How Do Find Out How Full A Flight IS

Old Aug 15, 2008, 9:22 am
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How Do Find Out How Full A Flight IS

I normally fly Continental, but got a great rate on Southwest and booked a flight to LAX. I would like to know how full the flight is. On Continental, I would just look at the seat map and see how many seats are empty. There is no such thing on Southwest. So can someone tell me if there is another way to determine how full my flight is going to be?
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Old Aug 15, 2008, 9:44 am
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You can try to book 8 tickets on the WN website. It would show you whether there are 8 or more seats available for sale.
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Old Aug 15, 2008, 5:06 pm
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Originally Posted by thenewbie
You can try to book 8 tickets on the WN website. It would show you whether there are 8 or more seats available for sale.
You could just call the 800 number and they will be happy to tell you
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Old Aug 15, 2008, 8:17 pm
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Originally Posted by eshep3
I normally fly Continental, but got a great rate on Southwest and booked a flight to LAX. I would like to know how full the flight is. On Continental, I would just look at the seat map and see how many seats are empty. There is no such thing on Southwest. So can someone tell me if there is another way to determine how full my flight is going to be?
If you got a great deal, there's probably a lot of open seats. Get Away Fares will get higher as the flight fills up.
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Old Aug 17, 2008, 2:35 pm
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Originally Posted by thenewbie
You can try to book 8 tickets on the WN website. It would show you whether there are 8 or more seats available for sale.
Agreed - this is what I typically do (or just call the 1-800# and tell them you are trying to book a trip for a large group...)
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Old Aug 19, 2008, 2:06 am
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?? How are people getting on WN flights that aren't positively brimful?

Maybe I just book popular markets, but I can't remember the last flight I took that didn't have at least 95% of the center seats filled. Which doesn't bother me, of course, except for examples like the BNA-BWI trip I took last month - in which Mr. Center Seat not only hogged the armrest, but rested his meaty arm actually on my thigh for most of the flight...Seems like I've been having a bad spate of being seated next to men whose upper bodies are too wide for the seat, as well, shoving me either out into the aisle (to be hit by passing bev carts) or into the plane wall (talk about backache).

It'd be wonderful to have room to get away from these folks, but it just doesn't ever seem to happen.

Oh, and to the OP: It's a good idea to set alarms on your desktop calendar or whatever, so you can be sure to OLCI 24 hours in advance and get into the A boarding group. Otherwise you can expect your carryon to be gate-checked if you're on one of the older WN planes (22" bags won't fit in long-ways, only sideways, and the bins fill up fast.)
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Old May 8, 2012, 6:33 pm
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Old May 9, 2012, 11:44 am
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Originally Posted by divemistressofthedark
?? How are people getting on WN flights that aren't positively brimful?

Maybe I just book popular markets, but I can't remember the last flight I took that didn't have at least 95% of the center seats filled.
Fly from Corpus Christi to Houston - you will have a row to yourself. Continue to Dallas, however, and you will have large people in you middle seat almost every time (unless you bribe small people to sit in your middle seat with drink coupons....)

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Old May 9, 2012, 12:49 pm
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Originally Posted by jbdear
Fly from Corpus Christi to Houston - you will have a row to yourself. Continue to Dallas, however, and you will have large people in you middle seat almost every time (unless you bribe small people to sit in your middle seat with drink coupons....)

Heck, I flew HOU-CRP a while back and even that was like 135/137.
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Old May 9, 2012, 2:25 pm
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I just few IND to BWI with only about 50 people, everyone was in the A group obviously. On the way back a few days later I forgot to checkin at T-24 so I checked in at about T-16 and got B15 but lucked out because the flight only had about 80-90 people. Those are the two lightest flights I have been on in a very long time.
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Old May 9, 2012, 10:27 pm
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The last flight out each day of PHX-SNA and back are usually only 50-75% full. I have flown that last flight going and returning more times than I want to think about (my spouse lives in Orange County), and there has only been one time when that flight has been full. I always have at least a middle seat open next to me.
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Old May 9, 2012, 11:50 pm
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FWIW seat maps aren't too reliable either.
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Old May 10, 2012, 9:39 am
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Originally Posted by alggag
FWIW seat maps aren't too reliable either.
That was my first thought.

If you aren't elite, you might be looking at a plane that appears 100% sold out but isn't.
If you are elite, you might be looking at a plane that appears quite empty but will end up checking in full or close to it.

With Southwest, stuff changes so fast that I don't bother calling. I just ask as I'm boarding. Agent usually responds with an exact number unless the answer is obviously going to be "pretty empty" or "100% full".
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