You may not fare as well, financially speaking, with basic economy

Nice article on basic economy fares [“Is Basic Economy Worth It?” On the Spot, by Catharine Hamm, Nov. 5]. One surprising thing I’ve seen is that those fares are sometimes more expensive than regular economy fares. It makes no sense, but my frequent-flier friends and I have seen this fairly often on American and United.

Randall Gellens

San Diego

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I wish the major airlines would make basic economy fares stand out in a different colored column on their websites or do something to flag the pitfalls over regular economy fares before a consumer attempts to book a ticket.

As was pointed out, the fare difference can be as little as $30 to $40 for these bare-bone seats that most would never book willingly.

As a user of one particular airline, I quickly learned what worked for me. I’m in several frequent-flier programs, so I would rather that these fares not show up when I attempt to book by logging into my airline account.

Paul Brown

Santa Ana

Santa Barbara chimes in

I am a retired attorney and docent at the well-known and -visited Santa Barbara County Courthouse.

We have noticed recent articles featured in The Times by Mary Forgione, Irene Lechowitsky and Jay Jones regarding intriguing large-scale clocks in California, the U.S. and around the world. One article featured the Seth Thomas clocks from Connecticut and even offered ideas on how to visit the Seth Thomas museum there [“What Made Region Tick,” by Jay Jones, Oct. 29].

In Santa Barbara, you will find a working Seth Thomas tower clock that was installed in 1929. We believe our clock is unique because it is in its original location, in perfect working order and is open to the public.

Since 2012, it has been the centerpiece of a beautiful gallery featuring the gravity-powered clock and a mural on the history of horology (timekeeping).

An animated video in the gallery depicts the operation of the complex machine. The clock operates its faces on all four sides of the prominent tower at the courthouse and chimes the time of day, which is heard throughout the downtown area.

The clock gallery is open several times each week. We invite you to visit our beautiful and historic courthouse, and we would welcome the opportunity to show you our fantastic clock.

Glenn Dorfman

Santa Barbara

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