Southwest airline - When will it begin in Charleston, SC

[seafare]

Southwest will begin flying from Charleston, Sc somethime in 2011. But when? I have called customer service to no avail to try to find out start date. Here is the problem, have a Alaska cruise booked June 2011 leaving out of Vancouver and all of the fares on the other airlines are very high. I would like to wait for Southwest if I can find out if they will be flying in June. What to do, what to do that is the ?

 

Anyone out there have any info. Thanks for your help.

 

Jill

[greatam]

Southwest will begin flying from Charleston, Sc somethime in 2011. But when? I have called customer service to no avail to try to find out start date. Here is the problem, have a Alaska cruise booked June 2011 leaving out of Vancouver and all of the fares on the other airlines are very high. I would like to wait for Southwest if I can find out if they will be flying in June. What to do, what to do that is the ?

 

Anyone out there have any info. Thanks for your help.

 

Jill

 

Southwest doesn't fly to Vancouver. You would have to fly to Seattle, then find transport to Vancouver.

 

I can see all kinds of fares on other airlines RT into Seattle bookable NOW for about $400RT. Vancouver fares are generally $125-200 MORE than Seattle. With two people flying, you can usually fly into Seattle, spend the night at a decent hotel, take Amtrak up to Vancouver for the cruise (fantastic trip on the train) and still save money.

[waterbug123]

Southwest will begin flying from Charleston, Sc somethime in 2011. But when? I have called customer service to no avail to try to find out start date. Here is the problem, have a Alaska cruise booked June 2011 leaving out of Vancouver and all of the fares on the other airlines are very high. I would like to wait for Southwest if I can find out if they will be flying in June. What to do, what to do that is the ?

 

Anyone out there have any info. Thanks for your help.

 

Jill

 

I agree, it would be nice if they would at least announce the date on which they will announce CHS routes. I would imagine they will start service in time to take advantage of the summer tourist season, but that's just speculation.

[Eemrald]

Rumor is it will be Spring of 2011. Southwest's Spring 2011 schedule is set to be released October 5th.

[seafare]

Rumor is it will be Spring of 2011. Southwest's Spring 2011 schedule is set to be released October 5th.

 

 

Thank you Meg and Eemrald, I shall hold tight for a possible Oct. release of schedule. I will go to Seattle and then find our way to Vancouver if need be.

 

Jill

[seafare]

Southwest doesn't fly to Vancouver. You would have to fly to Seattle, then find transport to Vancouver.

 

I can see all kinds of fares on other airlines RT into Seattle bookable NOW for about $400RT. Vancouver fares are generally $125-200 MORE than Seattle. With two people flying, you can usually fly into Seattle, spend the night at a decent hotel, take Amtrak up to Vancouver for the cruise (fantastic trip on the train) and still save money.

 

 

Greatam,

 

I wish we could fly roundtrip, but our cruise ends in Anchorage so we will be flying back from there. Never easy is it? Just will have to do more "figuring it out".

 

Thanks

 

Jill

[Justthe2ofUScruisin]

IN 2011 Southwest will be flying out of GSP(greenville spartanburg) I heard charleston didn't get it......or did they agree to both airports?

[seafare]

IN 2011 Southwest will be flying out of GSP(greenville spartanburg) I heard charleston didn't get it......or did they agree to both airports?

 

 

Both airports will be flying. :D

[waterbug123]

I agree, it would be nice if they would at least announce the date on which they will announce CHS routes. I would imagine they will start service in time to take advantage of the summer tourist season, but that's just speculation.

 

Quoting myself here...

 

Coincidentally, after posting the above reply, I read today's (Charleston) Post & Courier, and it included an article saying that while Southwest still hasn't been any more specific than to say service in/out of CHS will start sometime in the spring of 2011, they will announce in "late fall" which cities Southwest will connect with CHS. Based on the article, the speculation is that Chicago and Baltimore top the list.

(page 3D in the Business Review section; didn't check to see if it was also included in the online version at Charleston.net.)

[greatam]

Greatam,

 

I wish we could fly roundtrip, but our cruise ends in Anchorage so we will be flying back from there. Never easy is it? Just will have to do more "figuring it out".

 

Thanks

 

Jill

 

I must have missed something. WN flies neither to/from Anchorage or Vancouver but you are waiting for WN to reveal when they start flying out of CHS???

