DING! ROCKS! Southwest's new fare alert is Phenominal

Well guys! here's a new way to book that airfare at considerable
savings. Go to www.Southwest.com and download DING! you'll get fast
FAST updates on special fares that are available for quick purchase.

I just bought 2 Round trip Tickets to Hartford from Baltimore for
$158.00

If you're concerned about the non-refundable nature of your purchase,
they won't give you cash back, but they'll let you use the funds for a
different flight at another time.

Make sure you sign up for Southwests Rapid rewards cause when you
download DING! and keep it active on your computer for 30 days you
receive 2 credits toward a free round trip anywhere they go.

FLY! SWA!

SAM
*** Edited 3/3/2005 5:38:33 PM UTC by Sam A. Marks***

:moan: SW doesn't fly out of Atlanta, though I have flown with them before and it was a pleasant, albeit slightly unusual, experience. *** Edited 3/3/2005 5:45:43 PM UTC by RamblinWreck***

Heh, Pittsburgh gets SW service starting in May. :)

coasterimage - lordgonchar

I thought we already had them LG? I know the FlyPittsburgh newsletter's had the big flashy "buy $29 airline tickets!" thing going for a couple of weeks.

Southwest is a really good airline - they've actually got it figured out. It blows my mind as to how a business that has leased equipment, a minimal number of employees for the services provided, and charges such sometimes outrageous fares, especially to business travellers to whom price is no object, can be screwed up by so many other companies.

Is $158 Hartford to Baltimore really that good of a fare? I would think something more along the lines of $89 to $119 is more of a "good" fare for that short of a route ... or am I forgetting the effects of the Eastern Seaboard Megaopolis?

Brett, Resident Launch Whore Anti-Enthusiast (the undiplomatic one)

Still not as cheap as Ryanair :)

I develop Superior Solitaire when not riding coasters.

Sam A. Marks said:
Well I just bought 2 Round trip Tickets to Hartford from Baltimore for 158.00
*

He said 2 tickets for 158.00 so that is 79.00 apiece , no?

Great news Gonch!!!! Guess I'll be able to finally get out to Knoebels on the cheap now. ;)

"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza

Brett, that $29 thing is a limited offer. Basically, if you book before the flights start. I don't think that rate holds once flights out of PIT begin.

EDIT - Found the Press Release. Flights start on May 4th. Those low rates they've been advertising in the area end on the 26th.

*** Edited 3/3/2005 6:36:06 PM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

coasterimage - lordgonchar

Ok, downloaded it and put in my airport. Does it just pop up with random offers or do I have to do something else?

Oh, duh, missed the 2 in there! Ok yea, that's a heck of an offer!

Thanks for slapping me back in line folks ;)

Brett, Resident Launch Whore Anti-Enthusiast (the undiplomatic one)

Sam A. Marks said:
Make sure you sign up for Southwests Rapid rewards cause when you
download DING! and keep it active on your computer for 30 days you
receive 2 credits toward a free round trip anywhere they go.
*** Edited 3/3/2005 5:38:33 PM UTC by Sam A. Marks***

So If I sign up for Rapid Rewards, download DING and keep it active for 30 days, I get 2 free roundtrip flights?! That can't be... I must not be reading this right!

No, you get 2 credits.

It takes 16 credits in 12 consecutive months to get a free flight.

coasterimage - lordgonchar

So do you only get the credits for the first 30 days? Otherwise it would only take 8 months to get a free flight... all for downloading software. I like that one!

Check flying SW to Philly or maybe even Newark(EWR) for knoebel's i think you'd be closer at one of those two airports.

Watch the tram car please....

Yes, just 2 credits total. A little 'bonus' for trying out the software for 30 days.

Now you only have to fly 7 round trips in the next year instead of 8.

coasterimage - lordgonchar

Southwest's Rapid Rewards program is actually in many ways LESS generous than most of the majors. Of course, that might be one of the reasons they're successful...

You need to get the 16 credits within one calendar year for the free round trip. On most of the majors, you need 25,000 miles for a free domestic round trip (more or less -- there's sales where you need less but can't fly on certain dates, you can pay more for first class, etc.), but miles typically don't expire until 3 years of inactivity on the account, and it's quite simple to earn bonus miles. The last time I flew from Pittsburgh to England (~3700 air miles each way) I actually earned over 25,000 miles for the one trip...

Heck, I had so many miles in my account that I have a First Class ticket to Japan booked for "free" (but I need to reschedule my flights, and may run into capacity control limits and have to get bumped down to Business. Ah well...) *** Edited 3/3/2005 8:00:22 PM UTC by GregLeg***

--Greg
"You seem healthy. So much for voodoo."

Richard Bannister said:
Still not as cheap as Ryanair :)

Yep! I paid 99 pence for my return trip to Germany (from London). The plan is to visit Holiday Park and Europa Park on May 1-2. :)

GregLeg said:
Southwest's Rapid Rewards program is actually in many ways LESS generous than most of the majors. Of course, that might be one of the reasons they're successful...
You need to get the 16 credits within one calendar year for the free round trip. On most of the majors, you need 25,000 miles for a free domestic round trip

I average a free round trip every year, ( I use that one to go to CA or this year to seattle) one nice thing about SWA is that it doesn't matter how far or near you fly, you get the same credit. AND from BWI I get double credit which means I get my free flight with 4 round trips. My hartford trip will get me double credit, the alamo rental car i get from priceline for 13 a day gets me an additional credit (usually .5 credits but there's a sale!) and if I book into an econolodge I get a .5 credit too!

SAM

GregLeg said:
Southwest's Rapid Rewards program is actually in many ways LESS generous than most of the majors. Of course, that might be one of the reasons they're successful...

Yes, certainly true. AirTran, on par with Southwest as a discount carrier based down here in Atlanta (which may be why we don't have SWA), practically gives flights away if you have one of their VISA cards. If you use the card to buy AirTrain fares, about every 5th leg of a trip will earn you a free round trip (so like 2.4 round trips)
http://airtran.com/programs/aplus/aplusvisa.jsp

CoasterFanMatt said:
Yep! I paid 99 pence for my return trip to Germany (from London). The plan is to visit Holiday Park and Europa Park on May 1-2. :)

Tell me about it. I'm used to doing return trips to various places in England, and even including taxes and charges I never pay more than 30 euro.

I develop Superior Solitaire when not riding coasters.