Bus Service to either Chicago or Atlanta airports (Louisville, Paris: car rental, rentals)

[happyindian]

Hello,
I wanted to know if there are any direct bus services from Louisville to either Chicago or Atlanta international airports.

I do know there are options but those involve a transfer and that's not preferable in my case. I plan travel internationally I would have heavy luggage with me and lugging that around for a transfer is not feasible. I am seeing a better rate from these two airports hence the need.

If there are any options please do let me know. Less favorable options for me are doing one-way car rentals to&fro or drive my car and do a long term parking.



Thanks!
HI.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by happyindian

Hello,
I wanted to know if there are any direct bus services from Louisville to either Chicago or Atlanta international airports.

I do know there are options but those involve a transfer and that's not preferable in my case. I plan travel internationally I would have heavy luggage with me and lugging that around for a transfer is not feasible. I am seeing a better rate from these two airports hence the need.

If there are any options please do let me know. Less favorable options for me are doing one-way car rentals to&fro or drive my car and do a long term parking.



Thanks!
HI.

I would do Megabus to Atlanta. It lets off downtown right next to a Marta train station. That will connect you directly to Hartsfield.

So, I do not think a bus will take you straight to Hartsfield or Ohare, but Megabus will take you to the downtown of either city where the airport is easy to get to via a 2-3 dollar 40 minute train ride.

[happyindian]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

I would do Megabus to Atlanta. It lets off downtown right next to a Marta train station. That will connect you directly to Hartsfield.

So, I do not think a bus will take you straight to Hartsfield or Ohare, but Megabus will take you to the downtown of either city where the airport is easy to get to via a 2-3 dollar 40 minute train ride.

Peter thanks for the reply! One other option might be to take a cab from either of the stations.





HI.

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by happyindian

Hello,
I wanted to know if there are any direct bus services from Louisville to either Chicago or Atlanta international airports.

I do know there are options but those involve a transfer and that's not preferable in my case. I plan travel internationally I would have heavy luggage with me and lugging that around for a transfer is not feasible. I am seeing a better rate from these two airports hence the need.

If there are any options please do let me know. Less favorable options for me are doing one-way car rentals to&fro or drive my car and do a long term parking.



Thanks!
HI.

I'm curious why you wouldn't fly from Louisville to Atlanta or Chicago? It's basically a 1 hour flight and can be booked separate or concurrent with international travel depending on desires. Sounds like you'd want a concurrent flight so you wouldn't have to transfer luggage.

If you value your personal time at more than a minimum wage worker, then the value of saving $200 per ticket when taking 6-8 hours to travel to an airport isn't there - you're losing money in opportunity cost. If you could spend that much more and save 5-7 hours, you net a much greater savings.

I travel hack for fun - so if you sent me a PM with your desired itinerary, I might be able to save you more going from Louisville than you were expecting with flying direct out of ORD or ATL.

[happyindian]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

I'm curious why you wouldn't fly from Louisville to Atlanta or Chicago? It's basically a 1 hour flight and can be booked separate or concurrent with international travel depending on desires. Sounds like you'd want a concurrent flight so you wouldn't have to transfer luggage.

If you value your personal time at more than a minimum wage worker, then the value of saving $200 per ticket when taking 6-8 hours to travel to an airport isn't there - you're losing money in opportunity cost. If you could spend that much more and save 5-7 hours, you net a much greater savings.

I travel hack for fun - so if you sent me a PM with your desired itinerary, I might be able to save you more going from Louisville than you were expecting with flying direct out of ORD or ATL.

Thanks ServoMiff for the reply back! Will send you a PM.




HI!

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

I'm curious why you wouldn't fly from Louisville to Atlanta or Chicago? It's basically a 1 hour flight and can be booked separate or concurrent with international travel depending on desires. Sounds like you'd want a concurrent flight so you wouldn't have to transfer luggage.

If you value your personal time at more than a minimum wage worker, then the value of saving $200 per ticket when taking 6-8 hours to travel to an airport isn't there - you're losing money in opportunity cost. If you could spend that much more and save 5-7 hours, you net a much greater savings.

I travel hack for fun - so if you sent me a PM with your desired itinerary, I might be able to save you more going from Louisville than you were expecting with flying direct out of ORD or ATL.

Totally agree, Servo.

