<p>....if those of you with kids going far away were guiding your child's college choice this year; based on increased travel costs, would you have wanted them to make a different choice?</p>
<p>I just made reservations for D to go back to school in August, with a return at Christmas. $711. About $350 more than the same ticket cost last year. Ouch.</p>
<p>If I were doing it over, there are a FEW things I would have factored in differently, and travel expense is certainly one of them. None more than anticipating a "bad" economy, though. Oh well, I guess that's why God gave me two kids! "We" get to do it again!</p>
<p>I am not sure that distance would have been the variable - more like competitive routes (e.g. SFO to SEA is highly competitive, SFO to Boise is not)</p>
<p>Airline fare seems to be controlled more by how many other companies are flying the route than by distance...</p>
<p>I just checked the flights and so far next xmas is about the same as last xtmas was for the flight $450 on United</p>
<p>We groaned about higher costs at the smaller regional airports but they seem to be going up less. Well at least mine is knock on wood.</p>
<p>The other son is 900 miles away. We drive it to take him there and pick him up. OF course we love the Oregon Coast so it is kind of a vacation.</p>
<p>We thought we'd all meet in Atlanta ( we usually see family there for Thanksgiving) rather than having D pay for a ticket to Durham come home , but it turns out it costs the same to fly to Califorina ( forget which airport) as it does to fly to Atlanata!</p>
<p>We're feeling it !! D will be flying from Durham to home (N.CA) for Fall break, Thanksgiving and Christmas.</p>
<p>We did the same for S who also went to college on the other coast.</p>
<p>No regrets though.</p>
<p>I was really worried about the travel costs,mine is an international flight!! I just had to pay $1200 to get home 2 weeks ago!</p>
<p>When I return to school in January though I'm stopping to visit a friend in Oklahoma, he said he was willing pay the cost of the flight. But after I finish visiting him I have to get to Atlanta and I found that the Greyhound is the best option. Only costs $130 although it does take 19 hours but if it saves money then I don't mind travelling that much!</p>
<p>I've used the greyhound a couple of times but only for a short 4 hour trip to get me to the Atlanta airport. Has anyone else used the Greyhound as a means of getting back to school?</p>
<p>Yes, my D uses Greyhound all the time. She is much closer, though, only about 3 1/2 hours drive. NYC to her school is $20 one way, and Amtrak can be as high as $85 or more, one way. It can be a longer trip, depending on the time of day, but it can also be the same amount of time. But she is going to visit a school friend in Chicago, from NYC in a couple of weeks, by Greyhound. Travel by Greyhound is wonderful. In fact, she prefers it to Amtrak. In order to really save on Greyhound, be sure to check out their discounts. You can save in two ways: first, get a non-refundable ticket. I think you can even get that the day you want to travel-- get it online and present your confirmation number and the credit card you used to purchase the ticket, when you get to the station. Second, if you know your itinerary, you can purchase a 7-day non-refundable ticket, and that's even less. It's a lot better than paying for gas, and a huge amount better than flying or Amtrak. The plane for NYC to Chicago would have been $400. Greyhound round trip to Chicago is $176. Of course you have to be able to curl up in a bus seat and bear the long trip, but college kids can enjoy the road trip adventure!</p>
<p>I'm actually quite excited about taking the greyhound from Oklahoma to Atlanta it means i get to see a lot of states I haven't seen before that I wouldn't get to see on a plane!</p>
<p>I always get the non-refundable tickets too it can save about $50-$75 dollars on long trips.</p>
<p>Daughter is on the other side of the country as well. However with Southwest's Ding! we actually have been paying less than 3 years ago. She will be graduating in May so just 2-3 more trips home. One of those will be in August (2 weeks yeah!) and that ticket was $181 (roundtrip) with tax and security, again on Ding!. </p>
<p>Son has to fly up early for fall season practice and I'll follow with his stuff later at the end of Sept. when school starts. His ticket for August that I bought yesterday on Ding! was $29 (one way). The trains (SEPTA?) cost about the same from Philly to campus for the rest of the way. Between my gas in the car and the **** tolls up there I will spend more!</p>
<p>Other son's flight home from BWI for his leave in August on Ding! was $49 (one way) so I can't complain. Gas in my car is more than their airfares.</p>
<p>We did have an eye on who flew where (which airlines) when making college choices and ease of getting to and from airports but it was just a small ripple in a big pool. Travel expenses did figure in aid packages so it actually played a bigger part there.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>With kids at school 600 and 900 miles away, we're really going to feel the higher travel costs, whether it's by air or on the road. I don't think I'd have steered them away from their schools, though, even if I'd known - they're very good fits for these kids, and I think the extra cost, though painful, is worth it. It would be disappointing not to have them home for fall break, but that would be the one I'd sacrifice if I had to, since it's just four days.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Greyhound and Amtrak aren't attractive options when the trip itself would take up more than half of the vacation :( . Sometimes Amtrak is the perfect option, though - a friend of mine, who lives in the Syracuse area, has a daughter at Northwestern. The Amtrak service is perfect - about 12 hours long, overnight, and so cheap!</p>
<p>Y'all are buying Christmas tickets already? Wow--we just bought D's ticket to go back to campus in August.</p>
<p>Check out Farecast.com--we always start there for ticket prices. Then we compare what's out there to Southwest.</p>
<p>This August trip is the first one where we've found a better deal than Southwest offers.</p>
<p>For those needing to fly, the news says to definitely book holiday tickets now, as the airlines may be cutting flights, and those times are always tough anyway! Schools should have their 08-09 academic calendars posted, so you should be able to plan this far in advance.</p>
<p>We have 3 in college and all require air travel. Expenses have definitely gone up but we wouldn't change anything if given the chance. I just spend more time searching for reasonable flights and really, after the first year, the kids don't make as many trips home.</p>
<p>Thanksgiving tickets are always the most expensive and hardest to book. Everyone wants to fly home on Sunday.</p>
<p>I just bought Christmas vacation tickets for S on Southwest. Prices were high but I'm afraid they'll only go higher if I wait. </p>
<p>I checked the fares on Continental against those on Southwest and was surprised to see that they were the same. Continental even sells one way tickets at half the price of the R/T, unlike other airlines that charge as much for R/T as they do for O/W. I booked Southwest, though, because of the closer airport, lower baggage charges and Rapid Rewards program, as well as the possibility of switching to a Ding fare later on if one is offered.</p>
<p>Sorry, but I just had to post this -</p>
<p>I was reading the posts, saw Shrinkraps, and thought: Why would someone call him/herself Shrin Krap?</p>
<p>Guess I need another cup of coffee.</p>
<p>It's meant to be a play on words. Shrink ( as in psychiatrist ) rap (as in talk)....but also "shrinkwrap" as in the way old school software was sold. I have used this name since the old "compuserve bulletin board"... when there WAS no "internet". Oh well, the folks on psychiatry forums think it's prretty clever (smile)</p>
<p>cbreeze, I noticed you have a D doing N. Cal to Durham; Me too! Will she be doing the "Forever Duke" party next weekend? Maybe they will meet!</p>
<p>Shrinkrap, I sent you a PM.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap, I think your screen name is very clever too, now that I understand it. Definitely better than Shrin Krap.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap, I too wondered about your name. Thanks for the explanation.</p>
<p>Yes, the travel expenses have increased 4x for my dd2. However, it is still a better deal for us as she received a much better package from the OOS LAC who wanted to increase their geographic diversity. So to those of you starting the process, don't rule out an LAC just because it is a plane ride away.</p>