Last week Laura and I flew to New York. We had flight vouchers on American Airlines, but decided to use Provo's newly commercial airport to fly to Denver (on Frontier Airlines), and then fly from there to New York. Because we live in downtown Provo, we decided to bike to the airport. According to Google Maps, the airport is 4.4 miles from our house, and the ride should take 25 minutes.
Our ride to the airport was generally pleasant, with relatively cool morning air and not much traffic. The only hairy part was going over the Center Street bridge. There's no bike lane on the bridge and the ground is littered with small rocks and rubble, so it felt a little dangerous to be riding a bike. Laura has a mountain bike and was able to ride on the (mostly destroyed) sidewalk, but that seemed way too rough for my road tires.
However, there wasn't much traffic and once we passed the freeway there is a bike lane.
When we got to the airport we locked our bikes to the metal fence. Laura and I were fairly nervous that our bikes would be impounded or otherwise removed, but we had been told the night before by the city spokeswoman that using the fence should be alright. When we got into the airport we were greeted by two men (sort of like Walmart greeters, but at the airport), one of whom told us that using the fence should be fine.
A week later, we returned and to our great relief discovered that our bikes were still chained to the fence. Because we were siting in the front of the plane and the airport is so small, we were literally riding home before all of our fellow passengers had deplaned.
Riding home, however, was a significantly more harrowing experience than getting to the airport. The first problem was that the road immediately outside the airport has no street lights. It's also a fairly rural road, so it's not even lit by surrounding buildings. The result was that we basically were riding blind. Cars passed us fairly constantly, offering brief light and then lingering blindness. Because we had been traveling, we also weren't wearing especially reflective gear or clothing.
Luckily we made it to Center Street without getting hit, run over, or falling in a pot hole. We used the bike lane again and experienced another pleasant ride until we got to the bridge. At that point, we again had to go over, but this time in the dark and with more traffic. We didn't get hit, but I wouldn't recommend riding over that bridge in the dark. Oddly, there is no real road that goes under the bridge that I know of, but I think it would be possible to get off and carry a bike beneath the bridge. It's slower (and maybe the area under the bridge is a bit shady?) but I'd recommend that option over riding.
Once we got over the bridge (and through the related construction) we got back in the Center Street bike lane. It was a pleasant ride the rest of the way to our home.
Conclusions:
Riding a bike to the Provo airport was great. It had all the advantages that the Provo airport promises — close proximity to my and other homes, ultra easy security, no crowds, etc. — with the added benefits of bike riding — exercise, lower carbon footprint, being closer to the outdoors, etc. The ride was relatively short, flat, easy, and laid back. Even a child could easily do most of the ride.
However, as far as I know, there is no real way to get around the more dangerous areas. The Provo River Trail is pleasant and would circumvent the bridge, but is out of the way for anyone south of 800 North, and would surely take much longer for anyone. Also, at night I probably wouldn't feel safe riding for miles on the trail.
I assume the bridge issue will be solved when all the construction is finished (assuming a bike lane goes in on that part of the road), but the lighting at night also was a serious problem. I imagine the city or airport has plans to improve that road, but additional lighting seems like it would benefit everyone, so I hope it's a top priority.
A bike rack at the airport also would be nice. I don't know of many airports that are as close to city centers and residential areas as Provo's. A bike rack could serve both travelers, as well as airport workers and aviation students. Plus, once the rack is installed I think it would serve as its own advertisement, suggesting the possibility of cycling to travelers and workers who may not have previously considered it.
Showing posts with label airports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label airports. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Friday, March 12, 2010
Travel Tips: Buying Plane Tickets
In my last post I discussed (at length) the process by which Laura and I got our tickets for our up coming trip. However, I wanted to consolidate the lessons we learned into one succinct post, in case that might benefit someone. So here are a few of the things that I'd recommend if you're planning a long, overseas trip.