This also goes back to my general principle that when we use other city airports, shop in other cities, etc, we will never get the amenities we deserve in Louisville. So if you fly out of ATL, it looks like that ATL needs more passenger service when in fact they have enough and what is needed is more service in Louisville! Shop local, use the local airport, etc.

If there is not a good connecting flight after you fly from Louisvlle to ATL, its so cheap to fly from Louisville to ATL it only makes sense to do that. Get on southwest.com, wait for a sale, and fly round trip from Louisville to ATL for under 200 dollars with bags free. Once you get to ATL, figure out how to get a connecting flight from ATL to whatever international country you need. That is, plan your own connection...this is "hacking."

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

Totally agree, Servo.

This also goes back to my general principle that when we use other city airports, shop in other cities, etc, we will never get the amenities we deserve in Louisville. So if you fly out of ATL, it looks like that ATL needs more passenger service when in fact they have enough and what is needed is more service in Louisville! Shop local, use the local airport, etc.

I'll agree to an extent. I can't imagine driving 6+ hours to get to an airport to save money or time, because it just doesn't work. I CAN understand a 2 hour max drive if there are other circumstances at play. For example, flying out of CVG can provide some direct flights (including Paris CDG, SFO and LAX) that you cannot get from SDF or LEX. Some people prefer the flight times of LEX over SDF and I can understand that since the drive is so short from Louisville.

Originally Posted by Peter1948

If there is not a good connecting flight after you fly from Louisvlle to ATL, its so cheap to fly from Louisville to ATL it only makes sense to do that. Get on southwest.com, wait for a sale, and fly round trip from Louisville to ATL for under 200 dollars with bags free. Once you get to ATL, figure out how to get a connecting flight from ATL to whatever international country you need. That is, plan your own connection...this is "hacking."

This is actually bad advice for someone connecting to an international destination with 4 bags over 50 lbs. Southwest doesn't have any interline agreements, so any bags you take to ATL from SDF would have to be retrieved from baggage claim and then re-checked with the international airline in order to complete the transfer. Not recommended. That only makes sense if you plan a day or two stopover in ATL and need the luggage before the transfer takes place. Leaving security of your own accord is a time suck and is generally discouraged. Being forced into a day or two stopover ends up costing you hotel money which would end up being more expensive and less convenient to just pay bag fees and create an interline connection and bag transfer. True hacking is MUCH more than planning your own connection, but strategic connections are a part of it if you take the time to research individual legs and not what Orbitz/Travelocity/etc. shows you.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

I'll agree to an extent. I can't imagine driving 6+ hours to get to an airport to save money or time, because it just doesn't work. I CAN understand a 2 hour max drive if there are other circumstances at play. For example, flying out of CVG can provide some direct flights (including Paris CDG, SFO and LAX) that you cannot get from SDF or LEX. Some people prefer the flight times of LEX over SDF and I can understand that since the drive is so short from Louisville.



This is actually bad advice for someone connecting to an international destination with 4 bags over 50 lbs. Southwest doesn't have any interline agreements, so any bags you take to ATL from SDF would have to be retrieved from baggage claim and then re-checked with the international airline in order to complete the transfer. Not recommended. That only makes sense if you plan a day or two stopover in ATL and need the luggage before the transfer takes place. Leaving security of your own accord is a time suck and is generally discouraged. Being forced into a day or two stopover ends up costing you hotel money which would end up being more expensive and less convenient to just pay bag fees and create an interline connection and bag transfer. True hacking is MUCH more than planning your own connection, but strategic connections are a part of it if you take the time to research individual legs and not what Orbitz/Travelocity/etc. shows you.

Servo, 90% of my travel is domestic and I use layovers to explore cities, sometime staying for 3-4 day or longer if I can. In general, I have always found it cheaper to stay for 50 bucks on airbnb and motel 6 and use big city transit than booking a 2000 dollar flight directly from Louisville.

[johnsonkk]

You may be surprised on one way rentals. Often rental companies are eager to relocate cars from one area to another and the surcharge isn't that much. Yes, normally it's $200+ dollars but I've found gems where there is not a surcharge. Gotta search diligently and look at lots of dates and even cities.

East coast I've taken Amtrak and then cab from the station to airport. For anything Louisville, Indy or Nashville is usually quite cheaper. 2 hour drive.