We are finally going to take a trip back to Utah this summer. We've been gone for 9 years. MIL has flown to see us once or twice a year every year and we feel like it's probably our turn. Also, the kids are dying to see the pretty things in Utah.

We have considered driving, but it's about 20 hours plus stops. That doesn't sound like a lot of fun and would also take a big chunk of vacation time. I've looked in to flying and it is around $450 to fly from DFW to SLC. I don't think we've paid that much to fly anywhere else in the country. We flew all the way to Seattle a couple months ago and those tickets were only $300.

At this point flying to Denver for around $200 and then driving from there seems like the best option. I just can't understand why it's so much to fly into or out of SLC. I don't remember it being a small airport. I've checked every option I can think of and it seems like getting from or to SLC from almost anywhere is really expensive. Anyone know why this is?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2015 12:05AM by txnevermo.

I don't know what percentage Delta has of the SLC market, but I do know that when the market share rises too high, prices go skyward. Cincinnati has the same problem back when Delta had a large hub there.

Sometimes deals can be had if you are willing to change planes, but trouble is there really aren't any hub cities between DFW and SLC.

Flying to SLC from Las Vegas, an hour+-flight, costs now on Southwest about $350.00 RT. If I book weeks or a few months in advance, it can be only about $150.00 but those sell out so fast and I'm not able to do it far in advance.

The rest of the airlines are always at least as much as the highest Southwest fare, and most of them are 2 stops, which takes the whole day, plus they charge $25 per bag.

And they change the fare's daily.

I book a lot of travel and agree, SLC has become extremely expensive, especially from Dallas. There are fares from DFW to LAS Vegas for under $200 and they're non-stop. I've seem them as low as 138-158...

The drive is a bit shorter and it an be a pretty drive. Car rentals in Vegas are cheaper too.

You could try flying into Hurricane, but it's always so damn windy there!

I looked at it more last night and we can fly to Orlando, Portland or New York for much cheaper than SLC. All places I would much rather go!

I think we'll probably fly into Las Vegas or Denver and just drive from there. That will save us at least $1000 and two nights in Utah. Between flights for 5, a rental car and hotel for a week and a half (there's no way we can handle actually staying with MIL) it's going to cost a chunk. Oh well, we're only doing this once.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2015 09:00AM by txnevermo.

I was traveling last month. While at the car rental place I noticed a very frustrated family of 7. They'd rented an suv, but it turned out to be one of the small ones, and it only held two pieces of luggage and 4 or 5 people.

If you rent a car, be sure it's big enough for everyone and all of your luggage. Some times a good deal isn't so great.

It cost more because you get the chance to sit in a plane full of children on the way to Salt Lake. Seriously, every flight seems to be kids and crying babies. Some parents bring 5 little kids with them.

I can handle kids on planes, but the flights to Salt Lake are like sitting in and enclosed space and listening to school recess for several hours.

You have a point. Southwest allows one free lap infant per adult passenger, or one can buy a seat at an infant discount and place the infant in an FAA-approved air seat. How many young LDS couples can afford that? (or are willing to pay for more comfort and safety when a cheaper alternative exists). Over 24 months, they do offer discounted child fares. So per your example a family with five kids flies:

--they have an infant and an under-24 months toddler, flying free on laps

--three children on discounted children's fares.

--only the parents fly full fare.

Children's fares are not available online, they can only be purchased by phone, so I don't know the size of the discount. (only applies to accompanied kids; kids traveling solo pay adult fare). Say it's 1/3 off. The two parents pay a full fare, and they pay 2/3 x 3 or 2 additional fares. So this hypothetical family pays four fares to move seven persons. Not much of a yield, and Southwest may have to make it up on other passengers.

If the discount is half off, the yield would be even worse, with the family of seven paying only 3.5 full fares. The lap babies don't cost Southwest more (except more customer service and ground handling), if the child discount is 50% off then Southwest is giving this family one half of a free seat for each over-24 months child. The rest of us pay the difference.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2015 09:59AM by PtLoma.

In the 1960s, the airlines enjoyed low fuel costs, plus they had a lot of seat to fill because the new jets had double the capacity of their propeller ancestors, plus due to higher operating speeds each jet nearly quadrupled the available seat miles.

American's was perhaps the most generous of all family plans: Dad paid full, Mom paid 2/3, kids under 22 paid 2/3, and infants were free.There were some restrictions, such as blackouts for Friday and Sunday afternoon peak travel dates.

http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/complete/aa65/aa65-21.jpg

The family depicted above is most likely Catholic, because:

1. American did not fly to SLC in those days

2. The mom's dress would not cover garments

3. Overall, the family is very stylishly dressed, something one did not encounter often in 1964 Utah.

While on the page, note the price gap between First Class and Coach: only 12-15% more! The family of seven depicted could have flown LA-NY for three adult round trip fares, or $870.

