When will Southwest relent on insane summer fares? (Answer: June 3, 2016)
May 16, 2016, 2:49 pm
#76
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Assuming there is an anniversary sale a few weeks from now, it sure will be odd to see $49 or $59 autumn fares next to $113 to $123 summer fares on the calendar.
May 16, 2016, 7:23 pm
#77
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Here is the way I figure out if the fare is good. Lets say an airfare from San Jose to Seattle is $340 r/t(not saying it is). Then I figure out its a 16 hour drive each way and you need to book a hotel/motel on the road thats another $80 plus meals x4, gas mileage car maintenance etc and a long car ride.
People don't figure out the cost of driving. Its interesting to point out that taking Amtrak is more because you pay for a coach seat and then your meals even in the snack car and it takes twice as long. For me anything over 400 miles its worth flying.
We are fortunate to be able to take 2-3 week vacations at a time to make the extra cost of flying worth it. Having timeshares has actually saved us money. So when we get to Sedona after a beautiful 2 hour drive from PHX we can stay there for 3 weeks even if we have to move to a resort 20 minutes away.
What I have figured is the longer your vacation is the more worth it is to fly. If you take a week vacation for the $300 flight when you can rent a condo for longer and then fly home three weeks later then thats a better way to vacation. For those taking the short long weekends then its almost a crime to pay the high cost in the summer. Skip 4th of July, Memorial Day and Labor day.
We never fly during the busy holidays as we know the airfares go up. We love going on early morning flights on the outbound and a late afternoon early evening flight on the return if available. Play your cards right and you can make flying economical.
People don't figure out the cost of driving. Its interesting to point out that taking Amtrak is more because you pay for a coach seat and then your meals even in the snack car and it takes twice as long. For me anything over 400 miles its worth flying.
We are fortunate to be able to take 2-3 week vacations at a time to make the extra cost of flying worth it. Having timeshares has actually saved us money. So when we get to Sedona after a beautiful 2 hour drive from PHX we can stay there for 3 weeks even if we have to move to a resort 20 minutes away.
What I have figured is the longer your vacation is the more worth it is to fly. If you take a week vacation for the $300 flight when you can rent a condo for longer and then fly home three weeks later then thats a better way to vacation. For those taking the short long weekends then its almost a crime to pay the high cost in the summer. Skip 4th of July, Memorial Day and Labor day.
We never fly during the busy holidays as we know the airfares go up. We love going on early morning flights on the outbound and a late afternoon early evening flight on the return if available. Play your cards right and you can make flying economical.
Current fares ($100pp one-way) are somewhat cost prohibitive for the SF-LA drive which can usually be done in 5-6 hours on a single tank of petrol ($40-50). Even at $49 one-way my family of 4 still saves a substantial sum, in fact the gas probably costs less than airport parking, car rental etc. Door-to-door flying is a minimum of 3-4 hours, so there is not much time savings from flying.
Once you hit 8 hours (e.g. SF to San Diego or Palm Springs) flying starts to look a bit better, particularly for a shorter trip of 3-4 days. Though I'd still drive on a 1 week trip. And no way I would drive 10 hours to Las Vegas (or rather 10 hours after a weekend in Vegas
) - not surprisingly the weekend fares are high as many feel the same way. Of course flying is more economical for solo travelers or even 2 persons (particularly with a companion ticket
) so that might reduce your driving range...
May 16, 2016, 10:43 pm
#78
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Traveling the World
Posts: 6,075
Interesting methodology. However I think for most of us (who are not retired or can regularly take 2-3 week vacations) there is an over/under where driving becomes prohibitive. This no doubt varies by person and location - for me the over/under is about 8 hours (the mileage is not relevant).
Current fares ($100pp one-way) are somewhat cost prohibitive for the SF-LA drive which can usually be done in 5-6 hours on a single tank of petrol ($40-50). Even at $49 one-way my family of 4 still saves a substantial sum, in fact the gas probably costs less than airport parking, car rental etc. Door-to-door flying is a minimum of 3-4 hours, so there is not much time savings from flying.
Once you hit 8 hours (e.g. SF to San Diego or Palm Springs) flying starts to look a bit better, particularly for a shorter trip of 3-4 days. Though I'd still drive on a 1 week trip. And no way I would drive 10 hours to Las Vegas (or rather 10 hours after a weekend in Vegas) - not surprisingly the weekend fares are high as many feel the same way.
Of course flying is more economical for solo travelers or even 2 persons (particularly with a companion ticket ) so that might reduce your driving range...
Current fares ($100pp one-way) are somewhat cost prohibitive for the SF-LA drive which can usually be done in 5-6 hours on a single tank of petrol ($40-50). Even at $49 one-way my family of 4 still saves a substantial sum, in fact the gas probably costs less than airport parking, car rental etc. Door-to-door flying is a minimum of 3-4 hours, so there is not much time savings from flying.
