Southwest question for those who fly end of Sept or out of Nashville

[disneymarathoner07]

We are going to WDW from Sept 29-Oct 7 and were originally going to drive but have since changed our minds and have decided to fly. Question 1.) when will these dates open for SW and question 2.) what kind of price am I looking at from nashville to orlando? I want to have some kind of comparative in case I see something with another airline that I think is good--Thanks! Amanda

 

[ptrbryant]

but, I think both seasons should be similar since they're "shoulder seasons"...outside of school summer vacation and outside of holidays.

Last year, we nabbed the $39 each way airfare for our May trip when it showed up in March. Right now, I'm disgruntled because the lowest airfare is $114 each way...actually, I had to book it at $129 one way in order to make sure we get a specific flight we need. The good thing about Southwest is that, if that $39 fare shows up, I can cancel our current reservations and rebook at the cheap rate with NO PENALTY! We have another trip on SWA for Philadelphia in Sept. and I can use the credit towards that,too---hopefully!

Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Karla B.

 

[Luv2Travel]

We flew out of BNA on SWA last Sept 29 and flew back on Oct 8. I got a ding for $29 each way, but I don't remember when I booked that - probably August. I don't really expect a ding that low again this year, just haven't been seeing the dings that low out of BNA so far (but hopefully I'm wrong ). I do think a decent ding will come about for that time, just don't know how good. I'll be looking for that week again too so hopefully we'll both find a deal.

 

[disneymarathoner07]

Should I go ahead and buy tickets when they come out and then purchase a ding if one is available or should I wait for a ding to come out?

 

[Luv2Travel]

Should I go ahead and buy tickets when they come out and then purchase a ding if one is available or should I wait for a ding to come out?

Good question. Last year I had already booked my airfare on SW and then had to cancel it to use the credit for the ding. That wasn't bad, but now I have credit sitting on my account.

My plan is to go ahead and book our airfare if the price is decent when it first becomes available (to guarantee I get the flight I want). Then if a ding opens up I will cancel and rebook. But if the airfare is more than what I'm willing to pay (right now it's $250/person for my May dates - not good), then I'll plan on driving and hope that a good ding comes along. I have to justify a "break even" point for us to fly. We are a family of 5, so the airfare has to be pretty low for us to justify flying over driving (it's not that bad of a drive for us).

 

[disneymarathoner07]

That's probably what I'll do too. We could fly out of birmingham or nashville--Nashville would be a little closer but if the price was right, I'd drive to Birmingham then fly. We live about 15 minutes north of the TN/AL state line--about 25 minutes from Florence. So I suspect our driving times would be about the same. I was ok with the driving (trying to save a buck) but when my husband said let's just fly--I've gotten myself psyched on that. (get down there earlier, leave later type thing) I figured it would take us about 10 hours to drive--my husband thinks I am crazy-he says it'll be more like 12--I told him he was crazy--either way it's going to be a long drive with 2 girls (6 and 4). After reading your post--I told him I was right. Thanks