Do other airlines drop their prices when SW releases new dates?

[chris7]

There is a $100 difference between an october flight and a late dec. flight on a lot of airlines. Is this because SW has released fares for Oct. and not late Dec. or is it because any flights close to the holidays will just cost more? We are flying out of austin.

 

[beccasmom]

Probably a little of both. In my experience, when SW drops its fares on competing routes, the other airlines at the respective airports also decrease theirs. But fares in late December are rarely competitive. We flew rather inexpensively on New Year's Day to Savannah, GA from Philly on USAirways, but few folks want to travel on the actual holiday.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

There is a $100 difference between an october flight and a late dec. flight on a lot of airlines. Is this because SW has released fares for Oct. and not late Dec. or is it because any flights close to the holidays will just cost more? We are flying out of austin.

I agree that it's both.

American Airlines out of Chicago-O'Hare certainly pays attention to Southwest's fares -- at least for American flights where there is a lot of unsold seats. I've successfully used this several times to get great fares on American.

When Southwest releases a new date range of flights to destinations out of Chicago-Midway, American's fares on flights for the same dates to the same destinations out Chicago-O'Hare are lowered within 24 hours.

I would not rely on this for flights that coincide with the beginning and end of spring break and winter break. There, it's best to book as early as possible, especially if your city is like Chicago, where most school districts seem to have the same vacation dates.