Q. I'm a frequent flyer who doesn't find your site useful and has pretty much quit paying any attention to the daily e-mails you send with deals from the cities I've identified. The prices you list generally apply only to flights that have horrendous logistics (departure/arrival times, number of stops), and/or have horrendous connections, and/or are on tiny commuter planes. What gives?
A. Unless your commute to the airport includes a donkey ride and a rope bridge (in which case: not so much our fault, but sounds fun!), we're not sure what 'horrendous logistics' you could possibly be referring to. Many of the flights we list are nonstop, or require just a single connection, tops. We definitely take these things into consideration before listing a fare, and if a fare involves an excessive amount of layover time or multiple stops and other such hullabaloo then -like you - we don't consider it to be a good deal, which means we won't post it. And although it makes up a very small percentage of our listings, many reputable airlines do service shorter routes, or smaller airports, with commuter aircraft. You won't be sharing your seat with a caged chicken, or going off course to dust Farmer RoRo's crops or anything. It's really no different than any other flight, actually.
As for the departure and arrival times, it's just kind of common sense that flights are going to cost less during off peak hours. And although the schedule of flights we list will certainly varies, some may very well be for early morning departures. Sure, you might have to drag yourself out of the bed a little sooner than normal, but look on the bright side: If yours is one of the first flights of the day, you can pretty much be guaranteed that your flight will take off and arrive on time since the plane and crew are already there and air traffic control system hasn't had time to get bogged down as it does by 4.30 PM.
But hey, if you'd prefer to sleep late, order a nice frittata from room service, leaf through PC World, and finally take that leisurely stroll around Cleveland before making that popular 4:30 pm flight home, just be prepared to pay for it.
Oh, and although we'd love to build a Web site just for you, sir, that will cost you several hundred thousand dollars. Wouldn't you rather we continue to do this for everyone, and for free? Hmmmm?
