When to book for June

[ChiDisneyFan]

Taking a late June flight and coming back early July, when should I book with Southwest? They recently opened the rest of June schedule and prices have gone up since last week, plus some early flights say "sold out" already? This is hard to believe, should I wait and do they flucuate over time?

 

[ain0004]

I am waiting for a better airfare for June..I am rolling the dice and taking a chance. Rule of thumb if you are worried buy it now. If you are willing to take a chance I would wait. Bottom line when you are comfortable with the price buy…..and don't look back.

 

[TCups4Me]

Having the same dilemma. Fares for our local airport dropped significantly today for dates up to June 11. ($146 one way) After June 11 they go up by the hundreds. We haven't locked in our hotel yet so I'm wondering if I should wait until July's fares come out on January 27.

I also find it odd that so many fares are already Sold Out or Unavailable. Is it a gimmick and will these fares also drop in the future?

We are loyal Southwest customers and use our Rewards points so we won't fly any other airline.

 

[suemom2kay]

I don't know the market in your area but Southwest and Jetblue are VERY popular out of Philly, Newark, JFK in the NY metro area. I only ever see fares going up up up. I would book now and watch for the fare to go down (which happens more on SW than on JetBlue as far as I know). Then you can get them to give you a credit for the difference. Or on Southwest you can re-book if another flight is cheaper.

 

[sam_gordon]

Have you checked other airlines? Southwest isn't always the cheapest, even including the "free" bags.

Book when you're comfortable with the price. There is no magic number. We are also looking at a trip in June. Last night, the "perfect" flight prices were $242pp with Delta. I just looked this morning and they're now $341pp. I wish I would have booked last night. I'm trying to hold out until Tuesday since that's supposed to be the "best day" to book. But if I see them drop back to $242, you better believe I'm going to snag them up.

If you do book with Southwest, feel free to look back since you can get credit for price drops. But know this... the credit goes to the name on the ticket, NOT who purchased it, and the credit must be used within 1 year from the original booking.

 

[MommyJack]

One trick is to look at the fares for just one person instead of your whole party. I just booked with SW for 5 people in April. When I looked for my whole party the fare was $12.00 more. I called SW and they told me they had one seat available at the lower price. I booked two separate reservations. Not much of a savings, but it's something. The only drawback is we are going to have different boarding numbers when it comes time to get on the plane.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

For summer travel it's unlikely the prices will drop from where they are now. I wouldn't wait to book, especially if you are flying Southwest.

 

[supergoofy]

We are going in August and waiting for daughters BFF parents to reply if she is going. Anyhow as soon as we know I am booking. If I knew now I would be already booked.

Problem we have is we are a party of 6 with 4 minors so the likelihood of a last minute flight is pretty remote in my mind.

 

[taitai]

4th of July is a very busy travel time. I wouldn't wait. It is unlikely fares will come down.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I booked our mid-June return flight the day the fares were released. $151 one way, up from $100 in June 2013.

Now there are only 8 flights with "Wanna Get Away" fares still available and they START at $295 each. I have never seen anything like it.

 

[sam_gordon]

I booked our mid-June return flight the day the fares were released. $151 one way, up from $100 in June 2013.

Now there are only 8 flights with "Wanna Get Away" fares still available and they START at $295 each. I have never seen anything like it.

For YEARS we've always booked our flights ~10 1/2 months out. Maybe not as soon as they were released but generally within 2 weeks. That's ALWAYS been the cheapest.

This year we just decided this month to travel in June. To get "cheap" flights, now we have to drive 90 minutes to a different airport, and get an extra nights hotel (and use an extra vacation day). If we didn't do both of those, we'd have to spend $500+. I think I'm going back to booking when flights come out.