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Atlanta to Medellin

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jhutch621
  12/3/2016 15:25 EST

Any hints on how to minimize the damage on air travel on this particular leg. I have not been traveling much lately and am totally confused on how to interact with Expedia, etc. Or use Incognito browser and deal directly with airlines?? The traveler seems to be at a distinct disadvantage or am I just not seeing for forest for the trees?

timllowe
  12/3/2016 17:07 EST

Relax. More than 90% of the flights landing in Medellin make it without crashing. Good odds. ;)

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WhoaNellie
  12/3/2016 17:25 EST

Just do an internet search, "atl to mde" and you'll get plenty of hits for plenty of websites, prices ranging from under $300 USD and on up depending on your schedule.

On any travel site you just fill in the dates etc. and you can choose your flights and itinerary all without committing to anything, it's not hard.

You can even call up an airline and talk to a real person (eventually) and get them to help, although it can be frustrating...

BrandonBP
  12/3/2016 17:30 EST

Hutch,

Try to buy tickets from USA to Colombia about 5 to 7 weeks out. Generally, that is the best timeframe for the best deal. Any farther out or sooner and the tickets will start to get more expensive. And try to fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Towards the weekends the flights are more booked full and more expensive. If there is some event or special seasonal thing then the prices will be more expensive, like after New Years and such.

Use Expedia or Travelocity, etc to get a baseline price for the different airlines to see who has the best prices. BUT, then go directly to Delta or American Air or LAN, etc websites and look up their prices. Many times the actual airline site will have a better price than the travel sites which may add their own fees.

Speaking of fees, we all now have to read the damn fine print when we fly. You may get a much better "deal" from one airline only to find out at the airport that they will charge you an extra $50 to check a single bag or an extra $15 if you didn't print out your own ticket and so on.

In 2013 I flew ATL to MDE via Delta and it was fine. I don't know if you HAVE to fly out of ATL, but this year I flew JetBlue out of Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and it was very inexpensive and JetBlue rocked. I'm a big fan now.

LAN usually has specials from the US to Colombia that are worth a look. Copa and Avianca have flights. Many of the airlines fly out of MIA or FLL, though. But you may at least look into the prices for a connector via South Florida.

Cheers!

timllowe
  12/3/2016 18:16 EST

Oh just have a few cocktails. Bite the bullet and fly Spirit. It's incredibly cheap and you get every penny's worth. What is an airline other than a way to get your ass from point A to point B?

timllowe
  12/3/2016 18:19 EST

Fort Lauderdale to Medellin is $125.50USD on Spirit.

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Hinge
  12/3/2016 18:42 EST

@Timllowe
You have mentioned flying Spirit in the past. Looks like my next trip to the states will having me returning on Spirit. How's the leg room in the cheap seats? I don't mind my elbows scrunched in for 3 hrs, but having no leg room gets painful after a while. Does it compare to VivaColombia?

timllowe
  12/3/2016 18:45 EST

All discount airlines are uniformly horrible. What's your point? If you want to pay 3 - 5x more, BE MY GUEST. It's 4 hours. Live with it. or waste your money.

guestuser
  12/3/2016 19:19 EST

@tl I never understand this concept that flying other than the cheapest nastiest way is 'wasting your money'. Freedom of choice and all that.

After all you like taking photos with large format 'old fashioned' film. Some could say that you could get a photo by just pointing a cell phone at the subject. Certainly cheaper, certainly less hassle.

But your argument is probably 'it's a quality thing'.

Just like choosing a better airline, better schedule or (horror!) choosing to pay to sit at the pointy end.

And as we all get a little older, broader and perhaps suffer a little with circulation issues an inch or two extra on the seat pitch might be rather more important than you realize health wise.

Some drink 'well' drinks, others like their own particular brands. It all gets you happy.

timllowe
  12/3/2016 19:30 EST

It's FOUR DAMNED HOURS. No flight is fun. You throw away your money. It's very un-Colombian if you ask me.

BrandonBP
  12/3/2016 19:33 EST

"Looks like my next trip to the states will having me returning on Spirit."
==========================

Here's the thing about Spirit...

I was going to fly Spirit this last January from Florida. The tickets were $62.50 each way to either Bogota or Medellin. No, that's not a typo. $62.50 one way.

But I have never heard anything good about Spirit. Spirit regularly has more complaints than all the other airlines combined. I figured I could deal with a dirty plane with crumbs in the seats, or being jammed in like cattle. But I talked to so many people that made me finally change my mind.

I read up on Spirit to find out what these fees entail. Here you are:

- $21-$100 for your first checked bag
- $100 each additional checked bag
- $26-$100 per CARRY-ON bag
- $12 for buying your ticket online
- $12 to be seated with your companion
- $10 per person to print out your ticket at the counter

So, after I decided Spirit was a ripoff, I unsubscribed from their newsletter emails and bought a ticket via JetBlue. I was very happy with Jetblue and will fly with them again as long as they have a decent price.

