First time rope dropping SWA flight release date this March 12 for an August flight. Any advice? Anyone else waking up early?
In central time zone. Sympathies to those in mountain and pacific
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This is my first time to ācamp outā for SW flights too. My issue is not knowing what time they go on sale. I only see 7am - 9:30am (CST)
Iāll already be up anyway, but Iāll be anxiously awaiting the release.
Good luck guys! I did this for our recent Disney trip and I ended up with amazing prices!
Flights didnāt become available til closer to noon though. But I just checked at 7, and then kept the website up while I was working at home that day.
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I have seen posts stating release time can be as early as 6am EASTERN, which is 5am central. ugh.
I live in CST too. I typically get up 6 - 6:30am for work. I plan to check then and just keep the SW tab open in my browser all morning at work. (Kinda like I do with TP forums!) 
Iām eastern and last year I think I set my alarm at 6am and had to wait like 15-20 minutes but not too long.
My fear/annoyance right now is that they will push this date out again with all of the flight uncertainty going on. My DVC 7 month mark is 4 days after Thursday so I need to know my flight times!!
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Iāll be monitoring it as well. I have my fingers crossed that they donāt go live during my commute to work!
I will be anxiously awaiting these on Thursday. Flights often show up earlier under the āLow Fare Calendarā tab earlier than searching by date, so you might want to just check there as well as you continually refresh!
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Interesting. Do the lowest fares/best flights sell out that quickly (minutes/within an hour)? Are the initial prices really that much better than the regular wanna get away fares that they advertise weekly? Iāve watched for the best prices Iāve ever seen out of my airport to MCO over the past few months and I know what I am willing to pay to be worth driving to the closest SW airport. This release doesnāt include my fall dates but Iām learning for the next release.
Typically, yes. But that doesnāt mean you never see them again.
I donāt do the RD SW fares thing. It has never benefitted us.
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So, are you saying that you know what your best prices are likely to be and if those arenāt released at RD, you know youāll see them another time?
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I will be looking for Aug flights as well! I have had times when the SWA airlines flight werent released until the afternoon. Also had one time when they changed the realease date instead of releasing. Smh. Some sell out quickly especially the more popular times for the cheapest fares but they almost always show up again later depending on if the regular fares sell or not. And as far as cheapest on release dateā¦not always. The last 2 times I booked the price dropped 2 weeks after so keep your eye out. I always use points so the difference is just put back in my account
Man, I donāt know what is going to happen on Wednesday between the Max 8 grounding which just encountered another hiccup (two new problems, I think) and the coronavirus impacting travel. The SW flights I watch have been fluctuating like crazy the past few days.
I camp out every time! Check the low fare calendar-and have your log in ready to go if you have an account. It is usually a phased release. I have purchased tickets before leaving for work and when I get to my desk an hour later they are hundreds more.
This is my first RD for SW tickets. However, I always take SW to MCO. I typically get my tickets about 90 days in advance and get, basically, the same āWanna Get Awayā price that happens on opening day.
Iāve never planned a trip so far in advance before, so I thought Iād do this to compare and to help make my countdown feel like itās going faster!
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Yes. Almost always.
When the fares came it last May they were above my budget. Two weeks later they were lower and in my budget.
I then re shopped twice after that to better costs/times. YMMV
Due to market conditions, the full fare airlines are dropping their prices and based on todayās events I feel you will see even more decreases.
I would double check available prices before jumping on the SW offering.
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Thanks. I checked. While the deal is cheaper, the overall result is worse. I pay less, but now have stop overs (longer time to get there), worse timing, and paying for baggage.
It is probably due to location (although I am in a major city), but good advice to always check.
Looks like SWA dropped some prices across the board. Perhaps when they release new flights, I can get those rates. Would be very cool.
YMMV.
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We will fly out of Atlanta on 9/20 and will be using our SWA points to fly for āfreeā. Will our dates become available on 3/12? We certainly want to maximize our points, and having the ability to choose the best flight times is important as well.
We typically get the $59 Wanna Get Away flights to MCO, they just sometimes occur at difficult times of the day (we will have our 3 young kids with us).