Florida gas station charges almost $6 per gallon

[realjd]

One of the owners of the nearby ~2.79 stations (or one of us) could put up several signs that say "GAS - $2.79/GAL - 2 MILES - TURN RIGHT" (with accurate pricing, distance, and directions).

No you can't.  And no they can't.  There's right of way issues, billboard issues, and advertising issues.

Or do like every other store does and hire a minimum wage sign holder to stand on the edge of the street.

[kkt]

The TSA security checkpoint is what it is, and there's no helping it. I will say this though: unlike in some other countries, the TSA security checkpoint process is very well defined, so you at least know what to expect before you get there. It's still security theater nonsense, but at least it's predictable security theater nonsense.

Except it isn't all that predictable.  A month ago I was taking a minor to the gate for her flight at SeaTac.  We did not have to take our shoes off or take any but the largest things out of our pockets and were through security in five minutes.

A week ago I went to the gate to pick her up again.  We're back to taking our shoes off and taking every little thing out of our pockets right down to the parking receipt.  That and all the checkpoints but one being closed meant security took half an hour.

[Rothman]

Outside of the TSA's often conflicting requirements (ie: When my wife and I travel, sometimes we go up to the podium together to have our IDs checked; other times we're told only one can be at the podium at a time), and the whole gotta-take-the-shoes-off thing, TSA is a 5 minute hassle.  I probably spent more time finding a place to park.  If someone has never flown, I chalk it up to them listening to everyone else's horror stories; which many times they were told from another friend, and so on. 

BTW, TSA have stated the lines will probably get longer.  TSA horrendously failed a test (missing over 90% of items that are supposed to be caught).  So they're going to go a bit slower, do some more wanding of passengers, etc. 

Ah yes, those early days of deregulation.  Little did we know that those cheap prices would only resolve into the absurd amounts we pay now.

Actually, not even close.  Deregulation prices were quite high.  Per this site: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/how-airline-ticket-prices-fell-50-in-30-years-and-why-nobody-noticed/273506/, adjusting for inflation, a ticket that costs approximate $350 today would have cost about $600 in 1980.

Now, are there other sites to prove the opposite?  http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/blog/seat2B/2014/05/don-t-believe-the-airfare-spin-cost-to-travel-is.html tries to do that.  Until you look at the tallying graphic:  It shows a single one-way flight, non-refundable fares, costing $97 in 1975 and $204 today.  But by using one of the many inflation calculators available, that same ticket would cost $426 today.  They don't show that in the article.  And then they try to add on a whole bunch of fees to today's price that most people wouldn't pay, such as a change ticket fee, standby fee, 2nd bag fee, excess-bag fee, etc.  Even the refundable fare shown is about equivalent to today's price, including inflation. 

I suppose I was wrong about "early," but fare wars were certainly a result of deregulation, causing the glory days of 1990-1993, when airfare was indeed more affordable than it is now.

Evidently, we need more competition along routes and more multmarket contact between carriers to bring back those days of yore.

[Sykotyk]

Outside of the TSA's often conflicting requirements (ie: When my wife and I travel, sometimes we go up to the podium together to have our IDs checked; other times we're told only one can be at the podium at a time), and the whole gotta-take-the-shoes-off thing, TSA is a 5 minute hassle.  I probably spent more time finding a place to park.  If someone has never flown, I chalk it up to them listening to everyone else's horror stories; which many times they were told from another friend, and so on. 

BTW, TSA have stated the lines will probably get longer.  TSA horrendously failed a test (missing over 90% of items that are supposed to be caught).  So they're going to go a bit slower, do some more wanding of passengers, etc. 

Ah yes, those early days of deregulation.  Little did we know that those cheap prices would only resolve into the absurd amounts we pay now.

Actually, not even close.  Deregulation prices were quite high.  Per this site: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/how-airline-ticket-prices-fell-50-in-30-years-and-why-nobody-noticed/273506/, adjusting for inflation, a ticket that costs approximate $350 today would have cost about $600 in 1980.

Now, are there other sites to prove the opposite?  http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/blog/seat2B/2014/05/don-t-believe-the-airfare-spin-cost-to-travel-is.html tries to do that.  Until you look at the tallying graphic:  It shows a single one-way flight, non-refundable fares, costing $97 in 1975 and $204 today.  But by using one of the many inflation calculators available, that same ticket would cost $426 today.  They don't show that in the article.  And then they try to add on a whole bunch of fees to today's price that most people wouldn't pay, such as a change ticket fee, standby fee, 2nd bag fee, excess-bag fee, etc.  Even the refundable fare shown is about equivalent to today's price, including inflation. 

I suppose I was wrong about "early," but fare wars were certainly a result of deregulation, causing the glory days of 1990-1993, when airfare was indeed more affordable than it is now.

Evidently, we need more competition along routes and more multmarket contact between carriers to bring back those days of yore.

Unfortunately, those cheap rates and cut throat competition led to hemorrhaging money and reducing services to try to stay in business. As they consolidated, the prices rose as there was less competition to pull down the prices.
A correction, but one that was quite drastic.

On the topic of flying, I've flown 3 times. Twice round trips (once to Phoenix and once to Las Vegas) and once a one-way flight to Santa Ana (much cheaper and easier than LAX). Because I work for myself, time constraints aren't really a problem in the decision to fly or drive.

The two round-trips were time sensitive. Once I booked my flight two hours before it left. The second, was I was working an office job and couldn't afford to take the time off to drive from PA to Vegas. However, now, that's not the case. The one-way trip to CA was on account of my ex-wife, as she couldn't get off work for more than 10 days. So, we flew out to LA and then drove home through Vegas, the National Parks of Utah, Monument Valley, Moab, Dinosaur Nat'l Monument, Rocky Mountain N.P., and then across unclinched counties of Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois.

Now? I don't think I'd ever purposefully not drive. My fiance has a job as loosely scheduled as mine, and can make arrangements to drive anywhere there are roads. Plus, she flew a lot as a kid, teenager, young adult, that she LOVES to drive places and see the sights. Take the back roads, sight see, meander, etc.

[Rothman]

Yeah, driving purposefully is overrated.