Fares doubled in price.

[Roadijeff]

I know this is an old thread from last year but I ran across it when doing a google search for any reason for the huge increase in Southwest's airfares.  I was thinking about a Disneyworld trip in October and I was comparing prices of several airlines.  Since SW doesn't show up in the options on places like Expedia, I saved them for last.

Wow, was I ever surprised.  A rt flight to MCO (Orlando) from STL was nearly twice the cost on SW than it was on Delta.  It used to be just about the opposite.  What happened???

[bec102896]

Depending on how long of a trip you want to take and how flexible your dates are you could get RT for just under $200 

[Roadijeff]

I will check again but I was comparing prices on same day and approximate same time flights between airlines.  My dates are fixed, since I am meeting relatives there from other parts of the country.  I did the best I could, or so I thought, with SW's rates and used their "Wanna Get Away" column when deciding on what time to fly. 

I don't fly much, so maybe this increase in fares by SW has been that way for a while but it was a sticker shock when I saw the total yesterday.

[dfwskier]

I'm a big fan of Southwest, but when I run in to this situation, I fly the other guy.

That being said, all airlines price tickets for what they think they will sell for. So, that's what is going on.

If ticket sales turn out to be slower than expected, Southwest has been know to drop prices. You could watch to see what happens.