salsadiva

I'm just wondering why airline fare to Knoxville is so much higher than fare to say Nashville. From NY to Knoxville rates are about $300-$400 roundtrip. To Nashville its about $150 roundtrip. Unfortunately, lower rate airlines like JetBlue and Southwest do not fly into Knoxville, but do into Nashville/Memphis. So what's the deal. You would think that Knoxville being on eastern part of TN would be less than Nashville. yes? no?
I'm just curious.
Thanks

rkkwan

You already answered your own question in this statement:

"lower rate airlines like JetBlue and Southwest do not fly into Knoxville, but do into Nashville/Memphis."

The flights into TYS don't have the competition, so no pressure to lower prices.

starrsville

You answered your own question.

Competition.

janisj

I feel sorry for folks who live near/have to use airports not served by the likes of Southwest and JetBlue. I am soooooo lucky that both fly into my home town. makes flying to so many places so much cheaper on any airline - just because of the competition.

Unfortunately, places only served by the "legacy" dinosaurs have to pay through the nose.

salsadiva

Yeah, I guess I did answer my own question. lol
My brother lives in Sevierville, so my other option would be fly into Nashville, and since I was planning on renting a car anyway, drive from Nashville to Sevierville but drawback is its about a 3 hour drive according to mapquest.
Oh well, I have time to decide.
Yes, it is nice to have choice of multiple airlines in your area
Thanks

vegasnative

We went to Knoxville from Vegas last summer and it was cheaper for us to fly Southwest into Nashville and rent a car and drive the 2-3 hours to Knoxville.
I guess maybe Knoxville airport isn't as big as Nashville, so that is why they don't have more flights to choose from.

jent103

Exactly - Knoxville's airport isn't as big as BNA, plus Nashville is a Southwest hub. Knoxville itself is also considerably smaller than Nashville, so I guess there's less motivation for smaller airlines, especially when so many of them do fly into Nashville.

BNA to Sevierville is probably a 3.5 to 4-hour drive, but it's pretty and mostly interstate. The only place you might get stuck is in Knoxville - they're doing construction (again). Just try to avoid rush hour.

claire_bluesky

It's all true about the expense, but TYS is a really nice airport. There's a lot that is pleasant about small airports. I've never been in a line at TYS that took more than ten or fifteen minutes. We live about ten minutes away. My husband drops us, parks the car, and that takes about ten minutes, and he's back just in time to show his i.d., unless we beat him. That's what you call a silver lining.

xrae

Just for fun you could check fares to TRI or AVL. They're closer to Sevierville than BNA.

Gretchen

Yes, Ashville is only about 2 hours to Sevierville. It is a LONG drive from Knox-Nash.

msjames

Hey Salsadiva --- Just to give you more to do, why don't you also check the fares into Chattanooga? It's a shorter drive to Sevierville than Nashville would be, and probably a little more scenic. Of course flexible travel dates could help no matter which city you fly into. Good luck.

RagtopGirl

Try Continental from Newark to Knoxville - direct flights on a regional jet. Also Delta has one trip per day from LaGuardia that is direct. These flights may be a little more, but you'll make up for it in time saved and car rental. Knoxville to Nashville can be iffy due to interstate work and accidents. We almost missed a flight from Nashville due to a 45 minute traffic delay.

michellecur

I have a sister who lives in Knoxville and had to make an emergency trip. I got online Thursday night to book the flight for Friday morning. I was prepared to spend $600 or more. On the American Express travel website I pulled up many fares for as low as $283 (from Philadelphia). I ended up booking Northwest Airlines round trip (returning Monday morning) for $295. I can't imagine the low rates I would have found if I had booked it in advance. The low fares are out there, you just have to find the right sites and be flexible with times and dates. The American Express site requires log in so you have to be a cardholder. But the rates are usually comparable with orbitz, priceline, cheaptickets, etc. Larger airports (like Nashville) always have cheaper rates because there are more flights. If you live in NY, I suggest checking fares from the numerous airports surrounding you for deals, rather than flying into Nashville and making the drive. I live between Baltimore and Philadelphia, and fly frequently from BWI, Philadelphia, Dulles or Reagan, depending on the fares I find because the travel to these airports are familiar and I find it easier than flying into an unknown city and then making a commute to a final destination. Good luck.

Bigal9

Allegiant Air recently started flying into Knoxville from Tampa and Orlando Floriday. If you book it at the right time you can fly into Knoxville or Chatanooga from $39 to $59 each way. Now that is cheap. I recently bought land in a waterfront community near Mayrville,20 minutes south of Knoxville,beautiful area.
Hopefully you will get an airline like this one near you soon.
Good luck.

Bigal9

I attached the website here for Allegiant Air.
http://www.allegiantair.com/?utm_sou...=allegiant+air

xrae

Does anyone have experience with Allegiant Air? They've just started flying TRI-Sanford. However, it's only a couple times a week.

claire_bluesky

I just flew Allegiant Air to Tampa Bay on Spring Break. The flights were pleasant. All of the flights from Knoxville are direct, but there is a limited choice of travel days and times. They fly only to Florida and Nevada.

You should also know that they charge separately for all checked baggage, $4/piece. They charge an optional $22/person seat selection fee (they load children and people w/seat selection first), and a 9/11 fee of $5/person, and for drinks and snacks, and taxes, etc. In other words, it's not as cheap as it initially appears. We still got a reasonable deal even though we had to use the seat selection option since we had two kids w/us. Love the non-stops though and it's a really good deal if you can cut out the "extras."

Bigal9

Excellent post,thanks. I did not know they charged extra for the assigned seats. I guess if you can get a direct flight for $39 to $59 each way though,it is still not that bad. I usually see more cheaper flights available from Tampa to Chattanooga.

emarismom

I live in Miami and have also been looking for flights into Knoxville. I can fly from MIA or FLL and have only found fares in the 300-400 range. I have been thinking of flying into Charlotte and driving from there. How bad would that drive be? Would Chatanogga or TRI be better? To fly into Asheville would not be a direct flight so would probably cost as much as flying into Knoxville. Any suggestions? We are a family of four, so the high fares really add up.

HKP

Charlotte to Knoxville is doable and may be worth saving the money, esp. if you can go non-stop rather than make a connection. It's about 3.5-4 hrs., some of which is through the Blue Ridge Mtns. (therefore possibility of fog at times).