Traveling these days

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Yeah, generally good experiences with Aer Lingus. I've flown them to Munich, Rome, and Paris over the past few years and we're flying with them to Madrid in April. It helps that they fly out of Hartford now, which is way more convenient than Boston, though I have flown them out of Boston, too.

I had one really annoying issue. When we went to Rome we flew overnight when Europe was starting Daylight Saving Time, so the time change was occurring during our flight. Aer Lingus apparently didn't consider this when originally making their flight schedule. About a month out I got a notification that our connecting flight was changed and now we'd have like an 8 hour layover in Dublin instead of about 1.5 hours. I was confused, as our original connection was still bookable, then realized that they hadn't accounted for spring forward and that connection would've only been about 30 minutes. They didn't do anything to compensate us for that lost time. We had thought we'd arrive in Rome that day with time to explore, instead we got to the hotel and went to bed.

oof that does sound annoying and clearly something that should have been accounted for on their end. I would have been disappointed not being able to explore Rome just because of a scheduling error.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I'm not following, I think I misunderstood your initial post - do you mean you are looking for specials/promotions/BOGO type deals and they aren't there? If that is the case I think a lot of that is market driven, and that is not the (travel) market that we are in at the moment. I think, currently, the best anyone can do is decide on a budget and a destination - decide if it will work out and then head out. If you are looking to cast a net and see what kinda great deal you can get to various destinations, well I don't think we are in that kind of travel economy at the moment. I do think it is possible we may see that again but not right now.

Well I guess maybe something like that is missing too, not exactly but part of a vaguely a missing something. They call the little hidden tokens "Easter Eggs" in video gaming slang so those little hidden deals of all kinds did contribute to making the process enjoyable instead of perfunctory. The last word I want to use when thinking of vacation is perfunctory.

 

[sam_gordon]

We’re going for 9 days. For 5 of us with flights (in economy with assigned seats and carry ons allowed - so jealous of your lie flat seats!), 2 extra days lodging in a 2 bedroom condo and 9 days SUV rental, I paid $7360.

Wow. What's your secret? I had priced out a 10 day trip for just DW and myself and I think it came in around $10-12k.

You can usually cancel without penalty within 24 hours of booking a flight. After that you're generally out of luck (aside from airlines like Southwest, where you can get a credit for the difference).

Delta did away with their change fees, so in theory, you should be able to get a refund.

I wish flying would go back to the height of Covid times. Crazy cheap fares and empty planes.

Well that would require most people to not fly. That whole "supply and demand" thing.

I've been traveling extensively as pandemic entry rules were eased. I hop on Expedia and book away! THe high cost of airfare is annoying, but what can you do?

I would NEVER book airfare through a 3rd party. Maybe use them for pricing, but when ready to book, go directly to the airline. If you booked through 3rd party and there's an issue, I almost guarantee the 3rd party and the airline will point fingers at each other and neither will help you.

 

[Moliphino]

I would NEVER book airfare through a 3rd party. Maybe use them for pricing, but when ready to book, go directly to the airline. If you booked through 3rd party and there's an issue, I almost guarantee the 3rd party and the airline will point fingers at each other and neither will help you.

I always book hotels direct, too. I had issues the one trip I used third party sites, never again.

 

[easyas123]

The last word I want to use when thinking of vacation is perfunctory.

Well, you are in luck then because you get to pick how you approach the situation!

In all seriousness though, you know the current travel atmosphere...I say if you've got a travel destination in mind that fits the budget you are working with and you want to go - then go! Book it and don't look back. Life is to short to get bogged down over the what if's in this type of situation.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Wow. What's your secret? I had priced out a 10 day trip for just DW and myself and I think it came in around $10-12k.

Delta did away with their change fees, so in theory, you should be able to get a refund.

Well that would require most people to not fly. That whole "supply and demand" thing.

I would NEVER book airfare through a 3rd party. Maybe use them for pricing, but when ready to book, go directly to the airline. If you booked through 3rd party and there's an issue, I almost guarantee the 3rd party and the airline will point fingers at each other and neither will help you.

I explained in an earlier post that the package price only included the flights, 2 days lodging, and 9 days SUV rental. The other 7 days we’re staying in my parents’ condos at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas. Those 7 days aren’t included in my package price. If it did include 9 days lodging, it would have been an incredible deal!

