SW taking advantage of us!

[keacc]

We were all waiting for SW to release fares for November and December. What a Shock! The prices to Orlando from many destinations are crazy! I looked at SW for 11/7 thru 11/14 from Chicago to Orlando: $383 per person. Air Tran was only $230 per person. I also looked at SW for 12/28 thru 1/3/2009: $560 per person for the 1189 mile trip. I priced SW to Halingen Texas for the same dates and got $473 per person. Harlingen is 1500 miles. It looks like SW is taking advantage of the many people wanting to go to Orlando.

[potzie]

The fact that Airtran is cheaper has to do with what you have to pay extra for with them that you don't have to pay for with SW. Airtran 1 free checked bag, SW allows 2. If you want to change/cancel your flight with Airtran expensive change fees, SW, no change or cancellation fees. Airtran changes at least $6 to assign a seat ($20 for exit row), SW no charge (I know no assigned seating). By time you add all of this up it's not so much of a difference.

As for the December period, those are the busiest weeks of the year in Orlando, it's call the law of supply and demand. If supply stays constant and demand moves up, then the price point where the two intersect should move up. I'm sure Harlingen TX, is a fine place, but it's NOT Orlando, and certainly not Disney, so comparing them solely upon distance is not realistic.

[sainter]

The fact that Airtran is cheaper has to do with what you have to pay extra for with them that you don't have to pay for with SW. Airtran 1 free checked bag, SW allows 2. If you want to change/cancel your flight with Airtran expensive change fees, SW, no change or cancellation fees. Airtran changes at least $6 to assign a seat ($20 for exit row), SW no charge (I know no assigned seating). By time you add all of this up it's not so much of a difference.

Assuming you do not change flights and choose to take 2 bags, I see a $128 difference here. Unless you have a reason to believe you would want to change it, I am not sure I would pay $125 just in case I want/need to change a flight. Maybe I am missing something here?

[KAT1811]

I agree and think that SW is a little out of control on there new flight pricing. We are looking to go down in November and the flights are insane. At least twice what we typically pay. I am hoping that they are trying to capitalize on some of the fees they do not charge opposed to those that other airlines do (ie. the baggage fees, insance change fees, etc). I think that if I hold out that I have a chance of the flights decreasing a bit. I think you have the same chance for your November dates but as for the December dates I agree with a PP that these are the busiest times in WDW and the flights are most likely to go up not down.

[BigRedDad]

It is not SW, but the industry. The airline industry has moved from a consumer based operation to a business traveler operation. Airlines make very little on tourist travel. Many airlines have already eliminated direct flights to tourist areas and they have limited the number of available flights. By doing this, the demand for those flights increase as well as the price. As long as Bush screws with the oil prices, the longer we will see this to continue. Even the head of Saudi Arabia says oil should be around $70 a barrel.

With that being said, until the illegal speculator tactics are squashed, oil will not return to its true price. This is Enron all over again and Bush is the CEO.

[goofy for pluto]

I always thought Friday was a pretty expensive day to fly.
I would check some other days of the week if I was trying to save money.

[fanofdisney]

I have to agree, I think SW is taking advantage of us. I read on another post that they bought a ton of fuel before the big price increase so what gives? If they got a good deal they are certainly not passing it onto the consumer! Also, since signing up for DING I have never seen one for Orlando. They seem to be only giving good deals to places no one ever goes! I purchased our tickets for our flight there a couple of weeks ago because I kept seeing the rates go up and finally bit the bullet with hopes that our trip home would be reasonable. Well they released our return date and now their "Wanna get away" price is $180, for one way If my DH was able to take more time off work I think we would have seriously considered driving. It wouldn't cost us $1800 to drive plus we have the cost of renting a car. I am still hoping that the closer we get to our date they will start bringing the prices down. With the way the economy is going maybe people won't be flying like they did in the past and they will be more apt to provide us with some better prices

[epceddie]

I also have to agree.

