Southwest ???

[scanne]

I've been flying SW for at least 5 years and I have always bought my tickets the day they released flights for my travel dates. This time, I am waiting. I know that DING fares come out (and I have the app on my iphone and I get DING notices two-three times per day!) and I also remember fares dropping after I initially bought tickets. Then I was able to get a SW credit.

So, I have two questions.

1. When/if do you think fares will drop for summer travel?
2. How do you get a promo code to use on SW's website?

Thanks.

 

[Green Tea]

They will only release Ding fares on routes that need more passengers. Why not buy now and then rebook at the lower rate if that happens. It sounds as though you could use the credit again sometime within the year.

 

[Dizholic]

Sorry I can't answer your questions, but I just wanted to say Good Luck! I have traveled twice on SW since Aug., and I have two more reservations coming up in April to MCO, and June to Phx/Las. On all four reservations the price went up considerablly. I fly out of Buffalo, and I don't know what is going on, but I have not had a price go down in over a year.

 

[dburg30]

While it could happen, there seem to be MANY less dings to/from MCO recently. I'm sure this has to do with their change of schedule and having fewer flights. They just dont have as many empty seats. Personally I think prices will get 'worse' before they get better. Right now airfare is still a deal in most cases. If the economy improves, and more people start to travel again, prices will probably go up because they wont add more flights until they are really sure they need them. If that's true, they wont need Ding! fares.

So my point to all that rambling is if you see a fare you are willing to pay, get it or you may be disappointed.

 

[brenda1966]

I'm waiting to buy June and July airfare as well.
Last year I bought my July airfare in Feb and it went down in March, so I am hoping for a dip soon. The more of us that hold out and don't buy now, the more chance I see of a dip in price coming.
xx fingers crossed! xx

 

[dburg30]

Or more reductions in flights and seats available, which will in turn raise our fares

 

[backyardponder]

I'm going to WDW this summer. I normally fly SW from Chicago. I just found a great fare from Milwaukee ($74 each way) and grabbed it. It was low enough to make it worth the drive. I will be watching for better fares from Chicago as well. I expect they'll come down but I at least have a decent fare in hand.

 

[Bobo912]

I've been flying SW for at least 5 years and I have always bought my tickets the day they released flights for my travel dates. This time, I am waiting. I know that DING fares come out (and I have the app on my iphone and I get DING notices two-three times per day!) and I also remember fares dropping after I initially bought tickets. Then I was able to get a SW credit.

So, I have two questions.

1. When/if do you think fares will drop for summer travel?
2. How do you get a promo code to use on SW's website?

Thanks.

Personally, I don't think there is any advantage in buying them they day they are released. But I wouldn't wait for a DING. There may never be one for your destination or it may be limited to flights you don't want. I would go ahead and book it whenever you feel comfortable with the fare and hope for something cheaper, since you can easily rebook it at the lower price and get credit as ticketless travel funds, as you mentioned. As far as the promo code goes, I travel SWA pretty often and I've gotten a promo code once. It was the past May. I don't have a clue why I got it.