Want to cheer on the Washington Huskies in New Orleans as they take on Texas in the Sugar Bowl? It will cost you thousands of dollars and possibly your own version of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”
Several factors work against Husky fans in the Pacific Northwest hoping to travel to the Big Easy on a budget: The College Football Playoff is on New Year’s Day during peak holiday season, only Alaska Airlines flies direct from Seattle-Tacoma to New Orleans International airport, and New Orleans is more than 2,000 miles away – it would take days by drive or train.
Some fans might get lucky: Alaska Airlines added six flights from Seattle to New Orleans Dec. 29-31 and four flights from New Orleans to Seattle Jan. 2-3, adding more than 1,700 additional seats for game travel the airline told the Seattle Times on Monday afternoon. According to spokesman Ray Lane, the flights will be available to book on AlaskaAir.com starting Monday evening, although it is unclear what the fare will be.
Before Alaska announced it would offer additional flights, there were only a few seats available on its routine nonstop flights. The lowest one-way fare was $999.
Flying with layovers gives you more options, although few are cheaper than $500 for a round-trip ticket in the days before and after the game. A round-trip Spirit flight from Dec. 31 to Jan. 3 costs $447 — but you’ll need to make a 16-hour layover in Las Vegas.
Another option: Fly direct to Houston ($179 one-way on December 31), about a five-hour drive from New Orleans, although you’ll need to factor in the cost of a rental car. Greyhound buses cost $49 for a six-hour bus trip from Houston to New Orleans.
Several hotels near the 83,000-capacity Caesars Superdome had rooms available as of Monday morning, but some of the closest hotels said they were sold out.
At Ticketmaster, the cheapest game ticket is $524; The cheapest price on StubHub is $436. According to the UW, 2023 UW football season ticket holders will receive exclusive access to the official UW ticket allocation. The deadline for ordering tickets from the 12,500 quota ends on Wednesday afternoon. If there are still seats available after advance booking, they will be made available to the public.
If New Orleans is a financial or logistical conundrum, the National Championship is always on January 8th when the Huskies win against Texas. The round-trip flight to Houston is still under $500.
Pac-12 Championship Huskies 34, Oregon 31
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