Southwest just jacked their fares up BIG TIME!

[captainkidd]

They just released the schedule through August on Tuesday. As of yesterday, airfare roundtrip for 5 of us was $1,337. I couldn't book until tomorrow. Today, it's up to $1,667.

Pricks.

 

[captainkidd]

Try looking/buying the same time during the week as you did when your tried before. Usually, and from some travel sites and my own experience, the best time to buy is monday-wednesday and then on thursday..BOING...they go up...

Looked in December(13-16th) 74 dollars each was from Chicago-Midway and then on thursday it was $139.00..Then back down to $109 on friday because of a "SALE"....

Thanks for the advice. I'll give that a shot.

 

[erstwo]

Try looking/buying the same time during the week as you did when your tried before. Usually, and from some travel sites and my own experience, the best time to buy is monday-wednesday and then on thursday..BOING...they go up...

Looked in December(13-16th) 74 dollars each was from Chicago-Midway and then on thursday it was $139.00..Then back down to $109 on friday because of a "SALE"....

Totally agree.

I had to book my brother and his girlfriend's flights for our December trip last week. They were $99 each way last Friday night. My husband said to wait until Monday afternoon because he gets an email every Monday alerting him that Air Tran's flights have gone down to their lowest price.

Sure enough, Monday evening rolls around - the same flights are $69 each way. For 2 people, we saved $120! ($30 each way x2)

I guess more people book their vacation on Friday than Monday? Either way, it's worth checking back next week!

 

[dreamfinder]

Also, it is how the whole industry is going. Gar prices are still rising. Demand is starting to creep back up, BUT not to the point where airlines will readd flights they dropped over the last few years. 4 years ago I had a dozen or so flights to pick from, last time I looked I was down to 8 or so. So there is less supply, and more demand. Eventually it should balance out, but it will take a while. Southwest will at least credit you the difference, but bewarned, you can only use 4 methods of payments at a time, so 3 credits and a credit card if you don't have enough in 4.

 

[kch4095]

Your best bet with Southwest is to check first thing every Tuesday morning. That is when they release the new sale prices and they are valid until Thursday. However, they have a limited amount of those internet only seats and they go quickly. You just have to monitor them closely every Tuesday. After several weeks of checking, I got $60 each way fares for our January 2011 trip!

 

[ddbowdoin]

$153 from Providence!
We could fly Delta, and even with baggage fees, it'd be $300 less. I hate Delta though. They're always changing their itineraries.

I will never understand the philosophy of our economy. In a recession, and airfare is higher than it has been in 5 years. Wouldn't you think they'd lower prices in order to get people to fly? There's always all this talk about how the people need to get out and spend money to get the economy working again. Kind of hard to do when things are more expensive than ever.

just a side note, we're not actually in a recession anymore. the term has an actual financial definition that the news and media loves to just ignore.

 

[marcriss]

We actually had an article in the paper today about the price of gas going up. They expect it to continue to go up because the dollar is weak.

Back on topic, I always buy my tickets on Southwest when they're released and then watch the prices. This time, the price I bought going down was the best I've seen. I've been able to lower my return flight by about $24 each. The unfortunate thing is that you used to be able to share your credit with someone else. Beginning in January you can't do that anymore, so I'm not sure what I'll do then.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Jet Blue was $10 cheaper than SW.

Don't forget to factor in one free checked bag on Jetblue vs. two on Southwest. Southwest doesn't seem quite as good as it used to be on prices... Ding used to regularly give me 10% off coupons to "announce" when their schedule was released; now it just seems to give me deals to Milwaukee or Birmingham. Still, Southwest seems to usually be the cheapest for us from BUF to MCO. Also the funnest: on our '08 trip at 6 A.M., the flight attendants took two volunteers to lead all the passengers in singing the Mickey Mouse Club song and let them board first.

The fares have seemed pretty high to me lately when they first announce their schedule. We're in the middle of four WDW trips in the next year, so I have certainly been watching the site! I would check at least every couple days... the price will most likely come down. Also, if you are planning another trip in the near future, I believe Southwest refund credits are good for a year after your original flight was set to depart. It's super easy to change your itinerary online. I've been able to get all of our flights down to $99 per person one way just by watching closely.

 

[BrerKev]

Keep checking flight prices at different times of the day. When I was ready to buy our Southwest tickets, the prices went up from one day to the next. I kept checking, and on the 3rd day of checking, I checked at 9am, Noon, and at 3pm. At 3pm the prices dropped. Odd, but I booked right there and then.

