southwest pricing trends

[pickles]

I am a veteran of flying swa and typically I have gotten flights from MCI to MCO for around $150 rt..however, this year I have been fare watching and prices are higher than they have ever been.

Those who have been flying reg and lately, have you noticed a higher fee trend and if so how can I guess what the lower fee is..like I am 3 months out from my trip, how long do I hold out hope for a lower fare than $300 rt?

if you have noticed a trend..like within a month of travel fares are at their highest etc.. please let me know what you have noticed. thanks

 

[DebbieB]

I am a veteran of flying swa and typically I have gotten flights from MCI to MCO for around $150 rt..however, this year I have been fare watching and prices are higher than they have ever been.

Those who have been flying reg and lately, have you noticed a higher fee trend and if so how can I guess what the lower fee is..like I am 3 months out from my trip, how long do I hold out hope for a lower fare than $300 rt?

if you have noticed a trend..like within a month of travel fares are at their highest etc.. please let me know what you have noticed. thanks

I haven't seen $150 PIT-MCO in ages. SW is typically over $300. I think it's the result of all the mergers. Less competition = higher fares. They used to compete with USAirways and AirTran on the route. USAirways dropped the non-stops and they own AirTran now. AirTran is typically cheaper than SW. Friends had to fly TPA-PIT a couple of weeks ago for a family funeral. AirTran was around $230, SW was over $500. But you get free bags.....

 

[gojoe]

I haven't seen $150 PIT-MCO in ages. SW is typically over $300. I think it's the result of all the mergers. Less competition = higher fares. They used to compete with USAirways and AirTran on the route. USAirways dropped the non-stops and they own AirTran now. AirTran is typically cheaper than SW. Friends had to fly TPA-PIT a couple of weeks ago for a family funeral. AirTran was around $230, SW was over $500. But you get free bags.....

I agree, Jet Blue just started flying to Orlando from Providence and we were hoping for a price war. It didn't happen. And Dings never happen.

 

[DB&KS]

I also fly MHT to MCO at least once a year and this was the worst year for prices but I think I finally figured out why. PVD has had low rates and plenty of flights available for the times I was traveling. I think they are trying to get some patrons to head that way but I am not interested in a 2 hour plus drive to get to the airport so I pay the price.

 

[buckeev]

I agree completely with the PP's statement about Less competition equates higher pricing.
As far as SWA goes...
Watch for the sale prices, but don't wait too Long. If a fare sale comes along after you've purchased, you can use your funds from the higher fare, and retain the difference in flight credit/vouchers. You only have 1 year from he original date of purchase, and the credit can only be used on the individual names on the original seat purchase.

 

[Jestocost]

$150 each way out of STL would have been a bargain on every flight we have taken in the last few years. We do travel at peak times, but I would be shocked if $150 RTs are available from anywhere at any time on a regular basis.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Overall, airfares have gone up in recent years. The airline industry is benefiting from airline consolidations what have reduced competition and capacity. And the airline industry needs to deal with high jet fuel costs.

Southwest has competitive advantages with its two free checked bags per passengers, its more passenger-friendly approach to allowing itinerary changes, and its credits for fare reductions. Southwest's prices can reflect this.

I'm paying quite a bit more for airline tickets lately than for tickets to the same destinations a few years ago. Today, I paid $220 for a one-way ticket from Chicago (MDW) to Palm Beach (PBI) on Southwest. I would rather have paid half as much, but that wasn't an option for the date that i needed.

Sometimes there are still really low airfares to Florida on legacy carriers like AA and United -- but often only for very early or very late flights, and only for dates when demand is expected to be low. Most passengers than still have to pay for checked bags on top of the airfare.

 

[a742246]

I am a veteran of flying swa and typically I have gotten flights from MCI to MCO for around $150 rt..however, this year I have been fare watching and prices are higher than they have ever been.

Those who have been flying reg and lately, have you noticed a higher fee trend and if so how can I guess what the lower fee is..like I am 3 months out from my trip, how long do I hold out hope for a lower fare than $300 rt?

if you have noticed a trend..like within a month of travel fares are at their highest etc.. please let me know what you have noticed. thanks

I noticed if you fly on a Tues,Wed,THurs fares are cheaper with SW especially when they have a sale.

 

[leebee]

I purchased Southwest MHT-MCO airfare on 2/12/13 for travel 3/11-3/15/13, in other words, in about a month. Best fare down was $88, then $92, for later afternoon flights arriving between 9pm and midnight-ish. I chose to travel earlier in the day for $131- same with the return flight, although it doesn't leave MCO until 9:30pm. Fortunately I used rapid rewards points so I am checking SW's website several times daily to see if there's been a price change. SW is currently running a promo that ends tomorrow (2/18) so I am hoping that there'll be another offer, with a price drop, sometime soon!!

