November 23, 2009

ST. LOUIS, MO — The 2010 Carl Spackler Open Championship will be held in southern Texas starting with the practice round on Thursday, April 15, 2010. The 'once-in-a-decade' location requires everyone to purchase an airline ticket. Pat Boland of the Captains Club took a moment to hold a press conference regarding airfare.

"Thanks for coming," said Boland from a podium in St. Louis, MO. "I am going to start and end this discussion with 'patience'.

The local airports to Laguna Vista are Harlingen and Brownsville. Both airports have limited flights and both have present fares between $330 to $605 per participant. We are aware of these present fares and also aware today is November 23, 2009."

The Continental Airline round trip fare between Norfolk, VA and Harlingen, TX or Brownsville, TX is presently $525. Other examples would be Columbus, OH at $455 and Charlotte, NC at $605.

Houston Bush Interncontinental Airport (IAH) is the hub for Continental Airlines. The Continental Airline round trip fare between Norfolk, VA and Houston (IAH) is $492. Columbus, OH is $423 and Charlotte, NC is $489.

"Houston is the 5th largest city in America," says Boland. "Continental Airlines is asking Norfolk customers to pay $492 to fly into their hub. These inflated fares have nowhere to go but down, which will lower the prices of flights to HRL and BRO.

San Antonio flights are presently half the price of Houston flights, however passengers fly through Houston to get to San Antonio. How crazy is that?"

The Captains Club provided a website that shows historical pricing of airfare.  http://history.farecompare.com/

The website shows airfare prices from anywhere in the United States to anywhere in the United States. The charts do not include Southwest Airlines, however do represent the vast majority of the airlines. A chart can provide a participant pricing information on whether the present airfare is a steal or inflated. These fees are not the lowest prices to fly on the date in the chart. The prices on the chart represent the lowest purchase price on a particular day. The prices do not include taxes and fees.

The following were April 16-20, 2009 round trip airline ticket inclusive fees on February 19, 2009 (before checked luggage) to Harlingen, TX. Nashville ($257), Columbus ($263), Buffalo ($265), Philadelphia ($277), Louisville ($283), Raleigh ($325), Norfolk & Detroit & Syracuse & Pittsburgh & Charlotte ($337), Baltimore ($345), New York ($357), Chicago ($362), St. Louis ($364), Los Angeles ($375).

Boland added, "Participants who want to grab a $220 round trip flight can do so right now into San Antonio International Airport (SAT)." Round trip inclusive fees on Southwest Airlines to and from San Antonio International Airport (SAT) for service on April 14, 2010 and April 19, 2010 are as follows: RDU @ $199, LGA @ $222, BWI @ $225, CMH @ $238, ORF @ $236, PIT @ $220, PHL @ $253, and DTW @ $243.

Other airline fares include GSO @ $291 and CLT @ $318.

"Patience will pay," Boland said before leaving the press room.

There are 142 days left before the 10th Carl Spackler Open Championship. The 4-man Scramble has been moved up in the schedule after Round 1 play. The optional round on Friday will open the door to 12 hours of island time on Saturday afternoon and evening. There are 40 to 60 participants expected to attend the event.