Southwest Strategy

[pinkerbell]

For anyone who might know I will be going from BDL Hartford, Ct to Orlando. The fare is about 240.
Might Southwest lower fares or should I just book since it is lower than all the other airlines (by about 100) and the flight times are the best?
What makes me hesitant is now that I get DING's, I see fares for as low as $50 (savings of over $400 for the 3 of us) each way (just last weekend for travel to my destination, but for the entire month of june, not when I'm travleing 9 20 - 10 2.) And we will not travel again until the next year so any type of credit for future flights is not all that appealing for us. We can also be flexible by adding a day or so and will keep checking other dates.
Southwest pricing and schedule viewing is great and seems "set" do they not changes the fare prices evey day or hour like the other airlines, just run specials, and if your fare sells out it's gone.
It seems the Old way (pre pc) of booking was the earlier you booked the better the price, now it seems the opposite because as seats don't sell they lower the price and people are always checking on-line. Or maybe they lowered them and the customer just didn't know it without 24/7 access??? hmmm
And lastly, i think, might southwest become a participating airline for the magical express... and is the only difference that you can check in from your hotel?
wow, that's kind of all over the board and I hope it makes sense.
any help is appreciated..
thanks

 

[Disney Ron]

pinkerbell, I just checked your dates, 9/20-10/2 out of Boston, on JETBLUE and the flights to Orlando on the 20th were $99, and the flights back on the 2nd were $79 with all flights still available for each day. Why not try them?

 

[pinkerbell]

pinkerbell, I just checked your dates, 9/20-10/2 out of Boston, on JETBLUE and the flights to Orlando on the 20th were $99, and the flights back on the 2nd were $79 with all flights still available for each day. Why not try them?

We are 12 minutes from BDL, also, no cost to park, as we have family or a neighbor drop us off, and call for a pickup. With a 3 and 1 yr old this is a great convenience.

Just getting to boston is about 2 hours then traffic, tolls and parking and the large airport. It wouldn't work for us, but thanks for the info as I didn't realize Jetblue flew out of Boston and this is good to know for the future.

 

[Jennyvelaz]

The last schedule was the same issue; high prices. The prices will come down but it stinks to have to keep checking. It is your peace of mind. I could've booked at $160 each way at first. I waited for 2 months recvd $69 non-stop fare, then a $54 DING ( month later) while my friend couldn't wait and spent $124 for Jet BLue boston each way early on.

 

[Disney Ron]

The last schedule was the same issue; high prices. The prices will come down but it stinks to have to keep checking. It is your peace of mind. I could've booked at $160 each way at first. I waited for 2 months recvd $69 non-stop fare, then a $54 DING ( month later) while my friend couldn't wait and spent $124 for Jet BLue boston each way early on.

Jenny, you are correct but I ended up with $79 each way on JETBLUE out of Boston and though a $59 DING out of Providence may come out in the next 4 months, I don't have to waste my time constantly checking for DINGS or to see if an internet fare came out. My thought is that Sept. is a slow time of year to go to WDW so why couldn't SW just open with the cheap rates, instead of putting everyone out?

 

[Eganclan]

We've flown SW out of BDL and ALB many times. I think that you are traveling at a great time for a potential DING and you said that you are flexible with your dates which I think is key. The hard part is the waiting and checking. Once in awhile SW seems to offer DING dates a little farther out if those aren't what works for you then you may be looking at possibly having to wait until the middle of the summer to book. On the other hand many times you can get an airline to extend a credit.

I love SW but unless they add service out of Stewart they will be losing my business now that we have Jet Blue and Air Tran 15 minutes from home.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[pinkerbell]

thanks for all your insight. I think I'll hold off a bit and hope for a lower fare...
unlike me since I am so NOT a gambler, but this one seems pretty safe.
still welcoming info.. especially on what the difference is in a preferred carrier on MME

thanks again

 

[Rpsemont]

If you are flexible, able and willing to fly on tuesday and wednesdays, I would wait. But is does take dilligent checking, and trying to be on a computer on a regular basis. Be sure to Download Ding. IMO, you should be able to probably get an IOW fare @ $79OW and probably a ding at under $70. We're going 10/23-10/29 and I'm holding off for now. I constantly check fares by looking for seats for 8 people. In my mind, if a particular flight is unavailble for 8 at the cheapest fare, but open for 4, that might indicate it's starting to fill up. That's not always true though, because for our most recent trip, at one point there were only two seats open for the IOW fare, so I had DD and DH booked on one itinerary. I was on a separate Itinerary (but same flights) with a higher fare. Later, the IOW was offered again, and I was able to change mine to get a credit. When you do book, you may want to book Each itinerary as OW. I watch BDL constantly. It's our airport of choice. Do any of your friends/ relatives travel more frequently. If you ended up with a credit on SWA, you could always allow them to use it and reimburse you.

 

[pooch]

DD & I are going down for Free Dining 9/21 - 9/27. I am also waiting for SW to go down. Last year, I booked as soon as our dates opened up (8/25 - 9/3) and then changed to lower fares twice. Started with $283 RT - ended up with $137 RT (w/tax & everything inc) and a $600+ credit. When we came back, I called SW and they applied the credit back to my CC. There is a lot of discussion here about getting credits returned as opposed to having to use them for later travel so your experience may be different. I am going to wait a while to book. I agree with earlier posters that it most likely will go down. Do download Ding & keep watching. Good luck (for both of us!!!)

