how many seats left on flight

[ready to relax]

is there anyway to see how many seats are left on a SW flight? We are going to DW 12/10-12/17, and the airfare is amazingly high from stl to mco. We are even considering driving now...any ideas? My thought is if there are alot of seats, MAYBE to cost will lower?

 

[Lewisc]

Airfare is available for $96, O/W. That fare isn't amazingly high. Look at some of the threads, SW doesn't seem to be offering as many amazingly low (unprofitable) fares as in the past. You might see a fare lower then $96 but it's also possible $96 will be the lowest fare you'll see.

I'd book the $96 flights, move to better flight times if the fare comes down.

 

[1tufgt]

Yeah, book now because you can always change to the cheaper flight but the funds will be held for a future purchase is the only drawback.

 

[Jestocost]

Airfare is available for $96, O/W. That fare isn't amazingly high. Look at some of the threads, SW doesn't seem to be offering as many amazingly low (unprofitable) fares as in the past. You might see a fare lower then $96 but it's also possible $96 will be the lowest fare you'll see.

I'd book the $96 flights, move to better flight times if the fare comes down.

I agree with Lewisc. If you can book RT STL-MCO for anywhere close to $200 that's a good price. If that's too high, you probably are going to have to be content to drive.

The current airfares for those dates are not close to "amazingly high" for STL-MCO flights by recent standards. Since American bagged non stops and SWA is basically the only non stop carrier on the route (there may be one AirTran flight a day) the cheapest RT tickets we have purchased were $180. Last Spring Break tickets were $350 on the day the schedule opened and only went up from there. For this Thanksgiving our tickets were $400 each and now the same flights would cost you close to $700 per person.

 

[ready to relax]

the travel times we are looking at to maximize our FUN, the fares are higher than the $96. We would like to leave on the 1st flight of the morning, non stop, and return in the late afternoon...I know beggers cant be choosers, but since I am kinda new at this, looking for advise on what the routine is.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Air tran and Delta both have flights that arrive early on 12/10 and leave late on 12/17 (though neither are non-stop).

$235 round trip for Air Tran, $285 for Delta (including taxes, etc).

 

[Lewisc]

the travel times we are looking at to maximize our FUN, the fares are higher than the $96. We would like to leave on the 1st flight of the morning, non stop, and return in the late afternoon...I know beggers cant be choosers, but since I am kinda new at this, looking for advise on what the routine is.

A lot of families flying to Orlando would like to take the first N/S flight of the day. SW is doing a better job (from their prospective) of not offering deeply discounted fares on peak flights. Flights where some passengers are willing to pay more for a flight that is exactly what they want.

Delta and Airtran might have a schedule change. Booking them might not wind up giving you the flights you're looking for. I might book the $96 fare and hope a fare sale will let me change the flight at a price I could live with. Other people might decide it's worth paying extra to get the vacation experience they want. Others might either fly in the night before or leave the next day. An inexpensive hotel room near MCO might make sense.

 

[Taja]

Typically, airfares on SWA are lowest on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Saturday may not be applicable to/from MCO--it just depends on their scheduling and availability.

Also, check airfares on Tuesday & Wednesday. Late Monday night into Tuesday, as well. They can be lower than if you check on the weekends.

You will pay a premium for N/S flights on the most popular routes. On the other hand, you would have to pay additional fees (airport fees & taxes) for additional stops, so that may negate some of the premium pricing.

You'll need to play around on the various airline websites to see what works best.

Edited to add:

Regarding SWA airfare: In 2003, we were able to fly RT PHX > MCO > PHX for about $180 per person. By 2006, it was about $225. In 2007 it was about $320 per person.

I've been watching the SWA sales lately--not that I'm going to WDW this year, just dreaming!--and good "sales" have been about $330 RT per person. That's with one-stop outbound and N/S return flights. Otherwise, it's closer to $400 and up per person.

 

[kaytieeldr]

the travel times we are looking at to maximize our FUN, the fares are higher than the $96. We would like to leave on the 1st flight of the morning, non stop, and return in the late afternoon...I know beggers cant be choosers, but since I am kinda new at this, looking for advise on what the routine is.

Well, understood - but how much fun are you going to miss out on if you end up driving instead? It's all supply and demand. The flights you want are the same ones everyone else wants; it's unlikely those fares will go down. Sometimes compromise is necessary.

 

[wdwmaw]

is there anyway to see how many seats are left on a SW flight? We are going to DW 12/10-12/17, and the airfare is amazingly high from stl to mco. We are even considering driving now...any ideas? My thought is if there are alot of seats, MAYBE to cost will lower?

To answer your question about how many seats, if there are still web only then odds are your plane is no where near full. You can always try booking for max I think 9 and if lower fares go away then you know plane is getting full.

Why don't you add another night and leave on the late non stop $96 flight the night before. A $96 one way is really good, and about what I would pay on SW out of Louisville. Good luck !!