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Wanna get away sold out

mkinser
Explorer C

I'm curious about WGA fares being completely sold out.  I'm looking to book MKE-SJU round trip for 3/22 - 3/31.  The WGA fares have been "sold out" for months.  Every flight on 3/20 has WGA fares so I am assuming that SWA just has them locked out yet for the dates I am looking at.  Can someone please tell me typically how far in advance SWA opens up these fares?

 

Thank you.

5 REPLIES 5

Re: Wanna get away sold out

bec102896
Aviator A

Sometimes if there is a big event happening in a city on certain dates the event will go and book up all the seats just like hotels. For example I did a group booking last month and I ended up grabing the last 35 WGA tickets on one of the flights as they only offer so many per flight but there are unlimited (up to plane capacity) Anytime tickets and only 15 Business Select so in theory a group could book 143 anytime seats but not 143 WGA tickets most likely. 

 

The best thing to do is keep watching in case enough people cancel or if no one books maybe some WGA tickets will become avalible. 

 

Because of your dates it might have to do with spring break. 

 

Hope this helps!

Blake

Re: Wanna get away sold out

CareforNOLA
Frequent Flyer A

As @bec102896 said, there are dates where the WGA fares sell out within minutes of the schedule opening....Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest...these are events that happen or have happened in New Orleans that can interfere with my Business travel.

 

If you go to Southwest.com and click on “Flight” at the top, one of the drop-down choices is “Flight Schedules.”  Clicking on that option tells you what current date the airline is accepting reservations through and when the next set of schedule dates open.  Right now, reservations are being accepted through Aug 5th and around Feb 7th, the dates will be opened through Labor Day.  So, more than likely, people looking to book WGA fares for Labor Day will start logging in around midnight or 1am on Feb 7th to get the lowest fares.

 

so generally, SWA opens schedules about 6 months in advance but it varies.

 

I am not sure if MKE or SJU have any events around those dates but Puerto Rico flights are probably still full due to contractors helping with re-building as well as spring break.  

 

SWA sets aside a certain number of seats for WGAs, Anytimes and Business Select, so that is why the WGAs are probably gone.  Generally the WGA fares are the first to sell out.

 

Some people say that searching constantly for certain dates and locations tells airline reservation systems that you are really interested, so the system automatically starts offering you only the higher priced fares.  I have not experienced that with SWA, but I have seen it on another airline.  If you suspect that, you might try looking on a different computer, but like @bec102896 suggests, spring break may just be filling the seats.

 

 Hopefully this info helps you in booking for future travels.

Re: Wanna get away sold out

mkinser
Explorer C

Thanks for the replies.  I've never heard of San Juan being a spring break destination, and am sure it isn't now since the hurricane.  At this point I will just ride it out another week and if they aren't released purchase Anytime tickets.  Then keep an eye on WGA ones to be released.  I find it highly unlikely that they are all sold out.

Re: Wanna get away sold out

ParSWA
Adventurer B

" the system automatically starts offering you only the higher priced fares"

 

I'm not sure if that's for certain with SWA, but I've seen some odd things occur in this regard. When in doubt, I simply delete my browser history

 

At times, it's definitely made a difference.

Re: Wanna get away sold out

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@mkinser wrote:

I'm curious about WGA fares being completely sold out.  I'm looking to book MKE-SJU round trip for 3/22 - 3/31.  The WGA fares have been "sold out" for months.  Every flight on 3/20 has WGA fares so I am assuming that SWA just has them locked out yet for the dates I am looking at. 


Quite possible - either they are expecting these to sell at the higher rate, or some high percentage of the plane has already been sold. 

 


@mkinser wrote:

.... Can someone please tell me typically how far in advance SWA opens up these fares?

 



No - the fare may be opened up, this could depend on expected demand for flights those days, fares already purchased, and competition with the other guys for these routes.

 

We can say that often these fares may be opened back up but not any specific time, or if this particular route may not be opened back up. 

 

There is always the option to book now - which it sounds like would be a refundable fare, and then refund and rebook if you do catch a WGA availability.

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.