62 replies to this topic

[Shadow Lady]

[quote]Doug and Adele,

The cost of flights fluctuate greatly in the USA. The flight I got could have easly cost twice that much. I really don't think the flights in the USA are any cheaper elsewhere. I hope both of you can make it next year. We all agree that it is expensive to fly. :D[/quote]

Yes John but even so it would have been at least half the cost of a flight from the UK. Ok we live a lot further away and as you say flying is expensive and will probably get more so as the years go on.
But once the dates are published for next year I will be able to see what costs are and work out if I can make it or not.

[John B]

[quote]"John probably only needed to make one flight "
[/quote]

Actually I had a stop along the way.

[John B]

Doug and Adele,

The cost of flights fluctuate greatly in the USA. The flight I got could have easly cost twice that much. I really don't think the flights in the USA are any cheaper elsewhere. I hope both of you can make it next year. We all agree that it is expensive to fly. :D

[Eracer_Team -DougH]

"John probably only needed to make one flight "

funny you should mention that..
when we flew from Buffalo NY to Orlando FLA we didn't go straight there (which would have happened with a Canadian airline).

Instead we flew the opposite direction to Chicago for 1.5hrs before de-boarding waiting an hour and then boarding a different plane to head back down.
Interestingly enough when my wife just recently checked Expedia.com a discount broker for a flight from Toronto to Buffalo (which is a 1.5hr drive). Expedia had us flying from Toronto to Chicago to Buffalo.

American flights have gotten awful wacky with the economy change

[Shadow Lady]

[quote]jebertsch don't for get that Adele is in the UK.. that's not in the USA.

Most flights can't be booked more than 9months a head.
Just checked Air Canada and they have a "cheap" airline at $530+airport fees+ taxes so that would be in the area of $685 round trip.
from Toronto to Nashville.
And that was me checking now for July 11- 18 2010 :shock:

Only the USA has cheap flights...
everyone else is epensive.


[/quote]

You can say that again Doug

I have just checked on my preferred airline site which is KLM for flights to Nashville and at the moment I can book for a departure of Tuesday 6th of July from Aberdeen and it looks like it would be around £680 ($1088) the latest date showing for booking is Friday 9th of July at the moment. Give it another week and I should be able to see what prices are available but I suspect they may be over a £1000 ($1600) but that could change once they make the dates available.
Part of my problem is that of living in Aberdeen, no matter which airline I choose I still have a flight from Aberdeen to get to the international departure point unless I want to drive to Glasgow which is at least a 3 hour drive and an overnight stay in a hotel at the airport at one end of the international flight so it is more convenient to start the flights from Aberdeen.
So whereas John probably only needed to make one flight I have to make three, one from Aberdeen to either Manchester, London, Birmingham or Amsterdam then one to the US and then at least one to Nashville.

Adele

[gman]

It would be nice to schedule the gathering so our friends across the big pond could get the best prices.

[Eracer_Team -DougH]

jebertsch don't for get that Adele is in the UK.. that's not in the USA.

Most flights can't be booked more than 9months a head.
Just checked Air Canada and they have a "cheap" airline at $530+airport fees+ taxes so that would be in the area of $685 round trip.
from Toronto to Nashville.
And that was me checking now for July 11- 18 2010 :shock:

Only the USA has cheap flights...
everyone else is epensive.


As side note.. just went to American Airlines.. you can only book to July 7/2010.. their system won't let you book just yet for the end of July.. you'd have to wait a couple more weeks before booking (looks like Detroit is $196 each way plus bagage and taxes)

[Sonshiner]

I wanted to chime in regarding how great the timing was this year coinciding with the NAMM conference, especially getting to attend the All-star guitar night -- a definite highlight for me seeing and hearing all those amazing guitarists. It was truly inspiring. I also believe that because of this timing, we got the caliber of guest musicians for our master classes that we did. Nashville is indeed filled with many capable musicians, but to have Muriel Anderson, Jack Pearson, and Johnny Highland all in one shot was quite a privilege and probably tied to the NAMM event.

I also thought the hotel was pleasant with great conference room space (although my vote would be for indoor temps in the low 70's rather than in the frigid 50's ) but if we ended up with the event coinciding with CAAS, having a downtown location would be great too if comparable to the one we stayed at this year. Of course, the major deciding factor would be Steve K's availability.

[John B]

[quote]
I am going to make it to Nashville if at all possible next year and would be happy to act as extra curricular event co-coordinator with someone who knows Nashville. Mother Hen as some people called me.
adele[/quote]

Adele, we need a Mother Hen next year! That was probably the only thing missing this year. Cost is certainly an issue with everyone. I booked my flight well in advance and got a really great rate doing so. My round trip airfair with taxes was around $225. I spread out the cost over several months so I didn't get hit with one big expense. :D

[Shadow Lady]

[quote]
Most all schools in the US are out by the first week in June.

