<p>My son is attending Northwestern in the fall, so I’m looking for airfare from Philadephia (we are from the jersey shore area) to Chicago. If we go from Phili to Chicago, it’s about $200 round trip. But if we drive to Harrisburg (approx 3 hours), it’s about $100 round trip. Great right!! Only problem is that the Harrisburg flight, makes a stop over in, you guessed it, Philadelphia, before going to Chicago. Crazy right. So I called the airline and they said that if you don’t use the first “leg” portion of your flight, they will not honor the rest of the flight. I don’t get it. Any solutions so I can save the $100. It’s four of us going out, so that’s $400 savings, which would easily pay for the rental car and some of the hotel for the couple of days. UHG!!!</p>
<p>The only suggestion I can make is to drive to Harrisburg for the trip to Chicago, then ditch the last leg of the return trip. This way you pay for the rental car (and add to travel time) only once.</p>
<p>It’s all computerized. It used to be if you didn’t check in the first leg then they assume you weren’t going to take the trip. The question is how do they consider if you took the first leg - checking in or actually boarding. Now a days we could check in online. Has anyone tried it?</p>
<p>This rule is not new and I don’t think there is a way around it. I think it’s a matter of how they qualify you for taking the first leg.</p>
<p>$400 for 6 hours of my time wouldn’t be worth it.</p>
<p>Marite, if they ditch the last leg of the return, they will be in Philly and their car in Harrisburg!</p>
<p>Oh. not being a car owner anymore, I had thought that they would be renting the car!:)</p>
<p>I’d just wait a little longer and closer to the fall and keep checking airfare. Maybe it will change. I don’t know of anyway to get around the first leg of that flight.</p>
<p>Mominva:</p>
<p>The OP does mention a rental car–which is why I suggested ditching the last leg. But I don’t think it is worth the cost differential: $400 minus cost of renting car, minus 3 hours of lost time X 4 on one end, and x3 on the other.</p>
<p>Have you looked at other airports – like Newark and Baltimore? Worth playing around online to see if there’s a shorter drive with a better flight and price.</p>
<p>I assumed the rental car was for Chicago.</p>
<p>Did you check Southwest? I’m not sure when you’re leaving, but you can do one-way Philly to Chicago-Midway for $82 before fees. (I tried some dates in late August/early September.)</p>
<p>Some airlines do direct flights from Harrisburg to Chicago, but I don’t remember which ones and they’ll probably be more expensive.</p>
<p>(I just reread the OP and you may have seen Southwest already. I like Southwest, though, and with rapid rewards you get a free flight every so often. For me, it was a free round-trip once every two years or so.)</p>
<p>Driving to Harrisburg from Jersey, you will also need to factor in gas and Turnpike tolls. And if you get stuck on the Schuylkill or Turnpike, it will be more than a two-hour trip one way.</p>
<p>Ditto for flying Southwest - I’m not sure if their Rapid Rewards program still does this, but when my older daughter was in college, her points were doubled because she was a student.</p>
<p>Southwest only flies into Midway Airport in Chicago, which is not as convenient as O’Hare for Northwestern, especially during rush hours. However, if you are taking public transportation from the airport, Midway would be ok, although it is a lengthy ride to Evanston (80-90 minutes) and you have to transfer train lines.
Last year, we flew from O’Hare to Philadelphia and used it as our base for a Baltimore-New Jersey college trek. It was quite a bit cheaper than other airports. Also, Baltimore often comes up as a cheaper alternative. I think it is a little early to find the best fares for September; 6-8 weeks out is a better window of opportunity.</p>
<p>And lucky for you…Northwestern doesn’t start until mid to late September which are not peak travel times (like Labor Day when so many other schools start). It may be better for you to fly out a day earlier and/or return a day later (leaving on less traveled days of the week) to get a better airfare. Driving an extra long distance to get the plane would not be my choice.</p>
<p>kleibo, I wouldn’t jump to book any airfare just yet. We are looking to fly from the New York area out to Chicago because we have a child attending a Northwestern summer program. Southwest just opened up a new route, flights from LaGuardia to Midway, and when they were first posted, they were about ~$180 each way. I guess there were no takers at that price, so they are down to $109 each way. With the economy being what it is, I no longer look at flights far in advance because I have recently really been “burned” booking way in advance when the prices have come down.</p>
<p>I just had that experience with SW. I called and they rebooked me at the cheaper fare and gave me a credit for the difference.</p>
<p>That’s the great thing about SW, there is no risk. If the fare drops, you just call and get a credit for the difference without rebooking fees. Ditto if the kid’s schedule changes and you have to change the flights. Sign up for Ding to get access to discounted fares.</p>
<p>SW does still do the college students double rewards!</p>
<p>Right about SW! My DS had to fly roundtrip from Chicago to Cleveland and booked way in advance. Price kept dropping, and he kept rebooking and getting credited. When he flies in June from Chicago to Philly for a college reunion, it is costing him $1.40 roundtrip on SW because of the credits he has built up. You read that right, $1.40. :)</p>
<p>I echo looking into Southwest / Midway. Either way it’s a schlep from either Chicago airport to Evanston.</p>
<p>And try Baltimore. I can’t imagine it’s any farther for you than Harrisburg.</p>
<p>Never heard of college student double rewards. How does that work?</p>
<p>If you are in college sign up for SW Rapid Rewards on-line. It’s easy. Then when you fly you get double credit towards a free ticket for each leg of the flight.</p>