Oh, and re: ME and SW not participating. You can still get your boarding passes from Guest Services at your resort 24hr in advance. You will have to bring your luggage to the bus & then into the airport though. Wasn't a big deal for us last year but, of course, I didn't have any small kids, everyone carried a bag.

 

[pierresgirl]

Pinkerbell- I am going out on SW on the 20th as well from BDL. I am between BDL and PVD but Hartford was alot cheaper. I looked into JetBlue but Boston is just too far and too much of a hassle. I booked already but the way I look at it is that I've never flown SW and have always paid alot more for flights with layovers so I'm still getting a better deal than normal!

 

[ekball]

Pinkerbell - we are in the same situation as you, but we decided to go ahead and book our Sept. flights and here is why....
It is so important to us that we get the flight times we want with the little ones. I was worried that if we didn't book now we'd miss out on the flight schedules that we wanted...the ones that work so well for all of our needs/wants. So we booked. I'll watch out for fare specials or dings, and will try to get credits if that happens (ooh, I'd LOVE to get the credit back on my card....how did you do that pooch?!). For now, I'm happy that we have our desired schedule. Good luck to you!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

SW will give you credit back to your cc only if you "change" ressie for new price but don't actually change flights. If date and time stay the same, they will credit your cc.
Also to OP, you can extend your credits another 6 mos if you call before they expire giving you a full 18 mos. to use them. Hope that helps. I'm also waiting for SW prices to drop for our Sept. trip. I know they will and we're leaving on a Wed. so I don't worry at all. Be patient, SW came thru for us for $49 each way for our last 4 trips.
Hang in there!

 

[pooch]

both times I got a lower fare it was for the exact same flights. So that could be the kicker to get a credit. When I called to inquire I did write down the name of the person to whom I spoke along with the time and date in case there was a problem later but I had no trouble.

 

[pinkerbell]

wow, thanks again to all of you for the great info... usually I just take what I can get for flights, but we booked so early this year all flights are available. I think I'll book the flights, since I can get a credit to my card if the same ones go on sale, but have had some trouble finding info on the disney site for check-in which I think is 3 but more importantly check out. My guess is regular is 11 and late is 1... I don't know why I think this but if anyone knows, that would also help us decide which flights to book.
Honestly, I can never find anything when I do a search on the disney website, is there a trick that I don't know? I use the unofficial sites all the time because for me, thay are much easier to navigate...
thanks again

 

[Rpsemont]

but have had some trouble finding info on the disney site for check-in which I think is 3 but more importantly check out. My guess is regular is 11 and late is 1...

Check in is 4PM. Check out is 11AM. DO NOT COUNT ON LATE CHECK OUT! DH was deathly ill once and we tried to get late check out, they charged us 1/2 price room rate for the extra two hours. We paid because he was soo sick.
However, we have many times we checked in at 8AM. They give you room keys (with park passes if you've booked a package), bell services will hold your luggage, and you call back at/after 4PM to get your room number. There have been times our room has not been ready until 5or after. On check out day, again, bell services will hold your luggage. If you're not renting a car, spend as long at the parks as you can to allow for time to return to the resort, get your luggage from Bell services and catch ME. If you rent a car, just put the luggage in the car for the day (and likewise, keep the luggage in the car until you get your room assignment)
Also, when you do check in, you can ask if there's any rooms ready. Sometimes it's a trade off between a preferred room location and getting into the room right away.

 

[lovingthemouse]

Just over the MA border here. We have SWA ressies for the Memorial Day weekend - have had them for a short while. Just this morning they had our exact flights for just $57 each way. Now we have this great credit to use by 1 yr from now - I can think of many excuses to use it!
If you have existing ressies, hold them, chances are there will be DINGS before then. So glad I checked the DING this morning, what a nice surprise! Caroline

 

[pinkerbell]

Check in is 4PM. Check out is 11AM. DO NOT COUNT ON LATE CHECK OUT! DH was deathly ill once and we tried to get late check out, they charged us 1/2 price room rate for the extra two hours. We paid because he was soo sick.
However, we have many times we checked in at 8AM. They give you room keys (with park passes if you've booked a package), bell services will hold your luggage, and you call back at/after 4PM to get your room number. There have been times our room has not been ready until 5or after. On check out day, again, bell services will hold your luggage. If you're not renting a car, spend as long at the parks as you can to allow for time to return to the resort, get your luggage from Bell services and catch ME. If you rent a car, just put the luggage in the car for the day (and likewise, keep the luggage in the car until you get your room assignment)
Also, when you do check in, you can ask if there's any rooms ready. Sometimes it's a trade off between a preferred room location and getting into the room right away.

thanks for clearing up the times for me... hope the trip back wasnt too hard for you and DH... I wish Dis would have helped to accomodate you...
maybe now we'll change to making moe of our first day thanks to your info than our last... or maybe now we'll make more of BOTH!

Just over the MA border here. We have SWA ressies for the Memorial Day weekend - have had them for a short while. Just this morning they had our exact flights for just $57 each way. Now we have this great credit to use by 1 yr from now - I can think of many excuses to use it!
If you have existing ressies, hold them, chances are there will be DINGS before then. So glad I checked the DING this morning, what a nice surprise! Caroline

YEA!! glad to hear of your good fare...

 

[DizznyChick]

i always fly sw because its the only non stop flight to orlando form my airport-isp-and i book the flight asap because the cheaper flights sell out fast
if i get a ding then i reschedule with the ding and use the extra for my next trip
of course this means i get stuck a lot saying - well now i have to go back i have 200 travel funds left that i dont want to waste-its a terrible cycle comparible to getting the annual park pass where im trying to get my monies worth out of the ap rates