In joyus zeal of my last post I forgot to ask for advice in buying plane tickets.

I will be flying from Bangor Maine to Jackson Hole Wy in October 2009.

I started looking on Travelocity, Kayak and priceline. They are all about the same with $600 return being the going rate.

Is it too soon to buy tickets??Should I wait a while and see if fares go down??

Are there any domestic airlines that you guys as hunters would recomend avoidimg like the plague???

Thanks Again

Unfortunately, you should probably avoid all our domestic airlines like the plague! And as that is not a very practical suggestion, it really makes little difference which carrier you use. They all have their bad days, and all seem to remarkably get it right now and again. It is a true roll of the dice. I would recommend booking with whatever carrier has the most (largest number) of daily flights into the area. I'm guessing that is delta, without checking. That way if there is a problem with one of your flights, they are better able to re-book your trip without wasting days.

Guessing airfares is a fools game. They go up and down for no apparent reason. I don't think it is too early to book. If you know your travel dates, it is generally good advice to book early.

Enjoy the trip!

Bill

The one piece of advice I would give you is not to fly American Airlines. They are very consistent; consistently bad.

My wife and I flew with them back from the SCI convention in Reno last year. The whole experience started with a general oblivious and rude attitude in Reno. The plane was late getting off so we missed our Chicago flight. The next morning the flight to Ohio was an hour or two late in departing.

Recently my wife and stepdaughter, without asking my opinion, booked a flight with them to Chicago. That flight was about 4 hours late in departing Columbus, OH. On the way back, everything went well except their baggage didn't arrive with their flight.

Thanks, That seems like sound advice.

I think I'll book sooner rather than later.

I can live with the airfare going down in price just to have the peace of mind that my tickets are secure.

Traveling with Firearms?

Drive.

AD

I flown United, Jet Blue, Southwest, American. and a couple others that I cant remember. I have not really ever had any real problem, knock on wood, exept for when flying form dallas to san angelo on a small plane (connetion) the big metal case was to heavy for the plane, and came in next flight. It was all hunters with big cases. I would fly them again, as I feel it couldve happened with any airline.
We are flying with Virgin airlines in may on a connection for a bear hunt, and hopefully that will go smoothly. Next holiday season we are flying united with firearms, and shortly I will book my airlines for a hunt to san antonio, but I am not sure the airline yet.
Just be courteous, no jokes, and go with the flow, and you should be fine.
Good luck,
W.

I fly damn near every week and average about 2-3 weeks on the road every month.

These are the two airlines I would definately stay away from!!! American and US Airways US Airways won't even give ya free coke on the flight. American is always typcially late as another poster pointed out!

I commonly use Delta and their partners (Continental and NWA) as my primary airline. They are gun friendly and you shouldn't have any problems with them.

I also wouldn't hesitate flying with United. They have a large presence here in the West and are gun friendly too.

You also might consider Frontier airlines, however, I don't think they've made a big presence in the East yet. I commonly find cheaper tickets on Frontier and have flown with guns with them twice now.

Whoever you choose, you'll find that the airports here in the West are used to guns and there are typically few problems. When I lived in south FL, boy, was that a different story!!!!

Good luck!!

Thanks for all the info. I also have had a bad American Airlines experience.

I just bought tickets with delta.

The only airline I have had consistently bad luck with is Northwest. For many years they have had a low-grade labor dispute with their employees, and as a result the employees have a higher level of hostility than at other airlines. Most are OK, but your chances are worse at NW.

Flying with guns has basically been a non-issue, even with the TSA regs. I just try to know the rules and be very nice to the people behind the counter.

I don't like to pay any more than I have to, but IMO the real problem is that airlines do not make enough money to be able to support much in the way of services. Many years ago, prices were regulated at a much higher level, and competition was kept out. I remember flying across the atlantic on a 747 with 18 passengers - there were more crew than passengers. But the airlines could support that because fares were higher. Today anyone with three airplanes and a computer can start an airline, and what we get is the walmart approach to air travel. As long as we select airlines on the basis of price, we will continue to get a low level of service.

Good point.

BTW I love your quote, who said it originaly??

Is it yours??