What's happening with SWA?

[hsmamato2]

Any idea what's going on with Southwest,why all the hubbub the first day they release fares now? Are they cutting flights,or what is happening to create flights either selling out or selling out of the lowest fares so fast? Are there simply less wanna get away fares now? I'm confused,I don't recall ever feeling stressed about getting a flight this much

 

[Bete]

I don't have your answer, but I'm panicked for a friend who is meeting us in Orlando late November. I sent her an e-mail this morning about the best deal for her day and then I looked this afternoon on Southwest again and the price went up already. Now, I called her and she's getting ready for another trip this weekend and it doesn't sound like she wants to deal with this until she gets back next week. She believes Southwest will add flights if they get sold out on a day; since, it's early for the end of year flights to get sold out.

I hope she's right.

 

[supersnoop]

Any idea what's going on with Southwest,why all the hubbub the first day they release fares now? Are they cutting flights,or what is happening to create flights either selling out or selling out of the lowest fares so fast? Are there simply less wanna get away fares now? I'm confused,I don't recall ever feeling stressed about getting a flight this much

People here plan their Disney trips anywhere from six to 18 months in advance, maybe even further. Airfare is often the last item to book, and the price can be unpredictable. If the prices are too high, some folks might not be able to afford their trip. I think people just want to get it over with and stop stressing about their vacation budget.

 

[Shanti]

I've found the opening day prices to be the most expensive with SWA, and have had no problem booking decent-rate and sometimes very low-rate flights 2 - 3 months from our travel dates.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

A few years ago I had this happen. I waited 6-8 weeks while deciding if we could realistically afford the higher priced tickets. One day I went to check the prices (I was checking every Tuesday and Wednesday) and discovered more "wanna get away" fares had been added! Now, this was several years ago, and it was late August. However, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for something similar with tickets for Thanksgiving. Right now is $896 per person (round trip), which is significantly higher than the amount we were budgeting for TG airfare. I'm going to wait a while and see what happens. I am totally stressing about it, though. This pretty much ruined my day. Ugh.

 

[chiisai]

The flight option both leaving and returning were not good for us, and there was only that one each day. It seemed odd, given schools will be out and it is prime travel time for the departing airport.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I've found the opening day prices to be the most expensive with SWA, and have had no problem booking decent-rate and sometimes very low-rate flights 3 months from our travel dates.

That def. wasn't the case for us. We booked release day for our September trip.

Our flight going down was $186 and the flight going home was also $186. The flight going home within a week or so went to over $208 then to $242 then back down to $208 then during a sale the flight going down went to $139 and the flight coming home went to $159 (we rebooked for the lower prices too) then it raised back up to $186 for flight going down and coming back up to $208. Flight going down is currently $159 while the flight coming back home is back at $208. Currently there is a SWA going on.

 

[alliecat523]

The fares change all the time. Just keep checking. I got a great deal a month ago for a last minute trip on Menorial Day weekend.

 

[Roxyfire]

I've found that if I don't buy the flights I need, they will get sold out. My son travels several times per year as unaccompanied minor so he can only be on direct or non-stop flights, which can be limited and obviously more popular. Sometimes there's only one per day as he's traveling to a smaller city. The prices will fluctuate but only if you're lucky enough to catch it. Also, the time right before and after christmas is such a popular travel time as many know, so those few flights become expensive and booked up very fast.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

I've found the opening day prices to be the most expensive with SWA, and have had no problem booking decent-rate and sometimes very low-rate flights 3 months from our travel dates.

That def. wasn't the case for us. We booked release day for our September trip.

Our flight going down was $186 and the flight going home was also $186. The flight going home within a week or so went to over $208 then to $242 then back down to $208 then during a sale the flight going down went to $139 and the flight coming home went to $159 (we rebooked for the lower prices too) then it raised back up to $186 for flight going down and coming back up to $208. Flight going down is currently $159 while the flight coming back home is back at $208. Currently there is a SWA going on.

The thing to remember is that there is no truly global strategy in play here. The pricing patterns are dependent on the city pairings, time of year, holidays, events in those cities on those dates, booking volume after release, promotions (both announced and hidden), and a whole bunch of other factors. People try to post anecdotal evidence as gospel and it's just not applicable to somebody with even one difference in those variables. I'm very well versed in how Southwest prices flights to Orlando from Pittsburgh in Jan/Feb and Oct/Nov (see my signature) but that knowledge means nothing to somebody traveling from Chicago to Orlando in July. Heck my knowledge probably means nothing to somebody traveling from Pittsburgh to Orlando in March (just the difference of one month).

