Re: [87attendees] [87all] IETF 87 Berlin Meeting Review

[Ted Lemon <[e-mail]>]

On Aug 17, 2013, at 12:59 PM, Mary Barnes <[e-mail]> wrote:
> I totally agree with this concern and it's been mentioned before, but I don't believe it's become a factor in choosing meeting locations.  That's why I'm very happy that we're going to Vancouver in late fall.  I spent more to fly to Vancouver last summer than it cost for me to fly to the Beijing Meeting.  In my experience  (I live in major airline hub city), airfares during peak times are at least 30% higher than off peak.   My guess is the fact that nice cities at nice times of year increases attendance may be one of the reasons it's not being considered as a factor. 

That explains the crappy connection I was able to get, and the high price as well.

FWIW, I already booked my Vancouver tickets for this fall, and I decided to travel through Seattle rather than Vancouver, because connections to Vancouver aren't as good.   Seattle has light rail to the airport (like Vancouver) and there's Amtrak service from Seattle to Vancouver.  The flight to Seattle was way cheap (that's why I just bought it instead of waiting).   The added bonus is that I take the train back to Seattle Friday afternoon, and then I can take an earlier nonstop from Seattle back to Boston on Saturday.

I don't know how this will turn out in practice, so I'm not _recommending_ it to other IETFers, but if you're feeling adventurous, it's something to consider.   It probably doesn't make sense for you if you can't get a nonstop to/from Seattle.   One thing I did to be on the safe side is that I allowed for a rather long layover in Seattle, which I will spend being a tourist if the connection works out well.

(Beware: there is a Vancouver, Washington, and it's on the same Amtrak line as Vancouver, BC.   Don't accidentally book a train going the wrong direction!)