Please help newbie with SWA fare questions

[Mainebound]

Hi folks,

We go to Orlando every March, flying out of Bangor, Maine, where we live, usually on a major carrier such as Delta. For 2006, fares are so high, and flights are so scaled back, that we can't find anything for less than $350 from Bangor, and that's on days or at times we do not like. Driving to the nearest "major city", Portland, does us little good on price, believe it or not.

Southwest flies out of Manchester, NH, 3 hours away, direct to MCO, but when I check their flights, the cheapest ones have been sold out. However, it is still significantly less than flying from Bangor.

So, I am writing to ask a very ignorant question: if we want to fly Southwest, should I just buy the cheapest tix I can find now, or will any new seats at new prices open up? Or if prices are lowered, can you get credited somehow?

Thanks for any help!

 

[kkleiner]

We have flown SWA from Manchester (we are about 30 mins from there)
to Orlando and it is SO conveinent.

That being said, the 'good' fares are hard to get, as people jump on those
fairs literally as soon as they go up on the site. They release fares in
bunches, i.e. they will suddenly say 'we are booking thru March 31 2006". The minute that happens, so many people find out about it and jump on the
reservations.

In my experience, they have SOMETIMES released more of the seats for the cheaper fares from time to time, but at this point you should take what you can get. Have you tried their DING program? You can download it from their
website and install it on your Windows machine (doesn't work on Macs, a real bummer!). They use this to broadcast cheap fares that are available for only 3 hours or so, and I have seen the MHT -> Orlando flights on there.

I also think that if you book now, they might give you a cheaper rate if one comes out. I would call them first and ask them that.

Hope that helps.

We are waiting for end of April dates to become available on SWA, that's when we are going!

Have a good day in Vacationland - my wife is from Falmouth ME.

 

[Jeanne B]

I would definitely install the DING program if you haven't done so already. If you book now and find a lower rate later you can re-book and they'll issue you a credit voucher for future use (has to be used within one year of original booking I think).

You may also want to check out Allegiant Air out of Portsmouth, NH. They're a no-frills airline that just started flying to Sanford last month and they have a lot of $59 fares. We were lucky and got a $39 fare for our return trip last month and I would definitely fly them again (and I think the parking at the airport is free also). We live in the Belfast area and I would LOVE to fly out of Bangor but the price difference between flying out of Bangor (and Portland) vs MHT or BOS makes the 3+ hour drive well worth it. Another option is to drive to Portsmouth and take C&J Trailways to Logan - kids ride free and JetBlue and Song generally offer fares similar to SW, especially during their sales (although a lot of people are a little leary of Song right now, including me).

Good luck!!

 

[eeyoreiscool]

It is possible for new fares to open up. I have seen some flights that were sold out one week and the next, all the fares were open. I am not sure what triggers it. I would recommend buying the tickets at whatever fare you can get now and changing them later if you need to. SW make it easy to get a lower fare but the extra money can only be used for future tickets.