1. Be flexible. With work schedules this can be tough, but it can also save hundreds of dollars (or more). Keep in mind the more flexible you are, the cheaper the trip will be. And that doesn't just mean being flexible with your dates. Consider flying into different airports, visiting different places, etc. Basically, if there are a bunch of places you want to go, look at them all before you get your heart set on anything in particular, and then chose the one that's most aligned with your budget.
2. Use a travel agent for long or complex flight plans. I probably wouldn't call an agent if I was flying to San Diego to see my in-laws for Christmas because I can find ridiculously low fares for a trip like that on my own, in just a few minutes. I also know exactly when and where I'm going. However, for longer trips, where I might have some wiggle room, travel agents are very helpful.
3. Keep in mind, a travel agent will not cost you more. This is a common misconception, but if the fare or itinerary an agent gives you isn't to your liking, you don't have to buy it. They are trying to win your business, so it's their responsibility to be competitive. And a lot of the time, they will be.
4. Plan in advance. The first time I looked up fares for our trip was over a year ago. That means we were thinking about our trip at least a year and a half before it was supposed to happen. Ideally, you'd track the price of your trip for years before doing it, so you'd have a really good idea when the best time to get tickets will be (though an agent should be able to give advice about that).
5. Round up. Decide you're initially willing to spend, then add a few hundred dollars to that number and assume that's what the tickets are going to cost you. Doing this will provide a psychological cushion if things turn out to be more expensive, and if prices turn out to be cheaper (as they did for us), you'll have even more money to spend on other things during the trip. This may mean that you end up waiting a little longer to go on the trip as you save up more, but in the end you'll be less stressed out about money.
1. Be flexible. With work schedules this can be tough, but it can also save hundreds of dollars (or more). Keep in mind the more flexible you are, the cheaper the trip will be. And that doesn't just mean being flexible with your dates. Consider flying into different airports, visiting different places, etc. Basically, if there are a bunch of places you want to go, look at them all before you get your heart set on anything in particular, and then chose the one that's most aligned with your budget.
2. Use a travel agent for long or complex flight plans. I probably wouldn't call an agent if I was flying to San Diego to see my in-laws for Christmas because I can find ridiculously low fares for a trip like that on my own, in just a few minutes. I also know exactly when and where I'm going. However, for longer trips, where I might have some wiggle room, travel agents are very helpful.
3. Keep in mind, a travel agent will not cost you more. This is a common misconception, but if the fare or itinerary an agent gives you isn't to your liking, you don't have to buy it. They are trying to win your business, so it's their responsibility to be competitive. And a lot of the time, they will be.
4. Plan in advance. The first time I looked up fares for our trip was over a year ago. That means we were thinking about our trip at least a year and a half before it was supposed to happen. Ideally, you'd track the price of your trip for years before doing it, so you'd have a really good idea when the best time to get tickets will be (though an agent should be able to give advice about that).
5. Round up. Decide you're initially willing to spend, then add a few hundred dollars to that number and assume that's what the tickets are going to cost you. Doing this will provide a psychological cushion if things turn out to be more expensive, and if prices turn out to be cheaper (as they did for us), you'll have even more money to spend on other things during the trip. This may mean that you end up waiting a little longer to go on the trip as you save up more, but in the end you'll be less stressed out about money.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Buying Plane Tickets
Laura and I bought our plane tickets last week, after many hours of exhaustive research. This is our itinerary:
May 31: depart Salt Lake at 2:45 p.m., arrive in Dallas at 6:25 p.m., depart Dallas at 7:55 p.m.
June 1: arrive in Sao Paulo at 7:40 a.m.
June 28: depart Sao Paulo at 4:15 p.m.
June 29: arrive in London at 7:20 a.m.
Aug 4: depart Rome at 11:30 a.m., arrive in Chicago at 3:05 p.m., depart Chicago at 6:45 p.m., arrive in Salt Lake at 9:10 p.m.
Including all taxes, fees, etc., this itinerary is costing us $1864.30 per person.
