Our September flight on USelessAir is $3 more than two years ago. AA has, unfortunately, matched that price now, which would have resulted in a ~$65 premium over last year, but thankfully, we now have a JetBlue option which saved us ~$30 compared with last year and is the cheapest option since our first trip in 2012.

This year, skipping the RDU - CLT portion of our flight would save us $16, unlike 2013 where USAir would have charged us $75/each for flying less.

I have quit trying to make sense of the flight prices. we have a range of about three weeks of dates when we can fly, from which I pick the cheapest one I can find shortly after I finish filing my taxes, then be thankful that Chloe at Club Fantastico is understanding of my situation, my wife has a somewhat flexible work schedule, that I have an understanding boss and an employer with a generous PTO program.

Thankfully, nothing else in my vacation is even as remotely frustrating as the airlines. If it were, I'd likely stay home. But thankfully, my experience this year regarding off-season airfare has not been as bad as others have reported.