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A Guide to The Best and The Worst Time to Book Southwest Airlines Flights

Southwest Airlines is the world’s largest low-cost carrier with a fleet size of more than 700, which serves over a hundred destinations across North America, including the Caribbean and Latin America. It was one of the first airlines in the United States to offer cheap flights with the low-cost model.

As Treknova, we can help you to save on money and deals with Southwest tickets. If you prefer choosing a low-cost airline carrier for your flights, you should make sure to really buy a low-cost flight ticket. Here, we will tell you exactly when it is the best and worst months to book a Southwest flight ticket. We provide you insight on the best Southwest offers and book your flight.

Best and worst time to book Southwest airlines.

Know-How Airfares Work for Your Destination

We are aware that the Southwest flight price fluctuates over time. So, it is important for flyers to understand what qualifies as a good fare to a specific destination(s). Finding the best airline fare is just like saving money on any other item. But, if you want to save as much money as possible, then you will first need to know the lowest price that the airline carrier ever sells it for. Next, your goal will be to purchase the flight ticket when its price drops.

So, always check flight prices weekly for destinations on your list over a period of time to get a sense of what is and what is not a good deal. That way, when you see a price lower than usual, you will know it’s time to book your flight.

Why does Southwest Airlines Change its Airfares so often?

Southwest Airlines changes its ticket prices frequently, depending on several factors, such as the flight’s popularity, season, school holidays, special events, etc. to balance between supply and demand of seats.

Thus, yU.S.-based Southwest Airlines, usually start with a default higher price and later, adjust airfares depending on the current demand. It is not difficult to find ticket price patterns and predict price changes for the flights of Southwest Airlines.

The information could be especially useful because Southwest does not allow their airfares to be published on any outside websites, like Google Flights, Expedia, and others. You must, therefore, go to Southwest’s site to check fares and book your flight directly.

Regardless, Southwest Airlines is still a favorite low-cost carrier for many reasons. For instance, the fact they offer everyone two free checked bags and the ability to earn the Southwest Companion Pass and other travel programs.

The best and worst time to book Southwest airlines in 2024

In everyone’s mind, there is a question that arises when is the best time to book southwest airlines? To know your answer read this post which may help you to find your answer.

If you want a cheap reservation for a flight, you must go to Southwest’s official website. It is the only airline carrier that does not share its airfare data with several comparison sites on the internet. Also, keep in mind to not pay for your Southwest flight ticket until you have carefully compared prices with other airlines.

If we compare the data with the historical records of the southwest airline then researchers have given a conclusion. November is the best month when Southwest flights are cheapest and it is the best time to book a Southwest flight.

A deal can come out from nowhere and you may miss the deal. By setting alerts and reminders you can go through the Southwest airline website. You can check the price and most of the time you get better deals in the evening of every Tuesday (eastern) it is the best day to book and buy southwest flights. It can pay off big and you have to be ready for that deal to purchase it because the deals mostly end by Tuesday night is the best day to buy airline tickets. But before that, don’t forget to redeem passport expediting services, if your passport is about to expire, or need a renewal.

When other Airlines give discounts on their tickets and if you check the normal price of the normal Southwest ticket price you will see they both are almost similar. This is one of the reasons that frequent flyers mostly use Southwest flights

When to Buy Southwest Tickets – Best Months to Book Southwest Flights

You may already know that generally, the best time to buy Southwest Airlines tickets 2024 to get the cheapest flight possible domestic fares is Tuesday afternoon because it is one of the best days to book southwest flights.

After analyzing various airfare increases and reductions, it appears that you will find the cheapest Southwest fares between three months and 30 days in advance. Once the 30-day mark has passed, nearly all the low fares go away. That said, many frequent flyers often check-in the day of travel and come across a better fare, and they immediately rebook, so you never know.

If you get too far ahead of the three-month mark, the deals usually may not be available, unless they are part of a Southwest sale.

All that aside, the best time to book your Southwest flight is now because if the prices drop, you can cancel your flight and re-book for free. You will get a refund of the fare difference in the form of a travel credit, which is valid for a year, or the difference in points is re-deposited into your Southwest account.

Southwest has been known to extend fare sales at the last minute. If you think you missed out on the deals, go back to Southwest’s site and check again. While the best time to purchase Southwest flight tickets may vary a little, a general rule of thumb is to shop on Tuesdays at 3 p.m. (Eastern time) when the airline has matched other airline sale prices. Also, remember to set airfare alerts because sometimes deals come out of nowhere; it can pay off big to be ready for them.

Best Cities to Fly from via Southwest Airlines

There are a few cities that have way better fares than others in comparison. So, if you live in one of these cities, which continually has low fares to lots of destinations, then you can consider yourself lucky. These cities are Atlanta, Chicago (Midway), Denver, and Los Angeles.

Denver is by far the best, and you can take advantage of all the low fares to places all over the U.S.

When Not to Buy Southwest Tickets

After analyzing the data so far, the one month that rarely seems to have any good deals or a decrease in airfares is the month of July. There is no surprise, really, because summer is one of the busiest travel times of the year. However, every other month, excluding November, has shown some good deals.

Conclusion

Finding the best and worst times for grabbing the cheapest airfare deals on Southwest Airlines is easier if you keep a few tips in mind. First, try to avoid the month of July for booking Southwest flights, as the airfares can be offered at higher rates. Book your Southwest flight right away, but keep an eye out for fare drops between three months and 30 days ahead. You can cancel and re-book without penalty. And lastly, fly out of the cities of Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, or Los Angeles.

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