SWA fares driving me InSaNe ;-)

[MrsDoubtfire]

Dilemma:

I was able to book 4 tickets from MCO to PVD for the return leg of our August trip at $120 per ticket - not that great but when you consider that I paid $70 per ticket to arrive, the total is less than $200 round trip. Now comes the dilemma:

I booked our return flight leaving at 9ish in the morning on a Saturday, which isn't too appealing considering that we will be over an hours drive away from MCO that day, and will have to leave around 6 in the morning to get to the airport on time (allowing for traffic, car return, luggage, security, etc). We are flexible plus 2 days, so I have been checking the Sunday and Monday for potential return flights, and would re-book within the same price range give-or-take $10 or so. I check EVERY day...twice within the past week I have seen a flight for $120 on the Monday, but if I change the number of tickets from "1 to 2,3, or 4", the price jumps to $150 per ticket.

I book all of our tickets separately (family of 4) all with our own RR number. My dilemma is, if I start re-booking, say first with me, and I pay the $120, when I log out of the site and log back in as my next family member, should I assume that the price will jump to $150 because I already purchased the one and only $120 ticket already ?

Any insight is greatly appreciated

 

[hopare]

You can book the tickets together and still put in the individual RR numbers when you enter the info. You are essentially wasting time by logging in to each account to book the aifare. This is only necessary if booking a flight WITH the reward points. Is that what you meant? Logging in/ out has nothing to do with the number of fares at a given price. SW will often drop the price of a certain amt of seats(say 4) once those four seats are sold the price goes up again. I have run into this myself several times. I sometimes book a couple of tickets and then book a few more when the price comes down again or I just book then and get a credit. Good luck!

 

[kaytieeldr]

There's only one $120 fare left on the flight you're looking at. Just change one person's return fare for now.

 

[Soon2B4]

There's only one $120 fare left on the flight you're looking at. Just change one person's return fare for now.

The problem I would personally have with that is then only one person is returning on Monday and everyone else still has Saturday flights. You run the risk of that flight cost steadily going up.

To answer your question, more than likely you can book the one flight a the lower price. The rest of the airfare may go up to $150 per person. If you don't mind getting a credit if the flights go down, you could book it and rebook if the cost goes down.

 

[goofy4tink]

Here's the problem....if SW is showing $120 for a flight, they may very well have just one seat at that price. Then, if you go to put in 4 people? Won't take. The addtl 3 people will be paying the next lowest price.
It's not bait and switch, before someone comes along and says it is. It just isn't uncommon to have this happen. There are only so many seats available at a certain price. And there are many more seats at the higher prices.
You are going to have to decide how much a later flight is worth to you. If you don't mind paying an addtl $30 pp, then go for it. Otherwise, you may want to stay with your existing flight.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I had the same situation I could book one at the lower price but not the other. And low and behold the flight went down a few days later so I was able to book the other ticket with the lower price.

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

The prices at PVD are like yoyos. I went to change our flight to MCO so that we arrived 3 hours earlier and it skyrocketed within minutes. An hour later it went way down and I booked getting all 7 tickets at that rate. The next morning they released more. If you can change 1 before it goes up, I would change it (If everyone has their own confirmation #). Mondays and Tuesdays at 930 PM are usually the cheapest.

 

[MrsDoubtfire]

Thank you all for the advice so far....

Today (3/30), I was able to switch 2 tickets for the return on the Monday at $120 each. I will now just keep checking, which I will do daily, in hopes that the price for the remaining 2 tickets drops from $150 to $120. If it doesn't, I'll pay the $150 per ticket for the remaining 2. At least I will only have to spend $60 more rather than $120 more overall.

 

[disneyboy123]

Thank you all for the advice so far....

Today (3/30), I was able to switch 2 tickets for the return on the Monday at $120 each. I will now just keep checking, which I will do daily, in hopes that the price for the remaining 2 tickets drops from $150 to $120. If it doesn't, I'll pay the $150 per ticket for the remaining 2. At least I will only have to spend $60 more rather than $120 more overall.

Be careful as it can work the opposite way. If you now have 2 one day and 2 the other you run the risk of the flight going up instead of down

 

[leebee]

I'd book the other two at $150 to ensure a tolerable price, and keep watching the fares. If they go down, change them. If they don't, at least you'll all be flying on the same day... And if prices go up, you'll be glad you got the $150 fare!