holiday travel | how do you choose your flights?

early morning guest at Andaz Maui (c) 2016 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

It's getting cold out there! Today's forecast high in Chicago is only 20º, while vacationers in Maui will enjoy sun, sand, and 80º highs ... and travelers to Puerto Rico will have it even warmer with a high of 85º. 

You want to go, but how will you get there? A recent survey asked holiday travelers how they made their decision on which flight to book. Their answers were not unexpected. 38% chose the cheapest price. 26% considered the most convenient times to depart and arrive. 17% chose the flight fewest number of stops. 10% booked their favorite airline. 5% were able to use miles for their flights.

Another way of looking at these data — 62% of travelers realized that price is not the most important consideration. The logic of internet shopping is that cheapest is best, but that's frequently not the case. Consider the following scenarios:

What if saving $20 per ticket meant you'd arrive late at night instead of midday? Isn't it worth $20 to spend your first afternoon on the beach ... instead of the plane?

What if you could save $20 per ticket, but that meant connecting in two different cities and changing planes twice? Not only would this introduce the possibility of missed connections due to bad weather, it also increases the chances of lost or delayed luggage. Any of these pitfalls would ruin your first day.

Or, considering the latest trend, what if you booked the very cheapest fare, only to find out that you'd have to pay extra to put your bag in the overhead compartment on the airplane? Yes, I'm talking about you — Spirit Airlines and United "Basic".


Still want to get away this winter to someplace warm and sunny? There are so many beautiful possibilities! And if you've waited this long to plan a vacation between Christmas and New Years ... good news! There's still space available at two of my favorite resorts, Dorado Beach (Puerto Rico) and Four Seasons Oahu (Hawaii) — and we can get you value-added amenities including complimentary breakfast for two daily and a resort credit at either resort!

copyright (c) 2016 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.