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CCHA teams will join WCHA

Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

uaafanblog said:
Alaska Airlines has EIGHT flights a day from Anchorage to Fairbanks at 6:05am, 7:00am, 10:05am, 1:35pm, 3:20pm, 425pm, 7:00pm and 11:05pm.

Your anecdotal experience (which I've seen you mention more than once here) was atypical.
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That depends on seat availability on what would be the most convenient flight. Booking groups of 30 isn't always convenient or easy, and UAF books the cheapest flights as well, not necessarily those which are easiest. I've done it four times, twice we've had to fly from Green Bay, which includes a 3 1/2 hour bus ride each way, once from Minneapolis, an 8 hour trip and once from Marquette. Two years ago the connection they booked from ANC to FAI wasn't even on Alaska Airlines and we were forced to pick up our bags and recheck them.
 
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Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

uaafanblog said:
Alaska Airlines has EIGHT flights a day from Anchorage to Fairbanks at 6:05am, 7:00am, 10:05am, 1:35pm, 3:20pm, 425pm, 7:00pm and 11:05pm.

Your anecdotal experience (which I've seen you mention more than once here) was atypical.
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So - let's go out on a limb then and say that the average layover is 2 hours (or, hell, lets even go 1), rather than Davyd's 4. Still, his experience would be 14-15 hours there and 19-20 hours back. How again does that sound like any fun? Or does it even come close to your quoted 5 hours? Again, umm, no.
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

davyd83 said:
That depends on seat availability on what would be the most convenient flight. Booking groups of 30 isn't always convenient or easy, and UAF books the cheapest flights as well, not necessarily those which are easiest.
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DOH!

NMU lets UAF "book" it's flights?
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

Davy, I have already been through this travel to Alaska argument with him when AHA met with CCHA, when including UAF was a non-starter. He did not get it back then (in early August, this thread) either.
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

5hole said:
Davy, I have already been through this travel to Alaska argument with him when AHA met with CCHA, when including UAF was a non-starter. He did not get it back then (in early August, this thread) either.
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Yeah ... people who live in Alaska can't grasp the difficulties of travel itineraries in and out of their state.
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

5hole said:
Davy, I have already been through this travel to Alaska argument with him when AHA met with CCHA, when including UAF was a non-starter. He did not get it back then (in early August, this thread) either.
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Some people also think it's just as easy to book travel for 28 or 30 people as it is for one. You may have people on two different six hour (actually 5:57) flights from Minneapolis to Anchorage, some have a longer wait in Anchorage for them all to make the same flight to Fairbanks.
 
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Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

davyd83 said:
UAF pays for them. They are done through an agency.
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Yes. UAF pays for 20 tickets. Sounds like NMU uses an agency that takes the money provided for 20 tickets and perhaps stretches it into whatever number of travelers they take on a road trip.
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

uaafanblog said:
Yes. UAF pays for 20 tickets. Sounds like NMU uses an agency that takes the money provided for 20 tickets and perhaps stretches it into whatever number of travelers they take on a road trip.
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You are incorrect on the number of tickets paid for by UAF, and UAF doesn't provide dollars to the incoming university.
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

davyd83 said:
Some people also think it's just as easy to book travel for 28 or 30 people as it is for one.
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Schedules are known easily 6 months in advance. Booking travel for a large group shouldn't be that much of an issue with that sort of lead time but I'll happily stipulate that travel by air sometimes sucks (hey ... i got stuck in Seatlle overnight once because Minneapolis was snowed in) if you'll agree that it's likely your experience wasn't representative.

So there's that.
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

davyd83 said:
You are incorrect on the number of tickets paid for by UAF, and UAF doesn't provide dollars to the incoming university.
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Well then perhaps you'll detail the process? UAF just doesn't give NMU a P.O.# to give to their agency with a fixed amount?
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

uaafanblog said:
Well then perhaps you'll detail the process? UAF just doesn't give NMU a P.O.# to give to their agency with a fixed amount?
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UAA travel arrangements != UA_ travel arrangements.

UAF pays for 25 tickets to Alaska. Full roster (18 skaters, 2 goalies), two coaches, and three scratches for the weekend. That's it. ALL arrangements are made through UA_. This was the agreement that UA_ approved to be accepted into the CCHA.

Whatever backwater agreement UAA had to just mail checks out to WCHA schools at the start of every year is NOT what UA_ does.
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

aparch said:
Whatever backwater agreement UAA had to just mail checks out to WCHA schools at the start of every year is NOT what UA_ does.
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Where did I say how UAA's process works? Oh right ... I didn't. Because I'm not exactly sure. What do I know about UA_'s? Less I'm sure. I guess that's why I asked a lot of questions.

