Southwest Airlines in December

[bgdude]

We have a trip December 27-Jan3, jumped on SWA when the new dates dropped, all lower fares were booked within 10 minutes for our dates. Anyone experiencing this for your dates? Out of KC.

 

[EACarlson]

It's not uncommon at all, especially at high travel times for WGA fares to sell out quickly. What is your concern?
It's possible WGA fares come back if tickets aren't selling as well as SW expects, for MCI specifically I'd be a little surprised if that happened on a non-stop as MCI has become something of a hub for SW so if they make WGA available MCI-MCO, they may lose a higher revenue connection. IIRC, none of the legacy airlines fly from MCI to MCO so anything else would require a connection, another reason fares would tend to be higher.

 

[Mle8308]

Agree with @EACarlson. Also, there may have been only a few seats released at the lowest rate. I've found with SWA if I put in one person, I will get the lowest rate, but when I increase it to 2 or more passengers, it is not always available. Wait, fares will change. I booked SW 9 days prior to my departure to go to MCO for spring break week this year. I got 2 RT non stop tickets for less than $200 each before EBCI. Best fare I've booked for travel to MCO this year and last minute!

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

You are traveling during the absolute busiest time of the year... So yes its normal for the fares to be high and for flights to fill up fast.

 

[bgdude]

Cool. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[AussieFan8]

I am in the same boat and waiting it out albeit with high anxiety. We have done MCI-MCO around the holidays a number of times and have seen WGA become available again later and/or the fares have dropped. The lowest fare for me this year when the new dates dropped were over $1000 per person round trip, so I didn't book. I am hoping the fares might drop later even if the times end up being something we don't prefer, like early morning/late evening. I was prepared and willing to spend $700 or so, but over $1000 just felt too high for me. I have my fingers crossed and check the fares every day. If they don't drop, we'll look at flying Spirit, flying Delta which does not have a nonstop option, or changing our dates, which I really don't want to do.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

Keep watching. They will most likely become available again.

Also, for those booking now, they will not have to pay for bags, therefore SWA is most likely releasing fewer WGA fares.

 

[leebee]

I'd book now, so you have the lowest fare that's published, then shop it for a lower fare. Of course, nobody knows what is really going to happen after May and the new "structure" for SW.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

Flights that were not available are available again, and some flights have lower prices, as of yesterday. I see pricing moving up and down on the website for December.

 

[Lewisc]

I'd book now, so you have the lowest fare that's published, then shop it for a lower fare. Of course, nobody knows what is really going to happen after May and the new "structure" for SW.

Travel credits for basic fares expire 6 months from the date your flight was booked not from the date you made the change.

Passengers who book basic economy flight on April 15 and make changes on October 1st, will have 2 weeks to use them and FLY or those credits will be gone. Cancel or.change your flight after October 15 and the money you paid will be gone if you make any changes

 

[EACarlson]

Unintended consequences for that new scenario. Since there is no benefit to cancelling once you get to that point. I wonder how many people are going to hold tickets hoping for something that allows them a refund? It's long been practice to do so to try and avoid change fees. I could see quite a few seats going out empty as people realize they won't get anything for the tickets.

 

[Lewisc]

Unintended consequences for that new scenario. Since there is no benefit to cancelling once you get to that point. I wonder how many people are going to hold tickets hoping for something that allows them a refund? It's long been practice to do so to try and avoid change fees. I could see quite a few seats going out empty as people realize they won't get anything for the tickets.

I think the 9-11 security fee can be refunded to the original form of payment.

Some, maybe most, customers assume the credit expires 6 or 12 months from the date it's created. SW is going to have a lot of unhappy customers.

SW product is gutted.

Frontier works if you play their game. Get the best fares if you purchase at the airport

 

[EACarlson]

Frontier works if you play their game. Get the best fares if you purchase at the airport

And you don't care that in case of IRROPS you may be stuck there for days. Or miss your entire trip.

 

[Lewisc]

And you don't care that in case of IRROPS you may be stuck there for days. Or miss your entire trip.

Part of the game.

 

[hardcorestitch]

I might end up back in CA later this year, but for my FL case I decided against using SWA for WDW since I saw way better conditions running it on the ground.