What is with Southwest ??

[Lilo&Stitch]

I remember flying STL to Chicago RT for $38 one time. Spent more than twice that on 4 cab rides in Chicago while we were there

omg !

We booked AT because of the goofy high price of SWA out of MDW for our August trip...LEAVING ON A TUESDAY.

Our problem is out home flight on Saturday 8-25. $155-$173.

We still havent booked it. Hoping and waiting it comes down. Also, I thought SWA had a 10 year supply of jet fuel so their prices would stay low.?

I cant remember the last time I saw a "ding" from MDW to MCO...at least 3 years.

Now i see why people drive.

I really miss the Dings ! I used to book last minute trips all the time when a $40-50 ding popped up

We've traveled with AirTran and really liked them.

Thank You for the reasurance ! I'm going to give them a try

I hear you OP. I fly out of Milwaukee. I've paid around $200 for my round trip fare in the past. Is $300 the current best rate?

That's exactly what i'm trying to find out

 

[Lilo&Stitch]

We bought our summer flight out of Midway right when the fares opened - they were about $125. A few weeks later, they went down to $113 and then all of a sudden they went up to $155! I do know that as the dates get closer they will lower fares for flights that are not full, but I understand the stress of watching and waiting!

Good luck!

That's what used to happen ! i'm wondering if that will still be the case, I usually book fairly early and then continue to rebook and stash the credits, but with the fare being $155, i'm not willing to gamble

 

[NancyIL]

Ok so I know gas prices are up and i know Southwest doesn't charge baggage fees, I know other airlines are higher etc.... But really $155 one way out of Midway ?? back in the ding days I would pay $50-59, long gone are those days ! but then I would pay 69-79 flying on a Tuesday, I was ok with that, I'm ok with the prices going up again because I understand the price of gas is high, but how do you justify more than doubling the fare ?? the last couple of weeks those off day flights are $155 and UP across the board, I just don't get it

Airfares have gone up, but the good old "ding days" of $55-$59 fares each way were the prices BEFORE taxes were added. Depending on whether you flew non-stop or connected, you would add ~$10-$20 more each way in additional taxes. Airfares now are quoted with all taxes included.

By the way, I am paying $134 roundtrip (including taxes) on Delta from Bloomington, IL to Orlando April 17-25 (connecting in Atlanta each way). The ticket was purchased in early August when the FAA wasn't collecting all the usual taxes. However, the airfare was also THAT good! I'm sure I won't see that airfare again for a long time!

 

[Lilo&Stitch]

Airfares have gone up, but the good old "ding days" of $55-$59 fares each way were the prices BEFORE taxes were added. Depending on whether you flew non-stop or connected, you would add ~$10-$20 more each way in additional taxes. Airfares now are quoted with all taxes included.

By the way, I am paying $134 roundtrip (including taxes) on Delta from Bloomington, IL to Orlando April 17-25 (connecting in Atlanta each way). The ticket was purchased in early August when the FAA wasn't collecting all the usual taxes. However, the airfare was also THAT good! I'm sure I won't see that airfare again for a long time!

That's a great price ! and my $50-59 dings, that WAS the price with the taxes included ! I will never forget booking a trip on Christmas day because we got such a great ding, I believe the GRAND total for my family of 4 was slightly over $400 !

 

[akclayton]

They minimized the amount of flights and locations for the $59 flights. I flew Houston to Mco 2 years ago i flew for $126 OW. This year, for June flights i paid $136 OW. Not much of a change. Pay $10 extra to get early bird check in. You won't get a B. In the past, I've been able to enter multiple confirmation #s and have gotten the boarding numbers nwxt ro each other. not sure if they still alow this.

 

[NokOnHarts]

Someone mentioned EBCI and I have question about that since we've never used it. Our party will be 3 adults and 2 children (a 4 year old and an infant). We will be on separate reservations already due to 2 tickets being purchased with points and 2 tickets with cash. I wasn't going to consider EBCI due to the extra cost, but then I thought, wouldn't it work for one person's ticket to have EBCI on it (not the others) and for that person to hold seats for the rest? Like stated, we will be on separate reservations already so not likely to board at exactly the same time so we were planning for the first person on to hold seats for the others anyway. It would be helpful on the budget and for good seats to do EBCI on the one adult ticket who can board first... would this work?

