Southwest question

We're cruising on April 23, 2017 and we want to fly down the day before. I'm keeping my eye on airfare but I'm really waiting for Southwest to release their booking availability for the end of April. I can currently book my flight there, one way, but my return on the 28th isn't available yet.

Do you think I should book my flight down right now (it's pretty cheap) or do you think it will be cheaper to just wait and book it round trip when they release the April 28th date? I worry if I wait then the price will go up? Anyone have any advice or experience? Thank you!

Nobody can tell you where fares are going to be or whether you'll get the best deal by buying now or later.

If it's "pretty cheap" why are you bothering to hang around for something that might not materialize, and then you're almost certainly not going get the fares you're seeing today.

I realize that nobody can tell me what's going to happen in the future. I was simply wondering if anyone had any experience in such a situation.

It doesn't matter anyway now...prices for the one way flight went way up since the last time I checked them. I'm going to wait until southwest releases dates and then see what airline offers the best deal. I just like southwest because they are so easy (no baggage fees, easy check in, etc.).

Keep watching SW. Anytime you see a fare you like buy it. Rates for round trips on SW are never cheaper than booking 2 one ways. So if you see something good get it and book the return after they open the new booking window. I always book 1 ways on SW instead of rt's. Then if one fare goes down you can rebook at the lower fare and use the credit when you book the return leg!

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Keep watching SW. Anytime you see a fare you like buy it. Rates for round trips on SW are never cheaper than booking 2 one ways. So if you see something good get it and book the return after they open the new booking window. I always book 1 ways on SW instead of rt's. Then if one fare goes down you can rebook at the lower fare and use the credit when you book the return leg!

Thank you! This is exactly the kind of first hand experience I was looking for:)

We also do one ways all the time on SW. Normally saves up to $100 each way over RT

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As far as I know, you can book the flight on Southwest, and call and have them change it if the price goes down. We booked flights to Florida for November cruise as soon as Southwest had posted their schedule for November. Then we decided to change to fly out of a different airport as it was nonstop down & back. So we called and they refunded difference to our Southwest account. Later, prices went down and we called again - another refund of the difference.

From Southwest website: *If you change to a cheaper Wanna Get Away ticket, the leftover money on the ticket will remain in your name as a travel fund you can apply to a future ticket (just be sure to note the expiration date!).

Hope this helps!

I'm going to wait until southwest releases dates and then see what airline offers the best deal. I just like southwest because they are so easy (no baggage fees, easy check in, etc.).

But that's the Southwest trap. They bank on people waiting it out and meanwhile all the cheaper stuff on the legacy carriers gets gobbled up.

I don't get the love affair many on CC have with Southwest. I honestly wouldn't fly them it was free.

I can currently book my flight there, one way, but my return on the 28th isn't available yet.

 

Do you think I should book my flight down right now

I know that you said that this fare is no longer available, but the answer to your question hinges on how likely you are to use Southwest in the future. If it is very likely, you should go ahead and book the one-way fare down and then wait for the return fares to open up. Since there is no fee to cancel a flight, you can always do so if necessary and bank the money for some other future flight on Southwest as long as you remember your Confirmation Number and do so within 1 year of your initial booking. Really can't do this on any other airline.

Thanks for the advice and shared experience everyone! I ended up seeing a great deal ($103 pp) for one way on Southwest, with perfect flight times, out of Hartford CT instead of Boston. So I scooped it up and I'll wait to see what they have for the return flight when they are released. If Southwest doesn't have anything that works for us then I've already looked and can see that a couple other airlines have flights that work and are priced reasonably good.

Check Jet Blue. We have found cheaper flights for April with them. :)

Check Jet Blue.

JetBlue is a great airline that I have used many times. But the answer still hinges on uncertainty and future use of Southwest Airlines. In the past it was possible to make changes for no additional fees, but, note that jetBlue now charges between $70 and $135 for such a privilege.

