Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Lodging - Tip the housekeeper

2010-03-05T01:00:00Z

Who is the hotel employee that is most responsible for making sure your stay is pleasant?

Hint: it's not the bellman.

When you travel on business you may not even see hotel housekeepers if you leave early and return in the evening. As a leisure traveler you are more likely to meet the woman who cleans your room. (I'm not going to be P.C. here. I'm sure somewhere in the world there is a male hotel housekeeper but I've yet to meet one.)

But whether you see your housekeeper or not, you will come back to a room that miraculously has been transformed from how you left it to clean and tidy. New little soaps and shampoos, clean towels with those arranged folds you could never do yourself, more notepads and pens, and so on.

It doesn't happen by accident.

How can you show your thanks?

Leave a tip on the pillow for her.

How much?

At least $2. The larger the room and the more she has to clean, then the larger the tip should be. $5 a day is not at all unreasonable in a swanky hotel, because the housekeeper has bigger rooms to clean and therefore cleans fewer during her shift.

If you stay more than one night and the housekeeper has done a really good job why not make the last tip a little nicer.

For someone who might make only $8-10 an hour (and not even necessarily have full-time hours), another $5 or more per hour in tips will make a real difference.

If you can afford to stay in a hotel or motel then you can afford to leave a tip. Brighten your housekeeper's day. She might even leave you more of those cool little designer shampoos.

Lodging - Old chains, new brands

2010-02-17T19:30:00Z

By all accounts, the on-going economic meltdown has been the most punishing to hotels since the 1930s. Interestingly, it seems that some independent hotels and smaller chains with less uniform properties such as Kimpton and Joie de Vivre have been weathering the storm better than the huge chains.

Perhaps recognizing that, several of the large chains have rolled out plans to capture new business with products aimed at travelers interested in a different experience.

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Starwood: Aloft and Element

Starwood isn't a brand itself but is home to some of the world's best known hotel chains including Westin, Sheraton, Le Meridien, and the newer,edgier W Hotels. W Hotels itself has been very successful and is growing substantially, but Starwood has rolled out a smaller, stripped-down version of W called Aloft. The name implies an airport hotel and while a number of the hotels are by airports, you can also find them downtown and in the burbs. Aloft appears aimed at younger business and leisure travelers who want plenty of gadgetry but don't need fine dining or lavish public spaces. You can already stay at about 40 Aloft locations in the U.S. with more on the way, plus quite a few outside of the U.S. The closest locations to us are at near the Portland airport and in Rancho Cucamonga in southern California.

Like Aloft, the Element is an offshoot of an existing Starwood brand, namely Westin. Element's seems targeted at an older traveler who needs an extended stay property, as the rooms all have kitchen facilities. Additionally room options include two-bedroom suites suitable for families. Only a handful of Element hotels are now open, none in California. The closest is in Las Vegas-Summerlin, Nev., with a Palmdale, Calif. Location to debut in 2011.

Common to both Element and Aloft is the lack of full-service dining, but both brands offer a "grab and go" pantry with a decent selection of prepared foods and beverages.

Hyatt: Andaz

Hyatt's new brand, Andaz, appears to be a lot like Starwood's W Hotels: striking design, mid-century modern on steroids, maybe just a little less ostentatiously hip. Like W, they are aimed at sophisticated big cities and there are just five now open including two in California (West Hollywood and San Diego). Two more are in New York (Wall Street and Fifth Avenue), and one in London. They look exceptionally nice; I wonder if there are plans for a lot more. Like other Hyatts, they offer a "business plan" rate that bundles internet access, breakfast, and other amenities into a single attractive rate.

Marriott: Edition and the Autograph Collection

I respect Marriott for delivering a very reliable product. In my business I probably book more rooms for clients from its various brands than from any other chain, but I have to admit it's not a company that is in the vanguard of creating cutting edge hotels.

But they are looking to change that when they introduce Edition. Edition is a partnership between Marriott and renowned hotelier Ian Schrager.

Schrager will design one-of-a-kind hotels designed to appeal to business travelers not interested in Marriott's standard products and seems aimed at the same clientele now drawn to Starwood's W Hotels. These will be boutique hotels with 150 to 200 rooms, located in top-drawer cities like Los Angeles, Miami, Paris, Las Vegas, New York, and so on. The tanking economy led to specific locations being shelved, so when - and where - the first Edition will open are still in doubt, but it's clear that Marriott wants to tap this market.

What is solidly underway is the launch of Marriott's Autograph Collection. While Edition will involves building new hotels from the ground up, this is something altogether different: the gathering of existing independent hotels under the Marrott Autograph Collection brand.

The first hotels to become part of the Autograph Collection are the seven properties of the Kessler Collection. With one exception (Taos, New Mexico), the Kessler hotels are all located in the southeast. They are luxury properties located in very desirable destinations.

What Marriott gets is a collection of unique hotels that do not conform to the rigid identities of Marriott's regular brands (Marriott, Courtyard, Residence Inn, etc.) and can attract a different traveler. Hotels that become part of the Autograph Collection gain access to the huge marketing power of Marriott Hotels and the large number of travelers - business and leisure - who belong to its Marriott Rewards loyalty program. Guests can both earn points in the Rewards program by staying at Autograph Collection hotels as well as redeem points for free stays.

Much like many a business traveler flies routinely in markets such as Chicago-New York but cashes his miles in to fly to Hawaii, many Marriott program members may earn their points at Courtyard and Fairfield Inns in Dallas and Houston but cash them in for a stay at the The Mansion on Forsyth Park in Savannah.

Marriott has said it plans to add another 25 properties to the Autograph Collection by the end of 2010.

Autograph and Edition are smart moves by Marriott to capture younger and more independent travelers, as well as change the perception of existing guests of what the Marrott brand is about.

Airlines - Chico to LAS, PDX, LAX, BUR, SNA, SAN for $59

2010-02-11T17:00:00Z

A $39 sale started by Southwest and matched by other airlines including United Airlines has brought fares from Chico to Las Vegas, southern California, and Portland down to $59 one way or $118 round-trip. This is a steal.

Terms:
- travel between 15 March and 25 May 2010
- valid daily except Fridays and Sundays
- price with all taxes/fees is about $150 (example: total round-trip fare to Las Vegas is $148.90)
- fare does not show a ticketing expiration date but Southwest's fare must be bought today so you may lose out if you don't buy it today.
- fare basis code: LAG14KS (book L class)

Airlines - Junior's first plane ride

2010-02-04T01:00:00Z

If you're looking for a relatively inexpensive way to take a youngster on his or her first plane ride here's an idea.

Effective 25 March, Horizon Air will operate two flights (Monday-Friday) each direction between Sacramento (SMF) and San Jose (SJC) that enable an easy same day trip starting in Sacramento. (Saturdays and Sundays only one flight operates each direction.)

Leave SMF at 10:05 a.m., arrive SJC at 10:50 a.m.
Leave SJC at 6:15 p.m., arrive SMF at 6:55 p.m.

