Booking Southwest???

[elaineb]

My boss is cruising in April. She booked without air per my suggestion and is waiting to book through Southwest. Anyone know when they will be opening April up???

[bellera]

Word on some of the other boards was today - but since nothing has happened yet, it looks like next Thursday.

[jpatryak]

I'm working with Southwest to book air for a team my son is on. They cannot give any predictions - recommendation is to keep checking website (they say it is the exact same info any Southwest desk has) or keep calling.

[TravelWorks]

THey usually open for booking 95-120 out from the dates...

Good luck.

[hazeof3dd]

rumor has it WN offices opened late today because of bad weather, maybe it will be delayed till tomorrow

[momofzeke]

rumor has it WN offices opened late today because of bad weather, maybe it will be delayed till tomorrow

 

WN? Is that Southwest?

[hazeof3dd]

WN? Is that Southwest?

yes, WN is Southwest's IATA code. SWA is their ICAO code. Common error to use SW, as SW is actually Air Namibia's (Africa) IATA code

[bull scat]

I called Southwest when I was trying to book and asked them when they update their schedules. The lady told me that they would not give a definite date but that they usually were updated on Thursdays once a month so they could stay 90-125 days ahead of the need. :cool:

[bull scat]

The last update was the Thursday before Thanksgiving.

[cruisewiththekids]

Has anyone seen DING fares the last couple days?

[momofzeke]

Has anyone seen DING fares the last couple days?

 

No, none yesterday (Friday) and maybe only 1 the day before (Thursday). Not sure what's going on. Maybe the accident in Chicago caused delays in opening up the schedule and DING fares?? :confused: I really need an April 2 return flight, so hope they open up soon.

[Cruiser_Guy]

It really annoys me that they haven't opened up booking yet. They are losing so much business right now. They should have the same booking dates as all of the other airlines.

[hazeof3dd]

It really annoys me that they haven't opened up booking yet. They are losing so much business right now. They should have the same booking dates as all of the other airlines.

losing business they are not. i'm sure most of those flights not yet available will be booked up real quick. I was doing some research and there's NOTHING under $300 round trip from JFK, EWR, LGA, BDL, PVD, or BOS to MCO during April Vacation. And $300 is for terrible times. $500 will get ya what you want. People will wait and book Southwest.

[greatam]

losing business they are not. i'm sure most of those flights not yet available will be booked up real quick. I was doing some research and there's NOTHING under $300 round trip from JFK, EWR, LGA, BDL, PVD, or BOS to MCO during April Vacation. And $300 is for terrible times. $500 will get ya what you want. People will wait and book Southwest.

 

I want to know why you believe Southwest will be so much cheaper than any other carrier? If the good fares at the good times are sold out on the other carriers, what incentive does Southwest have to sell their product cheaper than others? Loosing money is NOT part of the Southwest business model. The model includes NOT setting pricing until after the other carriers have sold out their cheap seats. Then Southwest knows whether it will have to sell cheap seats to fill planes. Southwest is generally NOT the cheapest in a lot of markets.

[hazeof3dd]

I want to know why you believe Southwest will be so much cheaper than any other carrier? If the good fares at the good times are sold out on the other carriers, what incentive does Southwest have to sell their product cheaper than others? Loosing money is NOT part of the Southwest business model. The model includes NOT setting pricing until after the other carriers have sold out their cheap seats. Then Southwest knows whether it will have to sell cheap seats to fill planes. Southwest is generally NOT the cheapest in a lot of markets.

it doesn't cost any more money to operate a flight in April then it does in July. Like I said in another post. I'd much rather pay $350 round trip for a non-stop from PVD to MCO then for a 1-stop from JFK. So would many others. I never said that southwest will be cheaper. I just said the others are getting very expensive. I know that I won't be getting $59 one way to MCO in April like I usually would, because of this line:

Seats are limited and won't be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods.

That line is not in the $117 one way fare restrictions (next price level up for PVD-MCO). Let's price out $117 one way per person. $251.40 per person round trip PVD-MCO including all taxes and fees. The fare restrictions do not say that this fare has a limited date, just limited seats. Southwest has a very simple fare structure. For the most part, unless there is something in the restrictions about it, like there is in the Internet One-Way fare, the fare doesn't change unless they all change permanently. $251.40 round trip per person is a lot less than any other airline is going to charge.

[LUCY55]

Gave up waiting for them to open up April. Needed an April 1 return. Was able to get something else from MDW to FLL. AirTran tickets were probably cheaper than what I would have gotten on SW anyway.