 

[sam_gordon]

I explained in an earlier post that the package price only included the flights, 2 days lodging, and 9 days SUV rental. The other 7 days we’re staying in my parents’ condos at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas. Those 7 days aren’t included in my package price. If it did include 9 days lodging, it would have been an incredible deal!

Thanks. Must have missed that post. Enjoy your trip!

 

[China Expat]

I had to chuckle....after work today I finished up all of my reservations for a two week trip I'm planning for June to Thailand. Paid $29 on Thai Air Asia one way Chiang Mai to Bangok, and $50 round trip Bangkok to Krabi and back! I love traveling in SE Asia!

 

[Colleen27]

Was your experience with Aer Lingus good?

I've know one person who has flown them and liked them but haven't known any others who have used them.

We had very good experiences with them last summer, even under some trying circumstances. DD21 flew Aer Lingus from London to Shannon during the epic Heathrow baggage-handling mess, and the airline was super helpful to a kid who got to Ireland for a summer university program without any of her luggage. They made the process of filling out the lost luggage form easy, went out of their way to accommodate the fact that she didn't have an address or Irish phone number to use as contact right away and walked her through how to add that info later, and got the bag to her doorstep ASAP. Even the compensation claim for the delayed bags was easy.

DD14 & I flew them from London to Shannon and Shannon to Boston under much less eventful circumstances, but the planes were clean, the service was good, and going through customs at departure in Shannon rather than when landing was very convenient since we didn't have a super-long layover before our flight the rest of the way home.

 

[_19disnA]

All of the 3rd party airline fare sites I have found are simply consolidating and displaying current prices for various airlines. Some airlines also don't show on those sites so you have to look them up individually. While those consolidation websites make comparison shopping easier (non-stop flights, prices, departure time, etc.), I always book the actual air fare on the airline website. Getting a middleman involved means more hassle if something goes wrong. I also never book air travel on those websites who won't reveal the airline (or things like flight connections) until after you book. There are certain airlines I would never use and you need to add up all of the extra 'fees' to get a true final price.

 

[tzolkin]

Yes, well put, this is definitely a giant part of it, like no matter what I do I am mindful that there will be buyers remorse and I just never had that vibe before so I just back away. The whole thing is unsettling.

I know exactly what you mean. I can have buyers remorse over nearly anything. I'm very frugal, so even though we will spend on nicer/more expensive things, I still want to feel like I'm getting a good deal. We used to take our kids to Disney for 12-13 nights every year for a while. The booking and planning process was actually fun and I always felt like we were getting a fantastic value for our money. Now, I either feel like I'm getting scammed or we just choose to travel elsewhere because its a better value for the same price.

Last year we took the kids to Mexico. We had planned to go sooner, but wound up delaying the trip. The airfare was three times the price (x 5 people). We still went and I just accepted "that's what flying costs now", but I did have some regret that we should have just went earlier and had the same experience for thousands less.

 

[DCLMP]

I love the planning. I find it challenging but I like that. I live in a place where people come to vacation, but that certainly doesn’t stop me from wanting to leave. Getting on an airplane to go somewhere is my favorite thing to do. I do not like road trips.

 

[DCLMP]

30 years it wasnt the rich flying.. It was your normal family. We were VERY middle class and that was our summer vacation. Maybe in the 60s/70s it was wealthy. 80s flying was very assessable. What has changed is that many people are doing multiple short trips a year as they have higher and more disposable income. I make over double what I did 25 years ago and airfare for me hasnt really changed and those starting are also making about 25% more than I did back then. Europe summer peak flights are only about 200-300 more. Mainly as airlines are selling the higher booking classes (demand) -no need for sale classes.

what is also driving prices is simply lack of capacity on some routes. Asia good example. and also in the EU airlines are still not flying the seats they did pre-covid AND airports are limiting capacity due to worker shortages.

I am though surprised how low some domestic fares are.. Looking at flights to Honolulu for our cruise and surprising still low.

I think it comes down to how you define wealthy and middle class. I don’t think family flying trips were that common in the 80’s. Certainly nothing like we see today.
Mileage programs have also increased the number of people flying along with business travel.