How does Southwest actually work (flight booking)

[gris gris]

We're traveling to Ft. Myers in February and missed the cheap flights on the other airlines. I'm watching Southwest but they don't have February up yet. When does February normally go on sale? Do you have to book a one way trip or can you book round trip? I have a ding set up but it shows me for flights all over the place, not just to Ft. Myers.

Thanks, sorry if this has been asked before, I see a lot of SW threads but don't really understand it.

 

[slruud]

SWA will probably extend their schedule near the end of August.

You do not have to book one ways. Some of us do in case a DING! comes out and only one leg is a lower fare.

Just had a DING! for Ft. Myers a couple days ago...ABQ - Ft. Myers for $64.

Good luck.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If you click on Travel Tools it will say at the top when the calendar will be extended.
The purpose of Dings is to sell seats on flights that aren't full so it's usually for the next 2 mos. Think of it as like a last minute clearance sale. Next time you get a ding read the dates too not just the cities and you'll see what I mean. I wouldn't really start looking for Feb dings until around Thanksgiving. I usually book, then watch for dings and if I get one, cancel and rebook and keep the credit. You have a year from the original purchase date to use it.

Usually the prices aren't that great when the calendar is 1st extended so unless you really need a certain date/time or you're looking for peak holiday, Pres. Day, you can watch it for a few weeks or so and usually the prices will drop a little.
good luck!

 

[gris gris]

Thanks for the tips!! I'm really irritated because we were going to book our flight from PVD to RSW a couple months ago and the rate was $254 round trip. Now it's up to $560. Just hoping Southwest might be a little cheaper.

 

[debster812]

Flying from the North East to ANYWHERE in FL in February is a bit dicey. It can be VERY expensive. We do this trip every year, and I'm one of the goofballs up at midnight the very night Delta releases their fares at 331 days out, because we fly for President's Week.

That being said, there are deals to be had, you just have to be SUPER diligent.

Sign up for Ding, obviously, also get yourself registered on www.kayak.com and set up fare alerts. They'll send you an email and tell you what the fares are.

Right now, we only have our flight TO Florida booked, because coming home, the one way fares on Delta to get back to BOS were $699 for the one way. A little too rich for my blood.

The other thing to remember is the weather in February. SWA does not fly nonstop out of New England into Ft Myers. If I had to go with a flight with a stop, I'd be picking one of the flights that connects through Orlando, and not in BWI or the unnamed stop.

JetBlue and AirTran have still not released for those dates, and you might stumble onto a cheap Delta fare out of Boston as well, if you don't mind flying out of Logan.

Good Luck

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Maybe just luck, but for our DCL cruise this past Feb we were able to get $49 Dings each way from Philly to MCO. This was not near Pres. Day though.

 

[Telcogirl]

Check Spirit Airlines. The fly non-stop PVD to RSW. They are seasonal, though. I believe the start their service in November. I have flown them to Ft. Myers and it was a great flight.