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jeversol13 karma

Houston is the only airport I have been to where they make announcements saying jokes will lead to arrest. I think it's either a local or state thing.

Also, plastic butter knives. How stupid can you get? Only at IAH.

jeversol2 karma

If you're taking one or two flights a year, fly who has the cheapest flight for the time you want to fly. Without looking, there will be no direct flights from Seattle to Oklahoma -- you'll probably have to connect somewhere.

When you consider cheapness, make sure you include things like checked baggage. Unless you're going to for a weekend trip, save yourself the headache and just pack a suitcase and check it. Domestically, you probably will have no issues with lost luggage or anything like that. (I check a bag for every trip, and in 3 years, my suitcase has never been lost or delayed. In fact, it made it back home a few hours before me on one trip with an unexpected overnight delay).

If I was flying once or twice, I'd consider Southwest. They generally have some of the lowest prices, include a checked bag in their ticket fee, and seem okay. JetBlue or Virgin America would by my picks for best amenities in flight... but they don't go but a few places (compared to Southwest or others).

jeversol1 karma

You're 60 times more likely to die on the drive to the airport than you are in the airplane.

Your odds of dying in an automobile accident is 1 in 84. Your odds of dying in an airplane accident is 1 in 5,051.

Source: NYTimes

I think a lot of people get concerned about the lack of control they have when riding in a plane. There isn't a single thing you can do to increase the success rate or whatever.

There are bumps. They feel bad. But, think about this: When's the last time you rode in a car on an unfamiliar area with your eyes closed? The "turbulence" you'll feel in a car ride is many times worse than most air turbulence.

jeversol1 karma

Delta to JFK is your easiest flight. Looks like JetBlue might also service SLC-JFK so that's an option for you.

4 times a year won't be enough to get any status with the legacy airlines. 3900 miles round trip - you'd have to fly it 7 times to get silver status (assuming no bonuses, buying deep discount economy tickets, etc). You could get it in 5 trips if you bought first class or full fare economy (Y or B).

Given that cost will probably be a factor, I'd probably look at JetBlue or Southwest if I were in your shoes.

If you're in NJ, it'd be worth it to explore flying to Newark rather than JFK. I lived in central NJ for a while. The cheap fares out of LaGuardia were tempting but it's a horrible drive to a horrible airport. I hate Philadelphia's airport just slightly less than LGA. I've never seen more assholes than at Philly. Newark is my go-to airport (not just because United, the carrier I use, hubs there). If you're going into Manhattan, you can't beat NJTransit. Take the airtrain to the rail link station, pay $12.50 one way and you're at Penn Station in 30 minutes.

jeversol1 karma

Not OP, but I think that if I had free pick of any airline, given where I'm at, I'd choose American. American is in oneworld, which gets you reward access on British Airways. Or, vice versa, honestly. If you're going to do a lot UK trips, it might be better to make BA your primary airline and have your American flight miles etc saved to your BA account. You'll have to investigate that further.

If I didn't have to take into account the UK trips, I'd still consider American. The problems they've had in the past few years have made it so their program isn't quite as watered down as the others. United, in the past 3 years, really watered down their elite program benefits. For example, Silver members used to be able to get Economy Plus (extra legroom seats they charge for) free anytime. Now it's only within the last 24 hours before the flight.