Intro and Airfare from NYC

lucidreamstate · Post by **lucidreamstate** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 12:24 pm

Hey there everyone. Newb from NYC going to Burningman this year with some friends who have gone before.

Our current plan is to fly out to Reno and then make our way to the Playa from there. My question is, does anyone know the best airfare for a trip like this. We're definitely planning on going for the whole week. I promised some friends that I would do some research, but the lowest fare I've found is in the neighborhood of $300 which seems a little steep to me.

Do fares usually decrease as the date gets closer? Do you experienced NYC burners just wait for a special to appear or do you fine ladies and gents have a plan of attack?

We'd talked about driving out there all together and while the drive out there sounds like it would be a blast of a time, the drive-back-whie-recovering seems like it might be akin to 72 hours in strapped to Belzebub's torture rack and being forced to watch repeats of "Blind Date" on Salvia Divinorum.

Has anyone ever considered making a call to an airline and trying to get, say, 50 or 60 people together as a group and trying to get a hefty group discount of some sort?

I'm hoping to make a swing by Revival on Wednesday night. The bar is actually one of my regular watering holes in the city. No doubt synchronicity in effect.

Cheers, all!
lucid

Chai Guy · Post by **Chai Guy** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 12:48 pm

$300.00 does not seem that steep to me. I regularly fly to from L.A. to the East Coast (L.A. to Atlanta, L.A. to Boston etc.) and $300.00 is in or below that ball-park. I would imagine that the amount of money you would spend in gas/food for the same trip by car would be almost equal if not more than that . And you are very much right in believing that the last place you want to be is locked inside a car for that time while you "decompress".

As for getting a group rate, you could try, but I think you might be better off just going through a reseller like Cheap Tickets, Travelocity, etc.

blyslv · Post by **blyslv** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 3:13 pm

$300 is an awesome price, and even without your time value (YMMV) you can't drive for cheaper.

lucidreamstate · Post by **lucidreamstate** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 5:11 am

Really, $300 is an awesome price? I was basing my assumption on my friend who says he has gotten tickets for about $100 less. Now, I suppose the difference of $100 isn't really that big a deal in the grand scheme of things... But roundtrips to Vegas are going for practically nothing these days, so I figured a similar fare might be available for Reno somewhere I'm not looking.

When I fly out to LA I can frequently get tickets for just shy of $200. But, of course, the trip between NYC and LA is one of the most common, so it makes sense that you could find it cheaper.

I just think a lady and her fellow oughta be able to go from NYC to Reno to do a little gambling and high-livin' for a reasonable price. What with the amount of money that a vacationer would normally urinate away in Reno, you'd think some casino would offer a cheap flight... Or the tourism board would subsidize the flights a bit to get more people there.

'Tever, though. If $300 is an awesome price, I'll probably just use that as a base and hook up some priceline action.

Icepack · Post by **Icepack** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:13 am

lucidreamstate wrote:Really, $300 is an awesome price? I was basing my assumption on my friend who says he has gotten tickets for about $100 less. Now, I suppose the difference of $100 isn't really that big a deal in the grand scheme of things... But roundtrips to Vegas are going for practically nothing these days, so I figured a similar fare might be available for Reno somewhere I'm not looking.

When I fly out to LA I can frequently get tickets for just shy of $200. But, of course, the trip between NYC and LA is one of the most common, so it makes sense that you could find it cheaper.

I just think a lady and her fellow oughta be able to go from NYC to Reno to do a little gambling and high-livin' for a reasonable price. What with the amount of money that a vacationer would normally urinate away in Reno, you'd think some casino would offer a cheap flight... Or the tourism board would subsidize the flights a bit to get more people there.

'Tever, though. If $300 is an awesome price, I'll probably just use that as a base and hook up some priceline action.

Flying to Vegas is like flying to Orlando-- you will find very cheap deals because they get huge numbers of tourists who come to spend their money. Reno is TINY compared to Vegas and therefore higher rates.

