DING, Southwest airlines specials software

[chris7]

This thread is a continuation of a topic that started on another thread (How to get best airfare for Dec.). Someone asked if a had DING. Of course I had no clue what it was so I looked it up online and downloaded it. It's a Southwest airlines software program that you download very easily for free from their website. It notifies you of specials that are not available any other way by making a dinging sound. You then click on the icon thats now on your computer to see the special. They seem to be fairly short lived, the couple that I've seen so far expire the same day. We had a couple of posts with questions on the other thread and I figured if it had it's own thread we'd get a lot more input. My current question is... a couple of the specials have stated that the price is good for flights through September. But when you click on the "book it" button you only see dates for the upcoming week. How do you book the dates outside of the current week?

 

[chris7]

??? About SW Ding..

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These are some of the questions from the other thread, I thought I'd just post them here under the DING thread so they'd be sure to get their questions answered.

HOw often does a DING flight happen. I downloaded it 2 weeks ago & have not had anything happen. I was wondering if my AOL spyware was blocking it?

get DINGED 2-3 times a day. I also have some problems at times. Not sure about the aol browser.

I haven't downloaded yet but hope to very soon. I was wondering if the flights that they discount or "ding" are red eye or extremely early morning flights, say 6 am? I am traveling with 4 kids and I'd like to get a fairly decent flight time say 8-9 am. I read all the time about great fares but when I go to the website that is recommended I get a price for almost double.

We are located in NorthEast PA so we could fly out of Allentown (ABE) or Newark, NJ or even Philadelphia but haven't been able to find any really good fares. We are hoping to fly Nov27th if we get a good price, there's six of us total so every little bit helps, otherwise we are driving again (just drove this Past March)

Thanks for any help you guys can offer.
__________________
paslea_pooh

 

[mking624]

But when you click on the "book it" button you only see dates for the upcoming week. How do you book the dates outside of the current week?

When you click on the Ding link to see all the offers, at the top of the page you will see that you can choose how many people are traveling and what dates you will be traveling. You need to set that before you click the "book it" button.

HOw often does a DING flight happen. I downloaded it 2 weeks ago & have not had anything happen. I was wondering if my AOL spyware was blocking it?

get DINGED 2-3 times a day. I also have some problems at times. Not sure about the aol browser.

I, too, get Dinged about 2-3 times a day. I haven't experienced any problems with it, so I don't know if it's a browser issue or not. But you can trty clicking on the "help" link of Ding to see if anything there answers your question.

I haven't downloaded yet but hope to very soon. I was wondering if the flights that they discount or "ding" are red eye or extremely early morning flights, say 6 am? I am traveling with 4 kids and I'd like to get a fairly decent flight time say 8-9 am. I read all the time about great fares but when I go to the website that is recommended I get a price for almost double.

The flights offered are at different times during the day. We booked a flight a couple of weeks ago to Orlando...our flight to Orlando leaves at about 9am and our flight from Orlando leaves at about 2pm. There were other flights available (both earlier and later). Keep in mind that Ding fares are only good for a few hours, so you won't get the good deal if you miss the time slot. Also keep in mind that the deals change every day, a few times a day...so one day & time it might be a great deal and the next day and time it might be a bad deal. There are some deals I have seen where it was only a few dollars off the regular price. But other deals I've seen took off a huge chunk. And finally, don't forget to keep in mind that the deals offered are one-way, pre-tax & fees...you're not just going to pay the base, one-way fare.

We are located in NorthEast PA so we could fly out of Allentown (ABE) or Newark, NJ or even Philadelphia but haven't been able to find any really good fares. We are hoping to fly Nov27th if we get a good price, there's six of us total so every little bit helps, otherwise we are driving again (just drove this Past March)

You will have to wait awhile for this answer if you're looking to take Southwest. Southwest has not yet released and schedules or fares for November. Right now, they are currently up to September.

 

[d-man's mom]

I can't download DING here at work- if anyone ever sees rates for Dec (when they come out) from Phila-Orlando for the 13th to the 17th, please post it if you can, thanks a million!!

 

[paslea_pooh]

We are hoping to fly 11/27 and return 12/3 from Philadelphia most likely. So when they come out with those rates I'll post them. I'm thinking they won't be out with Nov & Dec until late summer?

 

[d-man's mom]

No idea- I'm hoping in June they start booking six months out. We'll see!

 

[summerrluvv]

I can't download DING here at work- if anyone ever sees rates for Dec (when they come out) from Phila-Orlando for the 13th to the 17th, please post it if you can, thanks a million!!

It's my understanding that the "Ding" fares are only for the person that is "dinged."

 

[zdad]

A couple of points...

With Ding when you download it, you'll likely have to adjust your Internet Explorer Options to make it work right. They give you instructions on thow to do it when you down load.

Yes you must have ding and respond through Ding to get the fare.

When flying to WDW, consider flying into Tampa, Only ~45 min further away, often less crowded and MUCH CHEAPER. We're flying from Philly to Tampa for $71 each way on SW. The Philly Orlando flights have very few super cheap seats and they go real fast.

 

[chris7]

Still a bit confused about what the best approach would be. Buy the tickets through southwest the minute they release the Dec. schedules and fares, or wait till ding announces something. Is ding just for specials or will it announce when the new fares are released? It seems that they would not have specials until they see how the holidays are selling without specials. Strategy?

 

[zdad]

Chris,
DING is speacials. The plan of attack we took was to book the best SW fare we could as soon as we knew when we were travelling. I your case you know the date, you're just waiting for fares. After we had the fares booked, I watched for specials. When the great DING to Tampa came up. cancelled my ressies and booked the DING. I happened to have refundable fares, so tha savings came right back to me. If your initial fares is non-refundable, it sits in an account at SW for you to use at a later time.

So if I were you I'd do this.....

1. As soon as fares for your dates come out....BOOK 'EM
1a. Check both Orlando and Tampa as destinations. Could mean big savings.

2. Install DING, and watch for a special that may beat your rate.

3. Sit back and relax knowing your costs are capped, and you still may have a chance to improve. It's real peace of mind.

Good luck !!