Winter Getaway News

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines to the rescue with spring break fare sale

Getting out of cold Dallas sounds good right now.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. comes to our rescue with a newly launched spring sale featuring fares as low as $39 one-way.

(A great deal, obviously, although not as sale-y as 2021's $29 one-way fare.)

According to a release, travelers can start booking flights through January 6, 2022, for travel taking place January 18-May 18. Hopefully the omicron variant will have subsided by then and there will be no new variant to take its place. And hopefully, the weather will improve; Southwest and other airlines have canceled or delayed hundreds of flights in the past week due to wintry storms.

Some typical flights (and their fares) include:

$39 one-way nonstop between Atlanta and Panama City Beach
$39 one-way nonstop between Baltimore/Washington (BWI) and Syracuse
$39 one-way nonstop between Phoenix and Palm Springs
$59 one-way nonstop between Las Vegas and Bellingham, Washington
$89 one-way nonstop between Denver and Santa Barbara

Southwest's flight schedule is open through September 5, 2022, and flights can be booked at Southwest.com. The airline's roster includes 121 destinations across their network.

Some stipulations: Fares are nonrefundable but may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines, as long as reservations are canceled at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled departure. Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in fare.

Except as otherwise specified, continental U.S. travel is valid only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Fares are valid on nonstop service where indicated; if not indicated, fares are valid on a single connecting service.

Seats and days are limited. Fares may vary by destination, flight, and day of the week and won't be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods.

Advance purchase and blackout date requirements apply, and some seats, days, and markets are limited.

A 14-day advance purchase is required, and you have until midnight on January 6. Hurry!

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Holiday News

American Airlines expects record-setting travel on Thanksgiving 2024

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

American Airlines ready for takeoff.

The holidays are looming and American Airlines is ramping up. Over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, the Fort Worth-based airline expects to process nearly 8.3 million customers across more than 77,000 flights.

According to a statement from American's COO David Seymour, the airline is having a good fall season and canceled fewer flights than its peers during October.

“Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals,” Seymour says.

That's surely good news. One hates to rain on their parade, but in June 2024, the only flight I booked this year, my flight was canceled less than 24 hours before take-off. I had made hotel reservations, scheduled a pet sitter, planned events, and arranged for a friend to pick me up at the destination airport. One employee speculated that it may have been "insufficient crew." Their only solution offered was: Feel free to reschedule your flight.

Thanksgiving facts and figures
The travel window runs from November 21 to December 3, and the airline expects to carry more than 500,000 more customers than it did last year.

The most-traveled day will be Sunday, December 1. The second most-traveled day will be Monday, December 2.

The peak of peak: 1,035 mainline and regional aircraft will be enroute at 10:45 am on Sunday, December 1 — the highest number of flights handled at any given time during American’s travel period.

The airline expects to serve more than 6.8 million Biscoff cookies on board from November 21 to December 3.

Travel tips
Download the American Airlines app and check in for your flight, noting added any bags to your trip. This will save you time at the airport.

If traveling internationally, download the Mobile Passport Control app, which can speed up your entry into the U.S. Global Entry members can download the Global Entry app, which allows you to submit your entry and go straight to the officer.

Upon arrival at the airport lobby, scan your mobile boarding pass to print bag tags quickly at a kiosk. If you’re not checking bags, go straight to TSA security with your mobile boarding pass.

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