For about $300/week last year we rented a car from the East Coast. We'll do it again this year because we can't pack everything we need on a plane. So we'll rent for 2 weeks total I think. For 2 people, I think it comes out to the same price as flying. Also, once you get to Reno you need to arrange a ride to the playa if you fly.

blyslv · Post by **blyslv** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 2:07 pm

You might consider flying into Vegas. It's about 9 hours to BRC from there. Cheaper flights, probably easier to rent a vehicle (if you haven't reserved one yet) the drive gives you time to hype up/calm down, and Vegas is Vegas baby!

With what gas is going to cost this summer, driving coast to coast is a scary thought.

lucidreamstate · Post by **lucidreamstate** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 2:16 pm

Yeah, I figured that was the case with NYC to Vegas trips. I'm seriously thinking about forcing my friend to choose Vegas over Reno... While the extra hours driving may be a little taxing, I think what we save on airfare could be well worth it.

Besides, I haven't been to Vegas since I was, like, 14 years old. I have a feeling a little time before and a little time afterwards could be the perfect dose of society-sanctioned-surrealism to buffer both sides of the playa.

And while there are plenty of possibilities to save money by driving (hell, we could probably get six people together and get a van... or find a fun project to put some hours in on working and help split the costs on an even larger vehicle), its just that three to four day journey of hard driving AFTER spending the week in the desert that seems a little unappealing. I'll fork out some extra cash to avoid that.

Besides, what the hell do I have all this blood for if not to sell it? The stuff has gotta be good for somethin'.

lucid

Silver · Post by **Silver** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 2:41 pm

If that is $300 round trip grab it now. Otherwise check out Southwest out of Long Island, they have advance purchase out at 179 and 'fun fares' back at 159.

Please note that I have no financial interest in Soustwest, but the I have never found anything consistantly cheaper.

Icepack · Post by **Icepack** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 5:38 pm

lucidreamstate wrote:Yeah, I figured that was the case with NYC to Vegas trips. I'm seriously thinking about forcing my friend to choose Vegas over Reno... While the extra hours driving may be a little taxing, I think what we save on airfare could be well worth it.

Besides, I haven't been to Vegas since I was, like, 14 years old. I have a feeling a little time before and a little time afterwards could be the perfect dose of society-sanctioned-surrealism to buffer both sides of the playa.

And while there are plenty of possibilities to save money by driving (hell, we could probably get six people together and get a van... or find a fun project to put some hours in on working and help split the costs on an even larger vehicle), its just that three to four day journey of hard driving AFTER spending the week in the desert that seems a little unappealing. I'll fork out some extra cash to avoid that.

Besides, what the hell do I have all this blood for if not to sell it? The stuff has gotta be good for somethin'.

lucid

We drove from Vegas to Reno last year and the ride took almost 8 hours. Along the way we met a flat-bed truck driver. He had a very smashed car on the flat-bed. He told us a couple of women hit a cow. Fortunately the car was a rental, so the rental agency sent him to meet the women with a new car. He was hauling the smashed one back to wherever. He said the women were lucky and walked away in neck braces. We were even luckier, didn't see a darned animal anywhere where it was posted as "open range". It was a pretty nice drive too. Stopped in Beatty for ice cream and saw some burner cars in Goldfield.

thecrystallizer · Post by **thecrystallizer** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 1:20 am

I'm flying out there and making that lovely recovery ride back to NYC, so if you're looking for a ride back, let me know. I'll probably have space for four or so.

5x5 · Post by **5x5** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 6:07 am

seriously $300 is good. reno is nowhere near as cheap as las vegas.

i paid $420, didn't see anything close to $300, but i'm going out of newark. i would save $50 or so to go to one of the other nyc airports but it would cost me more than that to get to them (i'm in NJ, and won't leave my car there)

Intro and Airfare from NYC

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