A similar schedule is available in the reverse direction for those who live in the San Jose area. And naturally you could simply stay overnight if you have relatives or friends in the area.

Now you'll need to find things to do in San Jose with a child, but that might include the Great America amusement park (not too far from the airport), the Tech Museum downtown, or anywhere else you could get to in a rental car or with transit.

Horizon is currently selling seats on these flights for $29 one-way. The fares require at least 14 days advance purchase, and of course are non-refundable. Round-trip, the total price with all taxes and fees comes to $79.40 per person. As with anything airline fare related, this could all change in the blink of an eye so if you like this idea then it's best to act on it soon.

For adults who wish we had more airline options out of Chico, this will give you an opportunity to experience Horizon Air's service. (They still serve free beer and wine!) These are not the little Embraer 30 passenger jobs that United Express flies out of Chico but rather the Bombardier Q400, a 74 passenger turboprop and the workhorse of Horizon's fleet.

Horizon Air (part of the same company that owns Alaska Airlines) is the carrier that Chico would most like to land for service to LAX and elsewhere. Horizon flies the Q400 from Redding and Eureka to LAX and Seattle, and from Sacramento operates flights (Q400s and regional jets) to San Jose, Spokane, Boise, Santa Barbara, Portland and Palm Springs, but does not yet grace the tarmac in Chico.

When you take your child or grandchild for a first plane ride on Horizon be sure to tell the employees how much we would really like to see them land here in Chico soon. Who knows - maybe someday that first plane ride could start right here on Horizon.

Airlines - To Hawaii by way of Alaska

2010-01-29T16:30:00Z

In the wake of the bankruptcies of ATA (America Trans Air) and Aloha Airlines, an interesting thing happened. Clearly seeing an opportunity, Alaska Airlines, named for the coldest and furthest north part of the U.S., began or will begin service from several California cities to two Hawaiian destinations.

Since last fall Alaska has offered nonstops from Oakland (OAK) to Maui (OGG) and Kona (KOA) on a 3 times a week and 4 times a week frequency respectively.

Starting in early March the same frequency of service will be available from San Jose (SJC) to Maui and Kona.

Noteworthy for north state residents, effective 26 March, Alaska Airlines is offering daily nonstop service from Sacramento (SMF) to Maui. The schedule is convenient, outbound at 8:15 a.m. arriving 10:15 a.m., with the return flight leaving Maui at 11:50 a.m. arriving Sacramento at 8:00 p.m.

From its principal hub city, Seattle, Alaska Airlines flies to four Hawaiian destinations including Honolulu and Lihue (Kauai) in addition to Maui and Kona.

If you're heading to Hawaii be sure to compare package prices that combine air + car, air + hotel/condo, or air + car + hotel/condo before you buy a simple airline ticket. You may find the package price a better deal.

Keep in mind when comparing, however, that packages that include car rental normally do not include tax for the car, and tax on car rentals in Hawaii is high. Ask the tour operator that gives you a price quote what the additional tax amount would be that you will have to pay directly to the car rental company. That way you can make an apples-to-apples price comparison with booking the components separately.

Lodging - AAA membership = hotel savings

2010-01-21T18:45:00Z

I operate a hotel booking service for self-employed business travelers, those who work for small firms, and for people at large companies who are not required to use a designated corporate travel agency.

A question I always ask a new client is whether he or she belongs to AAA.

Why?

My experience is that AAA membership is by far the most common lodging discount for individual travelers. For the price of a basic annual AAA membership ($54 in northern California) an individual business traveler gets access to discounts at most hotels up and down the price ladder. This goes for both chain hotels (Marriott, Starwood, Hilton, Best Western, etc.) as well as independent properties.

]]> In the interest of full disclosure, I worked for several years at the northern California AAA club's headquarters in San Francisco in the 1990s.

Let's look at prices for three different properties: a motel, a mid-price hotel, and a high-end hotel. The rates shown are for one person, king bed, and do not include tax. (Rates were checked on 20 January.)

Best Western Roseville Inn, 3 nights, 23-26 February

Lowest non-AAA rate: $73.99
AAA rate: $66.59

Savings = $7.40 per night + tax

Hilton San Jose, 2 nghts, 1-3 March

Lowest non-AAA rate: $199.00
AAA rate: $189.00

Savings = $10 per night + tax

Le Meridien San Francisco, 2 nights, 6-8 April

Lowest non-AAA, non-refundable rate:   $259.00
Lowest non-AAA rate, not prepaid:        $285.00
AAA rate, regular:                                $242.25
AAA rate, special includes breakfast:    $199.00

Savings = $60 per night or more + tax, plus two breakfasts

Of course there are other discounts hotels may offer that include AARP members, senior, military, government business, and more. But AAA is the most widely found, and it does not require attainment of a certain age, or employment by a specific entity, plus it can be used whether you are traveling for business or for pleasure.

Furthermore unlike bookings made through third-party vendors such as Expedia, Priceline, Hotels.com, and so forth, AAA rates are considered "full-fare", and thus eligible for upgrades and hotel loyalty program credit.

Finally, AAA rates are very seldom of the prepaid/non-refundable/non-changeable sort. Typically they simply require a credt card guarantee to hold the room, and come with the same cancellation deadline that a hotel applies to its other normal rates.

AAA membership also offers discounts for Hertz car rentals and Amtrak, plus the fine AAA maps and TourBooks at no cost..

If you travel even just a few nights annually for business, you'll find one of your best investments in travel savings is AAA membership.

Airline Fare School # 13 - Class dismissed!

2010-01-05T17:00:00Z

To those of you who have read all of the chapters of Airline Fare School you have my thanks and congratulations.

I hope you get the chance to put some of the things you've learned into practice when you plan a future trip.

At the very least, try to be creative when you structure trips. Use the tinker toys approach, and avoid being a slave to the tyranny of "round-trips" when something else might work better.

I'll continue to write the occasional post about something interesting, unusual, or downright wacky when it comes to airline fares but this is the end of the structured approach of Airline Fare School.

To make it easier to get access to the series, here's a table of contents:

AIRLINE FARE SCHOOL

Introduction: Welcome to Airline Fare School

Chapter 1:     The Basics, part 1
Chapter 2:     The Basics, part 2
Chapter 3:     The Basics, part 3
Chapter 4:     One ways and round trips
Chapter 5:     Connections, Stopovers, Through fares, Point-to-Point fares
Chapter 6:     Open jaws and Tinkertoys
Chapter 7:     Circle trips
Chapter 8:     Secret stopovers, Part 1
Chapter 9:     Secret stopovers, Part 2
Chapter 10:   Secret stopovers, Part 3
Chapter 11:   Differences between domestic and international fares
Chapter 12:   How you can research airline fares
Chapter 13:   Class dismissed!

