insane fare to cinn
 

I have to go to Frankfort, KY at the end of March. I checked the fare MCO to LEX - it was around $300. So, I thought why bother getting back on a plane in Cinn just to fly a few minutes - I will just fly to Cinn. and drive to Frankfort - so I check that fare $688 r/t YIKES!! and that is over a month away!

Also, I have never been any where near Frankfort or Lexington, KY - is Lexington and/or Cinn airport the best way to go - any advice for traveling to that part of the country would be appreciated.

If you can cope with the connections at CVG then fly to LEX - it is closer to Frankfort and will almost always be cheaper than flying to CVG. DL feels no need to compete at CVG so ending and commencing there is almost always more expensive than the alternatives such as SDF, IND, DAY and LEX.

I can (and do) fly from Europe to LAX through CVG with stopovers and the flight is less than the CVG-LAX segments alone would be. Go figure....



[This message has been edited by CelticFlyer (edited 02-17-2003).]

The reason for the ourageous fare to CVG is that it's a Delta hub, and isn't served by discounters whereas ATA serves the MCO-LEX route as a discounter. It looks like LEX is a better deal than CVG in this case, but also look into Louisville (SDF). Judging from a map, either Lexington or Louisville are a shorter drive than Cincinnati... In fact, you will have to go through either Lexingtom or Louisville to get to Frankfort from Cincinnati.

I work in Louisville (SDF). If you are flying from Orlando, the MCO-SDF fares are inexpensive since Southwest flies a nonstop and Delta and other carriers often match the fare. The drive to Frankfort from Louisville is all interstate.

I agree, try SDF.

In fact DL brand is on some direct MCO-SDF flights from Comair - or you can do mainline and change in ATL.

You can also fly from MCI via ATL to LEX on DL mainline though I think. Some of DL's LEX-ATL connections are Atlantic Southeast.

thanks so much i didn't think about louisville

All nonstop MCO-SDF is on Comair and that is too long a flight for an RJ.

You can connect MCO-ATL-SDF, but watch out for there are two ATL-SDF flights per day that are on ASA. If you want more miles, MCO-CVG-SDF is mostly mainline (the 22 minute CVG-SDF flight is RJ/Turbo except for 2 flights daily).

I'd fly into Louisville or Lexington. It's a little bit closer to Frankfort, will be cheaper, and also will be quiker/easier to get in and out of.

I do business in Frankfort on a regular basis and LEX is the best for driving ease once there.

The arb between LEX and CVG fares have been that way for a long time.

This is a prime example of hidden city ticketing to CVG. This approach only works on one-way tickets, or the last leg of a round trip; and only works infrequently (else face the rath of the ticketing gestapo!).

CVG-LEX is a silly flight in general. I know why they offer it, but c'mon. I see it's now MD80 service when it's not ComAir. Back in 2000, it was a 727 - three flight crew in front + 3 F/As - and frequently not more than 30 pax on board. Total flying miles is about 60 - of course you get 500 miles (1000 MQMs for paid F! You wouldn't do that except as part of a connection).

Once you factor in a few minute delay at the gate, taxi time at CVG and a lengthy circle over Cincinnati-proper, it can be less time to get on the Hertz bus and drive!

One time in 2000, the CVG-LEX flight was delayed 2 hours. I asked if DL would pay for a rental car (PM on YV ticket) instead of waiting - and they did! Dropped car off at LEX, picked up the car I had in the LEX airport garage and was on my way. I was at the LEX airport garage PRIOR TO my scheduled arrival time had that flight not been delayed.


Have a good time in KY! Keeneland opens in May!

Prices differences between CVG and LEX vary according to destination. It may sometimes be less expensive to fly from LEX, but not always - LEX-CVG-LGW is always hundreds of dollars more expensive than simply CVG-LGW, for instance.

The Southwest factor in SDF often makes for really cheap fares, but we got very tired of driving 75 miles when we live 5 minutes from Bluegrass Field.

LEX-CVG has been the shortest regular flight in the DL system for years that still has mainline jets - 70 miles. We're down to four MD-80 flights a day however (and 2 of those are miserably early in the morning). Too many of our DL flights have been replaced by Comair (I don't mind so much flying them to CVG, but hate dealing with the C Concourse set-up) or the ghastly ASA.

Donna, you will have to drive about 95 miles to get to Frankfort from CVG. If you have a bit of a layover, hang out in the CRC and be entertained by the short hop. Or fly into SDF and drive about 50 miles.

Keeneland runs in April, not May. The Derby is the first Saturday in May, and racing switches to Churchill Downs more than a week before that.

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Coming out of MCO I would go MCO - ATL - LEX and not go through CVG at all. That makes it pretty easy and connections are normally pretty good.

I want to thank everyone for the information - this board is great! It really did seem silly to go thru the layover and wait to fly to Lexington, until I checked the fare difference. However, there are alot more options in/out of SDF. Interestingly, after finding that option on this board yesterday and the warnings about all the RJ flights, I went to DL website to check fares. From the main screen, I could only get the RJ flights to come up - and as someone else mentioned, I am not flying direct for 2 hours on an RJ. To get the flights on real planes, I had to go in to the screen for the one-way and multileg flights. The first screen totally ignored these flights althogether [unless I chose the first class option], even though one of these flights was closer in time to the departure time i had indicated than the RJ flights.

Hmmm, thought DL wanted to sell those more expensive flights?

I must ask, what is Keeneland????? I will be going in late March so I guess I will miss it, but now I am curious.

Keeneland is a horse racing course, one of the most beautiful in the US - definitely top-three. It's great for people-watching at some "Kentucky-amosphere" such as a hot brown, burgoo, pretty women, beautiful horses, etc. If you have some time off on a Wed-Sun, between 1-5, I'd try to go. It's inexpensive also, only $2.50 for entry. Betting can get a little expensive though! Race dates are w-sun, April 4-25 (except Easter Sunday)

www.keeneland.org


[This message has been edited by coopercinci (edited 02-18-2003).]