My family (only two kids) flew San Diego-NYC for the 1964 World's Fair (no, we did not tour the LDS exhibit, featuring a replica of the SLC Temple). I remember my mom saying my ticket cost $85 or so. When I take the $290 round trip fare (this publication is from '65) and divide by three, I get $96, so maybe mom was off by $10. Or, the prices rose between 64 and 65 and mom was right.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2015 10:42AM by PtLoma.

Try Southwest.....

I fly out of SLC about 4-6x/month lately.

Low fares are available, but you have to purchase fairly well in advance. The last time I did SLC->DFW ran me about $375 on Delta round trip.

If you want to roll the dice, try SouthWest or Frontier.

Also, if your thought is to go to Vegas on, say, Spirit Air, I can only encourage you not to. There are a lot of low-budget airlines that fly into Vegas, many of which are not on time or able to handle children well.

I'm from DFW and always noticed that my flights back to school or back home were always so much more expensive. I remember my friend flying to seattle for 100 but it was always 300 minimum to fly to or from DFW.
It always baffled me. It made things really difficult when I had to fly to SLC last minute for a funeral.

I don't know your age or the era in which you went to school, but Delta had a hub in DFW until the mid-90s and they and American controlled a huge market share of the business there. The Wright Amendment inhibited Southwest from flying long haul out of Love Field. For a long time, Southwest could only sell tickets to states contiguous to Texas. Also, Southwest was a late entrant to SLC. So all the things you related make sense.

I'm from DFW and always noticed that my flights back to school or back home were always so much more expensive. I remember my friend flying to seattle for 100 but it was always 300 minimum to fly to or from DFW.
It always baffled me. It made things really difficult when I had to fly to SLC last minute for a funeral.

Keep looking around.

People why there all the time from New Orleans, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Chicago, everywhere for just a few hundred bucks - $280 might be somewhere around average.

No more there than anywhere else really.

Check again

If you can get to DEN for $200.00, look into Frontier to SLC. I flew to Denver and back last month for $109.00 Round trip.

we were in Utah earlier this year to visit family and it was around 400 a person from Austin purchased 4 months in advance but that was a direct nonstop flight which are rare from Austin, usually you have to hop thru DFW or IAH.


Austin-Salt Lake in around 3hrs, sweet!

I'm on my way from Cincinnati to SLC right now. $430 rt, but have to change planes in Detroit.

What about taking the train to SLC? Wouldnt that be cheaper yet!??And you get to see our beautiful nation as bonus!!

The train would be fun, but it looks like it would take longer than driving. We would have to detour through Chicago. But I'm keeping that in mind for a trip with a better route. That would be more fun than driving I bet.

flew to Alaska to see our daughter a few years ago, I was living in Colorado. It was cheaper for my ex to fly from SLC to Denver and then fly to Alaska from Denver with me than it was to fly out of SLC to Alaska. On the way home, he just got off on our layover in SLC.

I fly quite a bit out of SLC on business. The problem from DFW is that it is really controlled by American and SLC is controlled by Delta. I highly recommend not going with Frontier; I have had dreadful experiences on personal travel, and they fly infrequently enough that a delay can be cage strophic to your schedule. Flying to Vegas is a great idea. You can visit some of the great southern National Parks on a leisurely trip back to SLC.

Have you thought about just inviting your family to meet you in orlando.
Same cost a lot more fun and Utah sucks.

this is what we decided to do because traveling to utah was as much as taking our kids to disneyland.
We told grandma to meet us at disneyland.

Try this website:

https://skiplagged.com/

Once you input DFW to SLC, there is a blue line graph at the top of the page that will show you the cheapest days to fly. Unclick "hidden city" on the right-hand side of the page, and keep "standard" checked.

Huh?

I just did a kayak search, and came up with $341 flying United (although you have to stop in Denver).

And on Southwest's website, I came up with $268 (flying through Vegas).

Just saying...

I'm sure it depends on the dates. The weeks we're looking at Kayak has DFW to SLC is $395 for the cheapest flight, to New York is $215, to Portland, OR is $299 and to Orlando is $177. Southwest is more expensive than the $395 for our dates.

I'll keep checking. Yesterday they were higher, so maybe there's hope.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2015 11:24PM by txnevermo.

I was once flying from New Orleans - through SLC - to Seattle (for under $200) and I decided to get off there, and spend some time in Utah - and then went to Arizona and spent time throughout the SW, before heading back to the NW. So yea, you almost have to plan alternatives and check a lot and try different combos.

Maybe you'll have a fine trip no matter how you take it.

To go to Park City, and some great brews and eats and sights and do's in SLC.

Good trip. Cheap, the flying part. Travel and eating and lodging is what it is.

The Price Is Right! You are the next......

you can fly to Las Vegas and drive to Salt Lake and visit Kolob Canyon on the way.

Can you get a cheap flight with a stop over in SLC and not use the second haft of the ticket?