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Just because flights are full does not mean that they are within the price range of the average traveler. Most folks can only afford to take a vacation once every few years due to the high cost of flying plus hotel costs.
Perhaps, but for many, its actually cheaper. Consider somebody living in Minnesota who wants to go to Florida for vacation. If they want to go on a full five day vacation, flying takes up half the day. Driving is a two day adventure each way. This means to fly, a person needs to take off at least 6 days of work. To drive, a person needs to take off 9 days of work. For many, even if flying looks more expensive, its ends up cutting less into vacation time and if they are on a business trips, it cuts less into work time. If you make $10 an hour, maybe it makes more sense to drive. But for salaried people, especially sales or billing professionals, who are more productive by spending less time traveling, flying actually turns out to be a better option. They can get back to the office quicker and make more money. Time is money for many in the middle class and especially the upper middle class.
And most in the wealthy class don't fly the airlines. They left them for private jets once the airlines became a bus service.
For the arguing going on over Southwest, it is clear that Southwest appeals to infrequent travelers. Business travelers almost always choose the legacy carriers since legacies: 1) have better mileage programs 2) reward frequent travelers better 3) have a larger flight schedule to almost any destination. Consider that Southwest has been around over 30 years and still doesn't serve cities like Charlotte, Cincinnati, or Atlanta (which they only will get into through the Airtran merger). Although most Americans hate the legacies, they are usually the favorite carriers of the business travelers and frequent flyers.
Last edited by MINresident; 07-29-2011 at 03:39 PM..
Sorry if my post was confusing but what I was trying to say is that someone from Orlando has more cheaper traveling options than someone from the West Coast. I did not mean to imply that all your buddies are flying to the Bahamas. I would personally love to visit more places on the East Coast but a coach ticket is often out of my price range. I have very little desire to see the states that are near me and Hawaii is just too expensive of a flight to even consider visiting. If I were living in the Orlando area, I could travel more places cheaper, including Europe, Bahamas, NYC, etc ... I know this because my Orlando friend tells me how much flights are for him.
In summary, my options are limited where I live and so coach is often too cost-prohibitive for me.
Orlando is a hub for nobody. I don't know how anyone could say that Orlando has more flight options than the west coast, considering LAX, SFA, and SEA are three of the biggest gateway cities in teh US, and DEN and PHX are major hubs. And while you can get to Europe cheaper from the East Coast, it's considerably cheaper to get to Hawaii or Asia from the west coast.
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Originally Posted by MINresident
Perhaps, but for many, its actually cheaper. Consider somebody living in Minnesota who wants to go to Florida for vacation. If they want to go on a full five day vacation, flying takes up half the day. Driving is a two day adventure each way. This means to fly, a person needs to take off at least 6 days of work. To drive, a person needs to take off 9 days of work. For many, even if flying looks more expensive, its ends up cutting less into vacation time and if they are on a business trips, it cuts less into work time. If you make $10 an hour, maybe it makes more sense to drive. But for salaried people, especially sales or billing professionals, who are more productive by spending less time traveling, flying actually turns out to be a better option. They can get back to the office quicker and make more money. Time is money for many in the middle class and especially the upper middle class.
And most in the wealthy class don't fly the airlines. They left them for private jets once the airlines became a bus service.
As I've stated previously, driving isn't always a practical option for everyone but it can cut down on expenses if driving is an option. I just think that economy is not cheap and is one of the reasons why I don't travel as much as I'd like to.
I try to avoid checking in my bags whenever possible but often I am forced to do so because I cannot physically lift my bag into the overhead compartment. This is another reason why I love Southwest because as an infrequent traveler who flies economy, I don't have to pay the checked baggage fees. Also, for the coach passengers who fly the other carriers that charge for bags (Delta, etc), there is no guarantee that there will be space in the overhead bins for your bags so beware ... I nearly had that problem on the way home from NYC but fortunately, the flight attendant was able to squeeze my bag in. It's nice to have the option of checking in bags versus being forced to carry on everything to avoid fees.
If all you have is a rollaboard, you can gate check it for FREE with all of the legacy carriers.
So because I pay less for my ticket, I am entitled to be treated in a rude fashion? Even McDonald's doesn't stoop as low as some airline employees can ...
As I've stated previously, driving isn't always a practical option for everyone but it can cut down on expenses if driving is an option. I just think that economy is not cheap and is one of the reasons why I don't travel as much as I'd like to.
It cuts down on expenses if the earning potential of the worker is low and thus doesn't miss much extra money by taking extra time off. Professionals almost always make it back up by spending less time away from home or work.
If you book in advance, economy is cheaper once the flights get over about 400 miles. I have calculated fuel and depreciation expense on my car for a drive and have compared it the airlines and most times, the airlines are cheaper. Only if you carry multiple people, have a short drive, or book at the last minute is air travel more expensive.
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Originally Posted by annerk
Orlando is a hub for nobody. I don't know how anyone could say that Orlando has more flight options than the west coast, considering LAX, SFA, and SEA are three of the biggest gateway cities in teh US, and DEN and PHX are major hubs. And while you can get to Europe cheaper from the East Coast, it's considerably cheaper to get to Hawaii or Asia from the west coast.
It's not just a matter of being a hub but just the distance ... Orlando is much closer to many neat destinations versus California. Yes, I can do SFO and SEA cheaper but I've already been there, done that. Hawaii is just plain expensive period due to its popularity and distance so I cannot afford to go there. What are my other options? The east coast with its many varied destinations, the Caribbean, Bahamas, Jamaica and Europe is far cheaper from Orlando than from LAX ...
Ok, then that's even MORE frequent flyer miles for you ... With your combined business and personal travel, you fly much more frequently than your average flyer which kinda puts you out of touch with the needs of most economy flyers.
As I see it, your only needs are to get from point "A" to point "B" safely. Anything else is a "want."
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I would personally love to visit more places on the East Coast but a coach ticket is often out of my price range. I have very little desire to see the states that are near me and Hawaii is just too expensive of a flight to even consider visiting. If I were living in the Orlando area, I could travel more places cheaper, including Europe, Bahamas, NYC, etc ... I know this because my Orlando friend tells me how much flights are for him.
