More on flights

For people coming from outside the US

I've just noticed that SEA-TAC airport has a map and list of non-stop international flights. The list includes links to the airlines that fly each route; in most cases it's a monopoly, which is why it can be rather expensive.

You can definitely save some money by flying an indirect route (via New York seems to often be the cheapest way), but how big a saving seems to vary dramatically each time I check. It can be between a few dollars and a couple of hundred. If you try this, there are a couple of important things to bear in mind.

Firstly, make sure you compare all-included prices. Flying via NYC can add a significant amount of taxes relative to going direct, so if you compare ticket-only prices that may dramatically overstate the amount of money that you'll save.

Secondly, for the westbound trip remember that you will have to clear customs and immigration in the first airport you land at (I'm not 100% sure this is true if you fly via Canada, but it definitely is if you transfer within the US). This process can take 2 hours at the busiest airports (such as Chicago O'Hare and all of New York's international airports), and don't expect the slightest sympathy or practical assistance from the goons in uniform if you are in danger of missing your connection. It doesn't mean that the transfer is necessarily a bad idea, it's just that you should give yourself at least 2½ hours to make it.

Finally, and I realise this is me getting petty now, you'll be able to sleep better on the eastbound trip if you take one long direct flight than if you have to change. This seems to make much more difference to some people than others, so you'll have to decide whether it matters to you.

For people flying from Cleveland

There are quite a few ways to get between Cleveland and Seattle. I've tried several of the options, and so far I'd have to say that none are great and none are horrible. The only practical advice I can really give is that the direct night flight that Continental sometimes (on a very strange schedule) offers from Seattle to Cleveland is difficult to sleep on because they use the PA far too much, including playing a trailer for the movie some time after take-off. As above, this probably bothers some people a lot less than it bothers me, but since discovering this I've been opting to fly during the day, even though it often means having to transfer somewhere.