www.CostaRicaTicas.com

American Airlines has just put up a fare sale from a bunch of US cities to SJO, including LAX, ORD, and EWR. Looks like fares are valid for early September through January, with some blackout dates around Thanksgiving and Christmas, as can be expected.

Sadly, BOS is not included. I'm going to wait to see if other airlines match the sale. (I'm planning to go in January and the fare appears to be valid for my planned travel dates.)

Of interest to me is EWR - SJO for $384. However that may not be workable as all the departures are at 6:00am and there's no feasible way for me to get from Boston to Newark Airport for a 6:00 departure that I can figure out, without paying for a hotel that'd obviate most of the cost savings.

ETA: Whoops, looks like there's a 9:29 departure. If I take a redeye bus out of Boston and a NJ Transit train out of Penn Station, I can get to EWR by 6:30-ish or so. $28 for bus, plus $25 for train round trip from Penn Station to the airport, plus $10-ish for various subway fares in Boston and NYC...this could work. Net savings would $130-ish that I'd rather spend elsewhere on my trip. Question is, is the PITA worth it? That's for me to ponder, I guess.

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"Buy the ticket, take the ride." --Hunter S. Thompson

Only you can make that determination, but it sounds like a huge hassle to me, along with the possibility that something could go wrong with that many connections - just sayin'

(And in the old days, you just used your same ticket and got on another flight later that day - with todays rules, no idea if thats still possible, or do they nail you with a $100 or $150 "change" fee?)

Also - its not much that you are saving to make it worth it, IMO - also - what seemed like a good idea on the way down will be viewed as a huge hassle on the return trip, believe me.

Pay the phucking money, and save yourself the hassles - there is always a cheaper way to do things - or so it seems.

(I really like JetBlue - they don't fly to SJO from South FL, but do from Orlando - Orlando is 3.5 hours from my house; much as I like JetBlue, and as good as the fares have been on ocasion, I'd NEVER consider driving that distance to fly them).

thanks for the opinion Scuba1. Yeah, my girlfriend, who knows me pretty well, thinks I'm meshugah for considering this.

I hope someone else is able to make use of the info to get a good airfare. From what I've read, Tuesdays are typically the cheapest day to buy. Airlines will float a sale price late Monday and see if other airlines match it; if the other airlines don't match it by late Tuesday the price goes back up. So it's now 3:00pm on Tuesday 8/30, the fare sale may be gone in another few hours.

As for myself, I think I'm gonna wait and see if there's a similar sale for travel originating out of Boston in the next little while.

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"Buy the ticket, take the ride." --Hunter S. Thompson

Good to see flights outta MIA in October holding at a steady 4 hundo


Cujo

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"Pain is the fuel that fans the flames of my pyre. A battle plan is only as good as the general carrying it out on the field. This is my war son, and I have the biggest bombs and the smallest conscience"...

Cuj' - I payed $233 (all in for the fare, but w/ Spirit if you are carrying on baggage, you have to add for that but even if its $20/rt for a seat assingment, and $40 for the carry on r/t - still less than $400) - this is for late Sep't

I know the story w/ Spirit, but I always check w/ them and not always, but sometimes FLL is a better option vs MIA

Do agree that for a flight months away it could be a better idea to book 4 - 6 weeks ahead, especially if fuel prices are stable or lower than today (hey, it could <should> happen )

And to GVI:

Your gf sounds indeed wise (at least she did not call you a putz )

Thinking about it - you would have at least as much time invested BEFORE you take off than my entire trip from S FL to San Jose!

Seriously - too much could go wrong in all the connections you posted; even if it does not, the last thing you want to do when you get off the plane after the return trip is face that nonsense.

Well, the bargains out of EWR were gone as of this evening but as of this posting (2:45am EDT Wed. 8/31) AA still has cheap fares from PHL, LAX, and ORD up on their home page. Not sure of the restrictions and travel dates.

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"Buy the ticket, take the ride." --Hunter S. Thompson

Brutal....$220 ew PLUS taxes seems to be their favorite fare lately.

