Sunday, December 7, 2008

Up, up and away!

So, because I really should be dealing with things like laundry, holiday shopping, putting up the tree, getting cards in the mail -- blah, blah, blah -- instead today seemed like a good day to look up flight information for some of you.

First, you'll be flying into Birmingham (AL) -Shuttlesworth International Airport - BHM. I specify AL because it will ask you when you book it if you want UK or AL. I just thought I'd give you a heads up/reminder that we're in the south, not across the pond. This airport is relatively easy to get in and out of. The biggest problem I've had there (several times) is the automated things where you pay to get out of the parking garage aren't working. Security usually only takes about 10 minutes to get through, but there was some flight we took this year - an early morning one - that the line was about 45 minutes long. We were a little surprised, but being that the airport is so small, once you get through security, there's not a lot of walking to do at all. On a slow day you could probably holler from the x-ray machine and someone would hear you at the furthest gate.

I checked on flights from some specific cities and here's what I found:

From Honolulu (HNL)- bring a really long book and a pillow. I couldn't find a single flight that wasn't an overnight one. Of course, if you're going to spend that much time in a plane, you might as well sleep through it. Here's a weird thing - I found one flight that has a layover in Atlanta, and then a layover in Memphis before coming to Birmingham. That's like having a layover in Norfolk and then Newport News before flying into Richmond.

And speaking of Southeast Virginia -- coming from Norfolk/Virginia Beach is a little easier. From ORF -- wow! -- these are the cheapest flights I've seen lately for anything. Not CHEAP mind you, but everything we've been looking at lately has been close to a grand. Anyway, looks like USAir will get you here in about 3 hours with one quick stop in Charlotte. (Remember, we're on Central Time. It looks like 2 hours, but it's 3.) United is a bit more time and money, but it will get you here. I think we almost always fly Southwest when we go to VB. That flight makes a quick stop in Baltimore, but those tickets can be pretty inexpensive if you book at the right time. (That time is not right now. Southwest won't let you book more than about 6 months in advance.)

Next stop, Newark (EWR). USAir seems to offer the most flights at the more reasonable prices. Continental appears to be cheaper right now, but makes 2 stops instead of just one on USAir. I checked to see which ones are the most kid-friendly, and it doesn't look like anything coming from NJ to AL is on that list. Of course Jordan and Jayden are both so charming, anyone on any flight is going to be sweet to them. :)

Philly (PHL) gets the cheap flight of the day award. This is the least expensive I've seen on any airline from any of your cities -- on Continental it's only $216 right now. The one stop it makes is in Newark though, which defeats the purpose I think. I was trying to find those of you in the NJ/PA area an alternative - this doesn't seem to be any easier than just flying out of Newark. Except it's cheaper. Northwest offers quite a selection at a slightly higher rate, but will still get you here in a little more than 4 hours.

From Akron (CAK), USAir and Northwest seem to be the best bets for least amount of time traveling and for cost. USAir offers more flights, and with only one stop in Charlotte, will get you here in just about 4 hours.

Cleveland-Hopkins (CLE) offers a Southwest flight that's pretty easy. There's one that stops in Baltimore, one in Chicago and one in Nashville. This is a great stop if you have a lot of time to look at all the trinkets honoring a billion musicians, including every country singer ever alive.

From Charleston, WV (CRW), again, it looks like USAir may be the way to go. It offers the most selection, at reasonable prices, and can get you here in 3 to 4 hours depending. Most of these stop in Charlotte, but the layover isn't long enough to enjoy the airport's mall or cute little rocking chairs.

For the two of you coming from California - I think you can pretty easily fly out of Ontario or Los Angeles. From ONT, Continental and American are about the same rates, but American offers a lot more selection. When I was out there a few months ago, I flew Southwest. The rates weren't bad, and it was relatively easy, but, as you may recall because I talked to you on my layover, nobody reminded me that NO ONE WINS on the slot machines at the airport in Las Vegas. That was an expensive lesson. If you want to fly from LAX here are your options - (but first - I'm sure Gary is one of the only people in the world other than me who sees "LAX" and has a mental image of Heather Locklear and Blair Underwood in his head, and hearing that catchy little theme song that I don't know the name of... and that's just one of the million reasons I love him) - the cost looks to be about the same as ONT, but the flights look like they take longer. Check United, Northwest and Continental. Seems though for the headache of getting into LAX, might just be easier (and the same cost) to fly out of Ontario, but that's just my opinion. BTW - I think the song may be called "Brand New Day."

From Greenville (GSP) -- although I think you'll probably drive -- yikes! Yes, you'll want to drive. It's showing more than $500 right now. There's a bunch of USAir/United combos, but I'm not even going to bother to link them, they'll take you 9 HOURS to fly here - you can drive it in 4 for the cost of a half a tank of gas.

...and with that, I'm off to do some laundry/holiday/run/long walk the dog stuff, but I will tackle driving info next. I think it might be fun for some of you to road-trip together. It's pretty much a day drive for most of you, and it could be an enjoyable and more cost-efficient alternative to flying...

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