Travel question of the day: Simon Calder on the cost of US domestic flights

Have a travel question that needs answering? Ask our expert Simon Calder

Detroit is dominated by one airline, driving up the cost of flights (Shutterstock)

Q I am travelling across North America this summer and have organised most of my trip. But there are two legs that I’m having problems with because of the high fares. I need to fly from Detroit to Indianapolis on 9 August and from Indianapolis to Boston on 13 August, and the fares total more than £500 – which is more than I spent on my transatlantic tickets. What can you advise?

Lesley Andrews, Derbyshire

A While many air links in the US are as competitive as routes in Britain, you have stumbled upon a couple that are not. Non-stop flights from a city that is dominated by a single airline – as Detroit is by Delta – can be very expensive. It looks like £300 for a one-hour hop. There are alternative connections, such as via Washington DC on United, for about £110, but this involves flying for a long time in the wrong direction. So I suggest you follow the lead of Paul Simon and take a Greyhound bus from Michigan’s largest city. The fastest journey is about seven hours, and you are guaranteed to see a slice of Midwest life. The fare at greyhound.com depends on the departure you choose, but right now the most you will pay is around £25.

Between Indianapolis and Boston (a much longer trip), there is at least some competition – Delta versus Southwest – but non-stop flights are doggedly expensive. So instead choose one of the good-value connections, currently around £80: American Airlines via Philadelphia or United via Chicago or New York (Newark). I’d opt for American. It’s the fastest journey (just under four hours), it arrives at a civilised time (8pm) rather than at midnight, and Philadelphia is a much smaller and more manageable hub than the other two.

Next time, though, consider booking all your domestic flights together with your transatlantic journey; you could find that those direct domestic legs come down in price to something sensible.

Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder