Road Trippin' My Way Back

The following was originally posted June 2,2008. As my family and I are driving back from Yellowstone today it seems appropriate for fond road trip thoughts. I've pre-scheduled all of the posts this week and as I post into the future for you to read today I can't even imagine how the trip went. And so I give you...

Death of the Road Trip? Not so Fast, Mister!
I love everything about summer. I especially love it when the temperatures reach sweltering. It's a dry heat, right? Anyone who's lived here long enough knows what a crock that statement is, but still I don't miss the humidity of the east.

Some of my fondest memories of growing up in southeastern Pennsylvania are summer drives. My dad was an auto-body mechanic so cars and driving were a big part of our lives. We always had different cars. There were the twin Chevy Corvairs, the VW Beatles, Mustangs, the Baracuda, Bentleys, Model Ts, Mercedes, and on and on. Sometimes on summer Saturday nights we'd hop into the car of the week and drive. We drove with all the windows down, radio blaring and my hair flying in my face. Sometimes we went to the country dairy for ice cream. Other times we just drove into the night until us kids fell asleep. It sure beat sitting around the fan in the living room.

The Lure of the Open Road
photo by Man in a bowler hat (Epzibah)...

Soaring gas prices have brought back one piece of this memory. Now I drive my kids around with the windows down and the radio blaring (see Edmunds.com re: the air conditioning vs. open widows debate). But we don't just drive for the fun of it. We think more about our driving now. Every trip in the car is planned to combine errands and reduce waste.

Mandatory stop for any road trip

photo by daveisnotmyname

So what about that other summer pastime: the road trip. Is it dead? Maybe not. Every society recognizes the importance of family vacations. Over the past 30 years air travel has taken preference and turned vacations into destinations. But airlines are suffering and their passing their misery on to consumers by instilling creative fees and rising ticket prices. Flying the family to anywhere can be a serious strain on the family budget.

A meandering road trip might still be affordable when you do the math. At AAA's website you can estimate the fuel costs for a road trip. You can even play around with car models to see which is more affordable. If you don't have a comfortable, affordable vehicle you may consider renting. For example if I wanted to drive back to this year's family reunion in Philadelphia I'd spend about $745 in gas for my family of 5. Of course you've got to add in food and a place to sleep.

But you can't put a price on the sites and moments along the way. Like when my I was a kid and we drove from PA to CA. Our vehicle kept breaking down and we met the most widely interesting people who helped us out. Or my husband's story of when they left his brother at the gas station (with 11 kids it's easy to miss one). Or when my own family went to Custer State Park and our car started to overheat while surrounded by buffalo. These are the things that make for great stories and build families.

Com'on kids, get in the car!

The Package Experiment

In an earlier post my friends and I discussed a plan to out smart the airline's checked bag fees. The idea was to send your stuff to your destination via a package carrier such as UPS or FedEx. In doing a little guesstimating I concluded that it may not save you any money, but my friend Michelle decided to try it out for real. Her story goes something like this with a few possible additions and exaggerations due to my lack of memory on the details.

Michelle is travelling for work and adding a leg in for a family event. So she decides to send her casual clothes for the family trip to her destination in Chicago. She also throws in a few small presents for a birthday party that she'll be attending. Then to further save some space in her carry-on luggage she adds some work papers that she'll need. The package weighs just 10 lbs. She sends it on Monday for delivery on Thursday. As I recall the carrier was UPS.

photo by kiss the sun and walk on air

While at her first business destination Michelle receives an email from UPS saying that her package has been delayed and should arrive on Friday. No big deal since she won't actually arrive in Chicago till Friday. But when she gets to her destination there is no package. UPS sends her another message saying that there have been "weather delays". At this point she calls UPS to find out when her package might arrive. They don't know. In fact there not even sure where her package is because they have so many packages that they can't even find her package.

Meanwhile Michelle has only business attire for her casual visit with family and she's been wearing these clothes all week and needs them for the third leg of her travel which is business. And remember there were birthday presents in that box. So Michelle must go shopping.

photo by SoulCookie

The weekend goes by and still no box. Remember she stuck her work documents in the box to save room. Ugh!! She's got to get new copies of the docs before she leaves Chicago for Baltimore. And of course the box arrives after she has left.

