Is there a way to tell how booked a flight is on SW?

[AngieInOH]

If I knew there were a bunch of seats left I wouldn't mind holding out a little longer for a sale price (Flying Nov 12).

I know on some airlines you can see the seats that are taken.

Thanks!

 

[SB in KY]

No way on SW since they do not preassign seats so you can't look at the seat map and get an idea....you might try starting a reservation for 6 or 8 people on your flight at the cheap fare and see if it will accomodate that many people at the low fare...if not you better book ASAP because there are less than 8 seats available at the cheaper fare.

Kind of risky if you ask me....a Sat flight to Orlando will book quickly I would imagine.

 

[AngieInOH]

If you call and ask will they tell you how many seats are available?

 

[owtrbnks]

For "Security Reasons" they will not. (I imagine also for sales reasons.) However, on their website you can see which flights have all fares available and on which flights the cheaper fares are sold out. Obviously if only the fully refundable fares are available, the flight is pretty full.
Remember, if you purchase travel at swa and the fares decrease, you can rebook your flights at the lower fare and get a credit good for a year for the difference. You can also book a flight for someone else using the credit - I'm always willing to go!!!!
I LUV SWA

 

[AngieInOH]

So if the lower fares are not available it's because they're sold out? I figured it was because the lower fares were blocked out for that particular flying date. For example I'm flying back Nov 22 the $99 rate isn't available but the $117 is. Does that mean the $99 rates have been all bought up?

 

[Lewisc]

So if the lower fares are not available it's because they're sold out? I figured it was because the lower fares were blocked out for that particular flying date. For example I'm flying back Nov 22 the $99 rate isn't available but the $117 is. Does that mean the $99 rates have been all bought up?

or they were never offered at that price. An early am N/S flight might not need to offer any deeply discounted seats to sell out.

What city are you flying from and what flights are you looking at?

If the fare never goes down what will you do? Stay home? Take a less desireable flight? If you want that exact flight I'd book it now. If the flight sell well than SW might not ever off any further sale fares on that exact flight.

 

[AngieInOH]

I'm flying out of Columbus, OH on Nov 12 returning Nov 22. The Nov 12 flight is $99 leaving at 10:45 the return is $117 leaving at around 3:00. I thought anything around $200 would be reasonable but now the special they're running has the flights for $59. I guess I'm just getting greedy and hate to pay $216 now!

 

[Laurabearz]

We fly SWA a lot. I try and book our flights the day they open up. I booked our next trip in Sept/Oct, the day they went on sale, but just last night I noticed the prices went down, so I rebooked. Now we have a credit to use for our December trip.

Also... the credit is good for one year FROM THE TIME OF THE ORIGINAL BOOKING. Not from the date of the flight. People have gotten extensions though....

 

[Lewisc]

Booking the reservation as 2 one way flights will make it easier if you can pick up a one way DING fare.

 

[CarolA]

The 22nd is the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week. I would not hold out a lot of hope for a good sale for that day. From what I have read on www.flyertalk.com cheap seats for the 23rd sold out almost immediately (that would be the busiest day for travel!) So.. you will get overflow into the 22nd and 24th keeping those fares higher.

 

[CarolA]

For "Security Reasons" they will not. (I imagine also for sales reasons.) However, on their website you can see which flights have all fares available and on which flights the cheaper fares are sold out. Obviously if only the fully refundable fares are available, the flight is pretty full.

I LUV SWA

I LUV SWA, but this security is all in there sales force. Other airlines routinely tell me how many seats are left...

 

[MAH4546]

I LUV SWA, but this security is all in there sales force. Other airlines routinely tell me how many seats are left...

Airlines tell you how many seats are open, not how many seats are booked. There is a difference. Airlines are welcome to give out information on how many seats are open, but they are not allowed to give out how many people are booked until the day of departure. When you see how many seats are open, you are just looking at assigned and blocked seats. This is no indication of how many seats are sold. Some seats are blocked by the airline in advance for elite flyers, last minute availability, or because they are bulkheads or exit row seats. While some passengers book a flight and don't pick seats in advance, so, even though they are booked on the flight, they don't show on the seat map. You cannot use a seat map as an indicator of how many seats are available. Airlines have a very complicated system of blocking and releasing inventory, far more complex than looking at a seatmap on delta.com.

Imagine if you could call Delta and ask them how full their Sunday flight to Orlando is. Now let's say they tell you it's oversold. So, what do you do? You go to delta.com, and find that there are still selling seats on the plane, even though its oversold already. You buy the tickets, show up to the airport. And the announcement: "We are looking for volunteers...". Before the gate agent could finish, you've already volunteered (it may seem like a gamble, but if a flight to Orlando is oversold around a holiday period, you can bet everybody is showing up) and make away with a full refund on your fare and $400 in vouchers. That is one of many reasons airlines do not release booking information.