flyingdoc747

Hi all,
I'm thinking about relocating to New Hampshire for a better job, but is it just my dates or are the fares always steep out of MHT? BOS is always ~$300 cheaper but is too far of a drive for me. I will typically fly out of MHT to LAX via any of Delta's hubs. I see that they may have a mainline service to ATL soon. Do you think that will probably lower the fares down?

I would hate to fly southworst (WN) to MHT. Their fares are typically lower and equal to the BOS fares. I thought Delta sometimes matches LCC fares out of cities in the Northeast.

Thanks. Any input is appreciated.

timmy83

It must be your dates. The fares to MHT are typically on par with BOS fares IME, but all of the northeast is kind of a mess when it comes to fares.

Consider trying a monthlong search on ITA to see the ideal timing.

WN typically has fairly abysmal fares to MHT aw well.

MSPeconomist

BOS is a different product/different market, with a bigger pool of potential customers and more competitors. DL matches LCC fares when it's to DL's advantage to do so. There's not necessarily time consistency in this: DL could match one month and then suddenly stop doing this. No promises either way.

jrl767

or, in FT-speak, YMMV

koreanair720

Not to mention the flight attendant "uniforms"....

mAAine_flyer

Not sure I'd factor DL's airfares to LAX into the relocation equation. New England has a lot going for it relative to So Cal...one of which is that it's a mostly rural region, meaning a less competitive airfare market. I've generally found MHT to reasonably competitive compared to BOS after factoring in things like travel times, airport parking, ease of use, etc. But BOS is has a much larger choice of carriers, so competition is going to be more intense...especially on routes like BOS-LAX where DL will offer attractive fares to tempt pax away from non-stop carriers.

If you are thinking of moving to the Upper Valley, BOS isn't actually too bad of a drive (~2 hrs), although I probably wouldn't want to do it regularly. Your other option is BTV (~75 min drive from the Upper Valley) which is sometimes cheaper than MHT (though not as cheap as BOS) due to the presence of B6.

Dieuwer

Don't forget that parking fees at BOS are skyhigh.

mAAine_flyer

Hence why I wrote:

Seat1A

DL's *fares* out of MHT tend to be comparable to or even better than BOS. *availability* has become a real problem... DTW is mostly 50-seaters, ATL is one or two MD88's daily, and LGA gets a couple of RJ's. not a lot of capacity, and it makes it hard to find the cheapest fares for many of my trips. (the 7:30am-ish MHT-LGA has been a nice addition, allowing me to use MHT for a couple of recent trips..)

on the other hand, if you like -UP fares, MHT can be *much* better than BOS, if you can use the ATL flight, or find the coach bucket you need for the MHT-DTW leg....

(during the summer and through leaf-peeping season, MHT does tend to get a bit more lift..)

mikehillwig

I used to work about halfway between BOS and MHT. My experience is that fares from MHT tended to be lower, but that was a couple of years ago. Today, I can walk to BOS from my house or just jump on the T.

BOS has more volume, which is helpful durring irregular operations, and BOS can ramp up MUCH more quickly after a Nor'easter. That said, you can't beat MHT for getting in and out. That airport is such a breeze.

But if you're a DL flyer, BOS has a substantial operation and MHT gets token service.

emrdoc

Will airfare determine whether you move or not?

UKCatsHoopsFan

My parents live in Northern NH (2 hrs north of MHT) and I have found over the last few years that fares into MHT have become prohibitive at least from RDU on both DL and WN. Couple that with the fact that AA/FL/B6 are all competing for direct fares to BOS and it is usually a savings of $1-200.

To the OP, sorry if I missed this; however, based on your post can it be assumed that the travel to the west coast is personal and not business related (i.e. on your dime not your employer/client?)

sectflyer

I have not flown once out of BDL in the past year because they seem to be charging a 30% premium over BOS and PVD. At least when I look!

flyingdoc747

Thanks everyone for the prior advice! Maineflyer, you guessed right, I'm relocating to the Upper Valley.

I'm trying to book MHT-LAX-MHT (with stops of course), but the lowest I'm getting is $684 compared to $477 from BOS. I can only leaves job at 5pm so I'll miss the BOS-LAX 6:15pm non stop. I'm planning to travel jul 26-28. I don't know how the MHT fares drop, if at all, would this price be too high for this route? I'm new to the area so I'm don't know what's a good fare to and from LAX.

Thanks! Any help is appreciated.

Stemple

I just moved back from Portsmouth to ATL. I never really found MHT to be a huge discount to BOS. Unless I could get a direct flight to somewhere on WN it's was never cheaper. There is a certain premium though that you should consider depending on the trip. Economy parking at BOS is ~$18/ day (2011 prices...I've been back in ATL for 2 years). I think parking at MHT is $9/day. There are other options, but if you are going for a while $100 here or there is worth MHT. Certainly not for $300+ though