gparks84

Good evening everyone,
I am in a bit of a pickle. I booked a flight a few weeks ago to Las Vegas for next weekend and tonight I just realized that I forgot to go back later and add my wife as my companion as we've done probably 20 times in the past 3 years (have had companion pass several years now). Well, it turns out March Madness weekend in Vegas is busy and the returning flight is now sold out and I am receiving an error message saying "We are sorry that your flight is sold out. Please change your flight and try to book your companion pass again". All other flights are pretty ridiculously expensive now.

So my question is as follows - has anyone on this forum gotten into this same issue? If so, how did you handle or how should I? I plan to continue checking the website every few hours for the next few days/week hoping something will open up but does anyone know the likelihood of that succeeding? Is it going to be more likely closer to the flight date where availability opens up? Am I just screwed?

Any input here would be greatly appreciated. I just really dropped the ball here.

acwan93

I've hit this problem with my CP too (SJC-ONT/BUR). Given the number of cancellations that can occur the days leading up to the flight I just kept trying every couple hours and eventually was able to purchase a Companion ticket.

rsteinmetz70112

Keep checking often, a seat may open up, right up to the last minute at the gate.
Make a contingency plan for your wife to take another flight, with points if possible.

expert7700

If you are A list / A list preferred AND your trip to Vegas is from a high-frequency city like the West Coady, you may have luck calling and asking for help or a creative solution. The rep can ask a supervisor to oversell a domestic flight by one. Or they could move your paid/points ticket (without a change of fare cost) to a different flight time that has at least two open seats.

gparks84

Thanks for the info guys. No luck so far... Does anyone know of any reliable program, subscription service or app that monitors price drops or availability?

nsx

Nope. There's just the good old fashioned check it many times per day method. I've had 100% success when checking every 15 minutes the day before travel. It's a lot of work, but if you're the diligent one you'll be the one who gets the seat.

expert7700

an expertflyer.com subscription will do the trick.

with Southwest, unlike other airlines, the numbers don't mean much, but it CAN be used to monitor and email an availability alert.

This appears for a flight with seats still for sale:

Available Classes
R8 S8 W8 Y8 L8 B8 Q8 H8 M8 T8 N8 K8 O8

For a sold out flight this shows:
RL SL WL YL LL BL QL HL ML TL NL KL OL

By setting an alert such as Y seats > 0, you will get an email within approx 30min of a seat opening up.

gparks84

Thanks everyone for the help! I got the companion pass. Just checked about 1-2 times per hour and found an opening less than 24 hours after trying for a flight a week out. Next time I'll definitely try expert flyer (hopefully there's no next time). Appreciate it all.

rsteinmetz70112

Glad it worked it out for you.

manish

If I'm looking for ANY seat on the SW flight to open up, would I need to set an alert for each different fare class? (there are 13 fare classes on my flight, so 13 alerts?)

Sorry if I'm sounding ignorant - new to fare classes, trying to understand them for the first time.

Miz

robbert

K is Business Select, Y is Anytime. Choosing Y is probably best because K can sell out on busy flights.

EC Traveler

Hi All

I have a flight in August that is booked for me, and my son. I booked both of us using points to ensure we both can get there, worst case. I am yet to book the CP b/c my wife is my companion right now but I will change it to be my son when we return from a trip in a few weeks.

Right now, the August Flight is Sold Out for Wanna Get Away, but not for Anytime or Business Select. Is that enough availability for a Companion Pass to work, or does Wanna Get Away need to be open? I am pretty sure that is enough availability ... but want to be sure.

Thanks!

nsx

Any seat open is available to your Companion.

PAX62

Yup...as long as the flight is not sold out and the system shows a seat available at any fare, you can book your companion.

TravelerMSY

When this happened to me, I was politely told I was out of luck and they weren't going to force my companion onto a sold out flight. It probably didn't help that it was already over by 20. YMMV.