UPS's apology? Refund? Nada, nothing, zip, not a dime. So friends the package experiment seems to have been busted.

.

Deletes and Additions in the Air

New Benefit?
Earlier this month Frontier announced that they were expanding in-flight service options. What?! Does this mean that the airline is actually going to give something in order to make themselves competitive? Kinda.

The Denver-based carrier added MTV, CBS, FOX, USA, Comedy Central, ESPNU and the CW channels to its mainline flights. Additionally, Frontier shuffled its DirectTV pricing last month. Passengers who opt to watch DirectTV on short-haul destinations such as to Albuquerque and Dallas, among others, will pay $3.99. DirectTV for longer-haul destinations now cost $5.99. Pay-per-view prices remain $8 on all flights.

Adding entertainment options makes Frontier a bit more attractive in a time when air travel is becoming evermore uncomfortable.

Cancelled Flights
On the other end of the spectrum is United Airlines which recently announced the cancellation of their direct Denver-London flights. The carrier sighted rising fuel costs as the reason for the cancellation. Anyone who travels internationally for business knows what a bummer this is. The lack of direct flights from Denver to Europe adds a lot of time and wear.

To Check or Not to Check

photo by hoyasmeg

Some friends and I were lamenting the woes of the new in your face fees from airlines. I say "in your face" because really do they need to be so blatant? We all get it that fuel prices are climbing so anyone who can do common math understands that this also effects how much we'll pay to fly. Right?

Okay, I haven't exactly been watching ticket prices closely so I can't comment on how much they've gone up. But it just seems like poor strategy to break out fees for things such as bags. Nearly everyone who travels is going to bring something on to the plane. I guess punishing travelers who check a bag seems fair to those who don't, but why not just spread out costs among travelers and stuff it into the ticket price? The majority of those that don't check a bag are squeezing something into the overhead bin, thus still adding to weight and fuel consumption. Sorry, I've started ranting.

So back to the conversation...

What if instead of checking that first bag for $15 and a second for $25 (though I don't know why you need a second bag, just do laundry) you shipped all your stuff to your destination? Could work for vacations. And it would be nice not to haul luggage around. Heck, you could even have UPS or FedEx pick it up at your house.

Well, I decided to explore this option and did some online estimating. I used quick estimators for both companies. I plugged in travel from my home in Colorado to my friend's house in Malvern, PA and used a package size of 25 lbs. Here's what I got:

UPS Ground = $29.44

FedEx End of day (3 Business Days ) = $20.85

Either way not such a great deal over the $15 first bag fee.

P.S. For the above estimate I used "schedule a pickup" for both companies. I went back to see if the price would change by how I sent the package. It did!! If I drop my FedEx package off at FedEx staffed location the bill goes UP $5.00. If I use a self-service location it goes DOWN $2. If I use an authorized FedEx shipper it goes UP $3.00.

Sorry, That Flight has been Cancelled

Enough of this spring snow. I'm ready for some sun on some exotic beach. Oh, but wait my flight has been cancelled.

Planning a trip isn't as exciting these days with all the horror stories of cancellations and delays. You might be able to avoid struggling airlines, but not always. There are a few steps you can take to lessen your risk of losing money and your mind on cancelled flights.

Book your flight with a credit card AND check your cancellation coverage. Really I don't know anyone who pays for flights any other way. Some card companies don't actually pay the airline until the flight occurs. And some cards cary travel insurance or other protection for cancelled flights.

Speaking of insurance...it might be a good idea or a waste of money. Be sure it includes coverage for cancellations due to airline financial trouble--not just cancelled flights. This may not be included in a basic package. Often the flight will need to have been cancelled within 14 days of the insurance purchase--check the details before you buy.

Check-in online and check your flight status before you leave for the airport. This is always a good idea, but can also help you discover flight cancellations before you travel out to DIA.

What Not to Expect--Don't expect a belly up airline to refund your cancelled flight. And don't think that another airline will honor your ticket. Think about it, it just doesn't make sense. This will only happen if you've banked some good karma points or are very lucky.