Flights!

[rhonary]

This may be a silly question but we don't fly much...is there any advantage to booking round trip flights all at once or booking a one way down and then the other way back in a couple of weeks let say? (Thinking the trip back may get cheaper!) We are using Southwest Thanks!

[Itchy]

When ever we have flown Southwest the tickets where broken down separately by the flight down and back. We always booked both flights at the same time as prices can change simply by flight times and whether there are any stops or plane changes.

I would go ahead and book your flights now as you don't know if a flight may sell out and cause booking issues for you.

Hope this helps...

[Genie1953]

I agree with Itchy. I would book at the same time. Also not sure if you fly a lot or not but Southwest will give you airline credit if you notice your tickets lower in price after purchasing. At least they used to anyway. You just have to call them. You have a very limited time to use the credit though or it expires.

[Fangorn]

There is no specific advantage to booking round trip flights versus separate one way flights. Booking round trip will give you only one confirmation number as opposed to 2, but that's hardly an advantage. On the other hand, with Southwest, booking each leg individually will give you more freedom if you need to change a flight. Changing a one-way flight is very straight forward. Changing one leg of a round trip, while easy, can result in an increase in fare for the leg that isn't changing. Something that wouldn't happen with separate one-way tickets.

Personally, i don't think I've made a round trip reservation for many years and I fly regularly. Sometimes it's because I don't know the exact timing of one leg yet, but frequently it's just because I don't want to pay for it all at once. Do you run the risk that prices will go up? Sure. But prices on SWA change constantly and can go down as well (at least they do in my market).

Steve

[LandFan]

I prefer Southwest over ALL other airlines - free bags and they are always HAPPY. A couple of things about booking that I like to do...

1) I personally like booking separate legs because with Southwest you can alway shop for a lower price and they let you keep the difference for a year (from time of original purchase) towards another flight and it is easier to switch just one leg when necessary (whether you found a cheaper price or a different flight altogether that fits your schedule better).

2) If you are traveling with a few adults/families, book each adult family separately. That way if you get stranded overnight due to mechanical malfunctions (weather doesn't count) and they comp you hotel rooms, you will get a hotel room per each separate booking - so you are not all squashed in one room. For example my mom came with us to Orange County last summer (the ONE time we didn't use Southwest!) and we got stranded overnight in Chicago and they gave her a separate hotel room because she ended up coming with us after I had booked our original tickets so I had to book her separately. It ended up being a big bonus! We all had room to stretch - which when you are grumpy due to the delay is a blessing!