FLIGHTS 101

I think one of the things I dread mostly about vacationing abroad is the flight to get there. We live in Orange County, California, so we’re looking at a 13-hour flight at minimum. To me, that’s a long time. But a precursor to that has always included a 50-mile drive to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX); Freeway traffic that added not only stress but another hour to the journey; Parking at the airport… ka-ching!; Waiting for the shuttle to the airport — add another half hour to the time, stressing if the shuttle will have room, then there’s also that luggage shlep. And I look forward to this even more when I have to do it all again when returning home… but now I’m tired. Seems like a necessary evil? Nope.

1.) TRY YOUR LOCAL AIRPORT: For us, John Wayne Airport (SNA) is only 10 minutes from home — A quick $20 Uber or maybe someone owes you a favor. We have to connect to an International Airport but our bags were checked all the way through and it’s a good opportunity to stretch your legs. And coming back, we do customs at the end of the first leg of our journey. So when we reached our final destination, we can quickly leave the airport and go home to bed.

2.) CHOOSE A CHEAPER ENTRY POINT INTO EUROPE… AND THEN CONNECT: For example, my flight to Paris in the summer was about $1000 r/t from LAX. I did a search for SNA to LHR (London), and that cost (with one stop in San Francisco) was only $500 r/t. Connecting flights to pretty much everywhere in Europe (once you are in Europe) can be as little as $100 r/t — as it was for us from LHR to CDG (Paris) on Air France. We saved $500 per ticket.

3.) REWARD YOURSELF: So the money I save I either roll into the cost of upgrading our seats, booking a nicer hotel, or splurging on a few extra experiences! Now that’s a win-win.

Minimizing the stress of travel has always been my goal. Identify what those triggers are for you, and then be creative about finding solutions. My triggers are time and budget. But by being flexible about where I fly to, and creative about avoiding the LAX commute, I have opened our budget to more possibilities for adventure. And I’m a happier traveler!