Airline Fare School # 12 - How you can research airline fares

2009-12-14T17:00:00Z

In an online travel world that is heavy into blogging, emailing, Facebooking, and tweeting the latest bargain fare between Points A and B, there is little out there that gives knowledgeable consumers access to the raw data - the airline fare and rules displays that underlie it all. For those who have slogged through AFS and garnered a better understanding of how airline fares work, you certainly qualify as more knowledgeable, but where do you go from here to apply what you're learned?

There are two channels that I am aware of, which allow an ordinary consumer to see fare and rules displays. One is free, and the other has a modest monthly charge. (If you know of others please comment back with the link.)

]]> Let's start with the free method offered through Travelocity.

Travelocity fare displays

Travelocity is one of what I call the "Big Four" of huge online all-purpose travel websites, the others being Orbitz, Expedia, and Priceline. Travelocity has the deepest legacy. It is owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation, which also owns the Sabre global distribution system used by many travel agencies worldwide, as well as by numerous airlines for their in-house system.

Travelocity is the descendant of a pre-web, dial-up, do-it-yourself booking system called Eaasy Sabre. (The double "a" is not a typo - Sabre tself was created by American Airlines in the 1950s and for many years was simply a subsidiary of the airline until spun off as a separate company. The "aa" gimmick was used extensively to link products to AA, American Airlines that is.) Eaasy Sabre was eventually discontinued and absorbed into Travelocity, and the fare display capability is probably a remnant from those days.

Travelocity clearly is not promoting the use of this tool. In the interest of research, I played newbie to see if starting from the Travelocity homepage, there was a path to get to this feature, which I already knew existed. I couldn't find a path. Good thing I already had the URL, and now you do, too.

http://dps1.travelocity.com/lognlogin.ctl?tr_module=FARE

What you'll see is straightforward: enter the cities (or three letter codes), specify round-trip or one-way, departure date, and (optional) airline preferences. (I filled in the blanks to look for fares between Sacramento and San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 12 December for Delta Airlines.)

The response is a stripped-down variation on what a travel agent would see, limited to the carrier, the amount, the fare basis code, and a button to click in order to view the rules. (This screen-capture is only a partial response, because the entire display from low to high is very long, just as it would be for a travel agent.)

Let's look at the rules for the $398 U14NR1. (I've cut out boiler plate type rules in order to present what is important and readily understandable. Note the free stopover provision for ATL in the "STOPOVERS" section.)

Surprising to me considering that Travelocity appears to have hidden access to the fare display functionality, is that it works with more markets than it used to. My experience in the past was that it seldom could display fares for travel outside of the U.S. and Canada. This time I was able to see fares for many - though not all - international travel markets. A scattering of international fare requests I made that originated in Chico were unsuccessful, but the same requests made with a Sacramento origination brought results.

Besides being incomplete for international travel, the Travelocity option has two other limitations:
- Southwest Airlines fares are not available
- You cannot see "raw" airline availability, although you can try to book flights in Travelocity to see if you can match the fare with an available price

ExpertFlyer.com

My feeling is that if you are an executive assistant who plans a lot of air travel, a very frequently traveling business person who plans your own travel, or an airline junkie, then you should seriously consider subscribing to ExpertFlyer. This is especially true if you think you'd like to delve deeper into airline fares and perhaps use some of the ideas I've presented in AFS for your own travel planning. As a matter of fact, I subscribed to ExpertFlyer two years ago until I obtained access to Apollo through the host travel agency with which I am affiliated for my hotel booking service for business travelers.

ExpertFlyer contains many useful features, but its own marketing seems mostly aimed at frequent travelers who want access to raw air availability for free airline mileage award tickets and upgrade certificates. However for the purposes of AFS, I'm going to spotlight the the access it provides to airline fare and rules displays, routings, and availability.

There are two ExpertFlyer subscription plans, I wouldn't bother with the $4.99 per month Basic Plan because it lacks too much. If you subscribe, you should get the Premium Plan at either $9.99 monthly or $99.99 annually. They offer a free 5-day trial period which is plenty of time to decide whether it's something you feel is worth paying ten bucks a month for.

Let's go through the same example I used with Travelocity fares: Sacramento to San Juan, departing 12 December, on Delta Airlines.

Here's the fare display response (only a partial screen-capture):

You can look at rules displays (only a partial screen-capture):

You can look at routings:

And you can look at raw airline availability, too. Sacramento to Atlanta, 12 December '09 on Delta:

ExpertFlyer provides access to the same fare information that a travel agent or airline ticket agent has. And they do provide access to Southwest Airlines fares and availability!

The presentation is similar to what a travel agent would see, although easier to read, and with more user-friendly ways to toggle between related tasks.

But ExpertFlyer does not give you ability to sell or price flight segments; it is not a platform to book travel.

You can research fares, rules, routings and inventory availability at ExpertFlyer, then piece together the itinerary using the airline's website, calling the airline (and paying the "living, breathing reservations agent" fee), or employing one of the online travel agencies to piece together the itinerary and see if it prices out the way you expect it to.

In lieu of using an airline website or online travel agency you might also try using ITA Software's website. ITA cannot book flights but quickly serves up multiple itineraries validated both for the availability of inventory as well as the price. It isn't cuddly like the online travel agencies but it's fast, uncluttered with advertising or extraneous information, and provides responses with very detailed information that include the breakdown of fare and taxes. Give it a try and see what you think.

The next chapter of Airline Fare School will conclude the series. Don't miss our last "class meeting": AFS # 13.

Airline Fare School # 11 - Differences between domestic and international fares

2009-12-07T20:00:00Z

The primary purpose of Airline Fare School is to acquaint you with the rules and structure of airline fares mostly as the system functions within the U.S. Nonetheless I've brought in references to international travel in the early chapter on understanding connections and stopovers, as well as more recently in the second and third installments of secret stopovers.

In this chapter I'll cover some things worth knowing about international fares even if you may never really put them to use.

At root the purpose of fares for international air travel is no different than for domestic travel; they serve to get the passenger from Point A to Point B. However certain features of fares - in particular higher priced full-fare economy, business and first class tickets - have different attributes that don't exist for U.S. domestic travel.

]]> Let's start with a quick look at the global airline industry today.

What was once a tightly regulated system marked by largely government owned or controlled flag carriers (Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France, Japan Airlines, etc.), has changed dramatically. Most of the big national carriers have been privatized, and some have merged or been taken over by other carriers. Examples include Air France-KLM, Lufthansa (owner of Austrian, Swiss, and Brussels Airlines), and now the proposed link-up between British and Iberia (Spain's flag carrier).

Much like what has happened in this country, low-cost/low-fare European air carriers have sprung up with names like Easyjet, Ryanair, Eurofly, Germanwings, Wizzair, etc. to connect the dots. Akin to Southwest, these airlines only play in their own private sandbox; they do not codeshare, accept other airlines' tickets, or check baggage through to other carriers. Moreover they have very simple fare structures based on point-to-point one-way fares. The increasingly common practice in the U.S. of charging for "extras" here such as checked luggage, meals, and seat assignments began in Europe with these airlines.

