A2 The Courier-Times, Roxboro, N.C., Saturday, April 30, 2011
Watch out for plane ticket 'switcheroo'
ince November, I’ve bought a bunch of plane
tickets and every time I have to deal with the
'process, I end up angry and frustrated.
My modus operandi for several years has been to check
the “cheap ticket” sites like Orhitz, Travelocity, Kayak and
Priceline, figure out their lowest prices, then either go
to the airline Weh site or
call. Honestly, I usually
get the cheapest ticket
hy going directly to the
airline after checking
the other sites.
I’m offering some
advice for those of you
Phyliss Boatwright
i
who may be planning summer flights.
Most of my in-laws live in Illinois, so O’Hare Interna
tional Airport in Chicago is where we’re usually headed
when we travel. And if we happen to be headed in other
directions, nine times out of 10, we end up going through
0 ’Hare anyway In fact, even before I ever laid eyes on Paul
Weller, it seemed that, even if I was headed for Atlanta, I
had to change planes in O’Hare.
And I hate that airport. Never fails: fly to or through
O’Hare and you’re going to meet up with trouble.
I don’t even want to think about the endless hours I’ve
spent there, waiting to get on a plane.
On our most recent trip, on April 15, Paul and I flew
to O’Hare, rented a car, and drove to Woodstock, lU. to
meet our granddaughter, Maren, who, by the way, is the
cutest, smartest, most above-average two-month-old in
the history of humanity.
Anyway, when I started looking for tickets a month or
so before the highly anticipated visit, I went through the
usual agony of trying to find a decent price on a decent
flight to and fro.
One thing I have noticed for
some time now is that, when
you click on a flight and decide
you want it, by the time you go
through the steps of selecting
the flight to, then the flight fro,
the dadgum price has changed
on the whole shooting match. In order to get something
remotely in the price range you started out with, you
have to go back to square one and make concessions in
times of travel or something else, like being willing to
send yourself as cargo.
We got back from Illinois last Wednesday, and on Thurs
day, April 21, The Wall Street Journal, which Paul gets by
home delivery, ran an article, “Why Online Fares Change
Faster Than a 747.” Paul showed it to me, I read it, and
shook my head in agreement the whole way through.
Basically, the article, by Scott McCartney, says fare
changes happen so rapidly because of computer systems
and programs.
“Fare switches can result from several different prob
lems,” McCartney wrote, “such as incomplete synching
up of different computer systems or travel sellers having
stale information...”
Some sites even use “sophisticated programs that try to
estimate which fares are available, ” the article continued.
“When it’s time to actually buy, the website then checks
with the airline, and may find that an earlier price is no
longer available...”
To minimize the “fare switcheroo,” the article advised:
“Check multiple travel websites, including the airlines’,
before locking in a fare. Double-check prices by clicking
through to book even if you don’t want to book yet. That
way you know the price is real. (Just don’t enter a credit
card number.) Be careful with close-to-departure shop
ping; prices fluctuate the most around two weeks before
the flight. Be wary of monthly calendar views, which
often contain estimated fares. They are basically guides,
not real quotes. If you see prices jump, you might wait.
Inventory management canbringthe fare lower if there’s
no buying at higher prices.”
The article warns that Travelocity has “a particularly
inaccurate displayforflexiblesearches....Afare available
only in winter, for example, may still be displayed if you
ask for fares for June and July”
I hope this information is helpful to Personians looking
for vacation flights. Be careful out there in plane ticket
buying cyber space, and, if at aU possible, avoid O’Hare
like the plague.
Roxboro man
arrested on
fraud charge
Roxboro police arrested Jesse
Rasu Brown, 43, of 45 Lee St. Tues
day on a felony charge of obtain
ing property by false pretense.
Brown is alleged to have sold
a motorcycle that he was not the
legal owner of in exchange for a
scooter and cash.
Brown was held under a $5,000
secured bond. He is scheduled to
appear in Person County District
Court on May 10.
Reach Over 60%
of Person County
Households With Your
Advertising In The
Courier=Times
The Latest
Agenda
MEETINGS
fun & Enferfa/^^
Roxboro,
Jowlin^l 1 I 4
Information Hotline
n Call 919-226-2300
(Durham, NC based phone number) QQ[d^
Online Movie Tickets Available at
www.palacepointe.com
Showing - Friday 4/29 - Thursday 5/5
HOODWINKED 3D (PGI
Fri. 5:10 7:20 9:30
Sat. 12:45 3:00 5:10
7:20 9:30
Sun. 12:45 3:00 5:10 7:20
Mon.-Thurs. 5:10 7:20
PROM (PGI 3)
Fri. 4:25 7:10 9:45
Sat. 1:25 4:25 7:10 9:45
Sun. 1:25 4:25 7:10
Mon.-Thurs. 4:25 7:10
FAST FIVE (PGI 3)
Fri. 12:00 am 3:50 6:50 9:50
Sat. 12:50 3:50 6:50 9:50
Sun. 12:50 3:50 6:50
Mon.-Thurs. 3:50 6:50
MADEA'S BIG HAPPY FAMILY
(PG13)
Fri. 4:00 7:00 9:40
Sat. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:40
Sun. 1:00 4:00 7:00
Mon.-Thurs. 4:00 7:00
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (PGI 3)
Fri. 4:25 7:10 9:55
Sat. 1:304:25 7:10 9:55
Sun. 1:30 4:25 7:10
Mon.-Thurs. 4:25 7:10
SOUL SURFER (PG)
Fri. 4:15 6:45 9:15
Sat. 1:15 4:15 6:45 9:15
Sun. 1:15 4:15 6:45
Mon.-Thurs. 4:15 6:45
RIO 3D (G)
Fri. 4:10 6:45 9:10
Sat. 1:10 4:10 6:45 9:10
Sun. 1:10 4:10 6:45
Mon.-Thurs. 4:10 6:45
HOP(PG)
Fri. 4:20 6:50 9:20
Sat. 1:20 4:20 6:50 9:20
Sun. 1:20 4:20 6:50
Mon.-Thurs. 4:20 6:50
SCREAM 4 (R)
Fri.-Sat. 9:20
Midnight showing of FAST FIVE
Thursday, April 28
Midnight showing of THOR
Thursday, May 5
Military Notes
Foote graduates from U.S. Coast
Guard Recruit Training Center
PERSON COUNTY AL-ANON
meets Thursdays at 8 p.m. at Long
Memorial United Methodist Church
in Roxboro.