 

Don't know what dates you are flying, but I can see tickets bookable RIGHT NOW on AA/Delta and United for right about $500-CHS to SEA, then ANC to CHS for most of the month of June. CHS to YVR, return ANC to CHS is $600 on AA for most of June. Most of the other airlines flying into Vancouver are another $100 higher.

 

A one way ticket from ANC to SEA averages $250-300 for most of the summer. And I would seriously doubt you will find a RT fare to/from Seattle for much less than $350-400, even on WN. So you will spend as much, if not more buying two tickets, rather than just booking a $500 ticket right now which covers your entire trip.

 

What did I miss???

[FlyerTalker]

What did I miss???

Nothing....just a WN fan who wants to fly them to SEA, then worry about the rest of the trip later.

 

Or maybe worse, someone who hasn't been a WN pax but bought into the "buy Southwest to be cheapest" mantra.

 

To the OP: Book the AA r/t. By the time WN releases seats CHS-SEA, the other components of the trip will have risen in price to make it an overall loser. Or take DL.

 

Remember this fact of cruise related air. There will be several thousand people who need to get to/from cities when a cruise starts/ends. All of them will want to get the best pricing, and the most convenient timing. You are just one of them, but the combined effect is to distort demand curves, and thus distort the cost to the consumer. And from Econ 101 -- when demand increases and supply remains fixed, the result is higher prices.

 

Of course, if you really want to fly WN from CHS, feel free to do so without regard for anything we say.

[Sargent_Schultz]

You can fly on SWA from FLL to SEA for about $325 - maybe less - don't know that they would charge any more from Charleston AND bags fly free.! Luggage on other airlines could easily top $100. Plus you have the flexibility to change your plans and plane reservations on SWA for FREE.

 

AA might be on strike anytime over the next year or so - they have all kinds of labor issues. And they would certainly hit you with a change fee.

 

Looks like Delta will hit you with a $250 change fee, if Vancouver is one of your airports.

 

It is pretty much guaranteed that if you book this far out on AA or Delta, they will change at least one of your flights and maybe more than once.

[kenish]

Schultz- You are doing the OP a huge disservice because Southwest is not useful for their travel plans. They need to fly out of ANC, a destination that is not served by Southwest. (Please correct me if Southwest plans to start service to ANC by June).

 

Since fare is a big consideration to the OP, they will do best by purchasing a RT on another carrier rather than a piecemeal itenerary combining a RT to Seattle on Southwest with Amtrak to Vancouver, then a one way from ANC back to SEA on some other airline.

 

OP- Besides Delta and AA, look at Alaska Airlines (and their regional partner Horizon Air). They have a lot of codeshare flights with AA; you will have Alaska (code AS) crew and aircraft from your connection point (SEA, ORD, SFO, LAX, etc). Hope this helps.

[seafare]

OP- Besides Delta and AA, look at Alaska Airlines (and their regional partner Horizon Air). They have a lot of codeshare flights with AA; you will have Alaska (code AS) crew and aircraft from your connection point (SEA, ORD, SFO, LAX, etc). Hope this helps.

 

 

Thank you for your advice. I shall check out your suggestions.

[klfrodo]

Thank you for your advice. I shall check out your suggestions.

 

I live in/near Seattle, fly to Alaska for business, and am soon coming over to your neck of the woods for a cruise.

 

Since my airline of choice is Alaska (AS) look into them. They are partners with Delta and American and others.

 

On my route to Charleston, I'm going Seattle to Atlanta on AS, then switching to Delta (DL) in Atlanta to Charleston

 

There are many routes for you with Alaska being part of it.

AS from ATL to SEA connecting to Vancouver

AS from ANC to ORD or SEA on the return with a partner getting you into Charleston

 

Just helping with options

[alcpa1]

I have been pricing itineraries on Southwest for several destinations (RDU, JAX, MCO and TPA)and they have been consistently higher than most other airlines.

Many first time Alaska cruisers are not aware of the cost related to distance involved. Anchorage is over 1,300 miles from Vancouver so it should be no surprise at the cost of airline fares.

If the OP examines the cost of flying into YVR as opposed to the cost of SEA plus hotel plus train, shuttle, bus, or rental car and the time involved I think it is usually a wash. Border stops for the bus, car, or shuttle can easily run 2+ hours which makes it an additional stress on embarkation day (or a return post cruise.) Lower cost overnights are plentiful in Richmond with free shuttle service from YVR (airport.) If you check rates for YVR airport hotels you will find many are in Richmond. There is also a metro from the airport to the center of the city, thanks to the Olympics. A return from Seattle late in the day or evening will involve a red eye. The other option is to once again get a hotel in Seattle.

