5 ms·

This is a great piece, definitely, but the question I have, do you - Americans - consider $500 a fair/reasonable amount of money to pay for a plane ticket? (I e

This is a great piece, definitely, but the question I have, do you - Americans - consider $500 a fair/reasonable amount of money to pay for a plane ticket? (I even had to lookup the average salary in the USA) I'm from Europe myself, and it usually costs us anywhere from $40 to $150 to travel anywhere in Europe, though the prices do go up if you want to go to a place such as China, Thailand, or even India. But then again, that's Asia!

ovulator 12y ago
The US is much more spread out than Europe, much more. A flight between the major cities in Europe, say London to Paris will be maybe $100 one way. A similar trip (distance wise) in the US from New York to Boston would also be $100 one way. A lot of people in the US fly much further than that. A trip from New York to Phoenix Arizona (not even all the way across the country) is a similar distance to Lisbon to Helsinki and will probably cost about $400 for a round trip flight in the US, there and back again.
selectout 12y ago
From my own experience (from MidWest, live in SF now), $500 is pretty average for a cross country. I can get most places I want to go (any major US City not completely across country) for about $150-$300 though and these are all round trips. It's just when I go from SF <-> NYC/Boston/DC that I get the $500-$700 range. Or if I just book at horrible times or over holidays.
potatolicious 12y ago
$500 is pretty normal for cross-country flying. Keep in mind that the USA is gigantic - JFK-LAX is approximately the same distance as Frankfurt to Tehran. Prices are much lower for closer distances - it's not at all unusual to be able pick up ~$150 round trips for shorter routes.
mikeash 12y ago
What's "a plane ticket"? I live near Washington, DC. If I fly to, say, New York, then $500 would be outrageous. I'd expect to pay $100-200 roundtrip for that, depending. It's about an hour's flight. If I fly to Miami, I'd expect to pay $200-300. That's about two hours. If I fly to San Francisco, then $500 becomes a reasonable price. That's a six hour flight. It makes no sense to talk about "a plane ticket" in isolation. From where to where? How far?
- alexivanovs 12y ago
  You're right.
brandonmenc 12y ago
I fly across the country every few months (live in Arizona, family in Pennsylvania) and I usually pay around $450, round trip. I could pay less, but I stick with US Airways so I can rack up miles. When I made less money I'd fly whatever airline was cheapest - just under $400 was common. I've done it all: bus, train, and drove myself. Flying is the best deal, hands down. There's no comparison - round-trip cross-country for $500 is a modern miracle.

ovulator 12y ago

The US is much more spread out than Europe, much more. A flight between the major cities in Europe, say London to Paris will be maybe $100 one way. A similar trip (distance wise) in the US from New York to Boston would also be $100 one way. A lot of people in the US fly much further than that. A trip from New York to Phoenix Arizona (not even all the way across the country) is a similar distance to Lisbon to Helsinki and will probably cost about $400 for a round trip flight in the US, there and back again.

selectout 12y ago

From my own experience (from MidWest, live in SF now), $500 is pretty average for a cross country. I can get most places I want to go (any major US City not completely across country) for about $150-$300 though and these are all round trips. It's just when I go from SF <-> NYC/Boston/DC that I get the $500-$700 range. Or if I just book at horrible times or over holidays.

potatolicious 12y ago

$500 is pretty normal for cross-country flying. Keep in mind that the USA is gigantic - JFK-LAX is approximately the same distance as Frankfurt to Tehran. Prices are much lower for closer distances - it's not at all unusual to be able pick up ~$150 round trips for shorter routes.

mikeash 12y ago

What's "a plane ticket"? I live near Washington, DC. If I fly to, say, New York, then $500 would be outrageous. I'd expect to pay $100-200 roundtrip for that, depending. It's about an hour's flight. If I fly to Miami, I'd expect to pay $200-300. That's about two hours. If I fly to San Francisco, then $500 becomes a reasonable price. That's a six hour flight. It makes no sense to talk about "a plane ticket" in isolation. From where to where? How far?

alexivanovs 12y ago
You're right.

brandonmenc 12y ago

I fly across the country every few months (live in Arizona, family in Pennsylvania) and I usually pay around $450, round trip. I could pay less, but I stick with US Airways so I can rack up miles. When I made less money I'd fly whatever airline was cheapest - just under $400 was common. I've done it all: bus, train, and drove myself. Flying is the best deal, hands down. There's no comparison - round-trip cross-country for $500 is a modern miracle.