But that's the Southwest trap. They bank on people waiting it out and meanwhile all the cheaper stuff on the legacy carriers gets gobbled up.

 

I don't get the love affair many on CC have with Southwest. I honestly wouldn't fly them it was free.

My love affair with SW is they get you AND your luggage where they say they will when they are supposed to. Add to that low fares, no charge to check bags and no fees to change flights or rebook at lower fares and it makes them my preferred airline. It is always a sad day when I am flying someplace in the US they don't serve and have to book on a legacy carrier. Different strokes for different folks!

My love affair with SW is they get you AND your luggage where they say they will when they are supposed to. Add to that low fares, no charge to check bags and no fees to change flights or rebook at lower fares and it makes them my preferred airline. It is always a sad day when I am flying someplace in the US they don't serve and have to book on a legacy carrier. Different strokes for different folks!

I like Southwest myself and use them from time to time out of DTW or FNT but don't kid yourself. We've had two occasions where our baggage didn't make it home with us (most recently last October)and took almost two weeks to get back and, my husband, due to a cancelled flight and no codesharing, once had to stay overnight in Nashville where he was changing planes.

My love affair with SW is they get you AND your luggage where they say they will when they are supposed to. Add to that low fares, no charge to check bags and no fees to change flights or rebook at lower fares and it makes them my preferred airline. It is always a sad day when I am flying someplace in the US they don't serve and have to book on a legacy carrier. Different strokes for different folks!

I agree 100%! Having said that, we only book one-way flights now; we have three with Delta; four with American; and four with Southwest. Some times I will jump on a good fare with the legacy airlines, but many times they will disappoint with their schedule changes. American offers a new fare category that includes bags at a reasonable cost.

My wife and I both have the Southwest Visa Card and about 1/2 of our flights are for free. What's not to like about WN?

If they were to release their flights 12 months in advance, I would only fly Southwest. Free bags, point to point service, happy crews, no change fees, and more non-stop flights from our home town.

I know the people with a bunch of miles with their favorite legacy line will disagree, as first class upgrades are very nice, but for the average non-business traveler, Southwest rules.

Over seas, I like British Air because of their early morning flights out of JFK. To Hawaii, I like Alaska Air.

Enjoy!

Kel:)

My love affair with SW is they get you AND your luggage where they say they will when they are supposed to. Add to that low fares,

Southwest has delays and cancellations, just like any other airline. As for low fares, much depends on your itinerary, departure airport etc. I often find them to be more expensive. than other options.

What's not to like about WN?

Any number of things, depending on what's important to you.

1. No first class cabin

2. No transoceanic flights

3. No alliance partners or code share partners

4. No airport lounges

5. No ability to select seats in advance

6. Depending on your home airport, lack of flights and/or inconvenient routing options

7. Delayed release of flights for sale makes it difficult to compare apples to apples when comparison shopping with other airlines

JetBlue is a great airline that I have used many times. But the answer still hinges on uncertainty and future use of Southwest Airlines. In the past it was possible to make changes for no additional fees, but, note that jetBlue now charges between $70 and $135 for such a privilege.

I did not think you could even do that with JB?

Our flights will be April 1st and the 9th, flying in from Albany, NY

We will be booking with JB knowing we can not cancel or change. They are direct flights also.

Southwest is just to much this time.

Southwest has delays and cancellations, just like any other airline.

Picking a month at random for 2016, here is the baggage info

Southwest ranked 9th in terms of mishandled baggage, only ahead of American, Skywest and Expressjet.

For delays, they were 8th. For cancellations, 6th.

More of the Canyone Blue Kool-Aid drunk by those who think that Southwest is the paragon for operations and luggage. Read the stats yourself, courtesy of the Dept of Transportation. Easily found through Google.

Picking a month at random for 2016, here is the baggage info

 

Southwest ranked 9th in terms of mishandled baggage, only ahead of American, Skywest and Expressjet.

