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Last Updated: Dec 12, 2008 - 4:54:39 PM |
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Even in this day of sky-high fuel prices, it is still possible to travel (somewhat) on the cheap. Finding less expensive means of travel, however, requires some patience, diligence and a bit of luck.
For this trip to California, I used, Expedia.com, a Web travel service. While Expedia does charge a $5 surcharge per ticket, the advantage of using them is being able to see all flights from each potential airline on the same screen. While using the service, it soon becomes obvious that ticket prices change quickly and sometimes dramatically.
When I saw suitable roundtrip flights to Los Angeles from Des Moines for $283, I was tempted - but chose to wait. I regretted that decision when, the next day, the price for the same tickets was over $400. Over the next week, I kept checking back and finally, on a Sunday afternoon, I found a price that I couldn’t refuse. The tickets were down to $151.
I immediately began the process of purchasing them. It was then that the Website froze. After a few minutes of frustration, we called Expedia’s toll-free number to see if they could help. We were told the price had already changed but since our purchase was in progress, they would honor the price we had found. We managed to get our tickets – ten minutes later, the price had skyrocketed to more than $800 each.
A good deal of patience and luck is also required simply to travel these days. An industry survey released just this week has revealed that customer complaints are up 60 percent at virtually every major airline. The primary complaints center on late arrivals, lost luggage and overbooked flights.
Our recent trip appeared to be flawless – until the last leg of our journey. Due to unspecified “mechanical problems”, a two-hour layover in Denver turned into six hours – a very long time to be in an airport. Several other flights apparently had “mechanical problems”, too – and a few were cancelled. In our case, we finally did take off for Des Moines – and we arrived home at the less than pleasant hour of 5 a.m.
While it is tempting to take out frustrations on the airline ticket and gate personnel – they are, after all, the only face of an airline that most passengers will ever see – that frustration would be misplaced. The personnel at the airport would like to go home as badly as you would. The decisions to run on a shoestring, or to overbook routes and flights, are made much closer to the top of the corporate ladder. In other words, don’t yell at the tired gate person or flight attendant – fire off a letter detailing your complaint to upper management. Eventually, perhaps, someone will listen. In the meantime, fire up the computer, brace yourself for an insane pricing system and find the ticket to the place of your dreams.
© Copyright 2008 by The East Iowa Herald
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Skies: ClearTemperature: 18F -8CDewpoint: 12F -11CRelative Humidity: 77%Wind: SE at 3m - 5kBarometric Pressure: 29.80FUpdated: 03:15:00 AM