New low-fare carriers, coupled with the explosive growth of high-speed rail in short and medium-distance corridors throughout western Europe, have resulted in a troubled environment for many of the big European carriers. Elsewhere in the world the developments have been similar.

At the government level, bilateral agreements between nations that have regulated how many and which carriers could serve international routes and in some cases the fares they could charge, have loosened substantially over the past several decades, particularly between the U.S. and Europe. Now it is much easier for an airline to institute (or discontinue) transatlantic service, and to quickly raise or lower fares to match the competition.

Finally, three large global alliances of airlines have resulted in a kind of schoolyard picking of sides among the Star Alliance (United, Continental, US Airways in the U.S.), oneworld (American), and Skyteam (Delta). The product of these alliances is an analog to what we have here with code-sharing but on a global basis.

In theory, you could fly from Chico to Warsaw all on flight numbers preceded with the UA (United Airlines) code. However you would be using United Express to San Francisco, United or Lufthansa to Frankfurt, and then Lufthansa to Warsaw. If you were on a Lufthansa flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt, then you would not have a seat on even one flight operated under United's true colors by United personnel.

Is this good or bad? Probably some of each, but on one measure of customer service it is better, as the specific example I gave in the last paragraph illustrates. Being able to fly Lufthansa instead of United on such a long international flight is a big plus. Economy class on United between the U.S. and Europe is like being on a never ending U.S. domestic flight, whereas transatlantic economy class on Lufthansa still retains some sparkle.

In most ways the fare structure for international travel is the same as within the U.S.

Open-jaw trips work pretty much the same way. (Why more people don't open jaw their trips in Europe is one of the great unexplained travel mysteries to me. The only thing that I can think of that accounts for it is sheer ignorance on the part of the traveling public of the fact that you can open-jaw and still get the lowest available fare.)

Advance purchase and minimum stay requirements apply to discounted fares although both have gotten much easier over the years. It is not unusual to see 3 and 7 day advance purchase requirements on the lowest fares to Europe that once might have had 21 or 30 day advance booking requirements, though finding available inventory for the fare may be a challenge. Some of the examples in the "Secret Stopovers" chapters are partly the result of situations where more stringent advance purchase requirements for discounted domestic travel can be overcome by taking a longer trip that allows you to make a stopover in a domestic city.

One way international fares tend to be relatively much higher for international travel than for domestic travel. However, travel agencies (such as STA Travel) sell lower priced tickets to students, and a traveler of any age can look for a travel agent that resells tickets bought through consolidators. (Consolidators do not sell directly to the public.)

For example, on 24 November when I'm writing this post, the lowest published fare on united.com I could get for travel 2 December from Chico to London on United 6193 to United 930 via SFO is $1589.60. However a travel agent working with a consolidator could get the very same flights for $355 plus her commission (around $400+ to the consumer).

You learned about routings in AFS #2, and how these govern the cities you can connect through on your way from Point A to Point C.

They function in the same way for most discounted international fares. Furthermore many airlines - in particular foreign carriers - that don't serve most American cities may still publish fares from those unserved cities specifying the permitted routing to connect to a U.S. city from which they do fly.

For example, British Airways publishes competitive fares from Chico to London (and elsewhere in Europe) allowing that United be used between Chico and San Francisco and then, of course, British Airways to London and beyond.

BRITISH AIRWAYS FARES, CHICO TO STOCKHOLM (partial display)

Now instead of routings there is a different system that usually applies only to full-fare economy, business and first class tickets. It is called the mileage system.

Here's your Cliff Notes summary of the mileage system
- fares between a city-pair are assigned what is called the "maximum permitted mileage" (MPM)
- a passenger can take any combination of flights between the two cities so long as the total mileage does not exceed the MPM

For example, the MPM on United between San Francisco and London is 6,429 even though the nonstop mileage on a flight between the two cities is 5,368. You have another 1000 miles or so you could play around with by stopping over in other cities along the way.

This is the most abbreviated explanation possible of a system that is remarkably complex and of which I have only a basic understanding. Airlines with international service as well as large travel agencies that manage travel for big companies have what are called "rate desks" staffed with experts who have worked for years in the industry.

They subject complicated international itineraries to rigorous scrutiny looking for ways to create the best fare. Rules and terms I can guarantee that you've never heard of, such as "higher intermediate point", "circle trip minimum", and "point beyond ticketing" are part of this world. Furthermore, big travel agency rate desks examine foreign currency exchange disparities to see whether it would save money to issue separate tickets in different currencies.

For the vast majority of international travelers - leisure or business - none of these issues will ever be a factor because they are using a discounted fares governed by routings. But for the small segment of international business travelers who buy expensive full-fare tickets on short notice for multi-city itineraries, well-trained pros at travel agencies and airlines are fare wizards.

The next chapter is the second to last of the Airline Fare School series. I'm going to show you a couple of ways - one free and the other low-cost - that enable you to get access to the fares and rules that lie at the heart of the airline fare system.

Airline Fare School # 10 - Secret stopovers, Part 3

2009-11-25T01:00:00Z

This is the last installment of Secret Stopovers .

US Airways - San Francisco to Paris (free stopover in Philadelphia)

US Airways allows a stopover in Philadelphia (PHL) or Charlotte (CLT) on pretty much any fare I've looked at between the U.S. and Europe. PHL is both a domestic hub for US Airways as well as its primary hub for service between the U.S. and Europe. Currently served European cities from PHL include Dublin, London, Madrid, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, plus Tel Aviv in the Middle East. From CLT the airline operates nonstop to London, Paris, and Frankfurt.

Fares to PHL tend to be on the high side so if a business trip (or leisure trip) comes up on short notice you might be able to add Europe on. You may actually save money over just buying a round-trip ticket to Philly, or at least be able to fly to Europe for not too much more.

]]> Check out this example: SFO-PHL leaving 24 November returning 28 November vs. the same flight to PHL, with a flight to Paris (CDG) on the 28th returning to SFO on 2 December. $2009 just to PHL, or $858 to go all the way to Paris.

Why? Because the fare used between SFO and CDG allows a free stopover in PHL. (Examples are from Expedia.)

Now there's a curious thing about this trip. If you were to plan exactly the same trips using USAirways.com instead of Expedia, it wouldn't get it right. US Airways would present the same price for the simple SFO-PHL round-trip, but would fail to accurately price the Paris trip with the free stopover.

Moral of that anecdote? If you like to use an airline's proprietary site, it still may be useful to get a second or even third opinion for the same itinerary from one of the Big Four (Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline). Or use a bricks-and-mortar travel agent and pay the planning fee if you feel he or she has the necessary expertise.

About Philadelphia. PHL is a convenient jumping off point to other east coast destinations. SEPTA, the regional rail system has frequent and fast service from the airport directly to Amtrak's downtown Philadelphia station. From there by train many cities are a short ride away including New York (1.5 hours or less), Washington, D.C. (about 2 hours), Newark, Baltimore, Wilmington, and elsewhere.

