How do I get a good short distance flight?
Im trying to find a flight from where I go to school at in Jacksonville Florida, to Port Charlotte Florida where my family is. I can get amtrak train for $117 and greyhound for $160 to $200 but the cheapest flight is barely under $300. How is that I found tickets for 250 going to Kansas City Kansas hows is this?
Aircraft - 3 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Ah, you have found the issue of "Supply and Demand" haven't you! Look it up, you are in school! How many people fly from Jacksonville to Port Charlotte? Not too many on any given day. Thus tickets are high. If there were demand, there would be more flights. Most smaller US cities have the same issue. You can go from JAX to MIA for under 250. (In fact close checks even show under 200 in some cases.) Why not learn to fly, you can make that trip very easy in a C172 or Piper Warrior/Cherokee etc! Probably would cost you more than a ticket but you could travel when you wanted.
2 :
As the previous responder indicates, it's a matter of mass market vs. niche market. The more traffic on a given route, the larger the planes the airline can use. The larger the plane, the less the overhead per passenger and the cheaper the fare they can charge and still make a profit. On top of that, the shorter the route, the higher the overhead...the consumption of fuel is heaviest by far during takeoff and landing and fuel cost is a BIG part of air fares these days. With this being basically an up-and-down hop, little time is spent cruising at altitude where fuel efficiency is highest.
3 :
Hint. Check out the local General Aviation Airports. On a week-end, some guy who just wants to fly some cross country hours might 'hop you over'. for the gas money. (It's legal for private pilots to share flight expenses.)