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In honor of Jimmy V week, "Don't give up, don't ever give up!"

Not ruling them out....just mentally adding $50 per leg for bag fees.



A lot of that depends on the political situation in the middle east...e.g. Libya...there were a lot of popular uprisings this past spring, likely sparked by food prices, or so said a recent article in The Economist. When the situation settles in Libya, hopefully that'll do positive things to the oil markets as far as supply. And hopefully things stay stable elsewhere.



Yeah, she's a smart one. And knows me really well.



Yeah, that.

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"Buy the ticket, take the ride." --Hunter S. Thompson

"Not ruling them out....just mentally adding $50 per leg for bag fees".


Should not be that much unless you plan to check more than one (and if you do, you are likely overpacking - laundry service is available, and as a general rule, you need less than you think you do - My rule: take more $$ and less clothes

And I could be wrong (its happened once or twice in my life ) - but I think Spirit charges 1 fee for the trip down and one for trip back, not per segment - I thought the same as you did, but someone corrected me, so maybe check directly w/ them - but my rule of thumb re Spirit is not to fly them if you have to change planes (FLL to SJO is non stop), which I believe you do flying out "up north" - I think you have to change planes, likely in FLL.

According to this Spirit charges a fee for carryon bags as well as for checked bags. I'm figuring 1 carryon + 1 checked bag, with a total of $58 in bag fees. And I could have sworn it was per-leg, not per-trip.

Yes, originating in Boston I have to change at FLL. Some of the routings on NK had me staying overnight in FLL. NFW. Also some of the routings had stops in Myrtle Beach as well as FLL; I think those were stops, though, with no change of aircraft, rather than changes. Good to know to avoid Spirit if I have to change planes. I do want my luggage to make the trip, too.

I made it through just short of a week in Amsterdam with what I could stuff into a 20" hard-sided carryon and an overstuffed backpack as my "personal item". Contents were pretty much one outfit per day plus a spare, plus one semi-dressy outfit for nightclubbing since there was a place walking distance from the hotel I wanted to go to. Plus toiletries, reading material, electronics, etc. Both bags were pretty well stuffed full, so I think for a full week in SJ I'm going to check a bag. Skip the dressy outfit, that'll save some space. *shrug*

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"Buy the ticket, take the ride." --Hunter S. Thompson

Yeah, CR is a casual place, leave the tuxedo at home


Check on the cost for checked/carry on - like I said, I (like you) thought it was per segment but was told its not; the trip is considered "one" even if there are stops or even plane changes.

Spirit is annoying on many levels, starting with the way they have refined fees into an art form Still in the quarter ended in March, they made millions, whereby almost every other airline lost and lost big - so I'll respect them for their financial success, but not for their business practices or corporate philosophy.

Spirit being a newer company, I'd guess they're not hampered by pension obligations to the extent that the legacy carriers (DL, AA, UA, etc.) are.

There was, of course, Spirit's (in)famous MILF Sale back in 2007(1). As well as several other controversial advertising campaigns. Hey, no such thing as bad publicity, right?

(1)Dunno how much a MILF gets in the Gulch but I'm sure as heck not gonna pay "cién".

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"Buy the ticket, take the ride." --Hunter S. Thompson

i went to aa.com and check rates from LAX.. they even had a "sale" link posted which i followed showing a $253 rate to SJO from lax. When all was said and done, that was untaxed and one way.. still worked out to over $600 from LAX.. no deal.. unless I'm doing something wrong. Damn it's just not cheap from the west coast..

I think a law was just passed requiring airlines to post the complete fare, including taxes and fees in their advertising - and to me its long overdue (when $233 is really $600 plus, why bother quoting $233 - its not close to what you are going to actually pay) .

Never understood whay some on this board quote the fare less fees; law or not, the actual cost should be quoted - just sayin'

(PS Its a peeve of mine - kinda like refering to "Ticas" as anything other than females from Costa Rica, if you take my meaning )