Grrrrrr Still No DINGS

[Wish Upon A Star]

I'm getting impatient . . .There hasn't been an Orlando DING for my vacation in about 3 weeks . . . Now Delta has good fares and I'm stuck with Southwest since DH and I already have our flights . . .

I'm going insane I tell ya . .

 

[danjoan14]

I know what you mean. The past week DINGS have been horrible. What's up with Southwest? I haven't booked our flight for November yet. I'm now starting to look at the Delta flights. I need to book something soon...

 

[Christine]

The DINGS have been terrible for weeks.

After months and months of $40 DINGs (and some even less), they've had NONE from DC to Orlando. The best of seen is $96 each way to Tampa and I think that stinks. I don't know what's going on with them, but it's not good.

I'm wondering of they are going to have to keep their prices higher now? That's going to be a bummer.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Make sure that you're checking the SWA site and not just relying on DINGS! because I've recently noticed several instances that the DINGS! have been higher than regular bookings. For instance I booked my MIL from Fort Myers to PHL two months ago at $46 each way for September. The recent DINGS! are $96 each way for the same time period!! Booking the internet one way rates are $49 to $84 each way. Just an FYI...good luck.

 

[danjoan14]

I actually booked my flights for November on Wednesday night. We're flying to TPA for $65 pp on SWA, and flying home from MCO for $104 pp on Delta. With taxes, it's costing us $200 pp R/T. I go tired of waiting for a SWA deal. It's a good thing I booked the Delta flight when I did. The next day, the flight home went up to $165 pp. SWA is now up to $400 pp R/T out of PVD during the time we are going in November. Deal or no deal? ......DEAL!

 

[puffkin]

In 4 months of watching I have never even seen a DING for PHL to MCO, let alone one that worked for me

Granted, I can't check until the evenings, but geesh.....I do check the site everyday though and have snagged $49 flights though for all my upcoming trips so far so can't complain too much though.

 

[kda]

Yeah, what's with Delta's $165 RT fares!!! That's a shocker ---- their rates have been so high for many months that I'd pretty much given up hope of ever flying them again. They seem to have cancelled the non-stop evening return flight from MCO on some of the weekday nights and only offer one nonstop return in the late AM.

We're cruising out of Miami and flying back home after a few days at WDW
(well, we're in the "neighborhood" and our APs expire in early Nov). I just booked the Delta flights for $185 RT ..... taxes included. (It costs more to fly into FLL than MCO, but that's where our trip starts.) This is LOT cheaper than any other flight out of BDL, and I've been checking daily since last winter. But, the Delta flights had to be booked as a RT. If I just booked one segment, it's ~ $200 one way. So I'm going to cancel the Ding $75 OW return flight I got a few weeks ago, and plan to use the credit. The Dings I've seen from BDL to FLL have not included Fridays, and we must travel on Friday.

PS -- I love some of SWA's recent "sales" ........... $199 OW to Omaha or $119 OW to MCO.

Good luck!

 

[byoung]

Lost out waiting for SW, Air tram had $49 flights in early Dec. Where are your lower costs Southwest?

 

[VickiVM]

It almost appears like they're trying to drive business to other carriers. A recent email special they sent me (earlier this week) would have cost apprx. $800 r/t for me and my husband. $199 o/w pp.

The only explanation I can perceive is that in order to offer special 'sales' they have to offer the flights at a non-sale price, otherwise it's not truly a sale (a retail rule I learned after 15 years in retail mgmt.). But that doesn't explain how they can call these outrageous fares a "Sale"

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

I'm going to hold out a couple more days . . .but also I'm checking Delta. I might just end up with a SW credit to use somewhere down the road.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I'm getting impatient . . .There hasn't been an Orlando DING for my vacation in about 3 weeks . . . Now Delta has good fares and I'm stuck with Southwest since DH and I already have our flights . . .

I'm going insane I tell ya . .

What I learned this year about the DINGS is that the Sat and Sun departures and returns are MUCH more limited and I have not seen any ISP to mco dings that fit our current ticket situation at ALL, OUCH!
At this point I had hoped for a Ding to save the others for a future trip we have planned, but that is looking VERY unlikely.
Good Luck!!

 

[thymed]

Ok, I am an idiot. Could someone please describe a DING???
We are traveling back to WDW in Sept (just returned Friday) and with the cost of gas and hotels 16 hour trip so we usually spend one night at a hotel the two hour flight is looking mighty nice!! ANy suggestions??
Thank you

 

[CarolA]

DING is SW's Fare sale technique.

IF you live in a SW city. Go to SW.com and download the program (The link is on the bottom on the front page.) Then you select your city and it "dings" if you get a sale.

The thing to remember is that while the DIS views DING as a "almost guranteed" discount, it was designed by SW to sell seats that were NOT selling. Not to allow the flyer to "trade" down a higher priced fare as is common on here. So if SW has SOLD the seats at the prices they want or thinks they can still sell them you won't get a DING. IMHO over the past several months, SW has "tightened" the Dings. YOu see a lot more "one flight only', "certain days" etc.

As the OPs post shows, Dings are not always guranteed and are not always the great $39 deal there were a year ago...