A couple of questions on Southwest?

[RebYork]

How far in advance does Southwest release it's flight schedule and ticket prices? We are planning to fly from Jackson, MS to Orlando next June 2012 and was wondering when Southwest would have that schedule out? How far out does most people book there flights?

 

[ToddyLu]

Hi ! I live in Pascagoula. We fly SW out of New Orleans non stop. I usually book as soon as I see a fare that is in my budget. For a June 2012 flight they will open up about 6 months in advance. On the SW home page, left hand side about halfway down it will tell you that current flights stop in January. There is a section in travel tools that can give you this info also.

We are flying down in Oct and booked our flights a couple of months ago.

You can check flights on sites like Expedia...but SW as you probably know doesn't show up there. Keep in mind that there may be flights on Jet Blue or Airtran...carriers that do not show up sometimes on the travel sites.

So far SW is the only direct flight in a 120 mile radius from us Pensacola to New Orleans--and it has ALWAYS been the cheapest. There may be a direct out of Pensacola but it is 2-3x the cost.

Have a great time. There are several of us Dissers from the Magnolia State.

 

[RebYork]

Thank you so much for the reply. My wife and I fly a couple times a year, usually with Continental or Delta out of Memphis or Jackson. We have been to Disney World many times but we have always drove. We have never flown with Southwest, so this will be something new for us. We don't totally understand how the boarding works with SW. Also, I noticed on the SW site the want to get away rate which is the cheapest. Is this rate refundable if you have to cancel the flight? We really like that SW flies non stop from Jackson to Orlando.

 

[Jestocost]

How far in advance does Southwest release it's flight schedule and ticket prices? We are planning to fly from Jackson, MS to Orlando next June 2012 and was wondering when Southwest would have that schedule out? How far out does most people book there flights?

No way to tell for sure. Check out historical SWA Release Dates for an indication of when it might be this year.

 

[VLee]

Thank you so much for the reply. My wife and I fly a couple times a year, usually with Continental or Delta out of Memphis or Jackson. We have been to Disney World many times but we have always drove. We have never flown with Southwest, so this will be something new for us. We don't totally understand how the boarding works with SW. Also, I noticed on the SW site the want to get away rate which is the cheapest. Is this rate refundable if you have to cancel the flight? We really like that SW flies non stop from Jackson to Orlando.

The "want to get away" rate is not refundable, although you can use the credit (without any penalty) for one year after the date of PURCHASE. The credit is good for only the same person originally booking the flight. In the past, I have had good luck extending the credit --beyond the expiration date-- for $50 if I had to.

We fly all of the time from Monroe, La to Orlando on the SW direct flight. The fares are still better than any we can get from Monroe--even with the drive and parking fees.

 

[Jestocost]

In the past, I have had good luck extending the credit --beyond the expiration date-- for $50 if I had to.

They will still do this, but you have to wait until after the credit actually expires to get an extension. They will deduct $50 from the credit and move the expiration date out for six months.