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wanna get away flight

emilyloch
Explorer C

Is the wanna get away ticket guarantee you a spot on a flight or is it a standby ticket? I have never flown southwest and was told it's just a standby option. 

12 REPLIES 12

Re: wanna get away flight

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

All tickets sold by Southwest are guaranteed spots.  There is no way to buy a stand by ticket.  Wanna get away tickets are non-refundable so you can't request a cash refund, but you can change your flight or cancel and use the funds within a year.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: wanna get away flight

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Also, I'm curious where you heard they are standby tickets?  That's so untrue it's crazy.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: wanna get away flight

emilyloch
Explorer C

A friend who only flies with southwest "all the time" mentioned it to me. Which seemed odd when I heard that so I'd thought I'd ask here. Thank you so much! I feel more confident purchasing the ticket now! 

Re: wanna get away flight

dfwskier
Aviator A

As said above, Southwest does not sell more tickets than it has seats.

 

In the  past all airlines would be aware of how many "no shows" would be expected on a given flight. If the number was 2, airlines would sell up to 2 more tickets than seats. If the expectations were met, there was no overbooking, and the plane went out full.

 

Southwest stopped doing that 2-3 years ago.

Re: wanna get away flight

jksobonya
Aviator A

@emilyloch wrote:

A friend who only flies with southwest "all the time" mentioned it to me. Which seemed odd when I heard that so I'd thought I'd ask here. Thank you so much! I feel more confident purchasing the ticket now! 


How can someone who flies Southwest "all the time" think that Wanna Get Away fares are standby only?

 

I'm so confused lol

 

Maybe they confused "standby" with "open seating"? That's my only guess. You don't get an assigned seat with Southwest. It's opening seating and you sit where you like. 

 

To reiterate everyone else, Wanna Get Away fares are a guaranteed seat. All the fares are guaranteed seats - the more expensive options just give you more perks, like free wi-fi and earlier boarding, for example. 

 

--Jessica

Re: wanna get away flight

SWFlyer007
Aviator C

@emilyloch I will reiterate what the middle seat has told you is true.  If you got a wanna get away, you have done well to get a seat at the most economical price.  Enjoy your flight knowing that the other 65% of those on board spent more for their seat than you did.  

Re: wanna get away flight

bwallet
Frequent Flyer A

65% of fares are not WGA? That seems high, especially lately with the passengers being much more leisure heavy.

Re: wanna get away flight

SWFlyer007
Aviator C

NO, my statement is that 35% are on the WGA..

Re: wanna get away flight

SWFlyer007
Aviator C

@bwallet NO, my statement is that 35% are on the WGA..   But that was just an estimate not trying to be exact.