<p>Now that we are planning our trip, Atlanta seems to be the cheapest airport; but is 3 hours away. We were going to stop by Emory, but then I’d have to drive 6 hours back to Atlanta from our last stop. I now am trying to dissuade him from Emory as its a super/super reach and $$$$, but good friend goes there, so… What major airport do people from the Northeast fly into? Is there any airline that goes to NYC without connections? I’ve got to budget in flights in my COA calculations. I’m thinking probably twice per semester; does that sound about right?</p>
<p>I there there are direct (but not nonstop) flights between Birmingham and Laguardia on Southwest.</p>
<p>You have a few choices depending on rates and airlines…</p>
<p>B’ham
Montgomery
Atlanta
Huntsville (but I don’t think that will be cheapest)
Nashville, but that might be too far (about 4 hours) but might be good rates.
Memphis ( I think that’s about 3 1/2 hours)</p>
<p>I usually fly Southwest from Philly to B’ham. Average cost was around $320 roundtrip. But I’ve since discovered I can fly Air Tran from Atlantic City to Atlanta for under $180 round trip. Not to mention their flight schedule fits perfectly for me.</p>
<p>So more than likely that’s what I’ll be flying from here on out. It’s only an additional 2 hr drive flying into ATL than it would be B’ham. But I’ll drive the additional 2 hr’s each way to save $140+ per ticket.</p>
<p>I would say fly into Atlanta (most likely the least expensive) and drive to T-town. You will get on I-20 not far from the airport and it’s a straight shot.</p>
<p>Sometimes B’ham is about the same price. I would try Air Tran first…they run a lot of deals, just keep checking. Sign on to their site and have it alert you to rate changes. They will send you an email. Delta (home hub) will sometimes match Air Tran.</p>
<p>From what i’ve seen, it’s usually cheaper for people on the East coast to fly into Atlanta, but that has rarely been the case for me coming from the West Coast. Just keep checking prices and buy when you find a good deal.</p>
<p>Thanks, I’ll look into Southwest to Birmingham as well as Delta. It’s good to have some options. We will be looking to tour and visit the day we arrive, so if we do ATL it will need to be an early flight. Think we will stay in Tuscaloosa that night, maybe on campus if they have availability- then head to Ole Miss to drop S off for summer program. I’m just not excited driving 6 hours back to ATL myself. Birmingham is the closest airport I presume?</p>
<p>Actually, Memphis is an hour and half from Oxford, so you might want to look into departing from there.</p>