You have the right to deduct ordinary sales taxes on the purchase of a house on Schedule A, if you itemize. Other available deductions are real estate (property) taxes, points you pay to get the mortgage, and mortgage interest.
Still, the airlines that you do have to choose from are high quality, major carriers such as Delta, American Airlines, US Airways, and United. Many cities throughout the U.S. provide direct Palm Springs flights, which allows you to spend less time in the air and more time enjoying the warmth of the desert.
They can rent a car and drive through the traffic themselves. I'd rather pay the extra $130.00 for them to fly into PSP than face two hours+ in each direction on hwy 10. The one way distance between Ontario airport and Palm Springs airport is 72 miles. Palm Desert is another 18 miles from Palm Springs airport. If you must drive try hwy 60 from Ontario to Beaumont where you intersect hwy 10 just west of PS. It's not two hours driving time Ontario to Palm Springs.