air should i switch carriers for return flight?WHAT WOULD U DO?

[daddyof2]

I got phl to mco for $59 one way X 4people total $257 on southwest

my return flight is $113pp on southwest would be grand total about $710

air tran has a special $69pp would be about $533 round my question is is it trouble to hve diffrent carriers? or will SW lower its fare? if I call SW will thay price match?

any and all help is greatly apprecated

thanks in advance

 

[CarolA]

SW will not price match. As for will they lower their fare... who knows? Anyone who tells you they can predict airfare is in the wrong area, why haven't they used that skill set to pick winning lottery tickets!

As to the other, I have flown on two different carriers several times... There is a rumor that it may get you selected for extra screening, but it's never happened to me.

 

[bavaria]

... There is a rumor that it may get you selected for extra screening, but it's never happened to me.

For some time TSA was selecting those with one way tickets for secondary screening (usually indicated by SSSS on your boarding pass). Since my travel habits often require that I purhcase one way tickets, or tickets on the day of travel, I was selected quite often. But that doesn't seem to be the case recently - guess that TSA got smart and realized that potential troublemakers would just buy a round trip ticket to avoid extra screening.

 

[snowbunny]

Whenever I travel with my kids on round-trip tickets, I am selected for extra screening. Really, every time. I'd take the flights you want and not worry about it from that perspective at all.

 

[daddyof2]

Now it will cost 470 for us to get home with southwest
270ish with united
311ish with air tran

if i go with united I can check my bags at the pop and not worry about them
but god forbid I have to change my plans its 100 per ticket to change 50 for air tran and im pretty sure southwest would just give me a credit

now i want the lowest price, this is a very big deal and we can barely afford it
(were charging half the trip on the disney card @ 0% and paying it off with income tax round bout Feb)

what would YOU do in this situation

for the record my wife wanted to wait till the little one was older because we could use the money elsewhere (we just bought a house in Oct of 05 WOW a lmost a year


my thought is we can kind afford it now so just do it and live with the concequences (SP) Because we could always use the $$$ somewhere else

I dont want to debate if we should go or not I would like your advice on air please

I dont have a flame proof suit

 

[seashoreCM]

Feel free to book the return on a different airline if it is cheaper.

Remember, the biggest advantage of considering a round trip over two one ways is to get a lower fare.

Now booking a round trip eliminates the problem of having all the cheap seats on the return trip become sold out in the few minutes it takes to book the outgoing trip you are now stuck with, but here we are still talking about the same thing, getting a lower fare.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Rpsemont]

When are you flying? I'm waiting to book out BDL-MCo Tickets on SWA for November and haven't done it because I think the fares are too high. Keep in mind that you MAY not be able to get a refund on SWA - I know many people have reported they have, but that's no guarantee. You will get Ticketless travel funds, but if cash flow is an issue, a credit does you no good. It only makes you want to plan another trip to use the credit.

 

[bavaria]

I think that you need to decide what is most important to you now and in future.

Lowest price? lowest risk ie low change fees? timing of flights? nonstop vs direct vs changing aircraft? mileage accrual? location of airports (if you have a choice from multiple)?

All of these things should be considered, and we all value them differently. What would I do? Fly United for the service and the miles. But that's ME, not YOU.

I get elite zone ie Economy Plus; if you have no status you won't unless you pay for it. I collect miles like crazy; if you're not flying again soon it won't really matter to you.

You may need to save a few $$ and the tradeoff for no advance seat selection on SW may work for you - it won't for me - I'd rather pay the $$ and get a seat assignment.

No flames from me - just take some time to decide what is most important to you, prioritize the list, and make a decision based on that...

 

[daddyof2]

thanks all for your input

I booked on delta take the low fare so my total from phl to mco
Dec 6th-12th is $530 rt for 4 people

thanks again

 

[bavaria]

Sounds like you got a good deal!