Flying from SFO to DTW - Reality Check
 

Depart SFO August 2nd, arrive DTW, and reverse the trip, DTW to SFO on the 5th of August.

Once you filter out all the RedEye flights, 2+ hour lay overs you are looking at about $650 - $680 RT.

To get a decent flight time and to keep the price reasonable, I am looking at United SFO-ORD-LAN and back. (My final destination is actually Birch Run, MI)

I about pooped my self. Any idea on why the heck its so expensive to get from San Francisco to Michigan?

Closest airport to Birch Run would be Flint (FNT). Fares in and out of there can sometimes be cheaper than DTW. LAN rarely has decent fares. Occasionally you find a decent fare in/out of GRR but it is farther away.

yeah, we are doing SFO-DTW. Non-stop out, 2.5 layover in MSP on the way back. $572.70 each. Expensive trip for sure. Them I found out rental cars are ~$70 a day as well.

If Michigan / Detroit want to improve their tourism, taking a good look at the cost to get there compared to other major cities might benefit them. I can fly to almost any other major city in the US for less than $500 RT right now.

I need to not be so bitter... I am excited ! about this trip... :-)

Have you really looked at alternate dates/ airports (including MBS)

I've often found prices to differ by as much as 50%.

Also, you're buying these tickets about 10 weeks out, and if you wait a month you may find prices will come down substantially.

Also, for rental cars have you looked into using discount coupons such as those in the Entertainment book?

and where did you get the idea that Michigan can control air plane fares?

Bob H

That's kind of how it goes, though: Anytime you limit yourself to the fastest flights to a specific destination during the most convenient times of day, you're going to have to accept whatever the price is.

When I have specific flight(s) in mind, I've found it useful to set a Yapta alert for them so that I can jump if/when prices drop, but that works best for trips that I don't care if I take.

I am about 6 weeks out, not 10.
Trust me, my final destination is Birch Run, so I checked LAN, FNT, MBS and DTW. (GRR and AZO are to far out to make it worth it).

As for Michigan controlling air and rental car cost? Of course then can. First thing they can do is lower taxes. Second thing they can do is remove fees. The airport is run by Wayne county, they could remove all taxes and fees if they wanted. Third is subsidies. Many ways it can be done. My point is only - If you want people to come, and your city is low in "good tourist reputation" having some seriously expensive travel cost really is not going to help.

But Remember - I am excited about this trip :-)

I don't know what you've been smoking, but w/o spending a lot of time on it I found fares on Delta for this later summer SFO to FNT as low as $405 and FNT would put you about 15 minutes away from Birch Run.

BTW, GRR and KZO are not *that* much farther away from there than DTW.

This type of thing is often a function of when you buy your tickets and when you travel and how flexible you are.

Bob H

Original Post. Depart the 2nd. Return the 5th. Travel is not flexible.
Its still expensive...

Carry on...

Price is about the same in reverse. Welcome to a Delta hub in the height of the summer travel season for weekend travel and fixed dates. Ive always thought the big three automakers presence had something to do with the pricing, because nothing else in Michigan will be more expensive than SFO, lol. Don't like the pricing? Try CVG, it's worse.

Even if Michigan and Wayne County managed to lower taxes, Delta and the rest would still set their prices to be competitive with each other and maximize revenue. All it would do is shift revenue from the government to the airlines. Simply the laws of supply and demand.

It is a Delta hub so they own the most direct routes, so little competition there. Detroit is still much more a business destination than tourism, and business people are not all that worried about an extra $100 on their expense account. Tourists will take the redeyes, three connections or fly Spirit to save a buck.

For rental cars, you might want to try hotwire if you haven't already. The companies were quoting me $55-$60 and I got $25 with alamo via hotwire. If you're flexible with your arrival airport, why not look at departing SJC, OAK, SMF?

I'm in a similar situation, only one-way out of LAX.

We're flying from DTW -> CDG in mid-September. Our plan is to arrive at DTW around the afternoon, check into the HI Detroit Metro and have some dinner and a rest before the long haul.

After pricing that route and our ideal time on ITA, it was a reality check for me too.

However, I found an AA flight that didn't blow my mind - 2 pax, 1 stop, arriving at 4:30 for $404 total. The site said there were "only 2 left at this price" - would it be a good idea to jump on this fare? I'm not sure how much I'm willing to gamble that the price will drop, considering our lack of flexibility.

If you're not flexible & it doesn't blow your mind I'd probably book it.

Cheers

Transcontinental flights on any airline are running right around $500 RT now a days. It's just the new reality.