I'd personally like to thank the U.S. Gov't & our Anti-trust Department

[deepsea21]

For listening to all the airline lobbiests, accepting all that lobby money, and allowing so many airline mergers to take place under the promised guise of prices falling and service improving.

Thanks to them we are now reduced to 3 domestic airlines flying to Coz and can enjoy the highest airfares and lowest quality service in history despite the lowest jet fuel prices in decades. Well done!

 

[Dave Dillehay]

For me it is a mixed bag. I travel back and forth about every week or so, usually buying one way tickets to avoid change fees. Most of this year, maybe 10 times I have bought one way tickets to/from Houston for $174 by choosing the right day. In that money only $100 or so was for airfare, the rest taxes. That sounds crazy for the airlines (now United).

On the other hand I find many flights and many days to have ridiculous prices…I just have the luxury of picking my days. A week or so ago I checked a certain date and it was more than $800 one way!

Actually, back in the "Good Old Days" it was only Continental that flew to Cozumel and the prices were pretty stable. Not now, and there "should be" more competition, just be careful in checking dates and airlines. Also consider Cancun as the "bag drag" is not as bad as some may have you believe.

Dave Dillehay

Aldora Divers

 

[mmmbelows]

Time for you to start an airline?

 

[DMDavid]

Time for you to start an airline?

Well you know what they say, if you want to make a million dollars in the airline business you start with 10 million.

 

[DjDiverDan]

In the "good old days" the prices for scheduled airlines were often terrible, but there were at least three or four charter vacation operators, like Funjet and Worry Free Vacations, operating out of DFW, and, if you kept your eyes open, you could get a round trip flight only into Cozumel for $249, $199, even $149 for a last minute long weekend. Those days are gone.

 

[BRT]

I have no idea about fares to Cozumel but we have flown into the Cancun airport almost every year since 1996 and it was only the last few years that our ticket prices went up instead of down. Last year they were the cheapest we ever bought. Considering inflation and fuel prices in that time I think that deregulation has been wildly successful. The biggest difference I have noted is that the flights now are 100% full. I'd rather be the only passenger on the plane but I don't want to pay for the other tickets.

Looking at an inflation calculator my tickets in 1996 were 2 1/2 times as expensive as in Jan 2016. For that I could probably fly 1st class if I wanted the same level of service I had in 1996 but I don't miss the meals.

 

[Oldbear]

Does Frontier still fly out of Denver International Airport? They use to have a Non-Stop Flight from DEN to COZ during certain months out of the year.

 

[mediumone]

Prices from Portland. OR to CUN have remained constant from 2007 to present. We lost US Airways as a choice, but gained Southwest.

 

[ggunn]

An instructor I had in college called it the "ratchet effect". He was speaking of taxes but it applies to airline fares as well. They go up because of some justifiable (or rationalizable) reason, people get used to paying the higher amounts, and then when the reason abates, the recipients of the funds scramble to find other uses for the money - use it or lose it. It's pretty much the way the world works.

 

[DFDubb]

This morning I just bought round trip from DFW to Cancun on AA for 353 a piece. I usually use ff miles and fly directly to the island, but for that cheap, I'm going to do the bag drag and save my miles for overseas travel.