Also, do you have to add EBCI when purchasing or any time after?

 

[Grandmalovesyou]

You got your point across; we're disagreeing with your misperception that Southwest (every airline) discriminates against multiple-passenger parties [families] and 'rewards' solo [single] fliers.

I got my flights for by 7 family members and did not have any problems getting the same price round trip for all of them. 228 round trip US Airways. NONstop I had read that someone (and others) had that problem when they needed more than 2 tickets so that is what scared me into holding out for Southwest or JetBlue. Plus they do not have many NON stop flights. And sometimes I noticed there is only one time frame that seemed good otherwise all the others quoted were super high.

So it is not all Airlines............

 

[Jestocost]

I got my flights for by 7 family members and did not have any problems getting the same price round trip for all of them. 228 round trip US Airways. NONstop I had read that someone (and others) had that problem when they needed more than 2 tickets so that is what scared me into holding out for Southwest or JetBlue. Plus they do not have many NON stop flights. And sometimes I noticed there is only one time frame that seemed good otherwise all the others quoted were super high.

So it is not all Airlines............

And so much depends on where you are flying from. SWA is the only non-stop flight provider from STL these days.

 

[Lewisc]

Thanks for the tip. I always open 2 tabs when confirming when I have 2 confirmations. I've also do that when I'm booking and have bought 4 tickets at the lower price multiple times. So buying the last two cheaper seats doesn't fly with me. The example I did was what I just paid for my family this July. I saved $ 80.00 doing it this way and was only trying to help others. I just couldn't get by point across.

The 2 browser trick doesn't always work. SW updated their system and sometimes (frequently) you'll be told the fare isn't available when you try to pay for your second set of tickets. The point is, in your example. SW only intends to offer 2 seats at that fare. You found a loophole which sometimes works.

Revenue management will sometimes release more seats a the lower fare bucket. Book 2 seats and occasionally more seats will become available at the lower fare, but usually not until the next day.

 

[akclayton]

Someone mentioned EBCI and I have question about that since we've never used it. Our party will be 3 adults and 2 children (a 4 year old and an infant). We will be on separate reservations already due to 2 tickets being purchased with points and 2 tickets with cash. I wasn't going to consider EBCI due to the extra cost, but then I thought, wouldn't it work for one person's ticket to have EBCI on it (not the others) and for that person to hold seats for the rest? Like stated, we will be on separate reservations already so not likely to board at exactly the same time so we were planning for the first person on to hold seats for the others anyway. It would be helpful on the budget and for good seats to do EBCI on the one adult ticket who can board first... would this work?

Also, do you have to add EBCI when purchasing or any time after?

If you are traveling with smaller kids and especially an infant, you qualify for pre-boarding. You shouldn't even have to worry about which seat selector you get. Wheelchair and people traveling with small people get to board even before the Business Select people. So, in your case, I wouldn't pay early bird and wouldn't worry about which seat selection you get. If you weren't flying with smaller children it may be worth getting early bird for one. I never thought about that. But, if the people you are saving seats for are at the end of the B boarding group, it may become a little more difficult to start holding seats depending on how many. I've seen people get in little arguments before while I was traveling for work when 1 person was holding 2 sections of seats for people.

 

[richmo]

Didn't read all the replies, but a couple of points (and I apologize in advance if they're already covered):

- Remember the new rules for displayed airfares: they now must include all fees. That makes airfares "appear" higher than they used to.
- On the issue of multiple seats at a higher price: With any airline, I always check the single fare first, then plug in how many I really need (usually 4). If that isn't a multiple of the single fare, then I see how many I can get at the lower fare and split the itinerary. Its a bit of a pain, but it can be worth it.