While Southwest rarely changes its flights, Delta and AA will work with their passengers to adjust altered schedules. We all should know by now that if the airline makes a major change there is no cost to find the schedule that works best for the customer.

I'd also consider taking a legacy carrier. If and when Southwest starts flying from Charleston there are few alternatives if your flight to the hub is cancelled. Delta really stepped up to the plate when a hurricane played havoc with our last Alaska cruise.

These are just some additional things to consider....wish we were sailing with you!

[Sargent_Schultz]

Schultz- You are doing the OP a huge disservice because Southwest is not useful for their travel plans. They need to fly out of ANC, a destination that is not served by Southwest. (Please correct me if Southwest plans to start service to ANC by June).

 

 

Baloney. Do YOU have insight into the SWA schedule that has not been released? I didn't think so,

[kenish]

I re-read my post just to make sure and I agree....I *don't* have any insight into Southwest planning ANC service. Which circles back to the question....do you??? Because OP needs to sail from YVR and fly home from ANC and you're providing FLL-SEA fares on Southwest. That's about as useful to OP as Southwest's SNA-PHX fares. Now, if you can complete their CHS-YVR//ANC-CHS itenerary by adding in the SEA-YVR and ANC-SEA legs for a lower bottom line that is useful information to OP. :) Or, if you know for a fact that Southwest will be flying to ANC by June that's even more useful!

[Sargent_Schultz]

There is no need to rush to purchase airfare. There is time. The OP specifically asked about SWA. SWA fares are not yet posted from Charlotte, so I picked about the farthest point from SEA.

 

Not only does Delta change schedules, but they do a poor job of notifying when they do so. By the time you find out, there may not be any decent alternatives, seats, etc. left.

 

Border stops on the train are relatively painless.

 

As for alternatives, for only 12,500 miles per person, you can fly from Anchorage to Seattle on ASA or for that matter, Atlanta. I would be looking into a credit card offer that would let me transfer points to ASA and charging everything possible until I have enough points.

 

The ASA credit card will give you 25,000 miles off the bat.

 

OR

 

you can receive a $99 companion ticket with the same credit card.

Sometimes you need to think outside the box. :rolleyes:

[kenish]

Jill- Did some quick checking. Let's assume Southwest will be able to get you from CHS-SEA for the $325 that Schultz predicted (a good estimate). You will need to get up to Vancouver; doing so by train or shuttle bus is about 4 hours / $75 and may require an overnight hotel stay in SEA which I won't include. Fares from ANC back to SEA are about $225; add in $25 for a checked bag on Alaska. Total is $650.

 

Option 2 is flying AA, CO, DL, etc. from CHS-YVR then ANC-CHS. Fares are running about $600 and $25 x 2 for a checked bag in each direction. It's pretty much a wash price-wise if you assume no hotel is needed in Seattle.

 

One consideration- AA, CO, US, DL, UA etc. have 1-2 flights per day from ANC back to a hub. They tend to leave between midnight and 2am....that could be a big advantage or disadvantage; you will arrive home mid-day. Alaska on the other hand has almost hourly flights to SEA so you can get a flight at a decent time if you don't mind arriving home in the evening.

 

Since Southwest hasn't announced fares and schedules from CHS, I'd book with another airline rather than waiting (assuming you can't use Rapid Rewards for part of your travel).

 

As others mentioned you can save about $100-$125 by flying to SEA instead of YVR (taxes on international flights are expensive). But in my mind it's not worth the time, hassle, and expense.

 

Hope this helps!

[greatam]

Jill- Did some quick checking. Let's assume Southwest will be able to get you from CHS-SEA for the $325 that Schultz predicted (a good estimate). You will need to get up to Vancouver; doing so by train or shuttle bus is about 4 hours / $75 and may require an overnight hotel stay in SEA which I won't include. Fares from ANC back to SEA are about $225; add in $25 for a checked bag on Alaska. Total is $650.

 

Option 2 is flying AA, CO, DL, etc. from CHS-YVR then ANC-CHS. Fares are running about $600 and $25 x 2 for a checked bag in each direction. It's pretty much a wash price-wise if you assume no hotel is needed in Seattle.