American Airlines - Sacramento to Cabo San Lucas (free stopover in Dallas)

This isn't an example where the fare is actually lower than what you'd pay to get to DFW, but it sure is close. Pay your employer the difference in fare (a whopping $40 in this instance) and enjoy a weekend in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (SJD). Notice in the second itinerary that it's a nonstop between SJD and SMF - Mexicana flies this nonstop and is a code-share partner of American's. You could also return on an American connection via DFW. (Examples are from aa.com)

Delta Airlines - Sacramento to Buenos Aires (free stopover in Atlanta)

Current fares between Sacramento (SMF) and Atlanta (ATL) on Delta are expensive if you don't plan at least 14 days in advance.

So if a work trip comes up on fairly short notice, why not take a few days of vacation after the business part of the trip and head south - way south - to Buenos Aires (EZE)? Heck, in this case you'll even save your company money.

Here's a round-trip on Delta from SMF to ATL (2-4 December) at $1115.20, followed by an SMF-ATL (2 December), ATL-EZE (4 December), and EZE-SMF (9 December) at $1059.80. Price savings comes to about $45, and you get to practice your tango. (Examples from Delta.com)

Free London stopover on British Airways and free Paris stopover on Air France

British Airways and Air France both allow free stopovers at their respective hub airports in London (LHR - Heathrow) and Paris (CDG - Charles de Gaulle) even on their lowest round-trip fares.

For example, you could buy a ticket from San Francisco to Rome on BA with a break in travel - not just a connection - in London and then continue on to Rome. It would not increase your fare except for some additional tax.

Or buy a ticket from Seattle to Prague on Air France breaking the trip in Paris.

London and Paris are two of the top cities in the world to visit. These free stopover allowances present you the opportunity to visit them in conjunction with another European destination at almost no additional transportation cost.

Some other points about each carrier's stopover provisions:
- Air France actually allows you to stop over in Paris both directions if you wish
- British Airways will allow a second stopover in London for $50
- Air France also allows you to have an open jaw trip plus the Paris stopover(s)
- British Airways allows you the rare privilege of a double open-jaw (flying into and out of different cities in Europe as well as originating and terminating travel in two different U.S. cities

Let's look at an example from British Airways website. In this case, we're really milking all of the rules: San Francisco to London on 21 January. Stopping over for a few days then continuing to Rome on the 24th. Open-jaw (not flying) between Rome and Milan. Flying back from Milan to Los Angeles (double open-jaw) on 3 February.

All of that including taxes and fees for $756.55.

Come back for Airline Fare School # 11 where we'll look at some of the differences between domestic fares and international fares.

Fröhlicher Mauergefalltag!

2009-11-09T20:00:00Z

In my style of German, that's Happy Fall of the Wall Day!

German allows you to make compound nouns of nearly limitless length that are simply dreadful (and typically bureaucratic), but also short ones like Zeitgeist (and unfortunately blitzkrieg) that are so perfect that other languages use them because they don't have their own words that work as well.

I spent a month in Germany in October 1980, including about a week in Berlin with a day trip to East Berlin. It was a remarkable place then with the separating wall adding this menacing and very odd dimension to the city. Other ways in which the city was - and was not - separated such as the subways and streetcar system, are too bizarre to explain here. In May 2008 I was back for the first time and the changes I saw were beyond conventional words such as "astounding" or "amazing".

EAST GERMANY'S ICONIC TRABANTS ARE NOW A JOYRIDE AT TRABI-SAFARI IN BERLN

Twenty years ago today something miraculous happened that few of my age then, let alone those of my parents' and older generations' ages, could imagine: the Berlin Wall and the entire 1400 km heavily fortified border that separated the two parts of Germany fell, and less than a year later German reunification would be real.

But the Berlin of today is a direct result of what happened on 9 November 1989.

(For an excellent account read this article in English from Spiegel-Online. Der Spiegel [The Mirror] is the weekly German newsmagazine akin to Newsweek or Time.)

My mother was German and I think what she always said about the wall was similar to what most other Germans felt. She thought it would eventually come down but not within her lifetime. Well, I'm happy to say that she outlived the wall by 18 years.

The process of healing the wounds of 44 years of postwar separation haven't been easy for Germany, especially for the former eastern part. But in spite of the at times wrenching change, few Germans would turn the clock back. Young adults born around the time of reunification have no personal memory of anything other than a unified Germany and a unified Europe. Good for them and good for all of the other young Europeans.

And when you look at the pictures from November 1989 all you see is complete joy (mixed with disbelief) that the detested wall had finally been broken.

In my small way as a German-American, I share in the pleasure of celebrating the 20th anniversary of the wall's demise and honor everyone who had a hand in bringing it down.

THE NEW BERLIN MAIN TRAIN STATION (Straddling the former east-west border)

Airline Fare School # 9 - Secret stopovers, Part 2

2009-11-04T16:00:00Z

We're going to go two directions here: Hawaii and the Caribbean.

But first let's consider why stopover provisions even exist in the first place.

At one time and even now, it's not always possible to fly between two places with nonstop flights or nice, neat connections. In order to use one airline from Point A to Point C via Point B. an overnight stop may be necessary. The airline knows that if its fare is broken point-to-point, it is likely to be more expensive than a competitor's. In such an instance the airline is trying to turn a negative into a positive, or at least into a neutral.

]]> The greater the distance and difficulty of reaching a destination, the more likely it will be that fares may include a provision for free or fixed-price stopovers. Travel from North America to Africa historically and to this day is mostly via Europe, and fares often will allow stopovers in Europe at a carrier's hub city.

Besides distance and difficulty, another possible reason for a carrier to allow stopovers may be to highlight an advantage that other carriers don't have. British Airways offers free stopovers in London which we'll look at in the next chapter of AFS. As you would expect, London is BA's giant hub and they are leveraging it by offering free stops in one of the world's most visited cities.

Finally part of the reason for stopovers allowances may be legacy. The Alaska Airlines Seattle stopover you saw in the previous chapter may be a remnant of the special bond between Alaska and the Pacific Northwest - Seattle in particular - that has existed since the late 19th century and the Yukon Gold Rush. Even now, the vast majority of seats between the Lower 48 and Alaska are from Seattle.

For all of these possible reasons there are times when I don't see why a carrier allows stopovers. And probably because stopover provisions are relatively obscure (although very useful for those in the know which now includes you), just because airline X offers free stopovers in a market does not mean that airline Y will also.

I have never seen stopover provisions in fares published by any of the so-called "low cost carriers" such as Southwest, Airtran, jetBlue, Spirit, etc. If you have a break in travel with these airlines you will pay purely point-to-point fares.

So for domestic carriers, stopover provisions will only be found among the legacy network carriers which include United, American, Continental, Delta, Northwest (soon to be fully absorbed in Delta), and US Airways, plus the more regional in nature Alaska Airlines and sister carrier Horizon Air.

In general what I have found is that American, Delta and U.S. Airways are more likely to have stopover provisions, United is in the middle, and Continental is the stingiest. Alaska/Horizon has several instances of free stopovers on fares to points outside of the continental 48 states including Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico.

