Future of Flight

Will anyone be flying by the end of 2008? With increased prices, declining service and additional costs for check-in luggage only business people and those in an emergency situation will fly. I tried to book a flight to Denver for Thanksgiving for my wife, son and me. I tried United and Southwest airlines. Even though my wife and I have frequent flyer miles with United, I was quoted a price of $752 round trip out of Ontario Airport and $630 out of LAX. Southwest was about the same. I also tried Orbitz and Travelocity. They both had a flight on Delta out of LAX for about $369 with tax. The total for the three tickets was $1,035. I booked it before it went up. Airline prices can change by the hour. When you search for a flight, know exactly what you want to spend. If you find a price close to that figure, immediately book it. You're probably not going to find anything better, but you can bet that the prices will increase by the end of the day. Southwest Airlines has some excellent senior prices, but they were conveniently (for Southwest) unavailable for the Thanksgiving weekend. Following American Airline's direction, a number of airlines are now charging to check your luggage ($15 for the first bag on up to $100 for a third bag). Luckily for those of us who live in California, there are many places to travel and things to see within driving distance of home.