Southwest Airlines - same sale, same time, every year?

[DINKDisneyAddict]

Does Southwest Airlines run sales at the same time year after year? or is it just hit and miss? If there are sales at the same time year after year, does anyone have that schedule? We are not 100% sure on our dates for a January trip, but we don't want to let this sale go by if there won't be another one before then!

TIA!

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Well the last three years I have been able to get really good prices on flights during their birthday sale...it is only good for fall dates though. I don't remember any huge sales for dates in January but that doesn't mean they don't do them.

 

[carebee21]

Southwest seems to have sales every month or so. But, I couldn't tell you if some are better than others or if they're all about the same (they all seem about the same to me, but that could also just be the airports I'm looking at, and could change depending on where you're flying from?). However, the sale going on right now doesn't even extend into Jan. It says •Travel through December 14, 2011.

We're watching for January fares, and we haven't seen any airlines offering sales extending into January yet. They all stop shortly before Christmas. I would expect the sales to start hitting about mid Oct, based on our experiences the past few years with January travel.

 

[brekin67]

Southwest always has their annual birthday sale the 3rd week in June.

 

[DisneyOHFan]

We're watching for January fares, and we haven't seen any airlines offering sales extending into January yet. They all stop shortly before Christmas. I would expect the sales to start hitting about mid Oct, based on our experiences the past few years with January travel.

We purchased our tickets for January when SW first announced the dates. Yesterday, they went down by $50, so we rebooked and are using the credit for our Disney Cruise in June. I check every Tue and Thur to see if fares go down and change our reservations if they do.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

We purchased our tickets for January when SW first announced the dates. Yesterday, they went down by $50, so we rebooked and are using the credit for our Disney Cruise in June. I check every Tue and Thur to see if fares go down and change our reservations if they do.

Thanks for posting this--I jsut checked and one leg of our flight went way down. Are Tuesdays and Thursdays the days they change the rates?

 

[DisneyOHFan]

Thanks for posting this--I jsut checked and one leg of our flight went way down. Are Tuesdays and Thursdays the days they change the rates?

That is great. I am glad you found a lower rate. I typically see the rate changes on Tue and Thur, but have also found them on a Friday. So, it appears there isn't a real science to it

 

[eyor44]

The past couple of years, it seems I was able to get a fare reduction for my January flights in October.

 

[Svhadden]

I'm also watching SW rates for Jan travel.

We've never flown to Orlando before, so I have no idea what the rates will do. It doesn't really make sense to me...I mean, why is it cheaper to fly from Midway (where my friend flies from) to Orlando than from New Orleans (where I live) to Orlando???

So I just keep watching watching watching and hoping that my fam of four can fly cheaper than $1100. Ouch.

 

[minniebeth]

I've been watching Southwest's January fares for a few months now and found them to be the lowest they've been this week. I agree that Tuesdays through Wednesdays have the best fares. I went ahead and booked our flights since they were $79 each way and I doubt they will go lower than that.
You can always book, and like others have said, if the fares go down, rebook and use the credit toward other flights.

Southwest's fares are great right now, few other airlines have what their fares are if you include bags fly free. Love them!

 

[Svhadden]

Wow, I'd be THRILLED for $79 each way lol. I just don't get how fares are priced. It's $133 each way from New Orleans right now. It's not like I'm flying out of some obscure airport...Southwest has regular flights from NO. Grrrr. Just gotta keep watching.

 

[alyssa810]

Does Southwest Airlines run sales at the same time year after year? or is it just hit and miss? If there are sales at the same time year after year, does anyone have that schedule? We are not 100% sure on our dates for a January trip, but we don't want to let this sale go by if there won't be another one before then!

TIA!

Hi Ellen
We're in the same boat, patiently waiting for rates under $114 for the same time as you. I've checked for the whole month, and that's the lowest rate we've seen (for us), but most of the schedules we've been looking at have rates of $129 which stinks.

 

[minniebeth]

Wow, I'd be THRILLED for $79 each way lol. I just don't get how fares are priced. It's $133 each way from New Orleans right now. It's not like I'm flying out of some obscure airport...Southwest has regular flights from NO. Grrrr. Just gotta keep watching.

We are thrilled with that price, I've been patiently waiting~ Columbus to Orlando seems to be a solid route so once in a while we get a good bargain.

$133 is actually not a bad price with SW...is that a direct flight? Keep watching! Or book and then you can rebook if the price comes down. Your bags are included in that too, so it's all relative. Hoping for some pixie dust for you!

 

[Candlz]

So I just keep watching watching watching and hoping that my fam of four can fly cheaper than $1100. Ouch.

Ouch - wouldn't it be cheaper to drive?

 

[Svhadden]

$133 is actually not a bad price with SW...is that a direct flight? Keep watching! Or book and then you can rebook if the price comes down. Your bags are included in that too, so it's all relative. Hoping for some pixie dust for you![/QUOTE]

Thanks, Minniebeth, and yes, that's a direct flight that would put us in Orlando by 11:00am, which is wonderful! And yes, our bags are included with SW, which is a huge plus. I just squirm at having to allocate so much of our budget to travel lol.

 

[Svhadden]

Ouch - wouldn't it be cheaper to drive?

Oh, it's waaaay cheaper to drive! We've always driven in the past...it's about 9 1/2 hours, and we spend the night in Tallahassee, which puts us at WDW before noon. We don't really mind the drive, but it's not an option on this trip.

We're planning to surprise our kids with a birthday visit for our daughter. Our regular trip is every Sept, but we're planning on a 4 day quickie at the end of Jan. So, spending a day driving there and a day driving back just isn't feasible for this trip. However, I'm also wondering how feasible it is to spend half our budget on airfare....