Hello 
I'm Siobhan Curran/Kisa Naumova, and this is my weblog. I tend to write about stuff like crossdressing, Macs, code, cats, wine and Second Life, but in general it's just an ongoing conversation about all sorts of stuff. If you'd like to know a little bit more about what this all is, I recommend starting on this page which has a little bit of info on who I am, and what I'm trying to do — or you could dive into my five years worth of archives if you like.
Otherwise, feel free to close this box and explore...
Wednesday, 19th December, 2007
Boo
£7.60 for a return to Manchester Airport!!! consider yourself lucky, it cost me ~£50 last week...
Sebastian
Well, actually (a) that's a single, and (b) the conductor punched out the '£1' from in front of it. Thau's ticket cost £17.60, and my return was £21.60.
@Jane — I know 
Which is why I'm sad, but not distraught.
Wish her a happy flight from me
Will do — actually, she's in Dublin right now Then Philadelphia, then Chicago...
Dear Expedia.co.uk, You Suck
"Hello", I said, a few minutes ago, whilst casting my eyes down the big list of flights that were being offered to me for next Friday. "This looks promising..."
10:30 Depart Manchester (MAN), American Airlines, Direct flight, £412.50
"...not bad at all"
So I click the "Choose this flight" link, and get the folowing information:
We're sorry, the price of this flight has changed from £412.50 to £1,018.50
Boo
Chin-up chuck.
Expedia
Get used to that sort of thing. The last time I was looking for flights to the USA I came across that sort of thing all over the place. Made me wonder what the point of the whole thing was when virtually every search I clicked through doubled, or worse, once I got into the actual flight! 
I must just mention, if anyone was worried, that it was only the direct flights that did that when I clicked on them — all the others stayed the same price. So I'm not stuck without a flight
Chin-up
Yeah, I know You'll have to forgive me though — it wasn't easy saying goodbye, even for that short a time. I've just got home (I'm absolutely shattered — we were up at 2.30am this morning to get there on time, and I'm really too tired to be of any use at work today) to an empty¹ house, and it's really quietly weird without her here 
¹ empty apart from Biscuit, obviously, who is making cat-type noises as if to ask "Where has Mummy gone?"
Small Steps
...lead to big things
I'd really recommend going direct to an airline website rather than an agent especially as you're booking so close to flight time. You might find a cheap direct flight. Connecting flights can be a nightmare even over small distances.
My experiences this year (two trips) lead to the conclusion that American Airlines is by far and away the most economical carrier for travelling from here to the US.
Hmm, it does seem that way. Their website is telling me that a direct flight both ways is about $2000, but a stop in Heathrow on the way there (and direct on the way back) is $840. I'm just wondering how that all works with buying tickets from here, and whether I need to get tickets sent — rather than using the whole 'eticket' malarkey.
Suppose I'll find out later tonight when I actually book the things
I'd vote for AA too, my flight from MAN->LHF->JFK cost me ~£330, where a MAN->JFK flight was ~£1000...
Of course there was an extra ~£50 on top for return train to Manchester and they managed to loose/delay my bags on the way back....
Sebastian
Tell yous what, I'll give them a try — and compare them to the prices that the cheapy-flights websites give me.
I'll wait until after midnight though — for reasons that begin with 'P', and rhyme with "Heyday".
I've read a lot of horror stories about AA, mostly from americans who have been using them for Internal flights, but in all the AA flights I've taken over the years, I've never had a single problem with AA, when its gone wrong its allways been one of their partners.
Sebastian
Awww but remember it won't be long until the end of the month