I need to fly to LA from Tampa on business but want to combine this trip with a stopover in El Paso to see family. I was excited to find red-eye flights from Tampa/LA for $171 rdtrip (with stops in DFW), but dismayed to see the fare jump to $320 when I added a stop in El Paso. Does anyone have any advice for how I might get this fare any lower?

TandooriGirl, I think the airlines consider a layover of over four hours to be an end destination.

Have you thought of purchasing two different airlines?

I know Spirit flies in and out of Tampa and to LA. Adding in El Paso may just be a stop that will not work without additional monies. For what it's worth, Tampa to LA roundtrip for $171 is a steal.

I can remember in the mid eighties paying almost $400 coast to coast and thought it was a steal.

"For what it's worth, Tampa to LA roundtrip for $171 is a steal."

I know it's a steal as I've also paid much more for this flight. It's also the redeye, which can be OK if you can just sleep but instead it has a stopover.

The cheapest airfare I've found to El Paso is $230 so the combined fare is still cheaper than the two different fares. I haven't checked Spirit but will give it a look-see, Gotravel.

Tandoori Girl, do you have to arrange your own travel or does your company do it for you?

I ask because my company has it's own travel agency and when we combine business and personal travel, we get the company rates, just having to pay the difference between what the business only trip would have been and the combined trip. So, the cost difference could be less than what you find on the web if you can do this.

Just a thought. But the $150 cost difference is still lower than a separate ticket for you....Guess you have to figure out if it's worth combining or just going ahead and taking a separate trip at some other time or which might be more convenient for you.

Have you checked Frontier Airlines?

Idea: Don't know if this is available on domestic flights or offered at all on the particular airline you have the great fare. But you can ask for a
"delay in route" [provided the connection is stopping i.e. Tampa-El Paso - LA.] There is usually a fee.

Have done this on international flights
[Beijing-Tokyo-Seattle] Took "delay in route" for 7 days in Tokyo, fee $100.

Also did you do a "multi-destination" search?


Think I will do a little research

Southwest can probably route you through El Paso on your way from Tampa to Los Angeles although I didn't see any "published" routings involving El Paso when I checked the SW web site.

Circa: Which airline did you use to do your international "delay in route"? We'd like to do something similar in fall. Thanks!

carrolldf, I work for myself so having my company share some of the financial burden isn't an option. It is likely, for what it's worth, that I will take the airfare as a deduction because I'll be on business in CA.

GoTravel, Frontier was listed on the travel search engine that I used but I will do a separate check. They were actually higher than others, although I've used them in the past because they generally have great fares.

Circa, I tried the multidestination search and that's how I got the $320 fare with a stop in El Paso. I think I'll call some of the airlines (Delta, AA) that listed the $171 redeye flight and see how they feel about "delay in route". The problem is that the stopover is at DFW. I thought maybe I could rent a car and drive to where I need to go but it's at least an 8 hr. drive.

Dan, I checked SW but for different dates. I'll try again and see what I come up with.

Even $320 isn't bad, I suppose. But $171 is sooooo good, it bothers me I'm not able to hold onto the savings when I make any changes.

To: Shanghainese

I flew United Airlines.