<p>I hear Ding once at least if not twice a day- with mine scattered all over it comes in handy!</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>I like TheDad’s system - kid pays the delta between what it costs last minute and what it would have cost planning ahead. Slap one of those Parent of the Month gold stars on TheDad’s forehead :).</p>
<p>back in the day at Claremont for winter break we found a ride on the bulletin board at school and went cross country with 3 drivers, in a matter of days, without ever turning the car off…and no parental involvement</p>
<p>times sure have changed</p>
<p>but this thread is an eye opener for me, as we are getting ready to choose instate vs east coast! and my d is not exactly known for planning ahead!</p>
<p>Just bought son’s ticket on Ding! from Philly to RDU for $29 for Spring Break! I’m a happy camper!!!</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>What airport(s) does she need to come into in Texas? DFW or somewhere else? (I don’t have a clue and as a former Texan myself, I remember it to be a pretty big state). </p>
<p>Return date? Does she have flexibility to fly in a day later, or return a day earlier (in other words, are the Rhodes dorms open for her?). [If you haven’t booked already, I’m willing to look around a little for you – maybe with a cc, distributed network search someone might turn up something better]</p>
<p>Oh I am so mad. I forgot about Southwest. I usually take a look at Orbitz to see which airlines own which airports. And I always forget that Southwest doesn’t participate. And I just made reservations to go from Philadelphia to RDU and used United…</p>
<p>Of course, our entire trip looks like SFO-Boston on United, Boston-Philly by car, Philly-RDU United, RDU-Miami American, and Miami-SFO American.</p>
<p>You want to talk some ugly airfare…But you gotta build a college list from the safeties up, right? Right?</p>
<p>Just occurred to me. Maybe the darling doinker of an S will love Miami, and wind up getting some $$$ and that will make up for this! Think I am dumbly optimistic? You bet? Why suffer any earlier than necessary!!!</p>
<p>This will be son’s first time flying out of philly, we have used Newark for the previous trips on American into RDU because they were having a promotion for roundtrip around $99 and he had a $25 coupon that we used. Made it very reasonable. But when I flew up for parent’s weekend went Southwest into Philly and it was cheaper and less hassle. His American airlines flights are ALWAYS, ALWAYS delayed. UGH. But when he flies American he combines that with his Citi AA Card so he sometimes can really build his miles.</p>
<p>Bought DD’s ticket from ABQ to RDU for $81 on Ding! last week, now that saved some money.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>DD isn’t coming home for break. She is going to San Diego from San Jose. IF (and I mean IF) we had been sitting on our computer the very day that Southwest put the days of her travel on their website, we could have gotten round trip for about $120…but we didn’t just sit here with the Southwest site open waiting. SO…she is paying $178 round trip instead on American. To be honest, it’s worth the extra cost not to feel like cattle. (She’s paying for the ticket…so that’s easy for ME to say). If she had been willing to be at the airport for the return trip at 6 am, she could have gotten a $130 round trip ticket. Sometimes Southwest isn’t the best bargain. Plus…there are TONS of flights on American from San Jose to San Diego, and not a lot on SW. We have to make her flight home reservation in June. I probably should get on that one soon!!!</p>
<p>Agree- Ding RULES. I got $109 round trip Nashville-Philly for April.<br>
Yeah, Cur, you have LOTS of pals in Franklin! Unfortunately, I have learned that while Texas is a huge state, Tennessee is really, really W I D E. There is a reason there are three separate regions- western, middle (I learned that it is NOT central) and eastern. Might as well be different states.</p>
<p>If you can find a usual route using SWA, then buy the ticket for the most likely travel dates & times, if things change later, you/they may be stuck with an upcharge, but you have a 50-50 chance of the original deal working out. Also, you can offer your student the chance ot lower the price on DING and let them keep that credit against future upcharges as a lesson ;)</p>
<p>What about an airport shuttle bus to Nashville? Amtrak? Greyhound?</p>
<p>Thank you everybody. This one is booked with a $75 cancellation fee but next time, I’m in. I’m printing out all the suggestions and calmom, I’ll post her Madrid particulars. Soon as I find them again. Thanks much. </p>
<p>It seems that Austin (AUS) sometimes has decent flights, mostly we go out of DFW and there are sometimes the small airport at Killeen (Ft. Hood) has special deals. For Madrid I’m willing to take her to Houston (IAH). </p>
<p>There is little Mesa airlines that flies in and out of Eldorado, Arkansas to DFW every day for $200. And that’s not far from Memphis at all. She just doesn’t have any friends in Eldorado. She has friends in Nashville (and of course Franklin) but who knows if they want to come back at the same time? I’d hate to put them out.</p>
<p>As to the trip board, I believe my D is tired of hearing my stories of cross-country jaunts for 50 bucks. </p>
<p>Xig p.m’ed me. He’s got a connect in Madrid. We’re hatching a plan. Won’t D be thrilled? LOL.</p>
<p>Jackson, MS is also a Southwest serviced airport and seems about the same distance from Memphis as Nashville. Just another option if she has friends in that direction.</p>
<p>Airfares to Europe for the summer will probably only go up. Typical fares to Madrid will be in the $800-$1000 range.:eek:</p>
<p>
Oh, joy. (ten chrs)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>550+ miles corner to corner. I think I heard that it is the 7th or 8th longest state.</p>
<p>I’ve usually found, for international flights, that studentuniverse is better one way each way than the round trips available on airline sales. I am always bugging my son to tell me months in advance when he has to go over and go back so I can search everywhere but at three/four trips a year, fares are running me about $1800+ per year. The summer trips are the killers. I used Air Hitch to get him back once - paid $230 mid-June for a one-way confirmed return, a tremendous savings. For best price savings, I think everyone should check Air Hitch first if your nearby airports are served.</p>
<p>We buy tickets several months in advance. Every week (Tuesdays) I check Houston to EWR or PHL markets. Buy the ticket that seems reasonable. I am sure I don’t get the cheapest price, but have never paid more than $100 one way.</p>
<p>Curmudge-
There is a subway train from Barajas Airport in Madrid into the city. Where is her hotel?
<a href=“http://www.metromadrid.es/acc_resources/pdfs/Plano_Metro_2007.pdf[/url]”>http://www.metromadrid.es/acc_resources/pdfs/Plano_Metro_2007.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://www.travelinginspain.com/metro.htm[/url]”>http://www.travelinginspain.com/metro.htm</a></p>
<p>midwesterner, if she arrives the morning she is supposed to , she will have transfers taken care of by a bus. If not I’ll be looking at the other choices. Xig has found a fare below $700 with one stop each way, and I have found several at just above $700 with one stop on sites suggested by this thread so I’m not freaking anymore. Well, not as much. W just bought another ticket for D to spend Easter with her Aunt, the retired Barnard prof in Western Mass. D is just the jet setter these days. ;)</p>
<p>Cur- why is it our college kids are traveling more than the parents? Could it be we are all staying home earning the money to pay for all these trips? :-)</p>
<p>My daughter just went to visit friends at her old school, going to the beach this weekend, and a free trip to Israel this summer. My son is flying home spring break, he is also going to Israel, and he has a trip to Cananda planned.
What are my husband and I doing-nothing!!</p>
<p>snowball, the DW and having that exact conversation as we schlepped up to the airport on the dee-lite-full Nafta Parking Lot we call I-35. D has already traveled more by plane than I had before I was thirty.</p>