So let's look at a couple of stopover examples in fares to Hawaii and the Caribbean.

Most readers of Planes, Trains & Automobiles I suspect live in California so the Hawaiian stopover allowances probably won't mean much since there aren't a lot of places to stop between here and Hawaii.

But fares published from inland U.S. points to Hawaii often allow a stopover in the airline's gateway city for service to Hawaii for $60. much like United's Denver stop we looked at in the previous chapter.

Because fares within the continental 48 states are so low now, the stopover provision may not come into play because it would be less expensive to break the fare into separate point-to-point fares via the connecting or stopover city.

Interesting things are possibly with Alaska/Horizon's fares to Hawaii, however. Alaska Airlines' service to Hawaii is relatively new, and with the exceptions of Oakland-Kona/Lihue, Anchorage-Honolulu, and Portland-Maui service, it's all operated from its Seattle hub.

Probably because of that and because in some cases (mostly on the return flights) an overnight layover is unavoidable in Seattle, Alaska offers a free stopover there on fares between the mainland and Hawaii. For business travelers in the inland Northwest (including nearby Redding served by Horizon Air) this may present the opportunity to graft Hawaii on to a short-notice business trip to Seattle for little or no additional money.

Take a look at these two fare displays. The first is between Redding (RDD) and Seattle (SEA) on Horizon Air and the second is between Redding (RDD) and Honolulu (HNL) on Horizon/Alaska. (Go back to read about fare displays in AFS # 1 if these aren't understandable.)

RDD-SEA FARE DISPLAY ON ALASKA AIRLINES/HORIZON AIR

RDD-HNL FARE DISPLAY ON ALASKA AIRLINES/HORIZON AIR

It will depend upon how much advance notice you have and of course the availability of the appropriate inventory on flights (especially the Seattle-Hawaii flights) but it wouldn't be far fetched to only pay a hundred bucks more to turn your business trip to Seattle a work/fun combo of Northwest cedar and Hawaiian palm trees.

On the return you would have to overnight at your expense in Seattle (there is only one daily SEA-RDD flight leaving presently at 2:50 p.m., too early for most connections from Hawaii) but it's important to remember that if you're mixing business and pleasure you could organize it so the pleasure (Hawaii) comes first, followed by the business (Seattle). With no need for a connection on the return a forced overnight in Seattle isn't an issue. (Outbound from Redding to Honolulu there is an excellent connection in Seattle.)

From other inland Northwest cities served by Horizon Air, the greater frequency of flights makes the forced overnight less likely.

HERE'S THE RULE THAT MAKES THIS POSSIBLE

Let's change direction but keep the weather warm: the Caribbean. And highlight a great example of using a little known stopover provision to your advantage.

Fares to Atlanta can be expensive. But Delta, the carrier that operates the colossal Atlanta hub, in many cases allows free stopovers in Atlanta on fares to its extensive array of Caribbean destinations. You can pay less or not much more for a trip to an exotic locale such as San Juan, and then make a stopover going, coming or even both ways in Atlanta.

Take a look at this example using Delta.com.

SACRAMENTO-ATLANTA ROUND-TRIP (8-11 DECEMBER) - Total price: $464.20

SACRAMENTO-ATLANTA-SAN JUAN-SACRAMENTO (8/11/15 DECEMBER)- Total price: $468.48

And why is this possible?

STOPOVER PROVISION ON THE U14NR1 FARE, SACRAMENTO-SAN JUAN

Many Delta destinations in the Caribbean and Central America offer fares that allow stopovers in Atlanta and in some cases unlimited stopovers along the applicable routing. It would be entirely possible to book a round-trip to San Jose, Costa Rica with a stopover in Atlanta, and pay less for the entire trip than you would for just the Sacramento-Atlanta fare.

What's more, all of the legacy network carriers offer stopover provisions of some sort - some better than others - on many published fares between the U.S. and Caribbean destinations.

Do I have your attention now? Come back for the last installment of "Secret Stopovers" in AFS # 10!

(Link to previous chapter, AFS # 8 - Secret stopovers, Part 1)

Destinations - Beering and Running in Portland

2009-10-30T15:00:00Z

Yes, "beer" is not a verb but if it were ever to become one then Portland will be the place where it first occurs.

My partner Keith and I spent a 3-day weekend recently in Portland. A year ago I wrote a post about Portland but this trip was different. It was an actual visit to Portland and not simply an overnight turnaround point on a larger trip.

The trip had been planned for a couple of months, but structure was added to it after we read the post of our friend Rich Milliron. In the summer of '08, Rich took a train trip to Oregon for the express purpose of discovering why it's called "Beervana". He found out that the title is well-earned. Find out for yourself by reading his post - you'll enjoy it. (If you don't start reading his post with a beer in hand, you probably will by the end of it.)

MENU OVER THE BAR AT ROGUE DISTILLERY & PUBLIC HOUSE

]]> We didn't have the time that Rich had to explore so we in fact just went to two of the places Rich wrote about. One we liked so much that we went there two evenings in a row!

That place was the Lucky Labrador Brewing Co. at 915 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. The Lucky Lab is all about dogs, with photos and other iconography that point to a love of dogs, labs in particular. In nice weather there's an outdoor area in the back of the building where canines and their well-behaved humans are welcome.

The Lucky Lab's home is a former sheet metal warehouse, a big old friendly barn of a place with lots of adults of all ages and kids, too They serve simple food but it's tasty, plentiful, and inexpensive. Two good sized sandwiches, a plate of hummus and bread, and a salad came to about $20. The menu is small, but with enough choices to make both carnivores and vegetarians quite happy.

Keith asked for their hoppiest IPA and boy did they deliver with Superdog! Excellent!

Sadly I didn't take any pictures of the Lucky Lab but what looks ordinary from the outside is anything but after you step foot within. Since it's Portland you could easily find a way on Trimet to get there via transit, and if you drive you'll find parking in the area is easy, but we actually just walked from our downtown hotel. It's an interesting and pleasant stroll across the Willamette River on the Hawthorne Bridge.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Roots Organic Brewing Co., just three blocks from the Lucky Lab at the corner of S.E. Clay and S.E. 7th. Roots is an organic brewery with a surfing, Hawaii, beer-tiki vibe going on. We split a pint of the delicious Woody IPA and then walked back across the river quite satisfied with our first night of beer in Portland.

The next day we met an old high school friend of Keith's for lunch at the Rogue Distillery & Public House in the Pearl District of Portland. Rogue is a multi-location beast. Its main base is Newport, Ore. but there are a number of other Oregon locations, one in Issaquah, Wash. (a Seattle suburb), and, as research for this post revealed, one here in the Golden State in the North Beach area of San Francisco.

As the name of their Portland location conveys, Rogue is now not only about beer but is also a craft distillery. We stuck to beer and had a tasty IPA to go with our quinoa salads. (This was an exercise in food balancing since the night before at "the Lab" we both had pulled-pork BBQ sandwiches.) The young woman that waited on us was a good server and a lot of fun, making the meal with our friend a fine experience.