I've made no assertions beyond saying that davyd's anecdotal experience was atypical. I backed that up with flight times for one leg of the trip. Otherwise, I think it was a couple of sarcastic comments and some questions.

And one institution providing a PO# to another institution in order to facilitate a transaction is pretty standard in the accounting world. Hardly "backwater". Perhaps you meant that UAA has some sort of "back-channel" agreement with WCHA schools. I have no idea. I'd think it'd be "front-channel".
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

uaafanblog said:
I've made no assertions beyond saying that davyd's anecdotal experience was atypical. I backed that up with flight times for one leg of the trip. Otherwise, I think it was a couple of sarcastic comments and some questions.
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Flight times for one leg not-withstanding, is that how you look at "travel time" when you book a flight? Or do you look at the first departure and the end arrival time? Outside the Gophers and Denver U, every school is going to have either a short flight before the MSP or DEN to Alaska portion or some driving to do to get to said hub. Throw on either one or two layovers, and all of a sudden, 12 hours looks pretty typical, and longer is not out of the question. In a quick search, I can't find a way to get Bemidji State to Anchorage in less than 12 hours - and it's closer to 15 if they had to go to Fairbanks. Now add in the two hour early arrival at the airport, the team meeting at the rink to pick up gear for an hour, and I don't see how you call 17 hours atypical. 22 hours? Maybe, but 17 sounds just right.
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

moose97 said:
Flight times for one leg not-withstanding, is that how you look at "travel time" when you book a flight? Or do you look at the first departure and the end arrival time? Outside the Gophers and Denver U, every school is going to have either a short flight before the MSP or DEN to Alaska portion or some driving to do to get to said hub. Throw on either one or two layovers, and all of a sudden, 12 hours looks pretty typical, and longer is not out of the question. In a quick search, I can't find a way to get Bemidji State to Anchorage in less than 12 hours - and it's closer to 15 if they had to go to Fairbanks. Now add in the two hour early arrival at the airport, the team meeting at the rink to pick up gear for an hour, and I don't see how you call 17 hours atypical. 22 hours? Maybe, but 17 sounds just right.
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Gee that's funny ... because I easily find 10.5 hours flying from Bemidji to Anchorage. Of course, your program may choose to drive the four hours to Minneapolis to save a couple of hundred bucks per person. Then they've got that long 5.5 hour flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage. Making it pretty close to 10.5 hours total either way.

There are some two stop flights from Bemidji (stop in Minneapolis then Seattle) and thos are listed with the following times 10hrs 34mins, 13hrs 42mins and 14hrs 50mins.

Way to cherry pick your results. (pay no attention to price as I didn't specify travel dates).

My search link results page.

Here's the bigger point. Complaints about travel to Alaska are QOFEBW ... (Quite Often Effing Exaggerated By Weenies). And with UAA and UAF's clear interest in providing substantial subsidies for other teams to travel plus the benefit of being able to host additional home games the money picture is quite clear. Teams are better off financially traveling to a conference game in Alaska than ANY other conference opponent.

End of story.
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

moose97 said:
Flight times for one leg not-withstanding, is that how you look at "travel time" when you book a flight? Or do you look at the first departure and the end arrival time? Outside the Gophers and Denver U, every school is going to have either a short flight before the MSP or DEN to Alaska portion or some driving to do to get to said hub. Throw on either one or two layovers, and all of a sudden, 12 hours looks pretty typical, and longer is not out of the question. In a quick search, I can't find a way to get Bemidji State to Anchorage in less than 12 hours - and it's closer to 15 if they had to go to Fairbanks. Now add in the two hour early arrival at the airport, the team meeting at the rink to pick up gear for an hour, and I don't see how you call 17 hours atypical. 22 hours? Maybe, but 17 sounds just right.
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You've got it Moose. The 22 hours is a bit long, but 17 hours from check in at Austin-Straubel Green Bay to touchdown in Fairbanks is about average. And that's not including the bus ride from Marquette to Green Bay. And that isn't simply to save "a couple hundred bucks" per person. It's because fitting a traveling party of 28 plus hockey equipment on a 34 seat plane is next to impossible.
 
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Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

Except that in your example it's 2 people traveling on a weekday both ways. I'm sure it's a little different when you have to get 25 people on a plane.

Changing the return date to Sunday, and setting the # of passengers to 6 (the maximum Expedia can use) nets you results anywhere from 10:22 to 17:49 (with a stopover in beautiful Phoenix). I know that when I think of travel from Minnesota to Anchorage, I naturally think of flying to Arizona.
 
Re: CCHA teams will join WCHA

It is not the travel the schools are concerned about it is the time lost in the classroom. ;)
 
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