More proof of airline pricing insanity
 

And they want to know why people try to circumvent their pricing rules?<BR><BR>The USAir RT price to fly from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to Sarasota is currently $184.50, and you connect through Charlotte. But if you drive to Charlotte (a drive of about 2 hrs.) to avoid having to take a 2-leg flight, the price for flying from Charlotte to Sarasota is $257.00! In other words, you have to pay almost $70 to take a shorter, non-stop flight!<BR><BR>Hey, US Air: DUH!!!!

(Just in case there are those inveterate flame-meisters who wonder why I would drive to Charlotte: I live rather west of Raleigh-Durham, so the drive isn't so bad to get to a nice airport and avoid the hazards and hassles of making connecting flights -- not to mention that the flight from RDU to CLT is so short that it stays at a low altitude and can be uncomfortable in iffy weather.)

Old news. This type of pricing is practiced by many airlines and has been around for years. It's called Hidden Cities and is exploited by many to get lower fares.

Hidden City/Point Beyond are ancient tricks utilized by TravelMeisters.Since Raleigh is now served by SouthWest Airlines,the &quot;others&quot; must be fare competitive.Not ALL fares in and out of Raleigh are low.

JPO and flamer -- might not want to try flying SW express JUST this very minute out of Charlotte (check Yahoo News).

The commuter plane that crashed was a AirMidwest aircraft operated by USAirExpress.It was NOT a Southwest flight of any kind.PLEASE,it you are going to mention a crash,PLEASE be accurate.For the good of everyone.

What i read on the net it was Air Midwest which is part of Mesa Airlines.

JPO, not only is Charlotte a USAir hub, but I recently read that it one of the most expensive cities in the country to fly out of. <BR><BR>This pricing isn't the case with all cities. Or perhaps you should be running USAir?

Oh, X, you always add so much to the discussion.<BR><BR>What JPO has found happens all over the country to people who live in non-major cities, which includes Charlotte. RDU is about to become a minor battleground between American, USAir, and a few other airlines, while Charlotte is pretty much locked up with USAir, hence the stupid pricing. It's often much cheaper to fly 3000 miles coast to coast than it is to fly 500 miles from one state to the next. <BR><BR>For the record: I don't think JPO was implying he could run USAir, but rather referring to people who play games with ticketing to get around unfair pricing. <BR><BR>(Also, Yahoo was in fact reporting that it was a SW flight for a short time until they corrected it, although it took quite a bit longer for them to link the flight up with Mesa. Still, Lotte could have checked elsewhere or turned on the TV, where they had it right.)