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Southwest Price Jump

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by numeno, Jan 14, 2013.

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  1. numeno

    numeno VIP Whale

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    Now I know their prices go up and down somewhat often, but today they just jumped up 20% higher than ever before. For the last 2 months it was always ~$200/one way to Vegas from Austin. Today it is ~$250. Same thing happened with 2 other destinations I fly southwest.

    If these prices remain, southwest has finally out priced themselves to me.
     
  2. greekjim

    greekjim King Gyro

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    Yea I was looking at southwest cause my buddy needed a one way ticket back from Vegas to Milwaukee and the ticket went up $75 since yesterday
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2013
  3. Gregsmt

    Gregsmt Low-Roller

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    Well, not fom Vegas to Chicago midway. Unless its in the next 7 - 10 dys. The prices both ways are cheaper than 2 weeks ago when they were having their supposed sale. Looks to me like your trying to buy a ticket to Milwaukee in the next several days? Of course the price is going to jump. In February it looks like quite a few flights for $141 one way. Doesn't seem to bad. As far as from Austin, you are right. They are high for some reason.
    I did search for the end of march and those fares are pretty high into Milwaukee. But they way the fares fluctuate I wouldn't be surprised to see them lower in the first week of February. Tickets on my flight got up to $280 one way and are now at $128.
     
  4. Big Tip

    Big Tip VIP Whale

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    It is very strange how their prices bounce around. We are planning to go in February. The first time we checked it was $200 (I am in Austin too numeno).
    Then we checked a few days later, and it was $140. So we said, quick, let's book. But it had gone up to $190 the next day. Very volatile.

    My philosophy now is to book it, then if the price goes down, rebook. Too much stress playing the waiting game.
     
  5. VegasGroove

    VegasGroove VIP Whale

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    Yes, my philosophy with airfares is to book when the price "feels right" and doesn't hurt to click that purchase button.

    Like Big Tip mentioned, you can always rebook if the price goes down - without penalty. One of the many reasons I love SW.
     
  6. Wildride098

    Wildride098 Tourist

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    I have flown Southwest the past couple of years. Last year I really notice a big price hike and gave them up. However, they are the only nonstop flight from Raleigh/ Durham N.C. but they are twice the price of most everyone else.
     
  7. Blatz

    Blatz Low-Roller

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    Funny you brought this up, I don't usually buy tickets for my May trip this early, but yesterday I was bored at work, and booked the flight(AUS to LAS). Went to check after your post, and sure enough, extra 100 bucks r/t. Like another poster stated, I usually buy my tix at full price(400 r/t) and then re-book on a sale. I like having the extra credit on my swa account to apply to future flights. I'm crazy like that.
     
  8. chess

    chess VIP Whale

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    Its still 550+ from BWI to LAS it sucks
     
  9. hrt4girls

    hrt4girls Tourist

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    RE book?

    I have only flown Southwest once before. We are flying from Milwaukee to Vegas in April the day after Easter. Southwest is the only nonstop flights and the times are perfect. And yes, prices jumped up today for me too. I love the idea of booking now and watching to see if prices drop. How do I rebook a flight? Can I do it online or do I need to call and talk to a representative? Is there a fee for doing that?

    I hate to sound so stupid, but I am used to booking through one of the big travel sites, and once you have bought a ticket from them you are pretty much stuck with it.

    Thanks for your help.
     
  10. Blatz

    Blatz Low-Roller

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    Southwest makes it really easy to re-book the flight online. You just log into your account and change flight. If the price goes down for your particular flight, you just re-book at the lower rate. No fees. I adjusted my flight twice for my trip in a few weeks, and saved a total of 60 bucks, which is kept in your swa account to apply to your next flight.
     
  11. Jimbo338

    Jimbo338 VIP Whale

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    And that also gives you another excuse to go back to LV.....no sense letting good SWA credit to go bad!

    Jimbo338
     
  12. numeno

    numeno VIP Whale

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    Ok, well it seems it might have just been limited to certain cities. Rather annoying that SW is the only nonstop option I have to 3 cities I travel.
     
  13. Patripman

    Patripman High-Roller

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    Strange SW prices dropped anywhere from $30 to $80 each way from Pittsburgh to Vegas overnight. Nonstop for late April is $302 RT, down from $430 just this past Saturday. I am holding off though because I know SW will do better in another few weeks:evillaugh.

    p
     
  14. Suekel

    Suekel VIP Whale

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    I am also in Austin and have been dismayed over the past year to see SW prices to Vegas climb to the $200-$250 each way range. That's why when they had a one day sale a couple weeks ago that had round trip for under $200, we snapped it up immediately.

    I love SW, love the multiple non stop options Aus-Las, love the generally great service, but I won't pay $400+ to fly them.
     
  15. RedRock702

    RedRock702 Low-Roller

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    I agree with most people that a lot of times the Southwest flights tend to be very volatile in price. That must explain why I probably check twice a day.

    One thing I was introduced to by someone on the board was called Southwest DING!

    http://www.southwest.com/ding/

    It's a program that you can install on your desktop computer or an App for the iPhone. I do not believe an android version is available as of yet. You can select the airports you want to receive flight specials about and it "Dings" when you get a new notification. The first day I had it installed I was able to rebook my outgoing flight to Las Vegas in feb for $22.00 cheaper and we all know the beauty about Southwest is that there's no fee to rebook even if the price drops. I, though, tend to take the credit refunded to my credit card instead of letting Southwest make interest off my money :)

    Hope this helps someone get a good deal because we know that spending less money on air fare means more money we can spend on ourselves.
     
  16. Username

    Username VIP Whale

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    If you use a third party like Expedia......you will never get to use SWA as they do not participate in having others book their flights...you must go direct to SWA website to book them.
     
  17. POPO2012

    POPO2012 Low-Roller

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    :beer: This is the same issue we have flying from Columbus Ohio, SWA has cornered the market on non-stop flights to Vegas. So we have to use points to drive the price down to reason able or fly another airline with a layover.:drunk::drunk:
     
  18. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

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    On 01/01 we bought two plane tickets to LV for $599 (great price). Today they're $823!
     
  19. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Go to the SWA site and at the top right is the change flight tab. Click on that and just enter your flight confirmation #. Select the flights to change and start comparing prices.

    If prices have gone down, just rebook. The credit goes into your account and is good for 1 year from the date of the original purchase.
     
  20. numeno

    numeno VIP Whale

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    Haha, just looked today. Back down to $200/one way. I've see shifts before, but never up 25% one day and down 25% the next.
     
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