Southwest Rates - Can I Do Better?

[scanne]

I checked southwest.com for airfare rates for Sept. 30 - Oct. 3rd. I got $213.90 per person. This inludes all taxes and fees. USAirways is a little cheaper at $196.90 per person, but the flight times are later and we're travelling with a 1 and 3 year old.

Do you think Southwest's rates will drop? If I book now and the rates go down, do they issue a credit or partial refund? We're flying southwest in July, but I'm not very familiar with their policies. We usually go with USAirways, but DH didn't want to book with them for this summer b/c he was afraid they'd go bankrupt and we'd be out the $$$ and the air travel.

Thanks for any help, hints, advice, etc.

 

[zdad]

It's likely you'll see lower rates before your travel date, especially if you can take advantage of a DING fare. Another alternative as well, is to look at flying into Tampa, instead of Orlando. Could save big $$$ for only a 30 min or so longer trip from the airport.

If I were in your shoes, I would book the SW flight, then start watching for lower fares. That way you have taken away any risk of higher prices due to economic issues, and you still have the chance to catch a lower fare.

Z

 

[disneyaggie]

I have found some great deals on www.aa.com (American Airlines), and with no stops between!

 

[disneyaggie]

Also, try Disney Travel. They are real good to get some nice rates. I usually get my dates and times ready for them to search.

 

[Lewisc]

I used to promote flying to Tampa but if you fly into MCO you can use ME for free transfers saving the cost of a rental car.

SW will probably have a fare sale between now and the dates of your travel but SW is doing a better job (from their prespective) of matching the discounted fares to the flights that are less popular.

I suspect you'll be able to get a credit during a fare sale but it's possible discounted fares will be unavailable for your flight. I always figure $200 is a good fare and if I want to use one the sub $150 fares I'll have to adjust my schedule. YMMV.

 

[zdad]

BTW Scanne...
I notice you're from Jersey. Not sure what airport you'd fly out of. We are flying out of Philly. My best rate was Philly to Tampa $71 each way. That's flying out on a Sunday and back on a Saturday, two weeks later (easier to get discounted fares during the middle of the week, but our schedule precluded that). Even with the added cost of a car to get us from Tampa to WDW, we saved over $400 by flying into Tampa vs Orlando. We're also thinking the flight will be a bit calmer, with a lower concentration of families going to Disney.

May pixie dust be sprinkled on your flight plans !!!

Z