Alaska Airlines from Piedmont Triad International Airport to Boise

Oh, weary traveler, alas, my deepest sympathies are with you as you find yourself in the throes of the dreaded airfare hunt. I take it upon myself to guide your journey, nay, escort your decision-making process from the bustling hub of Piedmont Triad International Airport to the rugged splendor that is Boise – all while nestled comfortably in the cabin of an Alaska Airlines aircraft.

Grunt with discontent no longer at the notion of multisyllabic aviation terminologies such as ‘direct-flights’, ‘round-trip,’ and those dreaded ‘connecting flights’. I am here to assure you that effective immediately, your disdain for these concepts will be tossed out the proverbial airplane window.

Please, do not be alarmed by the idea of 'connecting flights', my fair traveling companion. It is not as if upon landing you will be asked to participate in a death-defying round of connecting dots on a colossal scale. It merely serves to aid us in our quest for the cheapest airfare — an admirable journey that many a frequent flyer embarks upon with gritted teeth and cries of, "All hail the cheaper flight option!"

But please, let’s move along swiftly to our other candidate, the ‘direct flight.’ The image this term creates in our minds is of a gleeful, straight line between point A and point B, and of a significant lack of interruptions. A noteworthy reference indeed! When we find ourselves on a direct flight, there will be no so-called pit stops, no highwaymen demanding a layover and freely branding their 'cheap flights' as the only tolerated form of transportation.

One must also take into consideration the booking of the 'round-trip', a term synonymous with paradoxical consistency. The valiant 'round-trip' is a safe bet, a logical, cost-effective choice for those reluctant to encounter the uncertainties of the journey home. It provides a certain peace of mind — we bought two tickets! The return is inevitable! But does this not also encase us in a round-trip box from which escape is painful and costly? My dear traveler, this is a topic for another day.

But would it not turn your world upside down if you knew the smallest city in Alaska, Hobart Bay, is home to ten residents, one-fifth of an M&M's packet? An entertaining tidbit for your in-flight musings, perhaps.

The final candidates in our pageantry of travel terms are the different tiers of, dare I say it, comfort. Economy class, with its snugly arranged chairs and intimate leg-space relations, is a testimony to human camaraderie in the oddest of circumstances. Premium Economy, however, offers a smidgen more in respect to legroom and personal space but stands steadfastly on the right side of the grand price divide. And then we saunter with grandeur into the ‘business class’, a territory marked by its plentiful legroom and personalized in-flight service. One wonders if those ensnared amongst the velvet upholstery and artisanal meals remember that they too are speeding through the sky in a metal tube just as those in economy class.

In summation, dear reader, sail forth on your journey with a light heart and a giggle in your voice as you realize the absurdities that accompany deciphering airfare terminologies. I am confident, my weary traveler, that with this newfound wisdom, and the profusion of airline options at your fingertips, your expedition from Piedmont Triad International to Boise on Alaska Airlines will carry you to suitably wondrous heights. Should you find yourself within the amply serviced and overly priced confines of business class or huddled comfortably amongst fellow jet-setting humans in economy, know that your destination remains gloriously the same, and the adventure, intriguingly different.