 

[tkldisney]

Currently we don't have SW at our airport, but do have Airtran. We have normally gotten flights for 250 or less r/t out of DAY. Our Airtran flight this year for March travel were 305 r/t. If we wanted to book today they are 461. yesterday they were 523, and had over 600. one day last week. Crazy, we are getting better prices on DL out of CVG, and that doesn't happen to offen.

 

[ccgirl]

If you are traveling with smaller kids and especially an infant, you qualify for pre-boarding. You shouldn't even have to worry about which seat selector you get. Wheelchair and people traveling with small people get to board even before the Business Select people. So, in your case, I wouldn't pay early bird and wouldn't worry about which seat selection you get. If you weren't flying with smaller children it may be worth getting early bird for one. I never thought about that. But, if the people you are saving seats for are at the end of the B boarding group, it may become a little more difficult to start holding seats depending on how many. I've seen people get in little arguments before while I was traveling for work when 1 person was holding 2 sections of seats for people.

Not sure when the last time you flew with SW was but family boarding is now down between groups A and B so not before Business Select. Medical pre-boarding (this with the blue sleeves) are still before Business Select.

Sometimes, they do away with Family Boarding if there are too many small children as the whole plane would try to Family Board.

Lastly, the flight attendants have made announcements on the flights I have been on that there is no seat saving. People may sit in any seat that is not currently occupied by another body (not bag).

Having said all that, even with C boarding passes I have not been split up from my children. We do not mind sitting in the back of the plane.

 

[malibuconlee]

I miss those low fare days, too. But...how much do you think it should cost to fly 1200 miles? I think a few years ago they were building market share and could afford to do so thanks to some excellent fuel hedging position. That isn't the case anymore, so prices are higher. I don't think $300 RT is "high"...it's just higher than what we've become accustomed to paying in some markets.

EXACTLY! Thank you. I'll be honest and it gets old hearing people complain about the cost of flights. This is what it costs to fly the plane, have the company make money and stay in business. No more bailouts so people in big cities can have cheap flights.

The last trip I took I flew from South Dakota and was happy to find a ticket under $400, and that was in 2004!

 

[Thumper_Man]

I guess I'm not quite making my point. I will try one more time

4 seats Pvd to Mco @ $ 155.00 = $ 620.00

Same flight same day same time

2 seats Pvd to Mco @ $ 135.00 = $ 270.00
2 seats Pvd to Mco @ $ 135.00 = $ 270.00
Total 4 seats PVD to MCO $ 540.00


4 Seats PVD to MCO Same Confirmation # = $ 620.00
4 Seats PVD to MCO 2 Confirmation #'s = $ 540.00
Penalty for booking 4 seats at once = $ 80.00

I still get my 4 seats on the same flight but I have two confirmation numbers. This usually means we are separated during boarding. It's not a reason for me not to fly Southwest but it is a hassle. I promise I won't try to explain this again.

I've actually experienced this myself. Not to MCO but to Vegas. My wife, sister, mother and I were going to Vegas from ABQ last year. When we looked at flights, it was $99 each way. My mother or sister don't have a credit card, so they gave me the money to book their flights. Anyways, I went to book all our flights together. When I went to book our flights and put 4 travelers. The price jumped up to $119 per person, each way. I changed the search to 2 travelers and the price went back down to $99 per person, each way. I booked DW's and my flight at the $99 rate. Once I was done, I entered the exact same information and was able to get the $99 rate for my mother and sister.

So like you, I had 2 different itineraries for the same flight. Why SW does it this way is beyond me. I know people say it's because they have run out of seats for that price range, but it's odd that I can make 2 separate bookings and still get the lower rate. And for the record, its not the first time I've had to do it this way.

But back to the original topic, SW has gotten to be rather high on their prices. Looking at prices for a trip to WDW for December. If what they are now is any indicator of what they will be for December, we may land up flying a different airline. I've seen better deals on Delta and United, and that's with baggage fees included.

