southwest cheapest airline?

[dohgusgus]

I just checked the price for a RT ticket from Delta and AAA and they were the same! ($298) I thought AAA is supposed to give you a discount!

I want to check out Southwest but right now they are only booking until August. Do you think if I wait until July, i could get the prices for January 2008? thanks!

 

[zurgswife]

My guess is July might be a little soon for a Jan release

 

[searlproudbottom]

I was checking on a Southwest flight for a family member almost daily untill a week ago. This is what I learned

1. Up until about a month ago Southwest was booking up to May 10
2. The fairs went up about $100 RT from mid April to mid August
3. You want to be the first to book your flight when the new dates come out so check the web site Dailey or weekly.
4. Sometimes the senior fares are cheaper than the Internet one-way fairs.
5. They only have so many Internet one-way fairs when they are booked they become unavailable.
6. Check out Delta, for our trip they were within dollars of Southwest
7. With Delta you can pick your seat assignments, the earlier you book the better the selection, we like to be as close to the front of the plane as possible and we like isle seats.
8. Check out seat guru for selecting seats
9.Good luck and remember any landing is a good landing
Searl proudbottom

 

[dopeyfanatic]

AAA doesn't offer a discount on airfare. As for Southwest being cheapest, since the last set of dates came out MANY people have been disapoointed and found cheaper fares elsewhere. I wouldn't count on them being cheaper....especially if you're not able to book nearly the minute the dates come out!

 

[Michael623]

I have no loyalty at all, I fly whoever has the lowest price. That being said I've flown exclusively on SW for the last 3 years.

 

[okie from muskogee]

Southwest should be the best. I booked last week for a trip 5/19-5/27, flying into tampa and out of orlando to tulsa. You have to check the fares frequently to get the best price and flight on SW but it should be worth it. Note I only booked 9 weeks ahead, and I was getting pretty nervous, but the other airlines were just too expensive.

 

[zurgswife]

Depending on the airport you are flying out of there possibly could be great sales. When the new set of dates came out. SW had raised its' prices considerable. $117 one way out of PHL for July. I decided that they would most probably drop. I wasn't disappointed 3 weeks later my airfare was $49 one way. That couldn't be matched by any other airline that flys out of philly.

 

[disneyfan2]

thats great, i thought the cheapest would have been the brand new released dates.

 

[WaltD4Me]

Sometimes Southwest is cheapest, sometimes not.
BUT I have found when Southwest DOES come out with new booking dates, many times you can find similiar rates on other airlines.

Here is what I do. I signed up for Southwest's email newsletters, then I always check them to see if they have started booking my dates yet, then as soon as I see them open my dates I go check Continental's webiste (I prefer to fly Continental) and I usually get about the same rate. You have to do this though as soon as you see Southwest open up your dates.

For my May trip, I got an email from Southwest in November that they were now booking for May, I went immediately to Continental's site and got the dates I wanted for $177 R/T which was the same at Southwest's rate. Now, today, Southwest is still showing $177 R/T and Continental's price is over $300!

So, basically, I use Southwest to gauge when other airlines will have good prices. It doesn't always work, but I've had really good luck so far.

 

[disneyfan2]

good strategy!

 

[Ub_Iwerks]

I'll have to be sure to check other airlines after SW releases their date. I'd say except for New Years and MLK weekend, SW's Jan. rates will be very cheap. The tricky part is if you are going during a popular time, you will need to book the day that the rates are released to get the cheapest fare. Make sure you sign up for Ding if you plan to fly SW.

 

[momto4obkids]

I did the same as WaltD4Me

When southwest came out with our June dates their fare were i think $100 or more one way for detroit and chicago. We live in the middle so i kept checking both.

The same day SW released those fairs I went on American Airlines and snagged $117 total roundtrip on AA!! SO, six of us are flying for $703 nonstop from chicago

 

[littlestar]

Southwest fares have been AWFUL from Indy for the past 2 months. $233 to $300 round trip. We booked with Northwest for $137.20 instead.

 

[DonnaL]

We're flying SW from PHL/MCO in May......when I first checked (maybe two months ago) fares were extremely high .....very close or slightly over $200 rt. I didn't book because we were still undecided if we were going. But......SW always comes through......about a month ago....SW had a systemwide sale and I got the exact flights I wanted for $49 ow ($117 rt total). Well, about a week later .......I got a Ding fare on the MCO/PHL portion of the trip for $34 ow so now our rd trp fares are under $100 total.
We've also been exclusive SW customers for about 3 years now. We haven't paid more than $117 rd trp on our last four trips (May will be five). I do believe we'll remain loyal!!!!