That being said - In tracking hundreds of Southwest flights (and watching them daily from release to my travel date) I'd say they are typically cheapest about 6-8 weeks ahead of the flight. This evidence is based on leisure and business travel over the last decade. BUT based on my earlier statement...that comment MEANS NOTHING because if your situation is different than mine your outcome will also be entirely different, lol!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I've found the opening day prices to be the most expensive with SWA

That def. wasn't the case for us.

I've had it happen both ways. There have been times I've booked on opening day and the fares rose and stayed high. Other times, I've booked on opening day and the fares dropped a month or two later.

I agree with @SouthFayetteFan that there are a number of factors at play. The only times I've seen flights with the Wanna Get Away fares sold out shortly after release, or flights completely sold out far ahead of time, is when traveling during peak times, i.e. holidays or spring break times.

 

[Shanti]

Agree that it might vary by city. However, I've seen the same trend that I described flying SWA to and from different cities. I also travel during different times of year, prime summer season, major holidays, & off-season, & have seen the same trend.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

The flight option both leaving and returning were not good for us, and there was only that one each day. It seemed odd, given schools will be out and it is prime travel time for the departing airport.

Airlines can't just "add a flight" on Thanksgiving weekend. It's really more difficult then that. Most airlines run their fleet pretty much at full utilization so adding a flight when school is out means taking it off another route (where school is also out) and negotiating with the airports for landing slots, adjusting gates etc..

So if they have decided that for 90% of the year your airport only needs one flight a day based on sales etc.. then that's it. The fact that occasionally they could sell out lots of flights probably won't change things.

About the only time I have heard of adding flights due to demand are for things like the Superbowl. Delta added flights from Atlanta this year when the local team made the Superbowl

 

[focusondisney]

I've had it happen both ways. There have been times I've booked on opening day and the fares rose and stayed high. Other times, I've booked on opening day and the fares dropped a month or two later.

I agree with @SouthFayetteFan that there are a number of factors at play. The only times I've seen flights with the Wanna Get Away fares sold out shortly after release, or flights completely sold out far ahead of time, is when traveling during peak times, i.e. holidays or spring break times.

Have to disagree about the sold out fares. We traveled to Orlando last week. I didn't buy the airfare on opening day because the prices weren't the best. So I decided to try waiting for the price to drop. Over the next few weeks, the price rose from about 130 to 200, 250 & up to 290! It went back & forth a few times & then, all of a sudden, the WGA fares were sold out! Not just for one flight, but for several flights that day. They stayed that way for weeks. It wasn't just my city, either. The WGA fares for Saturday returns form Orlando showed as sold out for almost all cities for weeks. I know for sure because I checked random cities for most Saturdays for a few weeks around my travel dates. I even posted about it here. This was 2 weeks after Easter, & also after spring breaks, so not heavy travel times.

After several weeks of sold out fares, all of a sudden, they all popped back up. The prices at that time were about what they were on opening day. I had actually gotten nervous with the waiting & the price increases, so I bought at the absolutely worst time, when they were at 290! I rebooked when the WGA popped back up at 130. And rebooked again when they went down to 79!!!

So now I have over $200 in credits for our next trip. Unfortunately, I was at work from 7am yesterday & couldn't book at opening. Our return trip has gone from 119 at opening to over 300 again! Now I start the waiting game all over again.

 

[NotUrsula]

The reason that this particular purchase availability extension caused so much excitement is that it opened up purchase for the Xmas holiday flights. Peak Holiday or major event fares (Super Bowl, Nascar events, etc.) are pretty much the only ones that are advantageous to purchase on the day of opening, everything else is best purchased 6-8 weeks out from the travel date.

PS: Most of the time for peak travel dates, airlines cannot add extra flights, but what they WILL often do is shift their largest aircraft to those routes. As SWA flies only 737's, they have three options. Depending on the model, planes in their fleet carry either 135, 143, or 175 passengers. (They only have a few that will seat 175 at present, but that will change by the holiday season; they are scheduled to take delivery of eight new 737-800 Max 8 aircraft in November.)

 

[Donna M]

We have traveled from Boston to Orlando during school vacations, either Feb. or April for over 10 years, and not once have the fares gone lower than on opening day, not once.

As has been mentioned before, if you see a fare that looks good and you are traveling during a busy time, book it.

 

[Kaytie]

She believes Southwest will add flights if they get sold out on a day; since, it's early for the end of year flights to get sold out.

Did she say where she thinks Southwest is hiding the extra planes?

 

[Minnesota!]

I have found, from MSP, opening day is not the cheapest. Going by poitna, I bought our upcoming tickets at 7400 each way. That was about two months ago. They went up to 12k, down to 9k, and now are.down to 5400.