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I am considering extending our stay by one day but the flights on our return date are mostly sold out or very expensive. Does SW ever add additional flights when the available ones fill up?
 
I am considering extending our stay by one day but the flights on our return date are mostly sold out or very expensive. Does SW ever add additional flights when the available ones fill up?
This is extremely rare with Southwest, I've seen it maybe twice when searching through many many flights.
 
I am considering extending our stay by one day but the flights on our return date are mostly sold out or very expensive. Does SW ever add additional flights when the available ones fill up?
It's very unlikely. With their older aircraft taken out of service last year and Southwest slowly taking possession of new planes, their fleet is stretched thin, these days.

Your best bet is to check daily, in case some customers have cancelled or changed flights. You never know what might open up!
 


It almost never happens. I think I've personally seen it once in 25 years of flying SW. The logistics to add another flight, even if there were sufficient demand, is not a simple exercise. Planes and gates are pretty much fixed in number. The only time I've seen it, or heard of it, has been on holidays such as Christmas or Thanksgiving. On those days they usually have a reduced schedule planned due to lower demand. In that situation they have the ability to add some flights back in to the mix if the demand is there. But it's not going to happen without a whole lot of thought going into the decision.

Steve
 
One thing they do occasionally do though is to release more seats for WGA fares, am I right? I know I've checked at times and there are no WGA fares available but then the next day they show up again. I assume it's a matter of shifting seats from one category to another, rather than just cancellations.
 
That's good to know. Thanks. I will keep looking. It's not a deal breaker if we can't extend. I've decided to add a MNSSHP to our trip and an additional day would mean we could have a quiet day before the party rather than trying to do 2 big things on the same day. Thanks for your help everyone.
 


One thing they do occasionally do though is to release more seats for WGA fares, am I right? I know I've checked at times and there are no WGA fares available but then the next day they show up again. I assume it's a matter of shifting seats from one category to another, rather than just cancellations.
Yes - WGA CAN disappear for multiple reasons and then come back. If it doesn't come back though, best to have an alternate plan.
 
One thing they do occasionally do though is to release more seats for WGA fares, am I right? I know I've checked at times and there are no WGA fares available but then the next day they show up again. I assume it's a matter of shifting seats from one category to another, rather than just cancellations.

It's both.

They generally start off with X number of seats @ price 1, Y @ price 2, etc. All of which are WGA fares. The rest of the seats are at full fare. Those WGA seats retain their price points, so if someone purchased a seat at P1, but later cancels or changes their flight, that seat will go back into inventory at the original price. (I've verified this with my own reservations a couple of times). This is one way you'll see price fluctuations come and go rapidly.

The other thing that happens is normal marketplace fluctuations. If all those full fares seats aren't selling as expected, then SW will reduce prices by moving seats into the WGA category in hopes of selling them. Those types of changes don't usually happen until close in to the day of flight - maybe 6 weeks or so. Timing is dictated by lots of factors including market, date, time, and stuff I'm sure we have no clue about.

Southwest has always done an exceptional job of balancing fares and maximizing profitability. It's one reason they've been profitable for 45 consecutive years.

Steve
 
Just wondering. How often does SW have a points sale where they offer a bonus or sale price on them? I think they had one in January but I didn’t need them then. Actually, I’ve never needed to buy them before, but I think I may want some in the next month or so for the added flexibility with an upcoming reservation.
 
I'm kicking myself because the flight to MCO I was planning on taking in September when up $70 overnight! This is really the only flight time that works for me due to work and it's duration. The return flight I was looking at increased too, but I have more flexibility with that one. What was going to be 40,000 points round trip to book is now closer to 60,000. :scared1:

I'm a little under 6 months out...any idea if there's any rhyme or reason to price drops or do I just have to check daily and pray the price goes down?
 
Not sure if it has been posted before but this link provides information about when the next set of Southwest flights will be available to be booked. I find it a really useful link to have.
 
I'm kicking myself because the flight to MCO I was planning on taking in September when up $70 overnight! This is really the only flight time that works for me due to work and it's duration. The return flight I was looking at increased too, but I have more flexibility with that one. What was going to be 40,000 points round trip to book is now closer to 60,000. :scared1:

I'm a little under 6 months out...any idea if there's any rhyme or reason to price drops or do I just have to check daily and pray the price goes down?

If you don't have enough points to book the roundtrip, now, I suggest booking one of the flights, to guaranty it won't go any higher in cost. You then can keep a daily watch on both flights, for a lower fare. I always book two one-ways - so much easier to work with for changes, etc., or necessary, if I do one way with points and the other with a paid ticket.

Since you will be booking with points, you have nothing to lose, doing this. You can always cancel, and the points will go back to your RR account and the taxes and fees to your original method of payment; if the fare does get less expensive, don't "change:" cancel and rebook, otherwise, your taxes and fees will be non-refundadable and must be used toward another ticket, before the expiration date. It's so instinctive to just change it, but sometimes a problem to apply those TTFs to future travel, if they accumulate.
 
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If you don't have enough points to book the roundtrip, now, I suggest booking one of the flights, to guaranty it won't go any higher in cost. You then can keep a daily watch on both flights, for a lower fare. I always book two one-ways - so much easier to work with for changes, etc., or necessary, if I do one way with points and the other with a paid ticket.

Since you will be booking with points, you have nothing to lose, doing this. You can always cancel, and the points will go back to your RR account and the taxes and fees to your original method of payment (if the fare does get less expensive, don't "change:" cancel and rebook, otherwise, your taxes and fees will be non-refunadable and must be used toward another ticket, before the expiration date. It's so instinctive to just change it, but sometimes a problem to apply those TTFs to future travel, if they accumulate.

I'm kicking myself for not booking the one way fare when I was contemplating it 3 days ago. Grrr.
 
I'm kicking myself for not booking the one way fare when I was contemplating it 3 days ago. Grrr.
Don't kick yourself, just yet. Keep an eagle eye on the flights. If you only need one or two seats and are not going till September, you have a good shot at finding a better fare.

Also remember to check for a single seat, at a time, if you need more than one seat. Sometimes, there is one seat at a lower fare, but not two. The system always searches for the quantity you enter, at the same fare.
 
If I book a Southwest Flight paying in Dollars (not points) and the cost goes down - can I get that $$ back (even as a SW "credit")? How would I do that?
 

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