I'm going to chicago on June 30 - July 2. I am trying to find the cheapest way to get there from Rochester, and what I've seen is that by getting tickets to MKE I can save about 100 bucks(255 vs 382 on united) on each ticket, and I change planes at ORD! @:-) Why is it so much cheaper to go to MKE from ROC when I have to change planes in chicago? Would it be possible to just get the tickets to MKE and leave the plane in chicago and then print out my tickets and get on the connecting flight in chicago on the way home and just skip the flights to and from milwaukee? I will have only carry on luggage, so having my bags arrive in milwaukee wouldn't be an issue, but I'm not sure if they will allow me to use this 'loophole' to my advantage. Any advice?

It's cheaper to get from ROC to MKE because people aren't willing to pay as much for tickets on that route as they are from ROC to CHI.

No, you can't buy tickets from ROC-CHI-MKE and get off in Chicago. If you don't get on your connecting flight CHI-MKE, they'll cancel your return trip entirely and you'll be stranded until you cough up a lot more money. This is called "hidden city" ticketing and none of the airlines will allow it.

(They'd also cancel if you were to fly all the way to MKE, then skip the MKE-CHI flight and try to get on the CHI-ROC flight. Not saying you would do this, as it makes no sense, but just FYI.)

The only time you can get away with this kind of thing is if you're skipping flights at the end of the itinerary. e.g. if you had round-trip tickets ROC-CHI-MKE, and flew all the way to MKE, you could, of course, just get off the plane at CHI on the return and skip the flight back to ROC.

Thanks for the info. It's good to know how that works. I've found some promo fares on southwest from BUF-MDW. I jumped on those and got 2 rt tickets for 250. Quite a savings...

Welcome fellow Rochesterian.

You will occasionally see $130 weekend e-fares to ORD... but not too often.

Sounds like your option of taking Southwest from Buf to MDW is a good option.

William

Hello Rochesterians,

I live in North Greece myself. Looking to fly ROC-LHR in the next few weeks to see a college buddy

doggieball

I remember a time when the concorde came over from LHR... For the ryder cup I believe. Too bad that isn't an option anymore.

Yes, I remember that, too. Wasn't an option then, either, unless maybe you happened to join the European team at some point during the weekend and they were going to take you back to Europe

Beware of MKE as a destination. A little know fact is that that in addition to ORD being a natural hub for AA and UA where both of these legacy carriers can charge a premium, MKE fares are kept INTENTIONALY lower in order to lure value oriented travelers into trying to save a few dollars and purchasing an ROC TO ORD and ORD TO MKE tkt and getting off the plane in ORD, and nabbing them with a HEFTY fare difference on the return flight to set an example......

As for Rochester,,,,do you know what happened to Edwards Resturant? I heard that it had moved and then closed but it was great...How about the Spring House, or Holloway House?

Edwards moved to a nice old mansion but their overhead went WAY up and they were a bit out of sight out of mind and lost business. Their food was top notch, but unfortunately they went belly up because the owners lost their shirts in the move. Spring House came under new ownership and they tried to turn it into a pickup joint and that failed miserably. They then sold it again and the current owners turned the parking lot into a strip mall. I think they are going to reopen the restaurant as some kind of BBQ place, but I'm not sure. Holloway house is a bit further out, I havent been there. As far as I know thats still going as it has been.