 

[BoardwalkGlenn]

Your best bet with Southwest is to check first thing every Tuesday morning. That is when they release the new sale prices and they are valid until Thursday. However, they have a limited amount of those internet only seats and they go quickly. You just have to monitor them closely every Tuesday. After several weeks of checking, I got $60 each way fares for our January 2011 trip!

I completely agree with you! Although I usually check it more than just Tuesday mornings.

A few weeks ago, I found $64 flights to MCO and figured that was the best I would find. The next day they went down to $60 (so I rebooked for the credit) but then back up to $77.

I wonder if the days of $49 flights are gone...

 

[captainkidd]

No change as of this morning. In fact, return flights have gone up $30 per ticket.

I may have to bite the bullet and drive this time. It'll be an incredible pain, but at some point, if we don't stop giving in to the airlines, they're going to get higher and higher.

 

[captainkidd]

Hoping this is good news - All of a sudden, SW web site is taking a long time to load, and when I put flight info in, it gives me an error message from their website. Maybe they're updating their prices. One can only hope....


ETA - And that's a negative. Same prices.

 

[fosse76]

$153 from Providence!
We could fly Delta, and even with baggage fees, it'd be $300 less. I hate Delta though. They're always changing their itineraries.

I have never had a problem with Delta. I'm begrudgingly flying JetBlue to Orlando in three weeks only because they had later flight times that I preferred, for only slightly less.

I will never understand the philosophy of our economy. In a recession, and airfare is higher than it has been in 5 years. Wouldn't you think they'd lower prices in order to get people to fly? There's always all this talk about how the people need to get out and spend money to get the economy working again. Kind of hard to do when things are more expensive than ever.

I am amused by all these discount air carriers like Southwest or jetBlue, because I always find their airfare to be more expensive than Delta or United or American. Capitalism doesn't really work...businesses raise the prices knowing that people will have no real choice...they don't raise them high enough to be prohibitive to most people, knowing that those who can't afford the new price will be replaced by someone who can. With airfare, it's demand out of necessity. And with the reduction of the number of flights, they know they have consumers right where they want them. Driving isn't always a feasible alternate.

 

[4everDory]

Check Southwest today...they sent me an email today about a fare sale. Are you flying out of Boston? There is a $92 flight down and a $123 flight back. Good luck!

 

[captainkidd]

I have never had a problem with Delta. I'm begrudgingly flying JetBlue to Orlando in three weeks only because they had later flight times that I preferred, for only slightly less.


I am amused by all these discount air carriers like Southwest or jetBlue, because I always find their airfare to be more expensive than Delta or United or American. Capitalism doesn't really work...businesses raise the prices knowing that people will have no real choice...they don't raise them high enough to be prohibitive to most people, knowing that those who can't afford the new price will be replaced by someone who can. With airfare, it's demand out of necessity. And with the reduction of the number of flights, they know they have consumers right where they want them. Driving isn't always a feasible alternate.

I only dislike Delta as they've changed my flight (more than once) and not told me about it. That irritates me.

Delta right now is still less expensive (by about $500), but after baggage fees that drops to $300, and they only have 2 flight choices per day, where SW has about 6. Also, if the price drops on SW, a credit can be had, and I know for a fact I'll be flying again within a year. Delta would probably charge me $100 just for asking.

 

[captainkidd]

Check Southwest today...they sent me an email today about a fare sale. Are you flying out of Boston? There is a $92 flight down and a $123 flight back. Good luck!

We're going in July. Boston we'd have to switch planes. I'd rather drive then go through the entire airport security fiasco 4 times round trip.

Really not quite sure what to do here. On one hand, I'm thinking I should just buy now, before either it goes up higher, or they sell out. If it does drop, I can always use the credit for next year's trip. On the other hand, I'd rather not spend over $300 per person round trip. From Boston to Orlando, that is insane.

 

[WDWFigment]

I am amused by all these discount air carriers like Southwest or jetBlue, because I always find their airfare to be more expensive than Delta or United or American. Capitalism doesn't really work...businesses raise the prices knowing that people will have no real choice...they don't raise them high enough to be prohibitive to most people, knowing that those who can't afford the new price will be replaced by someone who can. With airfare, it's demand out of necessity. And with the reduction of the number of flights, they know they have consumers right where they want them. Driving isn't always a feasible alternate.

