more about travel to the Midwest

[ritaxis]

So, based on the advice my kind friends here have given me, I've been looking into flying to someplace else and busing it from there to Madison.

It's $60 cheaper to fly to Milwaukee than to Minneapolis, which is really weird because to fly from San Jose to Milwaukee you have to change planes in Minneapolis. Why can't I just get the ticket for the first plane? For grim curiosity's sake, I looked up the air fare from Minneapolis to Milwaukee: they have a flight which takes you to Chicago and then to Milwaukee, for, again, $60 less going straight from Minneapolis to Milwaukee. What the hell?

Oh, and the Greyhound from Milwaukee to Madison is just fine, but from Madison to Milwaukee it doesn't meet the plane unless I stay the night in Milwaukee.

Flying from San Jose to Chicago is about the same cost, so there's no saving, but it looks like the bus might meet the plane better. Flying from San Francisco to Chicago is still more expensive. From Oakland to Chicago is the same as from San Jose.

Taking the bus all the way from California is a two-day trip each way. The train from San Jose requires four changes, from Oakland three changes, and in either case takes two days also.

Driving is out of the question, even if it wasn't a two-day trip each way.

I'm not sure I can't swing the Chicago option. I'm pretty sure I can't, though.

Comments

[julesjones]

It's certainly put me off trying to go. Not that I was likely to anyway, but that all sounds like too much hassle and expense. :-(

Never mind. Thee and me will get to see some people at Baycon, at least. We should nag anghara about coming down the coast. :-)

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

Good plan. Hey, Alma (http://anghara.livejournal.com/profile), come on down to Baycon. Bring Deck.

Now I want a plan to do a little promoting.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I've been longing to go to Wiscon for about a decade, but it just doesn't fit into my life very well. I already have at least three major cross-country plane trips a year built into my life, and it comes too close on the heels of Kalamazoo to work well in my vacation accrual. But I hear such wonderful stories about it from those who go regularly. (Ah, why am I fooling myself. I'd end up alone in a corner of the lobby with nobody talking to me just like usual.) Maybe some year. I dunno.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

(Ah, why am I fooling myself. I'd end up alone in a corner of the lobby with nobody talking to me just like usual.)

I would talk to you. You're close enough to Baycon: why don't all us wiscon wistfuls meet up and whine together (Jules knows the restaurants): and then we can do something else fun when we're done with whining.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

I was more meeping about Wiscon due to its non-localness -- I'm not so bad when there's a good expectation of people I already know around. (And I'm trying to stick to my resolution about giving up meeping entirely.) But I'd love to meet up with folks at Baycon -- especially any of the rasfc crowd I haven't met yet. (I'm fairly certain we met at least in passing at Con Jose.)

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

Yes, we were in the audience at something together (was it the rasfc thing?) and I don't know what was happening right after but I think we both ran and ran to catch up with separate things. You were working on a costume doll, I think it was the Anglo-Saxon grave dress one, and I immediately wanted to introduce you to Emma, who was off cosplaying at Fanime.

She only goes to Fanime for the costumes, now.

Let's all focus on making Baycon things happen, somehow.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Let's all focus on making Baycon things happen, somehow.

Good idea. (It's actually be a few years since I've been to a Baycon, oddly enough. Time to get back in the habit.) I expect I'll be daytripping for some subset of the con, but with advance scheduling I should be able to make a gettogether a priority.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

At the risk of stirring up chaos, Midwest Airlines flies direct, San Francisco to Milwaukee, and Badger Bus runs regular service from Milwaukee Airport to Madison and back.

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

Well, you didn't stir up chaos, but I did go check it out before I made my final decision. That's an actual possibility, or it would be if I weren't so under-employed (and with three young folks, now, living here, all under- and unemployed themselves, one in college and two applying to grad school. One is not exactly kin, and is here only temporarily, but he has no limit to how long he stays, because we're damned well not going to spike his whole getting-it-together by quibbling about a few days).

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Well, you could probably find a place for your boarder to stay for a few days, if that's an issue. But the fare is near $300 per person, and if you don't want to spend it, that's that.

Have a good time at Baycon!

[(Anonymous)]

It's $60 cheaper to fly to Milwaukee than to Minneapolis, which is really weird because to fly from San Jose to Milwaukee you have to change planes in Minneapolis. Why can't I just get the ticket for the first plane? For grim curiosity's sake, I looked up the air fare from Minneapolis to Milwaukee: they have a flight which takes you to Chicago and then to Milwaukee, for, again, $60 less going straight from Minneapolis to Milwaukee. What the hell?

As I understand it, this sort of thing has been standard practice in airfares for decades. The important thing to remember is that airlines primarily exist for businessmen to go back and forth to places on business expense accounts. People going on vacation, to see relatives, etc. are a sideline.

Fares are set to get as much money out of businessmen as feasible. The cost of providing the travel is irrelevant except as a lower limit on prices.

The apparent irrationalities of fares have led to people gaming the system, and to airlines trying to stop them doing so. Things like when you want to go to Minneapolis, you buy the cheaper Milwaukee ticket and don't show up for the second flight. Plus, you can sell the second leg ticket to someone who wants to fly from Minneapolis to Milwaukee, if you can find such a person.

When terrorism led to requirements to show an ID matching the name on the ticket in order to fly, it was a great help to the airlines' fight against such activity.

(All of this is just based on stuff I read, not actual experience.)

- Captain Button