Best Deal on SW in last 2 years?

[ptrbryant]

Before our first trip to WDW--and before 9-11--I kept seeing terrific airfares between Nashville and Orlando...like, $75 roundtrip. Since then, I 've never seen anything better than $178 r.t. Am I missing the deals or since 9-11, are the deals non-existent? We're beginning to plan for a spring 2004 trip and wonder what my chances are of getting a REALLY good price.
Thanks!
Karla B.

 

[Taylor -- MD]

My advice would be to keep checking as your date approaches. Currently, they (SWA) are taking resv for flights thru the latter part of October, so you'd still have a while to wait before SWA opens up their schedule to accomodate your trip.

As for SWA offering low fares, I was very happy (and very quick) to book SWA out of Norfolk for $39/pp each way. The total (with taxes & fees) for the three of us was $285. I want to say I booked this late March / early April, but I'm not sure of the exact dates.

Unless you are firm in your travel dates, consider going a day earlier or a day later. This rate appeared for me when I "backed up" our vacation by a day at each end. We were originally going Thurs - Thurs, but I checked Fri - Fri and found the rate mentioned above.

The airfare savings, (booked well before I knew what a FT package was) along with the FT package, will make this a great trip!

Good luck!

 

[tinaluis]

Sw used to have $49 (each way) fares from Chicago to Orlando quite often before 9/11, now the best I've seen is $79 (each way). With 5 of us the difference really adds up.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

my friends flew from LI to MCO for 39.00 each way last Sept.
It has not been an effect from 9/11 but from the war with Iraq and the increase in fuel prices.

 

[CarolA]

I fly the Nashville MCO route a lot and the cheap airfares have NOT been there much in the past year or so. By the time I add taxes, etc the best I can normally do is just under $200. (AA did have a cheap deal, but I had to connect via Miami!)

I get the SW weekly update and have not seen Tampa or Orlando as specials from Nashville for quite a while. I know it has been at least 6 months.

 

[ptrbryant]

Aha! So it hasn't just been my imagination! Boy, I really wish we could get a break from Southwest again...it's overdue!
Karla B.

 

[Rpsemont]

no, not your imagination. The specials just don't seem to be out there lately. We flew SWA the first time when we booked a flight during the 30th anniversary special. Total cost with all taxes was $75/pp RT Hartford to MCO. (We couldn't afford NOT to go! LOL!)
Since then we've piad $102.50, $134, and $146 (which we paid for a trip this last Feb with a ticket purchsed in Oct). I watch SWA ALL the time - waiting for one of those "can't afford not to fares" and so far anything under $200 RT seems to be few and far between. We're using our free coupons for a trip this October, but I have to buy a ticket for my BIL. I've already told him to plan on $200-$250. We'll keep hoping though.

 

[madge]

I agree about the Nashville fares...you could almost "bet the farm" that they would have cheap cheap rates in September. I haven't seen anything really great for about a year--we paid $59 RT out of Louisville early in 2002 for travels dates in May. Nashville was on the internet sale this week, but it was almost $200 per ticket. We will drive before we pay $995 for 5 of us to fly

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

They had some pretty nice fares last year, but, the war and this lousy economy sort of put an end to that. We are flying out of PVD this Sept. at a rate of 453.53 for three people, r/t, n/s total.
As much as I would love to see cheapie airfares, I do realize that airlines are a business and as such have to stay profitable, with the downward turn in flying, they have to make it up somewhere and that means higher fares to stay in the air. SWA is one of the few airlines that are NOT in financial trouble and have been solvent for the past 30+ years, they must be doing something right. I remember gum at .05 a pack, cigarettes at .25 a pack, soda at .05 a bottle, gas for .20 a gallon (and they washed your windshield, checked your oil and said thank you). Things change, economy changes and the cost of living goes up. Wars do nothing for the economy and the Homeland Security warnings seem to change on a daily basis, not somthing that encourages travel, btw.
They have specials every single week, perhaps we will all get lucky and have something to celebrate, here is hoping. Until that happens (hopefully) I am not going to sit around musing on what happened in the years past, there is much more to life than that.

 

[ptrbryant]

I agree with you entirely about the airline industry esp. suffering since 9-11. When I've checked Southwest for cheaper airfares from Nashville, however, I've seen they DO offer unbelievably great rates from time to time from other cities--sometimes further away. My main point was is there a certain month, time of month, etc., to look for those fares that only seem to be there for a few days or is Nashville off the "bargain city" chart for now.
Last Jan., we flew Delta and I really disliked the flight. It was one of their smaller, Comair planes which was PACKED. On takeoff, the plane was actually tilting from side to side and the man next to me, a frequent business flyer, said,"They've got this plane way overloaded." Plus, the plane didn't seem very clean. Our experience on SW has been much better. I'll just keep checking...
Thanks,
Karla B.

Thanks for the tip on Louisville! We're in Bowling Green, so could really use either airport!

 

[madge]

Thanks for the tip on Louisville! We're in Bowling Green, so could really use either airport!


--->we are in Elizabethtown, small world! it probably isn't too much for farther for you to drive to Lexington...SWA doesn't fly out of there, but occasionally ATA has a special.

I look at it this way--we are lucky enough to choose from one of 4 airports-Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, and Lexington....someone is bound to have a good fare in the upcoming months! If not, we'll make the 13 hour drive, at least we are going!

 

[CarolA]

Karen,
I am a frequent business flyer and I can tell you that we are in NO way qualified to determine if a plane is overloaded so don't assume your seatmate had a clue! However, having known some pilots I will tell you that the NORMAL reason for a plane to go from side to side is not weight, but wind! (Sometimes a little knowlege is a dangerous thing as the passenger next to you may have shown!) Actually, the comair small jet has an excellent saftey record and I enjoy the quicker boarding and exiting.


However, the comair plane is more expensive then when we had Delta Express with the bigger jet and more seats to fill. I think that actually is one of the reasons Nashville has gotten more expensive. With Delta decreasing to the comair flights which are less often and have fewer seats the overall cost has gone up.

Since there is NO way I would drive that far, I just have to grin and bear it (I am a wimp about long drives!)

 

[Rpsemont]

ptrbryant,
I went to school in Bowling Green...many, many moons ago!Good ole WKU.
Unfortunately, I really don't think there is any way to predict or figure it out. That's why I watch all the time, even when I don't have a trip planned. Helps me keep abreast of current rates so when I want to book I know what a good deal is. The big plus of SWA is that if you purchase and the fares go down, you can cancel and rebook and not loose any money. Or if you booked and another airline had a special, you could cancel SWA rebook the other airline and then start planning a second trip to use the SWA credit on! Affects cashflow, but you might get a second trip to WDW that way!