Official schedule extension prediction thread
Apr 12, 2006, 11:43 am
#48
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: SPG, WN, Marriott, United, US Airways
Posts: 4
Originally Posted by SAPMAN
Or what??
Valid point!
Well $124 each way doesn't make sense for Southwest... I'd rather wait and get the $118 rate from US Airways, United, Northwest, or Delta. Right now it's only through May 23rd but this is pretty much a constant rate (if booked right). The $118 doesn't include taxes and 99.9% of the time isn't direct but $118 + taxes + 1 stop = better than $248 + taxes + no stops!
Apr 13, 2006, 7:07 am
#49
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 9
Originally Posted by schleprock1024
Valid point!
Well $124 each way doesn't make sense for Southwest... I'd rather wait and get the $118 rate from US Airways, United, Northwest, or Delta. Right now it's only through May 23rd but this is pretty much a constant rate (if booked right). The $118 doesn't include taxes and 99.9% of the time isn't direct but $118 + taxes + 1 stop = better than $248 + taxes + no stops!
Well $124 each way doesn't make sense for Southwest... I'd rather wait and get the $118 rate from US Airways, United, Northwest, or Delta. Right now it's only through May 23rd but this is pretty much a constant rate (if booked right). The $118 doesn't include taxes and 99.9% of the time isn't direct but $118 + taxes + 1 stop = better than $248 + taxes + no stops!
Apr 13, 2006, 9:15 am
#51
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: SPG, WN, Marriott, United, US Airways
Posts: 4
Originally Posted by coachrick
I do believe our days of $59 fares to MCO are pretty much over for the foreseable future. $118 RT?, that's a great rate in the present climate, but I doubt you will see that also. I just went to US Air, and can't seem to find anything close to 118 at US Airs website, but perhaps I am not searching correctly. I came up with $540 RT with a stop! I'll keep waiting, gotta be any minute now!
Apr 13, 2006, 10:49 am
#52
Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: California
Programs: WN Companion Pass, A-list preferred, Hyatt Globalist; United Club Lietime (sic) Member
Posts: 21,622
I can hardly believe that the schedule didn't open today. JetBlue just pushed its schedule into October!
On the other hand, given the trend (since a year ago) toward releasing sale fares only 8 to 12 weeks ahead (especially via Ding), extensions are becoming unimportant. Last summer for West Coast routes there were no serious August discounts after the April extension, and September discounts didn't appear until late July.
On the other hand, given the trend (since a year ago) toward releasing sale fares only 8 to 12 weeks ahead (especially via Ding), extensions are becoming unimportant. Last summer for West Coast routes there were no serious August discounts after the April extension, and September discounts didn't appear until late July.
Apr 13, 2006, 11:47 am
#53
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: AA PLT; UA Gold
Posts: 5,378
Consider this: The longer Southwest makes you wait, the less competitive the other airlines' fares will appear to be (because the other airlines' lowest-price buckets will be selling out).
If Southwest can "train" people not to buy tickets until Southwest opens its schedule, they can also appear to have a lower-priced product. Unsavvy travelers will never realize that they could have saved money by not waiting until Southwest opened its schedule.
In the most extreme case, if Southwest decided it would release its schedule no more than two weeks before the flights, they would always appear to have the lowest fares. And since Southwest is all about "training" the public to ignore the fact that there are other airlines with lower fares, this might just work.
Just a thought!
If Southwest can "train" people not to buy tickets until Southwest opens its schedule, they can also appear to have a lower-priced product. Unsavvy travelers will never realize that they could have saved money by not waiting until Southwest opened its schedule.
In the most extreme case, if Southwest decided it would release its schedule no more than two weeks before the flights, they would always appear to have the lowest fares. And since Southwest is all about "training" the public to ignore the fact that there are other airlines with lower fares, this might just work.
Just a thought!
Apr 13, 2006, 7:46 pm
#54
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: OH & NV
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat, WN CP, Latin Pass Bonus
Posts: 3,707
Originally Posted by justageek
In the most extreme case, if Southwest decided it would release its schedule no more than two weeks before the flights, they would always appear to have the lowest fares.
Apr 14, 2006, 9:45 am
#57
Moderator: Southwest Airlines, Capital One
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: California
Programs: WN Companion Pass, A-list preferred, Hyatt Globalist; United Club Lietime (sic) Member
Posts: 21,622
Originally Posted by cepmom
quick question about the schedule extension....when it finally does open, do you get a notification from Ding! saying the dates have been extended?
Apr 19, 2006, 11:15 am
#60
Original Member and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kansas City, MO, USA
Programs: DL PM/MM, AA ExPlat, Hyatt Glob, HH Dia, National ECE, Hertz PC
Posts: 16,579
For those obsessing over the schedule, I just posted this elsewhere but figured I'd add it here ... the schedule extension today only puts the horizon at 146 days, the shortest since March 2003 was 144 days and the average of the last 26 extensions (including this one) is now 164 days. Given this I would expect the next schedule extension to be approximately 5 weeks away, so I'm putting in my prediction of 10:15 AM On Thursday, May 25th now. 