Even at just a casual glance, this airfare seems pretty good for the number of flights we'll be taking, and the miles we'll be covering. So how did we get it? And could we have done even better?
First, the short answer to the first question is that we used a travel agent. However, it might be useful to explain that a little bit.
When we decided to go on a multi-continent trip, I initially wanted to use a travel agent because our goal was fairly complex. Also, all the travel writers I'd read said it would be easier and more cost efficient. That said, however, I was skeptical because travel agents have always struck me as an outdated relic from the pre-Internet days, when people couldn't figure out their own airfare. What, I wondered, was the point of using travel agents if all the savings they could get me were cancelled out by fees (I figured) I'd have to pay them?
As it turns out, however, travel agents make their money on commission and the price they give you should already include any money they're making. Also, travel agents typically have relationships and contracts with airlines and other travel agencies, which means they often have access to fares that are even lower than can be found online.
Once I learned that, I decided to contact a travel agency to see if they could compete with the fares I could find on my own. As a BYU alum, I discovered that I can continue to use the university's travel service, so I decided contact them. After calling around a bit I was finally connected to a travel agent at BYU who said he'd find some options for me.
The man I talked to got back to me within a few days, but what he gave me was almost an incomprehensible itinerary that was more expensive than the fares I found on my own (his itinerary was just under $2800 per ticket). Somehow, he must have also misunderstood what I wanted to do, because the trip he offered was less than half as long as I wanted (he had us in Brazil and Europe for about two weeks each). To cap it all off he was kind of abrupt on the phone. I'm not going to publicly name him, but if you're planning to use BYU's travel agency I will tell you privately so you can avoid a similar experience.
That was pretty discouraging, so Laura and I decided to take a stab at booking our own plane tickets. Laura spearheaded this effort and probably spent at least 30 hours over a couple of weeks looking at fares. I spent less time looking for fares, but still put in some hours.
The key, we discovered was being extremely flexible. We didn't care where we left from, flew into, or even what days we traveled on. We were willing to leave from Salt Lake, LAX, or anywhere in between. We also knew that we wanted to travel through Europe over the course of a month, but didn't care if we went north or south.
Eventually, Laura found a few options leaving from LAX that were under $2000. It would have also meant that we'd be going from Brazil to Rome, then leaving from London to return to the U.S. However, with taxes and fees, these fares were actually at least $2400, and most of the time they were closer to $2700. Also, most of them included a layover in New York that would have required us to travel from JFK airport to Newark, and that is supposedly a night mere. Still, the fares weren't prohibitively expensive and we were getting ready to buy them.
During this whole process, however, my dad recommended a different BYU travel agent. I was again skeptical, given my previous experience, but decided that since it didn't cost anything to have her look, I'd give her a call.
My experience with this second travel agent was the polar opposite of those I had with the first one. While I was on the phone, she experimented with different dates, airports, and other options. She told me exactly what she was doing and searched all the companies BYU had contracts with to find the lowest fares. She was kind and reassuring (when I bluntly asked her if she could beat the fares I had found online, she told me she could fly us around the world for those prices and began looking for something cheaper with gusto). Eventually she came up with the price I mentioned above (which was actually higher than she had expected it to be, but apparently flying from Brazil to Europe is pretty pricey). Though the prices is only a little cheaper than what online travel sites initially quoted, factoring in taxes we figure we saved at least $600 per ticket, and realistically we probably saved closer to $800 or $900. We will be using American Airlines for the first few legs of the trip, and British Airways for the second.
So that's how we got that fare. But could we have done better?
I doubt it, and if we could have the trip would have been much more stressful. For example, our flight from Brazil to Europe is non-stop. That means that we save at least a day in travel time (more time to sight-see), plus we don't have any stressful New York-to-Newark connections. We also don't have any real red-eye flights, and we won't have to drive down to LA, which should save us at least $200 in gas.
