Long ago, in a land far, far away… or maybe just a time far, far away, airlines offered quality meals and incentives to get you to fly with them. I once took a flight with Alaska Airlines where they served – I kid you not – filet mignon, complimentary champagne, and Godiva chocolates on fine china with crystal and silverware. And this was in coach! Those days are gone, and now you’re lucky to get a bag of peanuts and half a can of soda. It does mean, however, that what sets one airline apart from another is now price. When they’re all cattle cars, I’m not willing to pay $100 more for a cattle car that will give me a WHOLE can of soda.
That’s good news for the less expensive airlines like Jet Blue and Southwest. They’re consistently the cheapest here, and I’ve always been pleased with my flights on Southwest. So what if they aren’t serving steak and the seats are unassigned? The price is usually right. Right now, during Southwest’s July sale, you can fly for even less. For $84 (or less), fly one way between dozens of cities. You have to book by May 31st and travel must occur in July. How much can you save?
Well, for $29 my sister in Silicon Valley could fly down to L.A. for the day. $29 in gas would get her to about Santa Barbara, and take her 5 hours longer. Live in Los Angeles? How about taking a $29 flight out to Vegas for the weekend and catching Bette Midler’s show? DC to Orlando is another $29 route – that’s less expensive than even the train.
Want to make this even better? Sign up for Southwest’s Rapid Rewards. Eight round trips equal a freebie to anywhere they go. No hassles with how many miles a flight is; just straightforward eight round trips to anywhere they fly equal one free round trip to anywhere they fly.
I love it when being cheap is easy.