I grew up in that triangle of cities, and there are some smaller airports that could be useful (and a shorter drive).

Akron OH - CAK
Youngstown OH - YNG
Erie PA - ERI
Jamestown NY - JHW

And I second the idea of working in Saturday night stays. Another way of doing it is pair booking.

For example:
Ticket 1 - 11/4 CLE/ELP, 11/15 ELP/CLE
Ticket 2 - 11/8 ELP/CLE, 11/18 CLE/ELP
Ticket 3 - 11/11 CLE/ELP, 11/22 ELP/CLE

This should get you lower leisure fares by having Saturday overnight and longer than one weekend stay.

Also, beware of Orbitz's 100 mile radius search. YNG 100 miles should pull CLE, PIT, CAK, and ERI, but it doesn't.

Instead try Travelocity's fare finder using CAK or ERI. Just type in the city pairs and hit enter (or search now) without entering dates.

My search indicates CLE/ELP might could be your best bet with some Friday and Monday eligible fares pricing < $300. I say "might" because availability on your dates is always the issue.

Finally, another good resource at times is http://www.air-fare.com/, but unfortunately they don't cover ELP.


[This message has been edited by Rut Dog (edited 11-04-2002).]