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About Me: My grandparents were born in the Indian Territory / Oklahoma. My parents were born in Oklahoma, as was I, my wife, my children and my grandchildren. I was an irresponsbile teenager (it was the 60's, what can I say?) but managed to mature a little. I attend the University of Oklahoma and got a BA in History and went to work for a Fortune 500 company where I was unhappy. Eventually, I went back to OU for my MBA and PhD in MIS (ABD). I became a contract programmer because I programmed much better than I published. I also became a VAR for a firm selling accounting software written in a computer language called dBase that was designed for the Intel 8088 processor. I stayed firmly seated at the grindstone and in the first years of the new millenium I decided I needed a change. I figured that if I was ever going to to do all those things I said that I wanted to do, I'd better get going. In 2005 I sold my house and business and went to truck driving school. I now drive a Big Rig - mine - and I try not to work more than 6 months a year. I make an effort to spend at least 3 months a year outside of the U.S. I'm married. My wife and I have 6 kids and 9 grandchildren. Maybe that's why I like to travel so much.

Postscript: In December, 2010 I hung up my Driver's cap for good. The road had taken its' toll. I was no longer willing to drive 180 days a year, regardless of the money and the ability to work when I wanted. I had seen America. I was tired of being gone from home for 9 months a year. I needed a rest. In 2011 I sold my truck and trailer and was unemployed for the year. However, I wasn't inactive. I traveled overseas to Asia and South America for several months. In the fall I enrolled in an online course to to become certified in Oracle, the world's preeminent database. I want to go back to work sometime in the near future as a software developer or administrator. Even though I programmed for 20+ years, my skills are dated. Fortunately, I have a little flexibility as to my future.

RollingOkie OKC, Jan 1, 2012

Benchmarking Airfares

Benchmarking Airfare Pages: 1 2 3 4
Airfare Deals - Ammerican Airlines

Over the years I've found that American Airlines has some really great fare sales. The are very stong in the European, Caribbean and Central American markets. While they don't have a lot of flights that go to Asia or Africa or South America, they have a very strong code share program. They reguarly have sales. Plus, they have a good air miles program and are very strong all over the U.S. Their Dallas hub has international flights which depart to a large number of countries, making it nice for those of us who live close to Dallas.

Airfare Deals - Air France

Air France has some good promotions. They don't fly from and to a lot of places, but they can be a really good source of travel deals. Plus, their web site is very easy to use and the odds are that you won't spend a lot of time searching needlessly for the one seat left at the sale price. They show prices by date for their promotions. What this means is that you won't have to spend hours and hours trying to find a good deal. The bad news is that Air France doesn't fly from or to as many locations in the U.S. as some other carriers.

Airfare Deals - Air Asia

Air Asia is one of my favorite carriers. The reason is simple - they are incredibly cost effective. When I am in Asia, they are my carrier of choice. Sometimes, I fly with them half a dozen or more times a year. Yes, booking can be a headache. I have problems with American credit cards being accepted easily by their computer system. They are often late taking off for departure airports. Refunds are merely a wish. Lots of people complain about them. But, when I'm in Asia and I want to go somewhere, I check with them first. Their average cost per mile is incredibly low. On the day I grabbed the jpg from their web site they were offering round trip base fares to London or Paris from Kuala Lumpur for about $650. That's a good deal. Some of their local sales are often surprisingly low. When I go to Asia I can fly all over the continent with them for $30 to $100 a flight.

Airfare Deals - Ryan Air

When I copied the jpg from the Ryan Air website they were promoting base fares from London to Cork, Dublin and Frankfurt for $15. I can remember flying ryan Air from London to Venice, Italy once for the full fare of $40. When I go to Europe, this is the airline I look at first for fare information. Yes, they can be a pain, but at least they are a cheap one. People tell me there are other carriers in Europe that are just as cheap and, operationally, even better.

Airfare Deals - easyjet

Easyjet flys all over Europe. People tell me they do it well. The thing I like best about them is their "year view" which shows the best prices for flying during the year. Want to know the best current price for flying between two points for the next year? It's a click away. That's hard to beat. I sometimes wish we had airlines as good as Air Asia, Ryan air and easyjet in the United States.