Bucket List - Air Force Football Away Games

This year we celebrated 44 years of season tickets as the Air Force Academy for football.  It is something we did as years as a family - Mom, Dad, Cindy and me - then when Mom passed away we'd invite friends.  When Dad could no longer go, we kept the tickets and scrounge up people to go with us.  Cindy, Steven and Ray often go with me.  Sometimes it's my cousin Billy's family, sometimes girl friends, sometimes friend and colleagues from work.

After Dad died, one of my bucket list items was to go to every away game for Air Force and I promised myself that the year we played in Hawaii, I would do it.  So 2015 was the year.  Our schedule this year was:

• Morgan State (home)
• San Jose State (home)
• Michigan State University (away)
• Navy (away)
• Wyoming (home)
• Colorado State University (away)
• Fresno State (home)
• Hawaii (away)
• Army (home)
• Utah (home)
• Boise State (away)
• New Mexico (away)

Southwest Airlines - my new favorite airline - kinda

For years I swore I'd never fly Southwest.  I referred to their boarding as cattle call and hated the fact that I couldn't select my own seats.  Funny how the changes at Frontier, my favorite airline for almost 15 years, made me a Southwest fan.

Southwest offers a variety of fare options including their "Wanna Get Away" fare.  Like all specials, there are a limited number of seats available and once gone, full fares are your only options. If faced with that, check out the business fare.  Sometimes it is only $20-$30 more and you are guaranteed a spot between A1 and A15.

If you purchase an inexpensive fare, but don't want to chance being in group B or C, check out Early Bird check in.  For $12.50 per segment the computer will check you in 36 hours before the flight - 12 hours before the rest of the world - and usually it will land you in group A.  For those of us who didn't want to give up selecting our seat (aisle for me), this option generally gets you in Group A and on the plane early enough to get your choice of an aisle or window seat.

Like all airlines these days, book as far ahead as you can to get the best prices.  I sign up for email notices for all the airlines on which I might fly.  But once you get the email, don't delay.  Specials advertised on those emails disappear fast.

Finally, changes on Southwest.  They advertise no fee for changes, which is accurate, but as with all airlines, you have to pay the fare difference.  If the change is close to the date of your flight, there probably won't be any "Wanna Get Away" fares available so you leap to full fare, which can be $200-$300 more per seat than you paid originally.  Southwest also offers upgrades at the airport.  All an upgrade at Southwest means is moving from whatever group you are in to Group A.  The problem with their upgrade is it is on top of a "full fare".  If you bought a "Wanna Get Away" seat, to upgrade you have to pay the difference between your original fare and the full fare THEN pay the upgrade fee.  I don't know about you, but moving to Group A is not worth another $100-$300 per seat.

The last "gotcha" to be aware of is if you notice something missing on your boarding pass.  An example of this is a friend who paid for TSA Pre ($85/year) and enters his number when buying a ticket on Southwest.  He entered his number at purchase but when he got his boarding pass in Group A, he noticed there was no TSA Pre listed on it.  He called Southwest to have it added, which they did, but when his boarding pass reprinted, he was suddenly in Group B - like B42.  What Southwest told him was any change made after he checked in basically re-checked him in and put him in the queue with everyone else.  So consider this if you make any last many changes/additions.

Overall Southwest is a great airline to fly.  Customer service staff and cabin crews are great.  Service in flight is good.  Southwest is one of the few "economy" airlines that still gives you a drink (more than just water) and a snack during the flight for free.  And so far they have not added more rows to their planes to pack in more passengers - you still have some leg space and a real seat try to put things on.

Frontier Airlines - still Denver's Home team?

Frontier Airlines for so long was the home town team.  I have been a faithful flier of Frontier for probably 15 years and always tried to use them to support the home team.  In recent years their financial issues have lead them into the hands of the creators of Spirit Airlines.  If you are not familiar with Spirit, in essence you get a seat on an airplane at an inexpensive rate, then pay for everything else in the form of a fee including booking your flight on line, picking a seat, carrying on or checking a bag, rebooking a flight, etc.  And the fees are hefty in some cases - for example booking an award flight is $100!  If you just want to fly carrying a purse and nothing else, it is cheap.