We live about 4 hours drive from MHT, but my sister is less than an hour away, so we can conveniently stay at her place before/after a flight so that time isn't an issue. PVD would be out of the question. We are EAGERLY awaiting Southwest's takeover of AirTran in Portland, ME, this spring!!! A two hour drive to the airport for Southwest!!!!

 

[danceintherain]

I booked my airfare about 3 weeks ago for April. We're returning on Southwest, because we don't have enough miles to cover 3 round trips. It was almost $500 for 3 one way tickets.
The prices did drop $20/person about a week later, but since then they jumped again.

I spent a year in a half in South Korea, and during that time domestic airfares have just about doubled.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

their fares can be all over the place. The day before I was set to leave, just two weeks ago, I checked my flight status to make sure everything was okay and the price was $56 lower!!!! So I changed my reservation and got a credit. Used $24 of the credit to stay an extra day.

 

[LoveToDisney]

I am a veteran of flying swa and typically I have gotten flights from MCI to MCO for around $150 rt..however, this year I have been fare watching and prices are higher than they have ever been.

Those who have been flying reg and lately, have you noticed a higher fee trend and if so how can I guess what the lower fee is..like I am 3 months out from my trip, how long do I hold out hope for a lower fare than $300 rt?

if you have noticed a trend..like within a month of travel fares are at their highest etc.. please let me know what you have noticed. thanks

I fly MCI-MCO. The lowest I have seen on sale is at $119 one way. The next time they went on sale it was $169 one way. I got a $99 one way in the fall last year going on Tues/Wed. The regular "discount" prices are definitely closer to $179 one way which used to be what I had to pay during Spring Break. Jet fuel prices have made low fares a thing of the past I'm afraid.

 

[djmeredith]

Southwest's higher fares has almost nothing to do with the mergers and less competition. Over the last few years most carriers raised their fees to offset the extreme increase in fuel costs. Southwest was able to keep their fares lower during most of that time because it had excellent oil futures contracts for cheap fuel. Those contracts expired and Southwest could no longer avoid the effects of higher fuel costs. That is why Southwest's fares are not as low anymore.

The less competition/higher fares theory has been proven false. One study in 2012 showed that overall, all fares increased only 1.8% per year from 2004-2011. (That report was cited in USA Today in Dr. 2012.) The mergers have caused reduction in service in some cities which may have caused prices in that market to rise more sharply, but overall the rate increase has been steady.

 

[djmeredith]

Oops, Dr. should say December. Autocorrect...

 

[kimmar067]

....how about SW out of the NYC area?

 

[Greysword]

Southwest's higher fares has almost nothing to do with the mergers and less competition. Over the last few years most carriers raised their fees to offset the extreme increase in fuel costs. Southwest was able to keep their fares lower during most of that time because it had excellent oil futures contracts for cheap fuel. Those contracts expired and Southwest could no longer avoid the effects of higher fuel costs. That is why Southwest's fares are not as low anymore.

DJ is correct, and we should NOT consider WN (Southwest Airline) fare increases in relation to the legacy carriers.

In the 2000s, WN hedged their fuel rate correctly, and they used this savings (and other factors) to artificially keep fares below the average for a decade. Only relatively recently have we seen their airfares increase to meet/exceed the legacy carriers' pricing.

In addition, WN has several expensive labor contracts that are also causing a significant effect on their current pricing model. A TV news story (I can search Google if someone demands it, or they can, too ) indicated that their senior management team would give the union team members almost all their concession points in an effort to keep morale high among their crews. These expenses are also coming to fruition.

Since WN does not operate a standard hub & spoke model, they seem to price legs separately, which could add to the price of an individual ticket depending on destination and stops. In other words, a non-stop would cost less than a direct flight, which would cost less than a non-direct (plane change).

Add all of this and other factors to the mix (primarily leisure travelers vs business, no interline agreements, frequent flyer program revenue/expenses, no charge baggage, no change fees, entry into mainline airports vs ancillary regional airfields, others) and WN's expenses have increased for several different reasons than those of the legacy carriers.

On another note, I would say the current consolidation of legacy airlines effect business travelers more than leisure travelers due to inclusion of international travel, their extensive frequent flyer program, first and business class products, and route network. While WN does have a cadre of business travelers, their model appears to be centered around catering to the domestic leisure traveler, which doesn't really care about class of service vs ticket price nor the international route network. As such, I would premise the consolidation has minimal impact on WN's clientele and flight pricing.

 

[pickles]

my last flight was sept 2012 and I got $130 rt mci to mco, but that was luck

guess I will need to adjust my thinking to a higher dollar amount


but it seems to me it doesnt matter if I buy now or closer to time as price is high either way

 

[Princess Tink]

We are in the same situation this year. Paid high prices for Christmas week, even flying on the 'cheaper' days... and now we're thinking about driving for our June/July trip. Yes, that would mean 19+ hours driving, but with 7 of us this year, that would be a huge savings!