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How important is it to you to have airline service out of La Crosse? If you knew you would get a cheaper fare, would you drive to Milwaukee, Rochester or the Twin Cities? Would you drive that far to go with an airline that might provide better service? I would. And I did.

I’m not berating the service rendered at La Crosse Municipal Airport. As a matter of fact, I’m thankful there is air service out of La Crosse. I appreciate the convenience of being able to not have to drive to the Twin Cities to catch a flight, especially for when I redeem my frequent flyer miles for a ticket.

I also like having the peace of mind for when I park my car at the La Crosse Airport versus parking at a big city airport because in La Crosse I know I will find my car in less than five minutes if I forgot where I parked.

However, back in June, my family and I flew to Washington, D.C., but we didn’t fly out of La Crosse. We flew out of Milwaukee on Midwest Airlines. At the time we found it to be of better value to drive to Milwaukee, pay roughly $200 per ticket less, and have a nonstop flight. Having a nonstop flight with two young children was the deal clincher for us.

As far as ticket value and availability go, things have only become worse for the traveler since June. It all has to do with — you guessed it — the price of jet fuel.

Fuel surcharges are nothing new. Northwest, United, American and Delta, to name a few, have been tacking on nominal surcharges for fuel especially for trans-oceanic flights, but not for “award flights.”

Now starting Sept. 15, Northwest Airlines announce a fuel surcharge would be added for tickets issued for award travel. That means it’s no longer free to fly by cashing in your frequent flyer miles. If you’re going to redeem your miles in order to visit Aunt Betty in Baltimore, your parents in Phoenix or your sister in Seattle, you’ll be coughing up $25.

Want to go to China to see where the majority of your kid’s toys are made? That’ll be $100 on your award travel ticket. Will that be Visa, Mastercard, or Discover? I guess free is not free anymore.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll continue to fly out of where I can get the best deal based on how my time can best be spent in relation to how much money I’d spend on gas getting to the airport and back home and what it costs to park my car.

Sometimes flying out of La Crosse might be the better deal — especially if I have to fork over $25 for fuel before paying to check a single bag.

Columnist Tim Gray, a West Salem resident, can be reached at tim.gray.matter@gmail.com.