jamesteroh

I agree it is VERY stupid. WN isnt the only one guilty of that though. I flew to NYC not that long ago on Delta with a friend who was only Silver. Delta doesnt provide free same day travel unless you are gold or higher. We got to the airport a little early and asked to be accomodated on the earlier flight (which was delayed and would have only gotten us in an hour earlier anyway). We were on separate PNRs and my upgrade had cleared. They said they could accomodate me for free but first was full and my upgrade wouldnt clear on the earlier flight and my friend could also be accomodated and it would be $50. He didnt want to pay it to get to NYC an hour early and for a middle seat. We get to the gate for our flight and they were oversold by 3 and offereing $300 vouchers and a food voucher to go out later!!!! Delta would have had one seat in First and one in Y open and would have saved $600 plus the food vouchers (maybe more if someone would hhave paid for a first class walk up fare) if they wouldnt have insisted on my friend paying $50 to go on a flight that left with empty seats.

alanh

The point is that if moving up to an earlier flight were allowed as a matter of course, people would always book the latest flight (or whichever what cheapest) then show up whenever, making the standby lists unmanageable.

InkUnderNails

Which, of course, is a privilege granted to both BS and Anytime purchasers. If I make last minute changes, I will choose BS as the ticket then becomes a ticket for any flight on the same route. It is like buying status, one ticket at a time.

buylowsellhigh

Ahhhh, finally thought of a way to game the system. The flight is $40 a.i. when purchased in advance and close to $200 for a last min flight (if i miss it). I'll book two flights, no show one of them, and use the remaining as an open credit for a future flight. Problem solved

PVDtoDEL

This is a major area where the legacies are better than WN. WN always touts their "no change fee", but you have to pay the fare difference, which on last minute fares is usually VERY high. Compared to paying $50 on a legacy for a non-elite or free for an elite on a legacy...

HtomSirveaux

Except for the part where I'm pretty sure their terms say "no speculative bookings." Something like that would be rather easy for them to catch (since they both have to be made in the same name), but I'm not sure if they'd actively do anything about it.

jamesteroh

If you can use the credit in a year probably your best bet. That way you will be assured a spot on the earlier flight and you will have a decent boardinng pass number and wont get stuck in a middle seat.

jamesteroh

I agree. I would rathber be able to fly for free on an earlier flight than have no chage fees myself. I think WN should offer free same day changes to A-listers seeing all the legacies do for their elites.

MoreMilesPlease

I don't think there is anything against doing this. I may be wrong but many people do this that fly SW a lot. Since they can simply cancel, or no show, for a flight and keep the money value for another ticket.

lougord99

Yes, many people do it. I sometimes do it. WN specifically bans 'speculative booking', which I would say this is a case of.

I do try to limit the amount I do this and cancel as far in advance as I can. If this technique is rampantly used and abused, WN would probably stop no-change fees.

InkUnderNails

I once researched this and found the most direct reference in the T&C for web site use:

The Contract of Carriage (pdf at link) has nothing that I could find.

Multiple searches at southwest.com showed no additional information that I could find.

I occasionally make consecutive day purchases, which technically falls under the prohibited action above. I do not make multiple same day purchases.

All that said, I have not read any reports of WN sanctioning a passenger for multiple reservations, but they can if they want.

nsx

I never book 2 flights for the same route on the same day. I consider that abusive. I book the earlier flight and rely on the flat tire rule for free standby. I almost never end up missing the earlier flight.

If you have alternate travel dates, booking both makes a lot of sense. Just cancel the one you don't need as soon as you know you don't need it. RR points are best for this kind of situation, since they are fully refundable into your account without any expiration hassle.

haddon90

it's a stupid policy, regardless. if your flight is overbooked, and you want to help them out by going on an earlier one, the fact they don't assist you to help them out later makes no sense. the last 4 or 5 WN flights i've taken my flight has been delayed, and they tried to charge me each time to standby for something else. each time was able to get the fee waived, but still...unreal.

i only fly WN within california, and UA every other time because of their standby policy.

nsx

What part of this explanation makes no sense? It seems like basic game theory to me.

People who say it makes no sense are often the same ones who would like to game the system by buying the cheap flight with the intent of standing by for the expensive one. That's what I would do and what I actually do in some cases, using the flat tire rule.

haddon90

i fly a lot and don't game the system, because if you buy the last flight and try and do standby and the plane is full...then you're stuck at the airport for quite a long time. i try to make it easy for the airline, and if they'd rather VDB me and pay me vouchers then putting me on an earlier flight, fine. i just look at it as i'm doing them a favor by freeing up a seat they may need later on.