I don't know if you're actually suggesting that the Legacy air-carriers are consistently cheaper than the Discount carriers, or just presenting your anecdotal evidence, but regardless, the Discount carriers are generally cheaper.

Driving may not always be a feasible alternative, but in the business world, teleconferences, web conferences, or even simple means of communication such as email are alternatives. Rising costs of air transportation have caused many companies to cut back on air travel, which has in turn caused airlines to reduce the number of flights they offer (arguably, this has further caused a decrease in business air transit, as times aren't as appealing--I haven't seen any concrete evidence of this, though, so file it as speculation). With high infrastructure costs and typically low profits, along with the fact that seats are a perishable good (this is one reason why prices fluctuate so much), the economics of the airline industry are quite complex. Definitely complex to the point that their high prices, without further explanation, are not indicative of the supposed point that "Capitalism really doesn't work."

We're going in July. Boston we'd have to switch planes. I'd rather drive then go through the entire airport security fiasco 4 times round trip.

Really not quite sure what to do here. On one hand, I'm thinking I should just buy now, before either it goes up higher, or they sell out. If it does drop, I can always use the credit for next year's trip. On the other hand, I'd rather not spend over $300 per person round trip. From Boston to Orlando, that is insane.

I guess it matters what your time is worth to you. If we drove from Indianapolis, that's essentially an extra day on each end of our trip. Factoring in wear and tear on our vehicle, we'd only be saving around $200. Granted, there are only two of us, but our vacation time is worth a heck of a lot more than $50/day for each of us. How much money would you save by driving, and how much is your time worth to you?

 

[captainkidd]

I guess it matters what your time is worth to you. If we drove from Indianapolis, that's essentially an extra day on each end of our trip. Factoring in wear and tear on our vehicle, we'd only be saving around $200. Granted, there are only two of us, but our vacation time is worth a heck of a lot more than $50/day for each of us. How much money would you save by driving, and how much is your time worth to you?

Money is no contest. Round trip with tolls, it would run us about $500, saving us well over $1,000. Time is the issue. I have no desire to lose at least 2 vacation days. In there lies the rib.

 

[WDWFigment]

Money is no contest. Round trip with tolls, it would run us about $500, saving us well over $1,000. Time is the issue. I have no desire to lose at least 2 vacation days. In there lies the rib.

I wouldn't assume airfare would be that expensive later just because it is now. $1,000 is a good savings, but will it be that much? Even if it's an $800 savings (still pretty conservative end-result, I think), that's $200/day per working-age adult for those travel days. I would probably still just fly. Then again, vacation time is pretty valuable to me!

Hope the ticket prices come down for you!

 

[captainkidd]

I wouldn't assume airfare would be that expensive later just because it is now. $1,000 is a good savings, but will it be that much? Even if it's an $800 savings (still pretty conservative end-result, I think), that's $200/day per working-age adult for those travel days. I would probably still just fly. Then again, vacation time is pretty valuable to me!

Hope the ticket prices come down for you!

Oh, for me too. And we're going for 16 nights! I still don't want to waste any of it.

Here's the good news - I'm going to give it 1 more week. If it goes down, great. If it doesn't, I'll buy. If it never goes down, then I haven't lost anything. If it does go down, I'll get a credit. I'll certainly be using it within the next year. That's just one of the advantages of Southwest.

 

[fosse76]

I don't know if you're actually suggesting that the Legacy air-carriers are consistently cheaper than the Discount carriers, or just presenting your anecdotal evidence, but regardless, the Discount carriers are generally cheaper.

Not in my experience. If I go to Southwest's or Jet Blue's website and book directly, it has ALWAYS been more expensive (significantly) than if I booked Delta or United for the same trip.

Driving may not always be a feasible alternative, but in the business world, teleconferences, web conferences, or even simple means of communication such as email are alternatives. Rising costs of air transportation have caused many companies to cut back on air travel, which has in turn caused airlines to reduce the number of flights they offer (arguably, this has further caused a decrease in business air transit, as times aren't as appealing--I haven't seen any concrete evidence of this, though, so file it as speculation). With high infrastructure costs and typically low profits, along with the fact that seats are a perishable good (this is one reason why prices fluctuate so much), the economics of the airline industry are quite complex. Definitely complex to the point that their high prices, without further explanation, are not indicative of the supposed point that "Capitalism really doesn't work."

That's exactly why capitalism doesn't work.