civilservant

Thats pretty expensive - ATL-LGA in a months time (x2) cost me $500 total, and it's alot further!

Guindalf

Flights are priced on popularity, not distance. Main hub to main hub would be easy to put bums on seats. Not so for, say, Des Moines to Indianapolis!

MarylandNed

Those days are long gone. I remember buying a number of cheap flights during my first trip to the US in 1988. Most flights I take these days are pricey and packed. Security costs have increased since 9/11. Fuel prices have also risen substantially.

It pays to look around. The usual suspects include Kayak, Expedia, Travelocity, etc. Sometimes you can get a deal by going directly to the airline web site.

To be honest, you might be better off driving. By the time you factor in time spent getting to/from the airports, getting through security, waiting for your flight, boarding, taxiing, flight, more taxiing, un-boarding, baggage claim, etc, you might not be any worse off in a car.

DebzinUS

Think about Flying into Washington Dulles or Reagan, rent a car and drive to Richmond..it's not too far.

S Folinsky

As a general rule, if one can use either Southwest or Jet Blue, prices can be a tad more reasonable.

Michael

What I normally found is that if I book about 3-5 weeks in advance, that is usually the best price window. Anything shorter or longer, the price typically rises. There are different prices depending on the season but typically if I book San Jose to Los Angeles roundtrip 3-5 weeks in advance, it's about $120 including taxes and fees but if I miss that window, it can be double or triple that amount. That price would be for flying late Friday night and returning after 11 am on Monday. Flying early Friday, anytime during Sunday, and early Money will significantly increase the price. Usually mid week prices are the same.

I just booked a flight from San Jose to Minneapolis roundtrip with Delta (non stop) from April 29-May 6 for $386 including taxes and fees. It's cheaper with other carriers but they aren't direct flights. If I would have booked in the middle of March for mid April flights, the price would have been $100 less. $386 is about typical for high season for a 7 day trip. Some airline often charge more for less than 7 day trips since they may assume you are a business traveler. I missed that window and now I am into the higher season.

I suspect the 3-5 week low price window is because airlines try to fill seats during that time period. After that window, there are only a few seats remaining and the price rises significantly. Before that window, the airlines are trying to get as much money as possible and when they can't fill the seats, they then reduce the prices. The window may only be open for a week or less if they can mostly fill the plane with only a few seats remaining.

Since I am always flying out of the bay area which has 3 airports and a lot of different airlines, it may be different for other airports that have limited competition since I can fly to NYC cheaper than I can to Minneapolis due to limited competition at Minneapolis.

yellowroom

but then you need to factor in the I95. The drive on a weekend from DC to Richmond has taken me as little as 1 hr 45 minutes, and as long as 4 hours. And it can be random too, not always predictable. Coming from NY it's not worth it, either fly or take the train.