Southwest for Aug

[frankiemom]

I have been checking the rates for Southwest Airlines for Aug. I don't know if I should jump on the fares from Philly to Orlando. Do you think they will go down or should I book. I am looking at $131 one way and $118 back.

Thanks!

 

[goofy4tink]

I doubt they are going to go much lower than that. Usually, the lowest fares are found as soon as the booking window opens. One of two things 'might' happen the closer to departure date you get...
1. the plane has fewer seats available, so fares will go up for those few remaining seats.
or..
2. there are a ton of unsold seats and the fares will go down in order to get passengers into those seats.

I usually book as soon as the window opens vs close to departure date.

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

Checking airfare prices is like investing in the stock market! Sometimes you look really smart by waiting, and sometimes, well...not so smart. Sometimes the price will go up, and sometimes it will go down.

Are you a gambler? My opinion is: if you are comfortable with the price now you should book it.

 

[webworm]

I have been checking the rates for Southwest Airlines for Aug. I don't know if I should jump on the fares from Philly to Orlando. Do you think they will go down or should I book. I am looking at $131 one way and $118 back.

Thanks!

As of 12:15EST today the fares are $99.00 or $100.00 each way with Southwest in August so total return is $219.40.

 

[Michael623]

I doubt they are going to go much lower than that. Usually, the lowest fares are found as soon as the booking window opens. One of two things 'might' happen the closer to departure date you get...
1. the plane has fewer seats available, so fares will go up for those few remaining seats.
or..
2. there are a ton of unsold seats and the fares will go down in order to get passengers into those seats.

I usually book as soon as the window opens vs close to departure date.

I have to beg to differ on this point. I have been flying to WDW on SW exclusively for a good 10 years and I find that price when fares are released are not the lowest. These are the fares for the nervous folks that fear if they don't book right away that they will not get a seat. Typically about a month after the fares are released they drop the fares between 10 and 40% for a week or 2 and then they bump them back up to the release prices or sometimes even higher. Then once you get within 8 weeks or so then you can start watching the Dings.

 

[suzydisney971]

I've been watching the airfares for a while and they keep going up and then come down but not by much (I'm flying from Providence, RI). I was able to get a decent price on the way down for $127 one way the first day they came out but the return was higher so I waited (we leave 7/30). And I'm still waiting. Right now it's at $184 for an afternoon flight on 8/7. I'm really hoping for a ding. All the flights are still there so I'm hoping that SW gets tired of waiting for people to buy and they bring down the prices. I'm getting nervous that it will go up further due to summer traveling and I'll be more upset that I didn't purchase at this price but it's just too expensive for 3 people.

 

[jjan]

I have been waiting to book my Aug. 20th - 29th trip out of Manchester, NH and finally today the $154 rate down went to $131. I am still hoping for a sale or Ding so that I can rebook, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

 

[goofy4tink]

I have to beg to differ on this point. I have been flying to WDW on SW exclusively for a good 10 years and I find that price when fares are released are not the lowest. These are the fares for the nervous folks that fear if they don't book right away that they will not get a seat. Typically about a month after the fares are released they drop the fares between 10 and 40% for a week or 2 and then they bump them back up to the release prices or sometimes even higher. Then once you get within 8 weeks or so then you can start watching the Dings.

That has never been my experience, but then again...once I book my airfare, I seldom check on it to see if it's gone up or down. Perhaps I should start. Will go that for my trip in August.

 

[PA Princess]

I have been watching flights in August as well with SW out of Philly (dh and I are doing an anniversary cruise just us). The rates of stayed fairly consistent at about $100 each way.

Personally I would go ahead and book on SW for the $200 round trip and then just keep checking for better rates. The advantage to SW is that they will allow you to change to a cheaper flight with no additional charge for the change.

In the past few years my base line for flights from Philly to Orlando has been $150 round trip...when I found it there I bought and then I continued to look for price drops (which pretty much always happened). Even last year for our Christmas trip I was able to get the $150 rate. But, prices seem higher overall currently, so I think the $200 is probably the rate I would look for.

If you can do Allentown, you may find a better rate. I ended up with flights on Air Tran for about $150 round trip in August for our cruise.

 

[frankiemom]

As of 12:15EST today the fares are $99.00 or $100.00 each way with Southwest in August so total return is $219.40.

Those rates are for flights with a stop. I can't do any stops with 2 kids.

 

[lazydazy8]

I have been waiting to book my Aug. 20th - 29th trip out of Manchester, NH and finally today the $154 rate down went to $131. I am still hoping for a sale or Ding so that I can rebook, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

I am in the same boat! I am waiting for the rates at the end of September/beginning of October to go down or I might book Air Tran out of Portland, ME! (I have always been loyal to SW.) I haven't seen the prices come out this high and stay this high before. Maybe I've just been lucky in the past?