On Sunday other local friends gave us an all-day tour that stuck mostly to the Columbia Gorge area east of Portland. We drove both the Washington and Oregon sides of the river for some breathtaking views, including a stop on the way back at Multnomah Falls.

COLUMBIA GORGE (looking east from the Washington side)

The turnaround point and lunch stop for the day was at Full Sail Brewing Co. in the windsurfing capital of the world, Hood River, Ore. Faced with a 20 minute wait for a table, we went for a walk to kill time that included a brief stop at another brewery I'd spied just two blocks away. Our friends David and Christy egged us on to try something at the other joint so we somehow managed to split a half-pint of Double Mountain Brewery's outstanding but soon-to-be-sold-out-for-the-season fresh-hopped IPA. Ooh, la, la. We're coming back to Double Mountain one fine day for a larger serving of beer and an order of the pizza we saw so many customers devouring.

MULTNOMAH FALLS

Lunch for me back at Full Sail consisted of a huge Reuben sandwich (goodbye to balanced eating that day), washed down with a nice IPA, while overlooking the Columbia.

How did we burn off our beer-induced calories? Through running, of course!

Portland is the most running oriented major city I've experienced.

On Saturday we did an 11-mile run I found on MapMyRun.com (see below). It involved running north up Waterfront Park (west side of the Willamette) to the Steel Bridge, crossing to the other side and then down Springwater Corridor to the Sellwood Bridge, and then back up the South Waterfront area to end where we started.

20080211 - Steel Bridge/Sellwood Bridge
Find more Runs in Portland, Oregon

With the exception of a stretch on sidewalks along S.W. Macadam Avenue, it was entirely along dedicated walkways or pedestrian/bike paths. If you're staying in or near downtown Portland I highly recommend this run or some variation of it. You can easily cut the distance by skipping the long stretch down to the Sellwood Bridge. I can assure you that you will see many other fellow runners.

Sunday found us doing our usual powerwalk in lieu of running and we happened on a big race that had just begun: the Run Like Hell. A few of the runners wore costumes but otherwise the rest were in the usual shorts-and-t-shirt attire.

Doing our speedy walk and able to ignore the direction of the race itself, we followed a good deal of the 10K course as it went out north along the waterfront park, past the train station, into an industrial area, then looping back through the Pearl District and back to downtown. Late I looked at the map of the half-marathon event and saw the second half had a tough stretch up (and then down) Terwilliger Boulevard.

I know we've just scratched the surface of running in the Portland area. I hear a lot about the great trail running in Washington Park to which I'm a complete stranger.

Portland has too many breweries we haven't tried and too many places we haven't run to allow for a long gap until our next visit.

Lodging - But where will my car sleep?

2009-10-21T21:00:00Z

When you're traveling to a big city do you take into account hotel parking charges?

You should.

We'll take a look at San Francisco because it's the Big City that most people in northern California regularly visit. But the lesson here is the same if you live in the Northwest and your Big City is Seattle or Portland, the Midwest and Chicago, etc.

]]> Big city hotel parking is expensive. In downtown San Francisco most hotels only offer valet parking and you should expect to pay around $50 per hotel night for that.

Less convenient alternatives include looking for a nearby self-park location (it won't be cheap either) or taking your chances with street parking (a basic parking ticket in San Francisco would easily cost you the same as one night's parking).

Chances are you will park at the hotel, unless you use an altogether different means of transportation to get to the city or leave your car outside of the city and take public transit in.

If you book your own reservations that means that you first need to educate yourself about hotel parking rates at the hotel you want to stay at. Sometimes the information can be difficult to find on a hotel's website so call the hotel directly if a little looking does not produce the information. Now armed with the price of parking (don't forget tax) you can go to work.

Many hotels offer package prices that include both the room and valet parking. If the sum of the room-only rate + parking is greater than the price of a package that includes parking then it's pretty obvious that you should book the package.

When I book rooms for clients I always ask them if they're bringing their car, then I'll compare room-only and room + parking package rates.

A client of mine needed a room for a Saturday night in December at the Courtyard San Francisco Downtown. The best room-only price was $104 per night. + tax. Parking there is about $49 per night. The total if she paid for the the room and parking separately would therefore run about $153 + tax. On the other hand the room + valet parking package was $129 + tax. Needless to say, I booked the package rate since it saved her $24.

Here's another example. The Omni is a beautiful older hotel in the Financial District with some attractive rates in December. But when you add the cost of parking ($48 + tax) to even the AAA rate ($144 + tax), the parking package rate ($189 + tax) is still a better deal. Even a prepaid/nonrefundable rate ($135 + tax) + parking is barely under the parking package rate, and the latter only requires a credit card guarantee and can be canceled, unlike the former.

For those who like to use the opaque hotel booking websites (Hotwire and Priceline) remember to factor parking in when deciding if a Hotwire fixed-price is a good deal or how much you should bid on Priceline. Since you won't know what hotel you're in until you buy on Hotwire or successfully bid on Priceline you'll need to assume a typical price for hotel parking in downtown San Francisco of $50 per night. In other cites you can get an idea of the going rate for hotel parking by checking websites or calling a few hotels in that location.

There's no reason to use Hotwire or Priceline if you can obtain a similar or better price booking a room + parking package at a specific property that will earn you points in a loyalty program and does not require prepayment.

Using BART from the East Bay

If you are driving into the Bay Area but won't need your car in the city you could consider leaving your car and taking BART from the East Bay but remember that many BART lots have fees for weekday parking and/or limitations on how long you can park.

Airline Fare School # 8 - Secret stopovers, Part 1

2009-10-19T15:00:00Z

This is the part of Airline Fare School I've been most looking forward to writing.

Why?

Because the information I'm going to present is both obscure and invaluable to the right traveler. And in the galaxy of websites that inform you daily, hourly, by the minute, on the ups and downs of airline fares, I've never read anything about what I'm going to write in this and subsequent chapters.

What you're going to learn underscores what I've said from the start of AFS: knowing the rules and ins-and-outs of airline fares can enable you to plan better trips.

I'm not sure how many "Secret Stopovers" chapters there will be, but you can count on least two.

]]> First some housekeeping.

If you somehow landed in this chapter of Airline Fare School without having read earlier chapters, I recommend that you first read what came before. That's because I refer extensively to subjects covered previously. In particular, you should read chapter 2 (routings) and chapter 5 (connections, stopovers, through fares, point-to-point fares). However if you want to plunge ahead now, I'll include links to these chapters further on in case you later find yourself in over your head.

Here we go.

In AFS # 5 you learned about connections, stopovers, point-to-point and through fares.

Specifically, that for domestic travel (and to/from Canada) a stopover occurs if you spend more than 4 hours at a connecting point. The impact of that on your fare is that you would have to pay two separate point-to-point fares instead of one through fare.

As a rule, this increases - in some cases dramatically - the cost of your ticket.

