Soutwest Oct2006

[haley's mom]

Just wondering if anyone know when Southwest has typically opened reservations for Sept/Oct travel. I am traveling Sep30-Oct 7 and the high airfare is making me sick. If anyone has info, please let me know.

 

[travelin' tigger]

Just wondering if anyone know when Southwest has typically opened reservations for Sept/Oct travel. I am traveling Sep30-Oct 7 and the high airfare is making me sick. If anyone has info, please let me know.

There's a chance those dates might be included when SW opens up their next scheduled dates. Many of us have been waiting for a while now and hope it'll be sometime this week...

Good luck!!!

 

[Corinne]

Just wondering if anyone know when Southwest has typically opened reservations for Sept/Oct travel. I am traveling Sep30-Oct 7 and the high airfare is making me sick. If anyone has info, please let me know.

For some reason, I suspect the impending Delta strike, Southwest has not opened up dates past August 3rd. Typically, they would have been available by now. I cannot imagine them waiting more than another week. I called them yesterday and the man I spoke to was actaully laughing---they are getting so many calls about it, and they *claim* they only know when the reservations will open *when* they actually do, he also said, it should be by next week.

 

[MiaSRN62]

We're going Aug 6-16 and it is a nail-biting experience waiting for SW to open up the booking window !!! Right now, the lowest I can see for flights to Orlando are $212/pp. I check from various airports (PHL, ABE, ACY, EWR) and plugged in various airlines. This was the lowest. I'd prefer to leave from PHL on SW, but not sure I can stand the wait !

 

[pamjb]

I can almost guarantee that they will open up the schedule tomorrow. Why? Because that is the only day in the past two weeks that we have been playing this waiting game:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1057722

that I won't be at my computer at 11 am EST. I should have known better when I scheduled my son's doctor's appointment 6 months ago.

Personally, I am hoping it opens today. But I know my luck.....it will be tomorrow at 11:15 AM EDT.

 

[Threeriversdisneyfan]

Just wondering if anyone know when Southwest has typically opened reservations for Sept/Oct travel. I am traveling Sep30-Oct 7 and the high airfare is making me sick. If anyone has info, please let me know.

Were in the boat as you, same dates, same airport. We flew Airtran last year so I don't know much about SWA. However, I can share this stuff.
Over a Flyertalk.com they got a history of SWA schedule extensions for the last couple of years.

19. When will the schedule horizon be extended? Why doesn't Southwest allow me to book 11 months ahead like the other majors do?

a. (nsx) This is probably the single most frequently asked question on the Southwest forum. If you ask it there, don't be surprised if your thread is locked or deleted. The moderator is not fond of answering the same question over and over again when everything we know is right here and in the Official schedule extension prediction thread.

b. (nsx) The schedule is usually extended on a Thursday morning, around 10 AM Central Time. One tipoff is when the current sale is "through the end of the schedule" rather than having a specific ending date.

c. (BondGuy/Mr. July) Recent schedule extension history:
Mar 13/03 - open to Sep 8/03
May 14/03 - open to Oct 24/03
June 26/03 - open to Dec 13/03
July 24/03 - open to Jan 16/04
Sep 19/03 - open to Mar 6/04
Oct 16/03 - open to April 2/04
Dec 11/03 - open to May 8/04
Jan 13/04 - open to Jun 11/04
Feb 13/04 - open to Aug 7/04
Mar 25/04 - open to Sep 13/04
May 5/04 - open to Oct 29/04
July 15/04 - open to Dec 11/04
July 29/04 - open to Jan 14/05
Sept 23/04 - open to Mar 3/05
Oct 22/04 - open to April 1/05
Dec 9/04 – open to Jun 6/05
Feb 18/05 – open to Aug 3/05
Mar 17/05 – open to Sept 12/05
May 12/05 - open to Oct 28/05
July 15/05 - open to Dec 12/05
Aug 18/05 - open to Jan 9/06
Sept 26/05 - open to Feb 3/06 horizon shrink likely due to MSY replanning
Oct 27/05 - open to Mar 31/06
Dec 20/05 - open to Jun 9/06
Feb 23/06 - open to Aug 3/06

d. (cabinpressure, Beckles) Based on the above data, whenever the number of days to the schedule horizon drops down to to the 105-135 range (as low 101 Dec 20/05 and as high as 142 Oct 16/03) the schedule is then extended to be in the 150-175 range (144 Aug 18/05, 179 Dec 9/04).

