Calling all Southwest Ding Experts!

[TikiGoddess07]

Hi all,

I need to find the absolute cheapest flight from BDL (Hartford) to MCO. My dates are for mid-October for a long weekend -- flying down Fri morning, leaving Monday afternoon. I have to fly with Southwest because I have ticketless travel funds that will expire soon.

That being said....

I saw a Ding fare posted yesterday -- turns out my Fri flight had NO Ding fares available (and was at $119 cheapest seat) and the Mon one had $64 seats. I've never flown this time of the year -- can I expect to get cheaper flights than this? We flew down a couple weeks ago (high summer season) and only paid $49 each way!

Also... when have you caught the best Ding deals? I saw posted somewhere that Dings are usually good 30-37 days before your flight date. I know I have gotten great deals about 6-8 wks out. Oh, it's hard waiting...

I'm stressed because if I don't get a good price I won't be able to go on this trip. It's super budget (to the point where I will be eating PBJ for most of the trip ) but I don't care. I'll be at WDW eating PBJ.

TikiG

 

[kmjmom]

I am always opn the lookout for the same flights from BDL to MCO. I did get flights for August at $69 which grows to $74 with fees each way for DD and I. I also got flights from Tampa to Hartford and back for my College son for September and October for the same price. I bought them around July 7th. I flew last summer for the $49 specials, but I haven't seen any $49 flights for BDL in months. Bummer! That was an amazing rate. It made you want to go every month!

 

[LovesThumper]

I booked last week for $158.00 from Bradley to Orlando-in September from Friday to Monday. Keep looking. I got a ding fare for my daughter in May from Tampa to Manchester NH- (which are usually comparable to Bradley) for $115.00 RT. I was able to rebook my November trip yesterday for the $64.00 price. The looking and hoping is a good part of the fun.Keep checking.

 

[Atchley]

Where does everyone find such cheap flights?

 

[kda]

During the winter/spring, it seemed like SWA wasn't offering Dings for very far ahead (~ 1-2 months, at most), so it's was great to see Oct/Nov Dings yesterday. There hasn't been a consistent pattern to how far in advance you might see a Ding.

There's also no consistency to whether the Dings will be offered for all days of the week or just certain days. It's not unusual for sales and Dings to exclude Fridays (other airlines also seem to be doing this, too ---- if anyone is looking to go from BDL to MIA, there's seats on the nonstop flight for less than $100 one way, but Fridays are excluded). There was also a Ding from BDL to FLL yesterday, but it excluded Fridays, and we have to fly on Friday (did get the flight back from Orlando on a Tuesday for $59 +tax though!)

It's been on the news that SWA raised rates, due to fuel prices, so who knows if you can do better. Any possibility of going down Thursday night on the non-stop that gets in late? ........ assuming there will be more Dings, which I expect to happen.

 

[kda]

Where does everyone find such cheap flights?

Research and persistence.

Find out which airlines service airports near you and keep checking their websites daily for sales or an unexpected fare drop that may last only a few hours. There are several airlines that routinely fly for less and may be known as 'no frills' airlines ........ but give good service (Southwest, Jet Blue, AirTran, Frontier, etc). There's usually pros and cons with each airline. Many of the airlines are NOT having as many sales, but that depends on each market. If your local airport(s) don't have competition vying for your business to fly to Orlando, the fares are usually higher. It's supply and demand. Sometimes it's beneficial to drive 1-2 hours to save hundreds of dollars, especially if you have a family and are buying tickets for many people.

Also, read this board as often as possible, because people will post when there are sales and you can also pick up some tips. Many of the lowest fares are on Southwest, but some people don't like the idea of no assigned seating, so you have to decide what works for you.

If you can fly Southwest, have you downloaded Ding, which will give you an alert for specials that are only in effect for 8-10 hours. But you need to remember to check your computer once or twice as day, if you can. Go to a site like Travelocity or Expedia or Orbitz which have a big search engine and you can quickly see the price for a variety of airlines (then go to that airline's site and book directly with them to avoid service fees or a middle-man). Some airlines (ie, Southwest) aren't included in these sites, so you always have to check Southwet's site separately.

Good luck! Consider it a game ........ and there's lots of winners on this board.