Third times a charm said:
Is that typical to have the rate be higher when it is first released? Maybe today will be the day for SW to release more rates.
Sorry, I don't know if its typical as this was my first trip with SWA....but thanks to all the helpful hints here, I got the best deal I could. I live 3 hours from 3 SWA airports...St. Louis, Kansas City, or Tulsa. But, my aunt lives in KC, so KC is preferred to stay night before or have drive to airport, etc... When rates first came out in May, all airports were around $115 one way...too high for me. Finally, got an STL internet deal for $98 one way and booked, fearing nothing better would come. Later got a Ding STL for $84 one way, so cancelled and rebooked. SWA automatically credited me back the taxes, but a minimal airfare portion was left in ticketless travel.
Then, finally, KC came below $100 and had a $98 internet special...so I was willing to pay more than STL to get us over to KC and not have to pay airport parking fees/hotel fees. So, I cancelled and rebooked. Then, KC had a Ding deal for $87, and I again cancelled and rebooked with about $50 in TTF...I called SWA and they refunded CC.
Then, on July 5...2 1/2 months before trip....SW came out with a Florida special...out of KC it was now $59 one way...INCREDIBLE!!! I was sooo excited. I cancelled and rebooked again with a $400 credit. I called SWA long distance # and explained I lived 3 hours from airport and didn't know if I'd be able to use the credit in a year, and they graciously gave my CC a refund.
For these reasons, SWA definitely has my loyalty! We had a great flight...direct w/no connections. No delays and no problems whatsoever. Definitely worth it to drive to KC this past trip.
Now, as for future trips, we just got a charter airline (Allegiant Air) that started up direct flights to Orlando this month from my home airport. We prefer direct flights with young kids. Also, the other airlines at my home airport wanted around $325ppRT for this past trip, so we felt we'd either have to drive or wait for a good SWA deal! If Allegiant can offer us some good deals, I unfortunately may not be doing SWA again for Orlando as I'd love to not have that 3 hour drive!!!...but I'll definitely consider SWA on any trip I take.
