Time is Money
I looked at airline tickets a week ago. Then I looked over the holiday weekend. Because I couldn’t decide if I could squeeze a quick trip into Tahoe with my friends, I ended up dilly-dallying and spending an extra hundred dollars for my airline flights.
Total damage is over $500 with Virgin America, however, I am flying two non-stops, which is unheard of these days. In the last 15 years of flying to San Francisco, I have learned, post-9/11, to suffer through 10-14 hours of travel time one-way because all the long haul flights have disappeared off the schedule. No longer can I fly 6 hours on an empty red-eye flight from BWI to SFO and stretch across 3 seats like I did in the 90’s. Those days are long over.
Virgin charges $25 extra for the exit row. That’s fine. I don’t need the legroom, but I did want to get on that specific flight out. I will have to get a rental car as well, but I might wait till the following day to pick it up when my parents arrive to shave off a day.
I am bummed about waiting the extra week, but for a minute there I seriously thought I might go to London for New Year’s Eve, or skiing in Tahoe. I hate being dependent on other people for plans. Being free to come and go as I please, may be ultimately one of life’s most priceless pleasures.
In the end, I decided that I’d rather save up my vacation time and roll it over into 2008. If I cut my trip a little short, then I’d probably save money because I wouldn’t be indulging myself for a full week. Of course, this means no shipments of wine back to VA, which is a huge bummer. My pantry is empty and needs filling up. (Why is it that I’ll spend $250-$300 on a case of wine in CA but not locally in DC?)
Dan » Time is Money wrote:
[…] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerptI looked at airline tickets a week ago. Then I looked over the holiday weekend. Because I couldn’t decide if I could squeeze a quick trip into Tahoe with my friends, I ended up dilly-dallying and spending an extra hundred dollars for my … […]
Posted on 28-Nov-07 at 8:23 am | Permalink
DebtyBetty wrote:
I just saw a post yesterday on bargainist that if you purchase a round trip ticket on virgin america, you get a second one free. Any chance you can refund your ticket and then repurchase it with a friend, and just split the costs? http://www.bargainist.com/deals/2007/11/virgin-america-2nd-passenger-flies-free-wroundtrip-purchase/
Posted on 28-Nov-07 at 10:09 am | Permalink
Karen wrote:
I hear you on the price of tickets and depending on others for plans. I, too, had tentative plans for NYE in London.
Posted on 28-Nov-07 at 6:30 pm | Permalink
Debt Hater wrote:
$25 for the exit row! I love the exit row (I’m 6′1, it’s the best seat on the plane)… so maybe $25 is worth it… but still, they shouldn’t make you pay!
Posted on 29-Nov-07 at 9:50 am | Permalink