I don't know when you travel, but starting Feb 9th, Jetblue one-way from Ft. Lauderdale to Medellin is $154.

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Bobfrozen1
  12/3/2016 19:36 EST

I"m with PL.

You get what you pay for. Free bags, a little something to eat, not having to change planes in Bogota, short layovers for plane changes or direct flight all have something to do with the purchase price.

And I do pay extra sometimes to fly in the pointy end if the flight is over 3 hours, I deserve it.

I also don't see a sprint flight from ATL to MDE for 125. Round trip with plane change in FLL is 447 mas o menos. And remember you pay from 45 to 100 USD for each bag.

timllowe
  12/3/2016 21:06 EST

I do wish you old farts would read things before you disagree.

Next time you have to fly, how about you send me $200. Just so you can feel like you're paying more.

BrandonBP
  12/3/2016 21:28 EST

"Next time you have to fly, how about you send me $200. Just so you can feel like you're paying more."
=============================

Why is this a personal affront to you if I don't want to end up paying Spirit Airlines MORE money after fees are attached than just taking another nicer airline that includes free checked baggage, free carry-ons, free TV and movies, more leg room, a clean airplane, and a free ticket printout at the counter? If I end up spending MORE money with Spirit via their sneakiness, then what's the point of being jammed into a seat where my knees are pressing against the seat in front of me with no TV and someone's empty Doritos bags in the pouch?

Spirit is running a scam. They advertise cheaper flights than anyone else, then you have to read the fine print, or else you end up paying more than the ticket itself in just tacked on fees at the counter.

If I want to spend my money for a better deal that will actual cost LESS, then why are you so personally butthurt over it?

If I told you that I prefer to eat ribeye over cheap, tough round steak, are you going to also blow a gasket about me "wasting" my money? Surely those two meats will fill my belly the same, so why pay more for ribeye, right? Spirit will get me there in four hours and so will JetBlue or Delta. But one of those airlines tastes sh+ttier than the others.

Bobfrozen1
  12/3/2016 22:20 EST

No thanks Tim worked hard for my money and enjoy spending it on ME.

But hey if you need some money I hear there is a guy in Cali needing english speaking employees. Maybe give him a shot!!

He pays 1.5 something!!

guestuser
  12/4/2016 03:47 EST

On the jobs in Cali I think that the 1.5 MAY be 1.5 times the minimum wage. I had a side conversation with the OP who had suggested that their local staff were happy with their wages as they often were 3 times the minimum wage. I'd suggested that for expats those levels still might not be attractive in particular as any pay check would likely drag people into the tax system.

One other alternative could be COP 1.5 million a month that would fit the 3x minimum wage statement.

Hinge
  12/4/2016 09:03 EST

@BrandonBP,
Thanks! I see where Sprint gets fees for beathing :). They have seats with more leg room of course for a fee. Thanks for the JetBlue tip. It is after Feb 9. I'll look at them!

For some, it is tough when others don't see the world as they do.

jhutch621
  12/4/2016 11:41 EST

Thanks, I'm gonna try this

BrandonBP
  12/4/2016 12:17 EST

Thanks for the JetBlue tip. It is after Feb 9. I'll look at them!
==============================

Here's what a Jetblue stewardess did for me.

I sat down in a row of three and I have the window seat. I'm pretty pleased so far since the staff at the counter and everyone had been great. It was a brand new plane and every seat had a TV with movies and sitcoms.

A couple sit down next to me with a tiny baby, and I swear to GOD I could be on a 747 and if there's one baby, it will be next to me every time.

So the flight attendant comes by and says, "Will you come with me, sir? I'd like to give this couple a bit more room."

She takes me to the premium economy row that has a huge gap for legroom. I could stretch my legs all the way out in front of me and still not touch the seat in front, and I'm a taller man. And I have the entire row to myself. I was happy.

She comes back by in a few minutes and asks if I'm fine. I say, "Yes, this is great. And that was very nice of you to do that for the couple with the baby."

She says, "I did that for you, hon."

I again flew Jetblue back into the States and was equally as happy. Then my connector was American Airlines. The attitudes and service between the two airlines were night and day. I told the lady at the AA counter I had flown with American over 100 times in my life and would never fly with them again no matter the price. She just shrugged and didn't care.

I think we're all tired of being treated like mere cargo. And it's nice to have a few airlines that realize this.

novato1953
  12/4/2016 16:16 EST

I caught a couple sub-$100 flights on Spirit from the US in the past year, one to Colombia and one to Nicaragua. Out-the-door, one cost me $67 and the other $82. I kept my fingers crossed until we were airborne, but such prices do roll around once in a while. The crossed fingers were to ward off "irregular operations". Spirit has a limited number of flights. Waiting for the next flight on Spirit may mean a delay of a day or two, not a few hours. Normally airlines shunt delayed passengers to partner airlines, but no other airline is willing to partner with Spirit, which says a lot in itself. Absent a big sale, JetBlue is not that much more money. And ATL is Delta's biggest east coast hub. If you absolutely, positively have to get there on time, don't take Spirit.

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