Philadelphia fly-ers. Any out there?

[puffkin]

So your prediction is that Airtran for August will probably come lower than the $79 each way it is now listed for?

Yes. I wouldn't be surprised, especially for the dates you are flying. I saw fares for as low as $39 this past December on Airtran, but not for the time we wanted. I saw lots of $49 flights as well (and this was for Saturday/direct flights). We ended up with $59 but got the exact flight time we wanted so I was happy. They tend to start running their sale fares a few weeks after Southwest opens their flight schedule up.

BTW, for our return flight (Saturday night, 8:25 p.m., direct) they were still offering fares of $79 the week before our trip. I definitely would hold out because $79 seems a little high to me (but still not a bad fare). If it were Southwest, I would go ahead and book though if it is the exact date/times you want because of their generous refund/cancellation policy.

 

[wecroozin]

Great advice fellow Diser's. I apprecite it a lot!!!!

 

[travlnman1]

I certainly wouldnt get your hopes up for paying $39.00 one way.
If you can find seats for $79.00 one way on Usairways or Air Tran, I'd grab those.
I doubt we'll see the $39.00 fares come around again.

 

[puffkin]

I certainly wouldnt get your hopes up for paying $39.00 one way.
If you can find seats for $79.00 one way on Usairways or Air Tran, I'd grab those.
I doubt we'll see the $39.00 fares come around again.

They have been saying that for awhile now, especially last year with the fuel prices/hurricanes and prices were still very low.

I think a good indicator is if you are in a Southwest market. When they release their fares, look at their cheapest fare in their fare structure (usually the Internet Only fare). If it is $79, you will almost always be able to do better. The other airlines will drop prices to fill seats. If and when Southwest raises their fare structure, I think the $49 and below fares will be history, but until then, I think they will be here to stay. Of course, this probably doesn't hold true if you are flying during a very busy time or a holiday.

 

[DonnaL]

I agree with Puffkin about being in a SW market. It seems to me also that AirTran doesn't lower their fare until after SW has released their new schedule. As for me, I love SW. I've had nothing but great service from them. A few times we've had delays (the longest about three hours due to weather)but, that happens with every airline. Their customer service is by far, the best in the industry IMO. Every gate agent and flight attendant I've dealt with seems to love their job. That says a lot to me.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Good to know Puffkin. I appreciate it!

 

[travlnman1]

The thing is....they may advertise a fare of $39.00 but it is very hard to get those seats. I've booked for June already. I needed to because I saw that most of the flights around the days I wanted to travel were already sold out. Even if they came up with a sale, the seats would not be there.
SW fares are not out for mid June when I want to travel, but almost all Air Tran and USairways flights are sold out already.
You will need to be extremly flexable in order to use the cheap fare, IF they even offer it again..which I doubt they will. The trend is rising airfares.
I have an airline computer so I can check all airline availability.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

The thing is....they may advertise a fare of $39.00 but it is very hard to get those seats. I've booked for June already. I needed to because I saw that most of the flights around the days I wanted to travel were already sold out. Even if they came up with a sale, the seats would not be there.
SW fares are not out for mid June when I want to travel, but almost all Air Tran and USairways flights are sold out already.
You will need to be extremly flexable in order to use the cheap fare, IF they even offer it again..which I doubt they will. The trend is rising airfares.
I have an airline computer so I can check all airline availability.

I bought our May Airtran tickets back in December. The prices are much higher right now and not as much availability. So glad I jumped on them when I did.

 

[beccasmom]

When Southwest offers sales, USAirways usually follows, in my experience. We've used both and have been fine. Download DING from SWA's website if you already haven't. Join the mailing list of airlines you're considering. AirTran is another to consider. Delta has no non-stops from Philly; most flights connect through Atlanta. Check websites every day; be vigilant. It is possible to snag a good fare, but it takes patience. When you find one, book it! Also, SWA has recently added more flights from PHL and is trying to purchase more gates here. They're quite popular!

 

[DonnaL]

beccasmom,

I knew SW had added more flights, but, was unaware they are trying to purchase more gates. Great news!! We love SW. We've been using them out of PHL for about 18 months now (couple months after they arrived) and IMO they're the best in the industry.

 

[jultomzach]

I have flown all three airlines..PHL to MCO. I have no loyalty to any of them and each has their pros and cons. I have even flown different airlines for the flight to and from MCO. I am appreciative to SW for the competition they have brought to the PHL airport. Ironically the cheapest flights I have ever got were on USAir ($97 with taxes round trip). I try to think of the pros and cons of each airline and then pick which to use for that particular trip. For instance, while SouthWest does not assign seats and does not release schedules until later than other airlines, they generally have the lowest cost flights, you can luck into a great Ding price, you can change reserved flights ON LINE and get a credit with no financial penalty, when I call them a LIVE agent answers the phone almost immediately. USAir assigns seats, and has generally has penalties for changes and cancellations(for the less expensive flights), they sometimes do not have one way tickets at 1/2 the cost of a round trip ticket. Airtran assigns seats, but is notorious for changing flight times. All of them allow 24 hour on line check-in. I am sure others can give you the pros and cons of each airline. I get concerned when somebody can only give you the pros of the airline they think you should fly and can only see the cons of the other arilines.

 

[wecroozin]

Has anyone had any trouble installing "Ding" from Southwest? Once I get to the screen when it asks for the registration code to install the program and I enter the 16 digit number and click next it just gives me the "waiting hour glass icon" forever and never does anything else(over an hour). I have gone back and tried to re-install it by saving it to my computer but I still get the same results. Am I missing something?

I am not a whiz at this computer thing.