 

For delays, they were 8th. For cancellations, 6th.

 

More of the Canyone Blue Kool-Aid drunk by those who think that Southwest is the paragon for operations and luggage. Read the stats yourself, courtesy of the Dept of Transportation. Easily found through Google.

Good Points FT,

However, once WN sets their schedule, it almost never changes. Most flight delays occur late in the day or early evening. Morning flights are on time with most airlines. Never lost a bag on any airline -- once late delivery of our bags in Puerto Vallarta with Continental (now United). Over 200 flights with WN with no problems. (a few late and a few early)

2015:

The Most Complaints per 100,000 Passengers

Frontier 3.91

United 2.71

American 2.12

Envoy 1.59

JetBlue 1.17

Virgin America 1.14

ExpressJet 1.01

Hawaiian 0.89

SkyWest 0.84

Delta 0.72

Southwest 0.53

Alaska 0.42

http://blog.credit.com/2015/04/the-airlines-with-the-most-passenger-complaints-114201/

Enjoy!

Kel:)

Passenger complaints are different than actual baggage incidents, delayed flights or cancellations. That only counts the people who bother to write and complain to the US Department of Transportation.

One might speculate on the sophistication levels of airline passengers - who would actually know to complain to the DoT would be one consideration.

I did not think you could even do that with JB?

We will be booking with JB knowing we can not cancel or change.

But you CAN make changes on jetBlue. Their website makes it very difficult to find out what the fees are. But if you just Google it, you can find their complicated fee structure at http://help.jetblue.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/webisapi.dll?New,Kb=askBlue,case=obj(404766))

Any number of things, depending on what's important to you.

 

2. No transoceanic flights

6. Depending on your home airport, lack of flights and/or inconvenient routing options

7. Delayed release of flights for sale makes it difficult to compare apples to apples when comparison shopping with other airlines

2. Well, Southwest does now fly to San Juan and other Caribbean destinations. Is that considered "transoceanic"?

6. The only airline that flies nonstop between Providence and Baltimore is Southwest. Use Expedia or Orbitz and see how they provides only flights that stop along the way.

7. It really isn't "delayed release", but rather it is that they don't share their fare information with other sites. At least with Kayak, you will get a notification that Southwest flights may be available.

2. Well, Southwest does now fly to San Juan and other Caribbean destinations. Is that considered "transoceanic"?

 

6. The only airline that flies nonstop between Providence and Baltimore is Southwest. Use Expedia or Orbitz and see how they provides only flights that stop along the way.

 

7. It really isn't "delayed release", but rather it is that they don't share their fare information with other sites. At least with Kayak, you will get a notification that Southwest flights may be available.

2. No, I would not call flights to the Caribbean "transoceanic." Transoceanic flights are flights that go, for example, for N. American to Europe, or N. America to Asia. I probably should have just said "trasncontinental" because flights to the Caribbean definitely don't fall into that category, as the islands are considered part of North America, and to my knowledge Southwest also does not fly to S. America although I'm not 100% certain about that. For international business travelers though, it's flights to Europe and Asia that are usually key.

6. Great.... if you happen to be one of the few air travelers needing to go from Providence to Baltimore, LOL. As for the rest of the comment, regarding flights that only stop along the way, I'm guessing you are referring to Southwest's many "direct" flights on which you can board in one city and make one or more stops without changing planes before arriving at your selected destination? Again, if you happen to be traveling on one of those routes, ok fine, but to me it's not much better than a regular connection, timewise.

7. And it most certainly is delayed release. The legacy airlines open their schedules 330 days out, or about 11 months ahead. Southwest only opens theirs something like 6 months ahead. I call that a delayed release.

8. You actually mentioned another reason not to like Southwest that I hadn't listed, and it's the fact that if you are trying to do an easy comparison of flight options and prices via Expedia or similar, you won't see any Southwest data. (completely different from #7 above)

:)