e.(nsx) Knowing when the schedule will open up is often your best chance to secure the lowest fare for a peak travel time such as Thanksgiving. But Southwest is getting better (from its point of view) at blacking out discount fares on peak flights right from the start.

f. (nsx) By limiting its schedule horizon, Southwest virtually eliminates the need to cancel or reschedule flights before the date of travel. Those changes cost the other airlines a lot of money to handle, and they annoy customers. Once Southwest publishes a schedule, it is nearly cast in stone. Even after the 2001 terrorist attacks, Southwest did not immediately drop flights as the other majors did.

Trying to predict their schedule is next to impossible, past history would suggest Mid May for our dates. If you really get into the SWA schedule extension forum the rumors range from The Delta strike, Fuel Prices, to even the free Dinning Disney program effecting the SWA extension schedule. My advice, Check SWA's Website as offen as you can, hope you get lucky.

 

[Stephieann]

just marking the thread. I am waiting on October 29th. come on SWA i am getting gray over hear waiting!!!

 

[bunny]

We went last year the first week in September. I booked our tickets in June and paid $720 for 4 tickets from Pittsburgh. The first week in July all the airlines dropped their fares to $99 RT. I think if you are patient you should be able to get a really good fare for that time. I have checked the last few years and the fares have always been low in September and October. I was worried last year with the rising gas prices, so I booked. I could have saved $200 or more. I flew USAir so of course I couldn't change without a penalty. I am also waiting on Southwest. I have found, though, for Pittsburgh the best fares are only available less than 3 months in advance.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We went last year the first week in September. I booked our tickets in June and paid $720 for 4 tickets from Pittsburgh. The first week in July all the airlines dropped their fares to $99 RT. I think if you are patient you should be able to get a really good fare for that time. I have checked the last few years and the fares have always been low in September and October. I was worried last year with the rising gas prices, so I booked. I could have saved $200 or more. I flew USAir so of course I couldn't change without a penalty. I am also waiting on Southwest. I have found, though, for Pittsburgh the best fares are only available less than 3 months in advance.

Hey Bunny, I'm in Eighty Four, PA

Its making me nervous waiting for SW to release their fares. The only good fares so far are connecting through Charlotte on US Air and an afternoon departure and early morning return on AirTran. And even those are both over $200.00 rt. I have never sweated airfare to FL with any other trip, but with all these airlines going bankrupt and the surcharges,I am with this one. I am really hoping SW releases their airfare soon for September.

 

[DebbieB]

We went last year the first week in September. I booked our tickets in June and paid $720 for 4 tickets from Pittsburgh. The first week in July all the airlines dropped their fares to $99 RT. I think if you are patient you should be able to get a really good fare for that time. I have checked the last few years and the fares have always been low in September and October. I was worried last year with the rising gas prices, so I booked. I could have saved $200 or more. I flew USAir so of course I couldn't change without a penalty. I am also waiting on Southwest. I have found, though, for Pittsburgh the best fares are only available less than 3 months in advance.

Another Pittsburgher here. It has gotten tricky waiting for fares. USAir has reduced their non-stops to 3 per day (down from 5) and Air Tran has reduced from 2 to 1. I think this will lead more people to Southwest and will keep the fares higher. I have tickets for June, paid $177, booked about a month ago. The same flights are now $341. Dings have been few and far between, usually only for Tuesday & Wednesday flights and only a month away. If you can get under $200, I would go for it. Another thing to keep in mind is Southwest's liberal cancellation rules. You can cancel and rebook and get the difference in credit.