I just checked the SW website for some random flight dates (several in July and several in August nothing mid week) and it seems to me there are a LOT of seats available this summer as compared to last, at least PHL/MCO. Also, the fact that Disney has extended the dates for purchasing Magic Your Way plus free dining indicates travel must be down for August and September. The prices are still holding for those SW seats, but, I can't help but feel we're going to see quite a few Dings in the coming weeks because it's far better to fly with a plane 3/4 full of discounted passengers rather than 1/4 of full fare and the rest empty. I didn't check any other airline sites since we usually fly SW, but, has anyone else noticed the same trend on other airlines?
Summer Air Travel......
- Thread starter DonnaL
- Start date
NotUrsula
DIS Legend
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- Apr 19, 2002
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I think if you check other destinations you will find that most planes are flying full, and once those dates roll closer, so will SWA. Folks in other parts of the US are a bit leery of going to FL late this summer because they are frightened of hurricanes, and I think many people are going to wait as long as possible to make firm plans.
Also, even if planes are not full, don't bet that visitors are not there; there are going to be a LOT of wheels on the roads. Most people who have never been evacuated think that driving is a better bet than flying if there is risk of a hurricane, but in fact the opposite is usually true. Airlines generally allow no-penalty rescheduling if there is a storm predicted for your route, but evacuation traffic is a nightmare, and stations frequently run out of gasoline along evac routes.
Also, even if planes are not full, don't bet that visitors are not there; there are going to be a LOT of wheels on the roads. Most people who have never been evacuated think that driving is a better bet than flying if there is risk of a hurricane, but in fact the opposite is usually true. Airlines generally allow no-penalty rescheduling if there is a storm predicted for your route, but evacuation traffic is a nightmare, and stations frequently run out of gasoline along evac routes.
You're right the site doesn't show seats, but, there are a lot of fares showing as available.....only the lowest fares are showing unavailable, therefore, there are still a lot of seats left on each particular flight because we all know the airlines only allow so many seats at their lowest fares and if those fares are the only ones unavailable that flight is nowhere near full. Granted some flights do originate in other cities and those flights might have more fares booked between the originating city and the stop, but, I even checked a few of those and there a lot of fares still showing as available. And, also as I said in my first post, Disney extended the booking deadline on free dining until the 25th I believe. I don't think they would've have done that unless they still have quite a few rooms available. It seems to me last year the free dining deal booked up very quickly.
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