[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

tiredofpoorservice wrote...

I am flying from a smaller regional airport (the larger international airports are at least 4 hours away) and Delta is the only carrier I can take unless I want to take 3-4 segments instead of 2. In theory it should be less time consuming and less hassle ...

Nowdays, what appears to be the cheapest, and most convenient, is sometimes anything but. The deterioriation of service caused, in part, by bad airlines being allowed to consolidate has taken us back in time to the 1930s, and early '40s, when one or more en route "overnights" were required to get from point A to point B by air. Hence one can go for the cheapest, or seemingly most convenient; deal with sociopathic gate agents, flight attendants, missed connections, and non-English speaking phone staff, or, one can recognize the reality of the situation and plan an overnight stop en route. Accordingly, for anyone living in the Chicago area, or traveling to/from Chicago, Amtrak (stand-by for the groans) becomes an option.

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by Butch Cassidy Slept Here

Nowdays, what appears to be the cheapest, and most convenient, is sometimes anything but. The deterioriation of service caused, in part, by bad airlines being allowed to consolidate has taken us back in time to the 1930s, and early '40s, when one or more en route "overnights" were required to get from point A to point B by air. Hence one can go for the cheapest, or seemingly most convenient; deal with sociopathic gate agents, flight attendants, missed connections, and non-English speaking phone staff, or, one can recognize the reality of the situation and plan an overnight stop en route.

Good advice, Butch. I think I'll take it and book my next trip solely on a non-US carrier to avoid all of the hassles associated with traveling on one.

So I'm going from Phoenix to Newark later this month. In the morning I'll drive to LAX where I'll board Lufthansa's non-stop service to Frankfurt. I'll arrive 10:25 AM local time the following morning where I'll clear customs/immigration then make my way back to the departure gates to board the non-stop Frankfurt-Newark flight which departs at 1:15 PM. I'll arrive Newark at 4:20 PM which is only 23 hours after I left Los Angeles! But no worries. A US airline probably would have stranded my ass in Denver or Minneapolis or Chicago anyway so I'm probably ahead of the game and didn't have to sleep on the floor of the terminal. Now I know I'll probably be held by US CBP for a while in Newark being interrogated as to why I only spent only 3 hours in Frankfurt and will probably be subject to cavity searches, etc., but in the end (pardon the pun) I'll be much better for it since I didn't have to fly Delta or US Airways or the like.

For the return I'll depart Newark just after 6 PM to arrive Frankfurt 8 AM the following morning. Now here's where things get dicey since the LAX non-stop leaves at 945 AM. I'm thinking that's not enough time to again clear EU customs and German immigration who will undoubtedly want to know why I've been through there twice in one month for such short durations of time. So I guess I'll overnight in Frankfurt (I haven't been for a few years so I'll spend the night out on the town) and leave for LAX the following morning. Will arrive LAX just after Noon and after the drive home to Phoenix my total travel time will be just over 48 hours. Still not all that bad when you consider I never set foot on a US based carrier's aircraft!

If you're wondering what the cost of this trip would be (as I did, so I priced it out) just the airfare is $1,546. Not too shabby. The base fare is $827 and taxes are $719! (Actually for the Frankfurt-Newark round-trip the taxes were more than the base fare!) Considering a round-trip first class ticket on Continental for the same dates is $1,470 I'd say it's a pretty good deal. And think of all the extra miles I'll earn!

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

As I’ve indicated in other posts, a fully refundable coach, or first class, ticket on Continental (domestic only) is an acceptable risk. For Phoenix – New York/Newark, a fully refundable Continental ticket would be my first choice because of the non-stop service (no potential for missed connections/stranding at a hub). Among the economical options Southwest’s reliable, but “sardine class,” is acceptable, even though Gromit will tell you otherwise. Alaska and Frontier/Midwest are equally reliable but have about as much flexibility on their non-refundable tickets as the “bad guys” (which isn’t saying very much!) And, yes, I know, Alaska, with a Seattle hub, has no direct routing PHX – EWR. If one is travelling PHX – EWR, during a time of year when snow closes the airports, Amtrak leaves from Maricopa—about 36 miles to the south. The latter is a four night trip (one overnight in New Orleans,) and only operates from Maricopa 3 days a week. But, hey, with snow, you could be stuck at the airport just as long! Shorter train travel times are available from Flagstaff---143 miles to the north of Phoenix. However, in the case of Flagstaff, winter snows may close the road (I-17) and/or the tracks.

I’m sure, PHX, you’re very familiar with Arizona. So, obviously, this posting is intended for those who are not “locals.”