I am going to agree with Tom's comment. NAMM is closed door anyway. It would be nice to be able to go to another "All Star Guitar Night" while it's in town, but surely Legacy could "scare up" a few artists no matter what dates they chose.

I liked the dates this year too. No conflicts with close holiday periods and still left time before or after for people to take a family vacation.

I would like to see next year's event held downtown, just for convenience of the proximity to places to go listen to music in the evening. But I realize that is probably cost prohibitive.

The hotel we had this year provided a shuttle service to downtown (for a fee). So that was good if you weren't able to hook up with the ones of us who had cars.

I think a little better coordination with the ones of us who will have cars would go a long way to helping out those who want to go hear music in the evening. That's definitely doable.[/quote]

Jan

Thanks for clearing up my confusion over school term end in the US it sounds like your schools close earlier than ours do in Scotland (mid-June)whereas in England they are about 2 weeks later in closing.
Of course not being at school or involved in school matters anymore I quickly lost track of when schools close.
The only way I know schools are closed up here is when there are no large crowds of school children hanging around our local Asda/Wal*Mart.
I was aware that NAMM is a closed event and was not advocating that next year should be around the same time. I do understand that the "All Star Guitar Night" is associated with NAMM but as you say it is Nashville and I am sure that there are other artists who would join in. At the end of the day its PR for them.
The third weekend in July was it seems good for a lot of people so maybe that's the weekend Legacy should go for next year?
I appreciate that it is more convenient to have the event downtown and maybe that is doable if Legacy can find a hotel that was comparable in cost with this years. But surely if it was at the same hotel it would have been cheaper to hire a coach if there were enough people wanting to go to something downtown rather than use the shuttle bus? It was a problem we had last year when we wanted to go downtown, so it maybe something that we have to live with?
Of course it is possible that the cost of using the shuttle bus if added to the cost of a room in the event hotel this year would have gone a long way to matching the cost of a downtown hotel room?
I am going to make it to Nashville if at all possible next year and would be happy to act as extra curricular event co-coordinator with someone who knows Nashville. Mother Hen as some people called me.

Anyway I hope that it can all be worked out eventually to everyone's satisfaction.

adele

[J45]

Thanks much guys! I'll check it out.

[Tom]

[quote]Somebody please tell me what CASS is...now don't keep me in suspense for too long it sounds interesting.[/quote]

Do a search on CAAS (Chet Atkins Appreciation Society) here on the forum. I have several threads with lengthy posts describing the event each of the last 2 or 3 years.

[jwalker]

[quote]
Well to coincide with NAMM would mean we would have to have it in June John, if Scratcher is right with the dates. Not a problem from my point of view as flights are cheaper but I am thinking that June is still in school term so could be a problem for some members?[/quote]

Most all schools in the US are out by the first week in June.

I am going to agree with Tom's comment. NAMM is closed door anyway. It would be nice to be able to go to another "All Star Guitar Night" while it's in town, but surely Legacy could "scare up" a few artists no matter what dates they chose.

I liked the dates this year too. No conflicts with close holiday periods and still left time before or after for people to take a family vacation.

I would like to see next year's event held downtown, just for convenience of the proximity to places to go listen to music in the evening. But I realize that is probably cost prohibitive.

The hotel we had this year provided a shuttle service to downtown (for a fee). So that was good if you weren't able to hook up with the ones of us who had cars.

I think a little better coordination with the ones of us who will have cars would go a long way to helping out those who want to go hear music in the evening. That's definitely doable.

[Chefman]

Chet Atkins Appreciation Society. CAAS. :D

[earth47]

Chet Atkins Society Seminar????
Hope this helps,,,,a little.

jim

[J45]

Somebody please tell me what CASS is...now don't keep me in suspense for too long it sounds interesting.

[Tom]

NAAM is a closed attendance show so other than having artists in town for it there is no other benefit for us as attendees as we can't attend.

Even if it does not coincide with NAAM, it's Nashville so I am guessing they could drum up some guest artists. :D

I would love to see it on the weekend following CAAS again. But that is purely for selfish reasons because I intend to attend both. If CAAS and L&MG fell on the same weekend. It would be a tough call for me but CAAS would probably win out.

[Shadow Lady]

[quote]

I like the dates we had this year. I thought it was cool that it coincided with NAMM so people could attend that too. One of the highlights this year for me was Muriel Anderson's All Star Guitar Night. I would love to see that again next year! :D[/quote]

Well to coincide with NAMM would mean we would have to have it in June John, if Scratcher is right with the dates. Not a problem from my point of view as flights are cheaper but I am thinking that June is still in school term so could be a problem for some members?

[John B]

[quote]How about on December 23, 24, 25 and 26?[/quote]

Joe, what do you want, the Guitar Gathering as a Christmas present? I like the dates we had this year. I thought it was cool that it coincided with NAMM so people could attend that too. One of the highlights this year for me was Muriel Anderson's All Star Guitar Night. I would love to see that again next year! :D

[JoeD]

How about on December 23, 24, 25 and 26?