Cost-conscious in Cincinnati

In the days leading up to departure for Israel, I've made contact with a New York City manager for the Israeli Tourism Board named Ruth who has been extremely helpful putting details into place for my trip. There are a total of six of us, all from Catholic newspapers across the country, from Oregon to Ohio to the East Coast; and we're all converging on JFK for departure on Feb. 26. The only hitch in the program, according to Ruth, was trying to get reasonable fares for me from Cincinnati to JFK. "We tried several times to get the prices down, but in the end, we could not justify the costs of a direct flight from Cincinnati to JFK," she told me last week. "I'm sorry to inform you that we're going to have to route you from Cincinnati to Chicago, then on to LaGuardia. At LaGuardia you'll take a taxi to JFK." In closing, Ruth tells me she's never seen anything like the fares out of CVG. It would have been more expensive to fly me direct to JFK than the journalist out West.

Hey, we know Ruth. It's the most expensive hub in the country. (So much for those Delta frequent flyer miles.)