We're going to WDW Jan. 4-9 and the roundtrip price for two adults from Providence to Orlando was $882 (based on the cheapest flights).

Using the same formula for a trip from Los Angeles the same days, the airfare for two adults was $857.

Huh? Doesn't it take A LOT MORE fuel to fly from LA than Providence?

It made me so mad that I booked our flight out of Boston on Jet Blue. We got non-stop flights both ways and saved over $300.

Southwest can bite me. I don't care if I ever fly with them again.

[fanofdisney]

I have read a lot of good things about Jet Blue. I wish they were an option for us, they don't fly to/from Chicago.

[SurferStitch]

Yeah, we've pretty much written off SW, and they've been our favorite for years now.

Even with just two of us, it's still the same price, actually, a little cheaper, to just drive to Florida from PA. It's a lot more fun (for us), no stress at all (luggage, flights changing/canceled, etc.), and we then have our own car there in case we would need it (which we never really do).

[potzie]

Assuming you do not change flights and choose to take 2 bags, I see a $128 difference here. Unless you have a reason to believe you would want to change it, I am not sure I would pay $125 just in case I want/need to change a flight. Maybe I am missing something here?

The benefit with SW is if the flights go on sale later at a cheaper price, you can get a credit for the difference with no change fees, not so with AirTran. Once you book with AirTran you are pretty much stuck with what you book. They charge a $75 switch fee, so the price has to move down more than that each direction before you can even benefit, this is not the case with SW. I have benefited from the difference on a few occassion.

Not to mention whether the flights might be Non-stop versus a stop. If so that is worth something as well.

[thrillme]

SW is in business. They have a good dependable airline and if something comes up they give you a way out that's fair and reasonable.

It all depends on how many people want to go where you do. SW does come up with good fares but at the same time they're starting to sell out quickly because more people are starting to rebel against the other airlines and all their extra fees AFTER you've bought your ticket.

Essentially if you have a garage sale and 10 people want to buy your widgets. Are you going to sell your widgets for $1 or $5 with consideration that you everybody is perfectly willing to buy your widgets for $5 and still demand more.

SW is realizing that a LOT more people want to start booking with them because they're safe, reliable and give you room for changes if need be. Logically they charge optimum and if the plane isn't full they can DING to draw the rest in.

[bkfree]

I am actually thrilled with SW right now.
There will 4 of us flying round trip from Bham to Orlando in Dec.
1)The cost with them is $400+ cheaper than with any other airline.
2)They were the ONLY airline that offered a direct non stop flight. And they had 3 to choose from each day.
3)Traveling with 2 kids, a husband, cool/warm weather for 8 days, I love the free 2 checked bags per person tha SW has.
4)And if they come out with any lower prices before we go, I can get a credit for that amount..

We are also flying Wed. to Wed , which are the cheapest days to fly, next cheapest are Tuesdays.
If you are flying on a Fri,Sat, Sun, or Mon. you can expect to pay the highest fares no matter which airline you choose.
I cannot see anything to whine about with SW.

[RBrooksC]

Remember, SWA is a FOR PROFIT business. When factors outside their control start to affect their profit, prices will be raised.

Also, it is NOT the government's fault the oil prices are where they are. It is the fault of a devalued dollar and commodity speculators who need to find something of value in which to invest their money. Oil is the big thing right now.

[kakn7294]

We're not flying this year, primarily because of the price increase in SW's fares. The are almost double what we paid last year at the same time. However, I'm also paying twice what I paid for gas for my SUV's than what I paid last year so I can understand SW's fare increases. IF we were to fly, they are still our cheapest and most reliable option out of Pittsburgh. I certainly would use them again.

[dolphinmickey9170]

The same goes for us Kathy.....I feel SW is still a better airline for us. I love the DING fares, when you can get them. They saved me over $100 last time.

We are flying this time....but the fares were about $150 more than our May trip, but that's okay with me in comparison to how I feel when I drive.