Wow! has anyone else noticed SW fares are high?

[eliza61]

I used to check SW first for flights from Philly to Orlando, they had consistently been the lowest fare. This year they are significantly higher?
Has anyone else noticed this?

I'm going the end of August and while SW hasn't released it's later dates I used the begining of August as a dummy date just to get a feel for prices and they are $500 bucks higher than Spirit and 300 bucks higher than United.

 

[toywaltz]

They are higher all over the board but don't forget to add in bag fees and any other charges before finishing the comparo. I've found in the past their prices have dipped about two months out but there's no guarantee of that. We're paying about $300 more RT this time than last from CMH to MCO. It's about $50 more than Airtran...but no bag fees. I prefer SW and will pay extra in many cases but $300 more than United seems crazy. Are they similar time flights? Usually that can make a big difference if one's early/late and the other is prime-time.

 

[jmhazlett]

All the airlines are raising prices now with the price of oil going up. They may go down later on but I would not count on it. Factor in the baggage fees and the other costs before making a choice.

 

[popriv]

I've always flow SW but this trip is Jet blue going down and AirTran coming home. $15 per bag on air tran but still cheaper and better flight time.

SW tickets are about $80-$90 more each ticket..than last time I flew them.

So I saved about $200 even with bag fees...

Very disappointed as I prefer SW no charge to change flights...

But $$$ rule!


pop

 

[Dacky619]

Yeah, after flying SW exclusively for the last 3 years, for our trip coming up this summer we're going back to Airtran. Even with bag fees and paying for seats we are saving about 150 bucks roundtrip.

 

[LisaS]

We fly SWA out of MHT (Manchester, NH) usually on Saturday or Sunday. Not only have prices gone up but they have eliminated most of the convenient non-stop flights between MHT and MCO. The few that are left are priced very high.

We switched our trip from Sat-Sat to Wed-Wed since the only cheap flights were mid week.

 

[Alexander]

I have never found SWA flights to be cheaper for us. We often fly Airtran, but JetBlue, and Delta also can also always beat SWA.

 

[goofy4tink]

I realize that many choose their flights based on price..and I completely understand that. BUT...there are intangibles. I trust SW to not make changes to it's flights once they are listed. Happens very, very seldom. The other airlines don't even think twice about making changes. JB once changed a flight while dh was enroute to the airport. He checked it, it was fine and he left for the airport. 40 mins later, standing at the checkin counter he found that the flight had been cancelled!! Good thing he was early and they could rush him to the gate so he could make his connection in NY!!

To me, it's worth a few addtl dollars to have peace of mind. I hate having to worry about flight changes...drives me nuts.

 

[toywaltz]

Airtran is usually cheaper but I'm not fan of packing my kids on them. I fly them fairly often if it's just me and I usually upgrade to biz-class if possible. Delta only flies their regional connections from here...less experienced flight crews running maxed out schedules on cramped regional jets. I'll pay more for SW. Next trip we having coming up was about $200 more than Airtran (counting the bags and reserved seats, etc.). Not a big deal to me and I'll take the more comfy seats and better service.

 

[bookwormde]

They will come down by may or june but will still be well above last year (that is why we are driving this year.

bookwormde

 

[emmabelle]

I still don't have my flights home for the first week of June because they are $133 one way and I keep hoping for a deal...

 

[The 4 "Quay"balleros]

I live by Atlantic City and like to use ACY, but I always price out SW and others out of Philly. SW has always been higher than Spirit(even with all the silly fees they charge) for when I need to fly. Hopefully now that SW has bought Airtran we will get SW at ACY and I can try them.

 

[Abbie]

I'm finding the same thing. I've purchased seats for the flight down because I was anxious to use up a credit we had on Southwest. But the flight home has jumped a great deal so I'm playing the waiting and hoping game for our June trip!

I've never done this before, but is there any reason we couldn't use a different carrier going home? This is for a group of four young adults and I won't be there...is there any issue with ME and using different carriers for the flights?? Will they have any issues?

 

[BenandMorgsMom]

Good Morning! I couldn't agree more with all posts. We are going back down for the first week of April. I look at airfare multiple times during the day. At one point the fares started at 129 and are now up to 174 here in the PVD market. In Nov we ended up splitting SW down, Delta back with baggage fee and saved 400 dollars. This trip I will be going with Delta down to save 150 dollars and get an assigned seat. Coming back there are so many other cheaper choices other than SW...but I haven't decided yet. So sad. We used to only fly SW.

 

[Braden's Momma]

I booked a flight through Southwest for $99 per person 1 way for our trip in early may. However, I have yet to book our departure date prices are still high.

 

[kda]

Check now. SWA has lowered fares from BDL to MCO since this AM for certain dates, so other cities may be included. I hadn't booked yet because the mid-day non-stop was $159 one way. I just booked it for $89 one way.

 

[MarieS]

Yes! The flight home I was looking at just went up $100 this week. Wish I could have booked sooner!

 

[johnnyr]

I used to check SW first for flights from Philly to Orlando, they had consistently been the lowest fare. This year they are significantly higher?

I always found SW to be higher. It's a marketing game they play. They say they are not charging you for bags and recently they announced there is no fee for a reservation change. Somewhere in those high SW fare prices you are in fact paying for those services. I am usually able to beat SW fares by booking with other airlines out of Philly and paying the baggage fees. I have not flown SW out of Philly for some time now because of the higher fares they charge.

 

[byejou]

I guess we have just been really lucky with SW. Not only r they great with customer service but also with my two sons who can be a handful and we always get good seats together.

I will say that prices have increased since our first trip with them in 2005. I believe the days of $49 fares are gone but I will admit, I have never paid more than $89. We always fly out of Philly and are always lucky to get nonstop.

With that, I have learned on the boards to book flights one-way, in case of price drops. We did this for our April trip. To MCO, $89 pp and just this morning the return flight drop $190 to $75, you know I booked it right away. So that is about $160 pp RT. In my eyes, not too bad. We did price out a drive down and with gas going up, tolls, hotels, food, & parking, we are still making out better flying.

You have to keep watching the prices a few times daily and you just may see a drop. Jump on it if it works for your family!!!!!!!!

 

[GEB@okw]

I used to check SW first for flights from Philly to Orlando, they had consistently been the lowest fare. This year they are significantly higher?
Has anyone else noticed this?

I'm going the end of August and while SW hasn't released it's later dates I used the begining of August as a dummy date just to get a feel for prices and they are $500 bucks higher than Spirit and 300 bucks higher than United.

SW is always higher, but your bags fly free. Buy your ticket for yourself on Delta, it's a much better airline and send your bags for free on Southwest. You say that can not be done? OK, that means the ad on TV for SW "Bags fly free" is nothing short of a sham.