 

[PoohsFan1]

OP I know how you feel, we too fly out of Midway and it has been very difficult trying to find low airfare for our Aug/Sept trip. Until today, I was checking the different air carriers and found $90 one way tickets from ORD to MCO direct flight with United...it is the first flight out of ORD, we will be in Disney by 10:15am . All I had to do was change our check-in date from 8/27 to 8/28 . I figured I will jump on those before it goes up again and then look for a return flight later. I was looking at $155 per person for a Monday flight. So just keep checking flights and hopefully you will find a good deal too .

 

[TDC Nala]

Agreed, there's no preboarding with children on Southwest. Family boarding is done after the "A" boarding pass group has already boarded. So having young kids wont' get you on at the same time as disabled passengers and business class.

 

[TamaraQT]

I've actually experienced this myself. Not to MCO but to Vegas. My wife, sister, mother and I were going to Vegas from ABQ last year. When we looked at flights, it was $99 each way. My mother or sister don't have a credit card, so they gave me the money to book their flights. Anyways, I went to book all our flights together. When I went to book our flights and put 4 travelers. The price jumped up to $119 per person, each way. I changed the search to 2 travelers and the price went back down to $99 per person, each way. I booked DW's and my flight at the $99 rate. Once I was done, I entered the exact same information and was able to get the $99 rate for my mother and sister.

So like you, I had 2 different itineraries for the same flight. Why SW does it this way is beyond me. I know people say it's because they have run out of seats for that price range, but it's odd that I can make 2 separate bookings and still get the lower rate. And for the record, its not the first time I've had to do it this way.

But back to the original topic, SW has gotten to be rather high on their prices. Looking at prices for a trip to WDW for December. If what they are now is any indicator of what they will be for December, we may land up flying a different airline. I've seen better deals on Delta and United, and that's with baggage fees included.

This has happened to me too. I had a family of 5 one year and when I attempted to book all of us at once the price was higher. I know some of the other posters point out that only certain seats are available and once they are gone they are gone. But in my experience, I can say that is not always the case. I could argue and give examples all day but who wants to hear that. Just know that it's not ALWAYS about inventory. I think it is also about opportunity to offer discounts to more than one person at a time. Hence, buy a couple of seats at a low rate. Go back in and buy a couple more. It has happened to me so I can confirm that is not always about inventory. It's inconvenient to have more than one booking, but in my opinion, $80 saved would make it worth it to me.

 

[TamaraQT]

Well the question was, "What is with Southwest"?? I can honestly say, I just don't know why I can't get over the fact that the really low fare days are long gone!!! This year my trip is from 7/18 to 7/28 from PHL. I bought tickets to MCO on Southwest for $135 each = $539. Yes, I paid for EBCI @ $10 x4 = $40....so all together from PHL to MCO on Southwest was a WHOPPING $579!! So I figured I would get the same price coming back....NOPE!! Flight coming back is $193 x 4 $772 + 40(EBCI) = $812!!!!

But alas, there was still hope. There was an 11:45am flight from MCO to PHL for $118 that I have been watching for the last couple of weeks. Well today I signed on and saw there were only 5 seats left at that price!! So I swallowed my pride and booked 4 seats.....total = $472 + $38(seats 2 priority seating ($26) + 2 regular($12) + $60bags.....grand total $570!! That is $242 less than southwest and my seats are assigned. I am happy and I am glad the waiting and wondering is over for me. Now AirTran is showing $135! I am happy. The flight is starting to look full based on seats already purchased. People waiting til the 24 hour mark to checkin and get their seats may be disappointed with the selection the closer we get. Good luck to all of you who are still watching. I hope you all get rates that are affordable for you. Good Luck!!

BTW....before submitting this post I checked fares again for accuracy....looks like my PHL to MCO thru southwest has gone up from $135 to $159!! I have a feeling they may drop again as we get closer if the plane doesn't sell out. However, I am glad the waiting and wondering game is over for me!!! Good Luck to all !!!

 

[2dogmom]

OP - I'm another Midway flyer and remember those awesome Dings. Now that I will be a family of 5 when we get married in June in Disney, we are resorting to driving to save money. Hopefully the kids and I survive!