I have a brother who lives near Newark Airport. I leave my car at his house and he takes me to the airport. Saves nearly $100 in parking.
On my last Vegas trip, I had the option of traveling direct from Newark, or take the long drive to Philly, and pay for parking, to save, I think it was about $150. But it wasn't a direct flight. And one of my stopover options was in NEWARK!
I ended up waiting, and finding a flight from Newark that was only about $70 more than Philly. But it still doesn't make sense!
I may do that again this year if I come for G2E.
I'm also possibly coming in July for a family reunion. The new rates are in, and it's close to $250 extra to fly direct. And again, some of my Philly connections options are Newark! If the reunion happens, I'll be riding with my brother to Philly, sharing the parking expense, and taking a flight that stops in Chicago, or Dallas, or somewhere that makes sense....
That might be like winning the "Stupid Award".Quote: NareedI'm counting on it. if everyone loses I win ;)
Do you really want to win?
(Yeah, I've been following that conversation. Sigh, I know you want to win....)
Quote: DJTeddyBearI get the feeling I'm going to bump into that same sesspool of idiocy every time I travel to Vegas.
Possibly.
But everyone has a crazy/stupid travel story. Or more than one.
And there are even a few nice travel stories. Once I got money back from an airline, when I changed my return flight to a cheaper one.
Quote:Do you really want to win?
(Yeah, I've been following that conversation. Sigh, I know you want to win....)
Noted. But I've never made a bet I wanted to lose. If anything I'm afraid to forfeit after a couple of bites :)
Quote: DJTeddyBear
On my last Vegas trip, I had the option of traveling direct from Newark, or take the long drive to Philly, and pay for parking, to save, I think it was about $150. But it wasn't a direct flight. And one of my stopover options was in NEWARK!
I've never understood this phenomenon. I'm going to Louisville from 2/28-3/4, and to Chicago on 3/6 (see related posts). It's cheaper for me to fly on United from Minneapolis to Louisville via O'Hare than it is for me to fly from Minneapolis to O'Hare.
I'm taking a business trip to PA and NYC in July. One end needs to be Pittsburgh and the other can be any NYC area airport. I'll drive between the cities over the course of a week. If I start in Pittsburgh, Newark is the cheapest layover (MSP->EWR->PIT, LGA->ORD->MSP). If I start in NYC, I can save by connecting through Houston, but it's still more expensive than flying to Pittsburgh via Newark (MSP->IAH->LGA, PIT->ORD->MSP). Why can't I just start in MFing Newark?!?
Airlines will compete with one stoppers to destinations but rip you off on direct flights to their hub cities. For example, an Air Canada return flight from Toronto to Hartford (direct) is about $900. No one else flies the route. They fly on Dash 8s and smaller. This is the same price for a return ticket to Hawaii.
It's dumb, but it's how the airlines make money.
Quote: boymimboAirlines will compete with one stoppers to destinations but rip you off on direct flights to their hub cities. For example, an Air Canada return flight from Toronto to Hartford (direct) is about $900. No one else flies the route.
Why doesn't anyone else fly that route?
Quote: NareedWhy doesn't anyone else fly that route?
Without knowing specifics...
1) There is no easy way to add one seat in a particular market. Airlines have to either not compete or compete with a whole plane. Often a certain city pairing may support one plane but not two.
2) Airlines and particularly airports are highly regulated and do not closely approxate a free market. Busy city pairs with multiple airports can see some nice price competition (like NYC-London or DC-Atlanta) but in a small market one airline may be being subsidized by a local municipality while another can't even get a gate due to caps for noise or environmental concerns.
Quote: NareedYou can fly to San Diego, cross to Tijuana and fly from there to Los Cabos. For Ixtapa you'll have to head to Mexico City first.
The only nonstop out of Vegas to San Diego right now is Southwest. Seems weird but that was all I could find. Plus I am trying to reduce flights not increase them. I hate landing and taking off.
I can fly Virgin to San Fran and then into Cabo. Not bad and not terrible prices. But it winds up being 7 hours. There goes a day of vacation each way.
Quote: dmFor all the critics of the seemingly illogical flight offerings, let me just assure you that ALL airlines would prefer to fly non-stop, filled to capacity to every location they serve, and then with the quickest turnaround fly the same way with a brand new full load of passengers to another location, 24 hours a day with time out only for servicing. Why do you assume they are just stupid? Why don't you do some deeper thinking as to why they can't.
Oh, I agree. For one thing you can't sell every flight on every route to capacity, even if you have a monopoly on it.
What I find nonsensical is DJ's expereince, in which flying from Newark to Vegas he gets a higher price than flying from Philly to Newark and thence to Vegas.
Another thing that bothers me are low cost airlines that don't let you choose anything but round-trip flights, and then only one at a time. I know one strategy in the low cost business model is not to handle connections, especially not to move luggage from one flight to another. But if I want to fly from point A to point B and thence to C before going back to A, I have to pick three separate itineraries with the same airline, rather than just one.
Quote: Nareed
What I find nonsensical is DJ's expereince, in which flying from Newark to Vegas he gets a higher price than flying from Philly to Newark and thence to Vegas.
But it's very complicated. His plane is being fed by some of the people from Filly. They would have preferred a non-stop from Philly
to Vegas, but instead they are helping the airline fill the non-stop from Newark to Vegas. They also helped fill the Philly to Newark flight. I can see the merit in their getting a cheaper rate. And, why shouldn't there be a premium paid for non-stop?
Quote: dmBut it's very complicated. His plane is being fed by some of the people from Filly. They would have preferred a non-stop from Philly
to Vegas, but instead they are helping the airline fill the non-stop from Newark to Vegas. They also helped fill the Philly to Newark flight. I can see the merit in their getting a cheaper rate.
No, it doesn't make sense. Why ahve a Philly to Newark flight to begin with if it's such a problem? And if DJ was in separate flights, one Philly to Newark, and a different flight in different equipment from newark to vegas, what's the point of making it cheaper than the Newark to LAS one?
Quote:And, why shouldn't there be a premium paid for non-stop?
There used to be. My last four trips (one to Orlando, three to LAS) the cheapest option was always the non-stop, direct flight.
Even the MEX-GDL-LAS trip outlined in the OP is not really an exception, as Voalris doesn't do MEX-LAS. I'm buying two flights, MEX-GDL and GDL-LAS. Both direct and non-stop.