Once you hit 8 hours (e.g. SF to San Diego or Palm Springs) flying starts to look a bit better, particularly for a shorter trip of 3-4 days. Though I'd still drive on a 1 week trip. And no way I would drive 10 hours to Las Vegas (or rather 10 hours after a weekend in Vegas
) - not surprisingly the weekend fares are high as many feel the same way. Of course flying is more economical for solo travelers or even 2 persons (particularly with a companion ticket
) so that might reduce your driving range...
May 17, 2016, 11:39 am
#79
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LAX-SFO summer fares have now dropped to $92 all week. They had been $113 to $123, which is where LAX-OAK fares still are.
May 17, 2016, 11:52 am
#80
Join Date: Sep 2015
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May 18, 2016, 10:51 am
#81
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,813
I May have noticed a crack.
I may have noticed a small crack in the Summer No Fare Sale Season. Previously It was running from June 16 through August 23. Yesterday I noticed some very low fares in a few places to the end of June. MSY-ATL for $49 was one I found.
I watch the ATL-MSY fares pretty closely since I fly that route frequently and have noticed some significant pricing anomalies.
I watch the ATL-MSY fares pretty closely since I fly that route frequently and have noticed some significant pricing anomalies.
May 18, 2016, 6:18 pm
#82
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And yet, one-way fares on DTW-CVG/PIT/BUF on DL are all $400+. All shorter distances than LAX-SFO. Sorry, but these "expensive" $100 WN fares seem relatively cheap in comparison to what many legacy hub flyers endure.
May 19, 2016, 9:42 am
#83
Join Date: Apr 2012
Programs: WN A-List Preferred & CP
Posts: 80
I've noticed that AA is price-matching Frontier fares for ORD/AUS summer flights but WN is holding steady. About to book a weekend one-way that is $130 cheaper on AA than anything that day on WN. Disappointing.
May 19, 2016, 7:24 pm
#84
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 1,335
Just booked SFO-ATL-SFO on UA (early June) for $365. Non-stops both ways.
Same trip on WN $565 (miserable flight times) to $665 (good flight times). Connections both ways.
Something is really off here. Is WN really seeing such incredibly good bookings that they can charge an 82% surcharge for connecting flights over the admittedly unpleasant but non-stop UAL? Even if I cancel and have to eat the $200 change fee on UA, I still come out ahead!
Odd, very odd.
Same trip on WN $565 (miserable flight times) to $665 (good flight times). Connections both ways.
Something is really off here. Is WN really seeing such incredibly good bookings that they can charge an 82% surcharge for connecting flights over the admittedly unpleasant but non-stop UAL? Even if I cancel and have to eat the $200 change fee on UA, I still come out ahead!
Odd, very odd.
May 19, 2016, 8:10 pm
#85
Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
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Southwest is willing to lose long-lead bookings to the competition in the hope of getting higher total revenue from the flight by selling out at a higher average fare. Either Southwest is wrong with its revenue calculations or competitors are selling far-advance tickets too cheaply. Assuming a homogeneous customer base, they can't both be right.
May 19, 2016, 11:23 pm
#86
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Southwest is willing to lose long-lead bookings to the competition in the hope of getting higher total revenue from the flight by selling out at a higher average fare. Either Southwest is wrong with its revenue calculations or competitors are selling far-advance tickets too cheaply. Assuming a homogeneous customer base, they can't both be right.
May 20, 2016, 5:12 am
#87
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 149
Know your dates and book them. $49 is a steal over anything I'm seeing online right now.
May 20, 2016, 7:14 am
#88
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,813
Southwest is willing to lose long-lead bookings to the competition in the hope of getting higher total revenue from the flight by selling out at a higher average fare. Either Southwest is wrong with its revenue calculations or competitors are selling far-advance tickets too cheaply. Assuming a homogeneous customer base, they can't both be right.
May 20, 2016, 9:46 am
#89
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Others, BTW: Allegiant, Frontier, JetBlue, Spirit, Sun Country, and Virgin.
I like to use the getawayfinder map. When I search out of DEN for fares under $100 I find 10 cities on a Wed in mid June but only 2 cities on a Wed in mid Sept.
May 21, 2016, 10:26 am
#90
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"Low cost" does not mean "low fares". "Low cost" is a business model aimed at lowering the cost of operating the airline.
Southwest still operates on that business model (which includes flying only one plane type, aiming for quick turns, etc, etc).
That it chooses not to turn any of those savings into lower fares, that has nothing to do with whether they operate as a "low cost carrier" (LCC).