The other amazing thing about using the travel agent was that as long as there were seats available on the flights, we could get that same price. In other words, prices for each leg of the trip didn't change if we adjusted if by a few days. When we tried to book by ourselves, we found that certain days (Aug 11, for example) were cheaper than any other days around them. With the travel agent, on the other hand, we managed to extend our trip in Brazil by a couple of days, and come back at a more convenient time. In short, the travel agent offered flexibility coupled with low prices.
May 31: depart Salt Lake at 2:45 p.m., arrive in Dallas at 6:25 p.m., depart Dallas at 7:55 p.m.
June 1: arrive in Sao Paulo at 7:40 a.m.
June 28: depart Sao Paulo at 4:15 p.m.
June 29: arrive in London at 7:20 a.m.
Aug 4: depart Rome at 11:30 a.m., arrive in Chicago at 3:05 p.m., depart Chicago at 6:45 p.m., arrive in Salt Lake at 9:10 p.m.
Including all taxes, fees, etc., this itinerary is costing us $1864.30 per person.
Even at just a casual glance, this airfare seems pretty good for the number of flights we'll be taking, and the miles we'll be covering. So how did we get it? And could we have done even better?
First, the short answer to the first question is that we used a travel agent. However, it might be useful to explain that a little bit.
When we decided to go on a multi-continent trip, I initially wanted to use a travel agent because our goal was fairly complex. Also, all the travel writers I'd read said it would be easier and more cost efficient. That said, however, I was skeptical because travel agents have always struck me as an outdated relic from the pre-Internet days, when people couldn't figure out their own airfare. What, I wondered, was the point of using travel agents if all the savings they could get me were cancelled out by fees (I figured) I'd have to pay them?
As it turns out, however, travel agents make their money on commission and the price they give you should already include any money they're making. Also, travel agents typically have relationships and contracts with airlines and other travel agencies, which means they often have access to fares that are even lower than can be found online.
Once I learned that, I decided to contact a travel agency to see if they could compete with the fares I could find on my own. As a BYU alum, I discovered that I can continue to use the university's travel service, so I decided contact them. After calling around a bit I was finally connected to a travel agent at BYU who said he'd find some options for me.
The man I talked to got back to me within a few days, but what he gave me was almost an incomprehensible itinerary that was more expensive than the fares I found on my own (his itinerary was just under $2800 per ticket). Somehow, he must have also misunderstood what I wanted to do, because the trip he offered was less than half as long as I wanted (he had us in Brazil and Europe for about two weeks each). To cap it all off he was kind of abrupt on the phone. I'm not going to publicly name him, but if you're planning to use BYU's travel agency I will tell you privately so you can avoid a similar experience.
That was pretty discouraging, so Laura and I decided to take a stab at booking our own plane tickets. Laura spearheaded this effort and probably spent at least 30 hours over a couple of weeks looking at fares. I spent less time looking for fares, but still put in some hours.
The key, we discovered was being extremely flexible. We didn't care where we left from, flew into, or even what days we traveled on. We were willing to leave from Salt Lake, LAX, or anywhere in between. We also knew that we wanted to travel through Europe over the course of a month, but didn't care if we went north or south.
Eventually, Laura found a few options leaving from LAX that were under $2000. It would have also meant that we'd be going from Brazil to Rome, then leaving from London to return to the U.S. However, with taxes and fees, these fares were actually at least $2400, and most of the time they were closer to $2700. Also, most of them included a layover in New York that would have required us to travel from JFK airport to Newark, and that is supposedly a night mere. Still, the fares weren't prohibitively expensive and we were getting ready to buy them.
During this whole process, however, my dad recommended a different BYU travel agent. I was again skeptical, given my previous experience, but decided that since it didn't cost anything to have her look, I'd give her a call.
