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Old 03-11-2018, 03:38 PM
 
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I'm hoping to come down and check out the different areas of SC in person. What is the best/least expensive airport to fly into?
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Old 03-11-2018, 04:03 PM
 
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Charlotte or Charleston are everyone's go to, but depending on how early you book you can get cheap flights to any of the other commercial airports serving SC (Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach). All the airports in SC are less of a hassle than Charlotte, and Charlotte gets many complaints from people that now since it gets around 40 mil passengers a year, unlike all of SC's which are 4 mil or less.
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Old 03-11-2018, 04:20 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Jandrew5 View Post
Charlotte, Charleston, or Atlanta. Yes, Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world and is very large, but it has lower fares because of that, and is honestly an easy airport to navigate if you know how to read signs. I've flown out of there plenty and will be again next month. Ohare, LAX, JFK, those are actual pains to navigate, Atlanta is pretty straightforward.

Boston is also a focus city for Delta airlines, which makes going between Atlanta and Boston easier and typically cheaper. Quick google search of Atlanta to Boston flights next month has fares at $116. Charlotte is $216.

Like I told you in another thread, keep an eye on Charleston/Boston Jetblue deals, and keep in eye on Delta's fares after June 8th. Keep on eye on possible deals from Southwest and Jetblue at Atlanta as well. Jetblue just started Atlanta service.

Charlotte I would choose last. You've said you want to see Aiken, all 3 cities are around 2 1/2-ish hours away.
I'll probably be alone; my husband's busiest season is summertime/fall time. So, I'll want something not too confusing as I've only flown a handful of times.

Our major airline in VT, Burlington, is so expensive that I will probably go to Boston or Manchester NH. to fly out of.

edited to add: I was considering buying a package deal with flight/hotel together but not sure if that's the wisest thing in case I want to stay overnight in a different town.

Last edited by DC Fairwinds; 03-11-2018 at 04:23 PM.. Reason: add information
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Old 03-11-2018, 04:20 PM
 
Location: Sumter, SC
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Forget ATL! It’s not worth it to drive 2+ hours just to get to SC not to mention a destination inside the state. Columbia would be ideal since it’s central but it’s definitely not the cheapest. Greenville and Charleston are serviced by Southwest so lots of deals there. Myrtle Beach has Spirit.
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Old 03-11-2018, 04:24 PM
 
Location: TPA
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Charlotte, Charleston, or Atlanta. Yes, Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world and is very large, but it has lower fares because of that, and is honestly an easy airport to navigate if you know how to read signs. I've flown out of there plenty and will be again next month. Ohare, LAX, JFK, those are actual pains to navigate, Atlanta is pretty straightforward.

Boston is also a focus city for Delta airlines, which makes going between Atlanta and Boston easier and typically cheaper. Quick google search of Boston to Atlanta flights next month has all-day flights as low as $50 on Spirit and $66 on Delta and Jetblue. There's $109 flights to Charlotte but that's only available at 5 and 6AM.

Like I told you in another thread, keep an eye on Charleston/Boston Jetblue deals, and keep in eye on Delta's fares after June 8th. Keep on eye on possible deals from Southwest and Jetblue at Atlanta as well. Jetblue just started Atlanta service.

Charlotte I would choose last. You've said you want to see Aiken, all 3 cities are around 2 1/2-ish hours away.
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Old 03-11-2018, 04:51 PM
 
Location: TPA
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Originally Posted by Iam4USC View Post
Forget ATL! It’s not worth it to drive 2+ hours just to get to SC not to mention a destination inside the state. Columbia would be ideal since it’s central but it’s definitely not the cheapest. Greenville and Charleston are serviced by Southwest so lots of deals there. Myrtle Beach has Spirit.
She has said that Aiken is what she really wants to see. ATL is closer to Aiken than Charleston and only 20 minutes farther than Charlotte-Douglas. Myrtle Beach is over 3 hours away. Southwest is more expensive at GSP and is only 10 minutes closer to Aiken.

Atlanta by far will have the best fares of any airport in the region and is an easy drive on I-20.
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Old 03-11-2018, 05:25 PM
 
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Wow! Just checked flights for November, round trip from Boston to Atlanta is only $163. plus, my husband stays in a hotel during the week all summer so I normally have several days of hotel stays for free. Now, just have to price renting a car.
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Old 03-11-2018, 07:43 PM
 
Location: South of Cakalaki
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Try Google Flights. I checked Boston to Augusta for random dates in November and found it only about $50 more.

I personally despise the drive from ATL to SC. And I've done it way more than I want to remember.

https://www.google.com/flights/
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Old 03-11-2018, 09:24 PM
 
Location: TPA
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Originally Posted by DC Fairwinds View Post
Wow! Just checked flights for November, round trip from Boston to Atlanta is only $163. plus, my husband stays in a hotel during the week all summer so I normally have several days of hotel stays for free. Now, just have to price renting a car.
Yeah I forgot about Augusta. You could look at connecting to Augusta or Columbia, but nonstop to Atlanta will still easily be the best rate.

If you end up getting torn, I guess the best thing to do is weigh the cost of an Atlanta flight + Atlanta rental + gas with the cost of an Augusta/Columbia flight + Augusta/Columbia rental + gas, and see what's best. That's just my opinion.

Keep in mind that October will most likely be cheaper than November, so if you're looking that far out, I'd try to bump it up a few weeks to get farther away from the holiday season. Also as a pro tip, you can book a domestic flight "too early." That $163 will likely change. If you do decide on the fall, I personally would wait until the summer, like August or so to book, but of course do whatever gives you the best peace of mind.

Google flights is always my first checkpoint, but one thing to note about it is that Southwest isn't on it. Best way to see fare deals is to go to the airline websites or sign up for email alerts.
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Old 03-12-2018, 08:38 AM
 
Location: Columbia SC
14,190 posts, read 14,539,139 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DC Fairwinds View Post
Wow! Just checked flights for November, round trip from Boston to Atlanta is only $163. plus, my husband stays in a hotel during the week all summer so I normally have several days of hotel stays for free. Now, just have to price renting a car.
Check in and out of Charlotte. 120 Miles to Columbia. 240 miles to Charleston (via Columbia).
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