Question about Southwest

[JUDYKN]

Hi,

I love flying SW. I was able to get a flight to MCO from PHL for $79 on SW at the end of Feb. My return flight at the beginning of March is $181 for the time I would like to return, there are three other flights listed later in the day which would have been great, but they are noted as 'sold out'. Do you think that SW will reduce the price or open up more flights for that day? US Air has return flights at $79 but then I would pay for luggage (but still a good price). Should I grab the US Air flights or wait and see with SW.

Thanks!

 

[Jestocost]

SWA almost certainly will not add more flights. Once they release their schedule it is pretty much set in stone.

It is possible that they will release additional discount fares at a future date. I can't tell you how likely that might be or how low the fares may be, hwoever.

 

[clanmcculloch]

As Jestocost said, SWA rarely if ever adds more flights.

I seriously doubt there will every be a fare drop on flights that show the wanna get away fare as sold out. They NEVER reduce the Business Select or Anytime fares and they're clearly stating on their site that they've sold out of the seats that they will reduce. Unless there are cancellations on those flights, the prices you see are what you get.

As to the other flight at $181, what I've seen on the flights I've watched over the past couple of years is that the seat sales only seem to apply to flights that are still offering the lowest fares. That means that flights that still have $79 fares could still fluctuate up and down but flights that are higher than that most likely won't change much if any at all.

I'm willing to pay extra to fly SWA because I really like the fact that they never change itineraries once they're published and I like being able to count on my nonstops staying nonstops. That being said, for a big enough price difference I'd consider switching to another airline. Make your decision on airlines based on the current ticket prices though. I wouldn't count on that SWA flight dropping at this point. Flights are selling out quickly from your airport for that day based on the info you've provided.

 

[Disney93]

You might look at flying out the next day, the fare savings might cover the cost for the extra day. Also if you are getting a rental car, check about flying out of Tampa. We flew into Tampa once, got our rental car, and returned it to the Orlando airport. This saved us about $800.00 and the drive to Tampa isn't far at all. There is no additional charge for returning the car to a different airport.

For our trip in Oct. I booked our flight and then SWA had a sale dropping the price by $45.00 per ticket. I changed it all to the lower fares on the computer and now we are using the credit for a trip to Las Vegas. They won't refund the money but it goes as a credit that you have 1 year to use from the date you originally booked the flight. Good luck!!!

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

how on earth were you alerted to the 45.00 per ticket flights?

You might look at flying out the next day, the fare savings might cover the cost for the extra day. Also if you are getting a rental car, check about flying out of Tampa. We flew into Tampa once, got our rental car, and returned it to the Orlando airport. This saved us about $800.00 and the drive to Tampa isn't far at all. There is no additional charge for returning the car to a different airport.

For our trip in Oct. I booked our flight and then SWA had a sale dropping the price by $45.00 per ticket. I changed it all to the lower fares on the computer and now we are using the credit for a trip to Las Vegas. They won't refund the money but it goes as a credit that you have 1 year to use from the date you originally booked the flight. Good luck!!!

 

[Jestocost]

how on earth were you alerted to the 45.00 per ticket flights?

I believe the tickets went down by $45 not to $45.

 

[Disney93]

They dropped the price by $45.00, from $164.00 to $119.00 per ticket.