 

One consideration- AA, CO, US, DL, UA etc. have 1-2 flights per day from ANC back to a hub. They tend to leave between midnight and 2am....that could be a big advantage or disadvantage; you will arrive home mid-day. Alaska on the other hand has almost hourly flights to SEA so you can get a flight at a decent time if you don't mind arriving home in the evening.

 

Since Southwest hasn't announced fares and schedules from CHS, I'd book with another airline rather than waiting (assuming you can't use Rapid Rewards for part of your travel).

 

As others mentioned you can save about $100-$125 by flying to SEA instead of YVR (taxes on international flights are expensive). But in my mind it's not worth the time, hassle, and expense.

 

Hope this helps!

 

I, too, priced the entire trip out using RT CHS/SEA on WN and a one way out of ANC. Will take about 34 hours to get from ANC to CHS via WN. About 14 hours direct from ANC on other airlines.

 

There is NO WAY to get off the cruise ship, get to ANC, get on an Alaska flight to SEA AND connect to a WN flight going to a hub which will eventually get to CHS (I used WN flights into RDU and Florida for the connections) all in the same day. The LATEST WN flight out of SEA going East leaves about 4PM. Since the CHS flights will most likely use essentially the same type of connections, I certainly don't see WN changing the schedule much OUT of SEA.

 

So you have two choices-take the late night flights out of ANC to SEA, then an early morning flight the next day to CHS on WN. OR take the daytime flights out of ANC to SEA, spend the night in Seattle, then take the WN flight the next day. The daytime (noon-6PM) flights on AS to SEA are THE MOST EXPENSIVE (over $300 booked today). Any way you look at it, you spend about 34-36 hours getting home.

 

You can get a little cheaper ANC-SEA flights by flying late at night (midnight) or very early in the morning (5AM). But those two United/Continental flights are have VERY limited capacity. ONE flight per day late at night.

 

It is a money LOOSER to take the WN flight. AND as Flyertalker posted, waiting for WN to open the schedule almost guarantees that the cheapest one ways/best times from ANC to SEA are sold out.

[Sargent_Schultz]

It's about a 4 hour drive to Atlanta and 25,000 miles pp for ATL-YVR and ANC-ATL. I might even do two 1 way car rentals and save on parking at the airport and wear and tear on my vehicle.

 

Similar to SWA, ASA lets you book one way award tickets for no additional miles. You can also use part miles and part cash. Then there is that $99 companion ticket (but read the fine print).

 

I think anything else would be more expensive.

 

I'd look into Alaska Air. :D

[seafare]

Thank you one and all for your advice and guidance. I have checked into the alternatives and am leaning towards booking now vs waiting for Southwest schedules. No matter what way we choose going directly to Vancouver or going to Seattle and then ground to Vancouver and then from Anchorage home, it seems to be a wash dollar wise.

 

I have put flight watches using YAPTA to see how prices seem to be running and will jump in soon.

 

Again thank you for your help.

 

Jill

[scottbee]

It's about a 4 hour drive to Atlanta and 25,000 miles pp for ATL-YVR and ANC-ATL. I might even do two 1 way car rentals and save on parking at the airport and wear and tear on my vehicle.

 

Similar to SWA, ASA lets you book one way award tickets for no additional miles. You can also use part miles and part cash. Then there is that $99 companion ticket (but read the fine print).

 

I think anything else would be more expensive.

 

I'd look into Alaska Air. :D

 

Fine print on ASA companion ticket is "Travel must be on AS/QX metal (that's Alaska/Horizon)". That's it. $99 more on any ticket. If you want to fly to YVR and back from ANC; I think you probably can't do any better than

a) Get an Alaska VISA card ($75 annual fee)

b) Book ATL-SEA-YVR / ANC-SEA-ATL ticket

c) Use the companion cert for the 2nd ticket (you need to book both at the same time)

 

Now, right now they're also giving a 25,000 mile sign up bonus, add that to the 5939 miles you'll get for the routing, another 1000 miles for paying for your trip WITH the card..... (25,000 for a free RT on Alaska BTW)

 

 

Also, someone had mentioned free luggage, and I just wanted to point out there are still quite a few airlines offering free luggage including B6(Jet Blue) who serve SEA, and more importantly because you're visiting Vancouver, both AC/Air Canada and WS/Westjet.

[Sargent_Schultz]

This is the fine print I see on the website:

 

‡ Passenger is responsible for all applicable taxes, fees, surcharges and applicable checked baggage fees associated with the

$99 Companion Ticket Discount Code and award travel.