In most circumstances you're not going to have a connection of over 4 hours and if it were the case, it would probably be for a day or more where you're planning to really visit an intermediate city and not just hang around the airport for hours on end.

For international travel (except Canada) the rule pretty much works the same except the connecting time is more generous: up to 24 hours. (Link to AFS # 5)

What you are going to learn here is that there are certain fares that allow free or low-cost stopovers at an intermediate point.

Knowing about free or fixed-price stopovers can be beneficial for you in at least two ways:
- you can make use of them to stop in an intermediate point along the way to the final destination to which you were originally planning on traveling.
- you can decide to make your final destination further than where you were originally planning to travel, because you've found a way to actually save money by traveling a greater distance.

In this first "Secret Stopovers" chapter I am going to cover two instances where a special stopover provision is common, in fact, in essence a blanket rule.

United Airlines and the Denver stopover option

The first one is specific to United Airlines and it involves Denver. For all domestic (but not including Canada) fares that I've seen, United permits a stopover in Denver (DEN) for $60 including tax. What that means is that you can book travel between Points A and C via Point B (DEN) with a stopover as long as you like, subject, of course, to the rules that govern maximum stay (round-trip fares) and travel validity period (both round-trip and one-way fares).

It means that you pay the lowest fare you can get between Points A and C with the stopover in Point B (DEN) but instead of being charged as a point-to-point, you'll be charged the fare from Point A to Point C plus a flat $60 for the stopover.

That's a bargain.

If you travel frequently for work to points in the Rocky Mountain states, Midwest, or beyond you could regularly schedule a stopover for $60 more than the fare. You could even stop over twice since it applies each way if you travel round-trip.

Keep in mind that you have to reserve and ticket this way from the start. If you already have a trip booked on United and decide you want to add a stop in Denver you'll get socked with the change fees and fare recalculation. But remember this for your future trip planning.

One other requirement applies, and it's perfectly reasonable. DEN must be on the routing for the fare between the origin city and the destination city. (To review routings see chapter 2.) But if you're traveling between east and west, Denver is almost always allowable on the routing because of its hub status with United.

Let's look at a real example, mostly from the consumer perspective of united.com:

Here's a simple Chico (CIC) to Denver (DEN) one-way on United leaving on 10 November.

And here in a separate transaction is a one-way from Denver to Cincinnati (CVG) on United leaving on 14 November.

The sum of these two one-way trips is $329.70.

Now let's look at the same thing but booked in one transaction.

What happened?

United.com priced this at the lowest available CIC-CVG through fare and added $60 for the stopover in Denver for a total of $196.20, instead of pricing it as two point-to-point fares CIC-DEN and DEN-CVG.

Here's what the same thing looks like behind the curtain in Apollo showing the fare breakdown.

And finally (and this is from the "Fare Rules" link in the itinerary summary in United.com) here's the justification.

Just so you know, airline fare systems would use point-to-point fares on United in and out of DEN in the event that it would be less expensive than applying the $60 stopover provision but generally the $60 will prove to be a better deal.

It's important that I put this in two real-life contexts for you otherwise it just seems abstract.

You need to fly from Chico to Washington, D.C. for a business trip. Because you know about the $60 stopover provision on United you intentionally schedule your trip with a 3 day break in travel in Denver on the way home so you can spend the weekend there skiing. You reimburse your company the additional $60 it costs for the stopover.

You and you wife are flying from Portland, Ore. to Boston, Mass for a week long trip for the fall foliage. You want to pay a short visit on your daughter who goes to the University of Colorado so you plan your trip with a 2-day stop in Denver on the way out.

Alaska Airlines and the free stopover between Alaska and the Lower 48

In another part of the country there is a completely free stopover provision that lurks in the rules for several airlines. In reality it pertains almost entirely to one carrier: Alaska Airlines and its regional subsidiary Horizon Air. As you'll see later, it also applies to one of its closest code-share buddies - American Airlines.

For virtually all of its fares between Alaska and the Lower 48, Alaska Airlines allows one free stopover each direction in either Seattle (SEA) or Portland (PDX). So for $0.00 on trips between any point in Alaska and the lower 48 you can stop along the way in either SEA or PDX to visit friends, do business, go sightseeing, count coffeehouses, etc.

It bears reminding that when you break up a trip like this the rules of the fare must be observed for all parts of the trip.

Here's an example of two slightly different trips that illustrate the free stopover provision at work. We're looking at this through Orbitz as the booking tool.

The first example is from San Francisco (SFO) all the way through to Anchorage (ANC) on 29 October, changing planes in Seattle. The total price is $270.20.

The second one is almost the same, except you'll see that the flight from Seattle to Anchorage is on 3 November. The passenger is stopping for five days in Seattle. Notice that the price is the same, because the system applied the free Seattle stopover.

What you can't see is that the fare being used is an SFO-ANC one-way fare that applies for travel any day except Friday and Sunday. I intentionally booked this on days other than Friday and Sunday to make the example work. However if I had booked travel on either the SFO-SEA or the SEA-ANC segment on one of the forbidden days of the week, a higher price would have resulted. The system would look for and compare the best prices from either a higher priced SFO-ANC through fare without the day of week restriction and with the free stopover, or two point-to-point fares (SFO-SEA and SEA-ANC), whichever produced the lower total.

Interestingly, the free stopover is also available in Anchorage. What that means is, for example, you could fly from Sacramento to Fairbanks and choose to take the free stopover in Anchorage instead of Seattle or Portland.

Somewhat more curiously, Alaska also offers the option of making the stopover in Chicago. This isn't relevant for people beginning trips in the west, since Chicago is obviously not on Alaska Airlines' routing between the west coast and Alaska. It's even more curious since Alaska does not fly beyond Chicago. (Their present nonstop service out of Chicago is only to Portland, Seattle and Anchorage.)

However Alaska and American Airlines have had a close relationship for many years including what were once called "interchange flights" that operated from Dallas and Chicago respectively through to Anchorage changing crews (American to Alaska) in Seattle. In the modern era they codeshare many of each other's flights. So you could book a trip from, say, Charlotte, N.C. to Anchorage, Alaska on "Alaska Airlines" flights although in reality you would be on American from Charlotte to Chicago. American operates a large hub in Chicago, second only to United's.

And in reverse, American publishes fares to Alaska that would have you flying in realty on Alaska Airlines flights from Seattle, Portland, or Chicago up to The Last Frontier. Curiously - or maybe not - American also allows the stopover to be made (provided it's on the routing, of course) in Dallas/Fort Worth, in addition to Seattle, Portland, Chicago, or Chicago.

A last note about the Seattle stopover. Many other carriers in addition to Alaska used to fly the Seattle-Anchorage route but now only Continental still offers service: two flights daily; one originating in Houston and the other in Newark. Continental also offers the option of a free stopver in Seattle, or in Houston or Newark depending on where you originate travel and the routing governing the fare.

That's all for this chapter but please come back for more in ""Secret Stopovers. Part 2".

(Link to previous chapter, AFS # 7 - Circle Trips)