My experience with this second travel agent was the polar opposite of those I had with the first one. While I was on the phone, she experimented with different dates, airports, and other options. She told me exactly what she was doing and searched all the companies BYU had contracts with to find the lowest fares. She was kind and reassuring (when I bluntly asked her if she could beat the fares I had found online, she told me she could fly us around the world for those prices and began looking for something cheaper with gusto). Eventually she came up with the price I mentioned above (which was actually higher than she had expected it to be, but apparently flying from Brazil to Europe is pretty pricey). Though the prices is only a little cheaper than what online travel sites initially quoted, factoring in taxes we figure we saved at least $600 per ticket, and realistically we probably saved closer to $800 or $900. We will be using American Airlines for the first few legs of the trip, and British Airways for the second.
So that's how we got that fare. But could we have done better?
I doubt it, and if we could have the trip would have been much more stressful. For example, our flight from Brazil to Europe is non-stop. That means that we save at least a day in travel time (more time to sight-see), plus we don't have any stressful New York-to-Newark connections. We also don't have any real red-eye flights, and we won't have to drive down to LA, which should save us at least $200 in gas.
The other amazing thing about using the travel agent was that as long as there were seats available on the flights, we could get that same price. In other words, prices for each leg of the trip didn't change if we adjusted if by a few days. When we tried to book by ourselves, we found that certain days (Aug 11, for example) were cheaper than any other days around them. With the travel agent, on the other hand, we managed to extend our trip in Brazil by a couple of days, and come back at a more convenient time. In short, the travel agent offered flexibility coupled with low prices.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Airport Security
In the wake of the recent attempted terrorist attack, security is no doubt going to get “stronger” at airports. Hopefully that’ll mean increased safety, but if the past is any indicator, it’ll also mean longer lines and greater inconvenience. And though I want to preserve life as much as possible, I believe that making air travel more miserable simply isn’t worth the added safety. In fact, I’d gladly accept a slightly higher risk of death if it meant an easier time getting to my plane.
Back before 9/11 flying was kind of fun. Family and friends could go all the way to the gate and travelers didn’t have to take off a bunch of clothes to get through the lines. Things moved more quickly and, at least in my case, it was an all around better experience.
Of course we’ll never go back to those free wheelin’ days, but adding more and more security doesn’t always make sense. Flying today has become a kind of ritualized humiliation, and adding to that isn’t going to make anyone excited about traveling. This is particularly true of the naked body scanners that will probably be deployed soon; not only will you have to take off your belt, shoes, etc., you’ll also have to submit to being seen in the nude by some TSA person.
The result of this increasingly humiliating experience is that revenue will go down, prices will go up, and unpleasantness will proliferate. The added time that yet another machine introduces to the process will further drive flying toward pointlessness. For example, it already takes five hours or more (including driving time getting to airports) for me to fly from my home in Provo, Utah, to Southern California where I grew up. If I have a lay-over, it’s much longer. Conversely, I can drive to the same place in about 9.5 hours, so flying doesn’t even cut that in half. The longer it takes to fly, the more likely I am to drive.
Besides the inconvenience of added security, it’s also questionable just how effective it is. Does confiscating my shampoo really make the world safer? I would argue it doesn’t and that most of the current measures are simply in place to give frightened travelers a (sometimes false) sense of security about their trips. After all, an apparently inept terrorist thwarted the security we currently have; I’m sure that a professional from Al Queda could figure out a way to slip past the naked-scanner.
All this is to say that rolling out more delays just isn’t worth it. The chance of dying in a terrorist attack is still small, even without added security. In fact, it’s much smaller getting in a car wreak or dying in countless other ways. What’s more, people seem to believe that flying should be risk-free, even though that’s an impossible goal. Everything involves risk flying remains one of the lowest risk ways to travel. If naked scanners or other measures actually sped up the process or made it more streamlined, I’d be interested in seeing them used. However, so far no new security measure has ever made things faster. Ultimately, then, it’d be better to simply accept the risk of dying in an attack. If not, we’ll have eventually made airplanes so safe that we never actually let anyone get on them.
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