Southwest Advice Please

[disneypofq05]

Hello All,

We are flying from Long Island to Orlando in June and returning early July. We can't believe the prices of the flights and need advice on what to do. We don't fly very often - last time was 2 years ago! Right now the flight going to Florida is 195 and the flight returning is 173.

Would you book now at these prices or should take our chances and see what happens with the price?

I know we can get a credit but the chances of us using the credit are slim to none.

Any advice you can give us will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

Wow, I've been having trouble getting on Southwest tonight and was just able to get on. All the fares around our dates have dropped to 99 and 89. Unfortunately our dates are not flexible.

 

[LexiC123]

Hi...I'm from Long Island, too. I'm going through the same thing, for my October flights. It's so frustrating to see how high the prices are, compared to how much we paid last year and the year before.

Are your dates flexible? I took a look at the flights for late June, and while I see how high the Saturday flight you're referring to is, there are flights mid-week for $89 and $99 each way.

If that isn't viable, you could try booking the outbound now, and wait a bit to book the return. If the price on the outbound flight drops, you can apply it to your return ticket. The only problem with this is that you're traveling around a peak travel period (July 4th), and those return flights may book up if you wait too long.

PS...just saw what you posted about not having flexible dates. That doesn't really leave you many options, other than cutting back in other areas (i.e. food), if you're trying to adhere to a strict budget. Good luck with your plans!

 

[mdsd8700]

We fly out of Chicago and you are correct the prices are crazy! Although ours have come down a bit in the last week or so. We are going in mid June. However if you are doubtful you can use the credit then booking and waiting for a lower fair isn't really going to work for you.

It is really a tough choice to make and impossible to know what is going to happen. SW just had lower pricing again today on some flights but nothing that extends past June 7th. Who knows what will happen in July and especially around the holiday when prices tend to be higher anyway.

If you have a dollar amount in mind that you can "live with" not necessarily think is a good deal, but can make work within your budget as another poster said then I would go with that.

Between airfare and rental car prices this year, there really are additional costs for many on their vacation.

Good Luck to you! Hope those prices come down!!

 

[Lewisc]

SW tries to maintain their prices on peak flights. Are your dates popular dates for families starting/ending a vacation around July 4? Your dates aren't flexible. Are you willing to fly out of other NY airports if SW doesn't offer a better price?

Biggest problem with waiting. There will be people willing to pay a premium to leave Saturday morning during a popular vacation week and return on a Sunday. Not enough passengers willing to pay and flights will be discounted. Enough passengers and the flight will sell out.

edited to add--You're looking to leave on June 25? The fares remain the same if you try to book 8 tickets. That suggests the plane isn't close to selling out. The 4p flight is going for $154. I'd book that flight. I'd change to an earlier flight if the fares go down. Get lucky and you'll get a better flight time. Suggestion. Don't more then two passengers on each reservation. It's possible only a couple of lower priced seats will open on the earlier flight. You could gamble. Change two and hope Southwest adds more seats to the lower fare bucket. Maybe wait a day and if more seats aren't added to the lower fare bucket suck it up and pay a higher fare to change the other tickets.