□□□
CELEBRATE RECOVERY (phys-
icai and psychoiogical addiction)
meets each Tuesday from 7 to 9
p.m. at Westwood Baptist Church in
Roxboro. For additional information,
call Jim Fuip at 599-2078.
□□□
SUBSTANCEABUSE SUPPORT
GROUP meets every Tuesday at
7 p.m. at Reformation Christian
Church, 623 S. Morgan St. Ail are
welcome, including family.
□□□
The RE-ENTRY PATHWAY 4
SUCCESS, INC. takes applications
Monday through Friday from 10:30
a.m. to 2 p.m. at its office on the third
floor of The Roxboro Building at 203
N. Main Street, suite 306 or call 336-
599-1912 for more information.
□□□
The PERSON BOARD OF
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS will
meet in regular session Monday,
April 2 at 7 p.m. in room D-215 of
the Person County Office Building
on Morgan St.
□□□
The ROXBORO GARDEN
CLUB will meet Tuesday, May 3
at 6:30 p.m. at Rolling Hills Gar
den Center on Madison Blvd. The
program is container gardening
with plants or herbs with speaker
Norwood Walker. Bring your own
container or purchase a container
and plants or herbs at Rolling Hills
Garden Center.
Join us for lunch or dinner
sei^n days a week for fresh
and delicious authentic
Mexican cuisine.
An American Red Cross BLOOD
DRIVE will be held Friday, May 6 at
the Semora Ruritan Club on Hwy.
119 South from 2 to 6 p.m. Call
Tammy Carter at 336-234-7161 for
an appointment.
Mexican
^staurant
904 N. Madison
599-8022
All Entree's
15%
Off
Now through May 7th
Every Sat. & Mon.
994
MARGARITAS
RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER
H-A-L-I-F-A-X C-O-XJ-N-T-Y V-I-R-G-I-N-I-A
Heritage & Antique
May
6th, 7th & 8th
Friday Noon ~ 9 ★ Saturday 9 ~ 9 ^ Sunday 1 ~ 5
Halifax County Fairgrounds Hwy. 360 East 'k South Boston, VA
Behind South Boston Speedway, 1188 James D. Hagood Hwy.
Admission $5
-k FotxJ all day on the grounds
kr Milk Cow
■k Rides for the Kids
-k Petting Zoo
■5tr Korn Box
Antiques
■k Arts & Crafts
■k Music
-k No Alcohol Permitted
FEATURING
•k Antique Tractors &
Machinery
Old Motorcycles
★ Hit &. Miss Ermines
■k Spencer Lumber Co.
Steam Ermine
★ Antique Cars &. Trucks
★ Corn Shucking
Ctirn Grindirg
kr Blacksmith
kf Pedal Tractor Pull
"k Quarter Scale Pull
k Primative Craftsmen
k Antique Tractor Pull
★ Moonshine Still
k Power Saw Demo
EXHIBITS
★ Threshing Wheat
k Working Sawmill
k Rfxrk Crushing
k Shingle Mill Demo
k Bee Keeping
k Forestry
k Mining
k Tobacco ,
k Wild Life
■A" Trapping
Hay Baling
For Inforimtion visit; www.halifaxcountyheritagefestival.org or Call (434) 572-6879
E-mail: bobconner@touchva.net or ccole@embarqmail.com
For Vendor Information (434) 572-2476 or (434) 349-3349
For Camping Information (434) 349-3066
k Quilting
k Wood Carving
★ Oneof-a-kind Tool Collection
Sheep Shearing
★ Saw Mill
Get $5.00 off General Admission ticket at South
I Boston Speedway Sat., May 7 only by presenting
I wristband from Sat., May 7 Heritage Festival.
Offer good for adults only.
Get $2.00 off admission to Heritage Festival Sun.,
May 8 only by presenting ticket stub from
Sat., May 7 Race at South Boston Speedway.
Offer good for adults only.
For area information, visit www.gohalifaxva.com
Coast Guard Seaman Kristen L. Foote, daughter of Sherri R. and
Gordon S. Foote of Semora, recently graduated from the U.S. Coast
Guard Recruit Training Center in Cape May, N. J.
During the eight-week training program, Foote completed a
vigorous training curriculum consisting of academics and practi
cal instruction on water safety and survival, military customs and
courtesies, seamanship skills, physical fitness, health and wellness,
first aid, fire fighting and marksmanship.
Men and women train together from the first day in the Coast
Guard just as they will work together aboard ships and shore units
throughout the world. To reinforce the team concept, all recruits are
trained in preventing sexual harassment, drug and alcohol awareness,
civil rights training, and the basics of the work-life balance.
Foote and other recruits also received instruction on the Coast
Guard’s Core Values — Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty — and
how to apply these values in their military performance and personal
conduct.
Foote will join 36, 000 other men and women who comprise the
Coast Guard’s workforce.
Foote is a 2010 graduate of Person High School.
Let Us “^ePSOD^fee youp Qifts fop...
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