Frontier has followed this model.  Disappearing are the seats with TVs.  New planes have the first 3 rows with stretch seating, the next 5-6 rows with what one might consider traditional seating.  From emergency exit back are the rest of the seats.  Two more rows have been added and the first time I walked to the back of the plane I was struck by how even folks without long legs had their knees pressed up against the seat in front of them and their trays were barely big enough for their smart phones let alone a drink or something to eat. Also, only the first two rows recline.  None of the other rows recline anymore.  I suppose if they did you would truly be in the  lap of the person behind you.

Those "tiny" seats are cheap.  They have had $1 days where they sell 2000 tickets for $1 (plus fees of about $14 for basics).  Specials start at $17.  Of course the number of seats are limited and once gone, the fare bumps up to the next level.  I had all but written Frontier off as an option until I discovered the "Works".  They have taken all the "extras" (carry on luggage, checked luggage - 1 bag, pick your seat, 100% refundable and stretch seating) and bundled them into the "Works" then discounted the package significantly.  In essence it replaces Classic and Classic Plus tickets.  But if you can get one of the lower fares plus the bundle, you can actually end up in Zone 1, first three rows, for a really descent fare.  And unlike Southwest, to upgrade you don't have to upgrade your ticket first, then pay for the upgrade.  Using this method I was actually able to get a fare to DC Reagan for about $100 less that Southwest's best fare and still pick my seat, sit in the 3rd row with stretch seating, board in Zone 1 (get on before anyone else) and had a fully refundable ticket that included a carry on bag and a checked bag.

One word of warning with the "Works" that I learned the hard way - and cost me $40 from a very rude customer service agent.  Even though you pay for checked baggage and carry on baggage, if you don't check them off during online check in so they print out on your boarding pass, you will be charged before you're allowed on the plane.  Even when they looked it up, because I didn't check it off when I checked in, it appeared as if I hadn't paid.

Other things to be aware of:

• Print your boarding pass at an airport - up to $10
• Book your ticket over the phone - up to $10
• Change a booking - $99 plus change in fare
• Change a name - $75 plus change in fare (it is like a whole new reservation)
• 1-800 Customer service line - gone (it's now a phone number in Salt Lake City UT)
• Checking and paying for baggage at the airport (as opposed to checking and paying on line) add another $10-$25 or possibly more.  I also noticed they increase these fees "temporarily" during peak periods (holidays and spring break).

Sadly Frontier is no longer the Home Town airlines it used to be.  Jobs have been shipped out of town and the old days of in flight TV and free carry on bags are gone.  In essence if it isn't attached to your seat, you will pay a fee for it.  So your seat belt is still free!  BUT if you watch for their specials which come out almost once a week (sign up for email notices) AND if you are booking with in their select period (usually flights within 6 months) you can score some great deals.  Just beware if you don't get in the first 8 rows of the plan, you and your knees will become very close!

In 2012 I spent 5 weeks on my own in Europe.  Part of the trip was with Smithsonian Journeys, part was on a river cruise with Uniworld and the rest on my own booking apartments through Vacation Rentals by Owner (VRBO).  I traveled some by train, but flew mostly on points with British Airways.

I blogged the entire trip  (Deb's European Trip), spending some time each evening researching what I had seen so I could not only add my personal view of places I had been, but a few facts as well.  I created the blog because I knew if I just took pictures they would languish in a draw or on a jump drive somewhere.  With the blog, I go back and revisit where I had been and can relive wonderful memories.

What struck me the most was how many people were surprised that I put the entire trip together on my own and even more surprised that I went alone.

It all started because I wanted to go on a river cruise and decided if I was going to fly all that way, I was going to stay a while.  Five weeks seemed like a long time but I discovered it was just enough to scratch the surface and I am planning to go back, this time I hope for three months.

I chose Smithonian Journeys because they had a special "economy" tour through England, Scottland and Wales with an extremely reasonable single supplement (the group was almost 40% singles).  I chose Uniworld because they offer routes that waive the single supplment.  Granted they are not during peak season, but since I'm retired and on my own, I didn't care and I enjoyed the cooler weather of the spring.

So I thought why not blog about what I have learned about traveling on my own or with my kids/grandkids.  I like to save money and look for deals where I can BUT I spent my entire life going "economy" to save money.  As I approach 60 and see friends and colleagues around my impacted by the illnesses that come with getting older, I realize my sister is right.  Live for today because who knows what tomorrow brings.

I plan to blog on things I've done in the past as well as document what I am doing now.  This year I am completing the bucket list item "Air Force Football Away games" - going to all the away games played by the Air Force Academy football team.

Hope you enjoy!