Southwest fares through January 4 now available

[skylynx]

Southwest has just released its holiday period fares...we were kind of shocked by the increase in fare to Oakland from Denver but booked using miles so we can catch our Hawaiian airlines flights to HNL and Aulani the first week of December! Southwest had originally said they weren't going to release these fares until early June but then recently moved up the date. Grab 'em now if you need them, and then watch constantly to see if they drop and re-book for credit!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Glad you got what you wanted! Jan 4 gets us where we want to go, but we need later dates to get home! We learned there are not as many direct flights as there used to be.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

Thanks for info. I thought they weren't coming out until June 4. Just booked!

 

[suebeelin]

Thanks!! I'm trying to decide btwn ewr and BWI right now... Will the fare go up tomorrow or by next week, do you think??

 

[skylynx]

It's always a game, but since Southwest lets you re-book and gives credit with no penalties, I tend to buy the tickets on the first day, because then I know that's the worst it can get. Then I prowl around the site pretty much daily and pounce on any reductions. Sometimes they drop after the initial release (in which case you can take advantage of the credit) but in the last year or two I've noticed mostly increases with the occasional drop for a sale. I'm hoping the ones I just booked drop...the lowest fare flights between Oakland and Denver have been around $94 each way all the way through November. This morning, the lowest fare was $154!

 

[MountainMouse]

Thanks for the heads up. Just booked flights for our Christmas trip.

 

[MountainMouse]

Thanks for the heads up. Just booked flights for our Christmas trip.

I'm going to double up my thanks here, "Wanna Get Away" fares are now booked up for my flight days. I've been watching for the December days to open up but probably would have missed it.

 

[skylynx]

Someone on Disboards posted that Southwest fares had become available earlier than originally announced a year or two ago, enabling me to not miss a reservation to Orlando, so I'm just paying it forward. I'm so glad many folks were able to get their holiday flights in spite of Southwest's change of release date! I only found out a because i was booking a trip for my son to come visit me and happened to notice on the "flight schedules" page the earlier date was moved up from June 4. Happy travels everyone, and don't forget to keep checking the fares in case they go down!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I booked this morning at 6:30a. Got a great price $86/per person direct from BWI to MCO on January 1. Just looked now and price had increased to $185/pp for the same flight. Definitely pays to book early on release day.

 

[MrBean]

I booked this morning at 6:30a. Got a great price $86/per person direct from BWI to MCO on January 1. Just looked now and price had increased to $185/pp for the same flight. Definitely pays to book early on release day.

Same here, they had great low rates for all of December too and was able to book during the last week of December for $86.

Sometime this afternoon though, they removed all of the "Wanna Get Away" fares for December 16th to the 31st, the regular fare is $465! Glad I booked early!!

 

[suebeelin]

I booked this morning at 6:30a. Got a great price $86/per person direct from BWI to MCO on January 1. Just looked now and price had increased to $185/pp for the same flight. Definitely pays to book early on release day.

Wow... I looked at 10am, and our flights were $189rt. $86 is amazing! We are doing the first two weeks of December. For future reference, do you have to book/look before a certain time/7am? Thx!!

I booked anyway. The times were perfect- leaving at noonish and coming back at noonish!

Do you recommend getting to airport 2hrs early, including parking? Trying to figure out BWI. Thx!!!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Wow... I looked at 10am, and our flights were $189rt. $86 is amazing! We are doing the first two weeks of December. For future reference, do you have to book/look before a certain time/7am? Thx!!

I booked anyway. The times were perfect- leaving at noonish and coming back at noonish!

Do you recommend getting to airport 2hrs early, including parking? Trying to figure out BWI. Thx!!!

That is a good price RT! $89/pp? Yes get to BWI 2 hours early. You never know if bag check in will be back logged. Also there are great places to eat so leave some time to grab some lunch before boarding.

SW opened at 6:30 a for booking. I think I booked at 6:45 a and there were only 5 seats left at that price for the 7a flight.

 

[majortom1981]

I booked mine for nov 12th and the tickets were $500 cheaper then I thought they would be. I guess booking early is cheaper.

 

[majortom1981]

The bwi flights fill up becuase they are a stop over for flights coming in from isp long island.

 

[skylynx]

Wow... I looked at 10am, and our flights were $189rt. $86 is amazing! We are doing the first two weeks of December. For future reference, do you have to book/look before a certain time/7am? Thx!!

I booked anyway. The times were perfect- leaving at noonish and coming back at noonish!

Do you recommend getting to airport 2hrs early, including parking? Trying to figure out BWI. Thx!!!

I just happened to wake up at 4 am mountain time (or 6 am Eastern) and decided to check and the fares hadn't been released. I quick checked a couple emails, and within about ten minutes, the new schedules and fares had been released. So it was about 6:15 Eastern time. I don't think Southwest announces any specific time the fares will be released, just the date, so you know what they say about the early bird...(in addition to paying $15 extra per segment for a prime boarding position)

 

[suebeelin]

The bwi flights fill up becuase they are a stop over for flights coming in from isp long island.

Are they often delayed to or from bc the planes are coming in from islip? That's another concern, though I already bought the tickets....

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Are they often delayed to or from bc the planes are coming in from islip? That's another concern, though I already bought the tickets....

Don't worry. SW has a great on time record.

 

[Anal Annie]

I booked this morning at 6:30a. Got a great price $86/per person direct from BWI to MCO on January 1. Just looked now and price had increased to $185/pp for the same flight. Definitely pays to book early on release day.

DOH! That's the price I'm hoping to get for January 3rd!! I wasn't able to look at them until this morning - the earliest 2 direct flights of the day from BWI were at $103. Not HORRIBLE by any means but I don't want to book yet (I'm expecting some money into my PayPal account on the 25th and I want to use that towards them). Hoping that the prices are just up a little bit for the weekend maybe? I know a lot of airlines raise prices over the weekends - not sure if SW does the same thing or not? If the $103 holds I can book that & hope for a price drop that I could use on our return flights on January 9th whenever they're released. Since it's a Tuesday that I'm looking for I'm hoping for just a smidge better price...

 

[wdwfan1]

Our flights from NY after Thanksgiving are $315 going down and $135 coming back!!! We had enough RR points for the return flight so that helps a little! I think this is the highest I have ever paid. I will keep checking.

 

[suebeelin]

So, the fare went down $17pp and I requested a credit. Is that a credit that can only be applied to the person, or is it all on my account? Thx!