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View Full Version : Ding Disappointment!



Marker
08-05-2009, 01:04 PM
Just wanted to express my disappointment in Ding lately. For those who don't know, Ding is a service of Southwest Airlines that notifies you online of "special" fares.

Ding used to always have Orlando, or other Florida destinations on the list. I have not seen Orlando for a long, long time. And the number of options on Ding each day has continued to decline.

Today, there is one option on Ding for KC. Just ONE, and that's Omaha. Nothing against Omaha, but if was wanting to go there, I'd drive. Come one Southwest, make it worth my while. Give me incentives to fly to places I WANT to go, Florida or not, instead of just places I could drive to just as quickly.

45 minutes from my house to the airport, arrive an hour early, allow 30 minutes to get parked and catch the shuttle to the terminal, Flight to Omaha 3-6 hours (it's not a direct flight), another hour to get bags and rental car... so, up to 8 hours to reach a destination I could drive to in a little over 3 hours.... thanks anyway Southwest, but that's not much of an incentive.

Ok, mini-rant over.

luv2BnWDW
08-05-2009, 02:18 PM
Ding hasn't served much purpose for us either. We can fly out of either Balt or Philadelphia and the Dings to Orlando are few and far between. When it does come up, it is usually worthless. For example, not to long ago a Ding popped up from BWI to MCO for 89.00 each way. But when I went to the website, the "wanna get away" fare was only 59.00. Uh...so what is the purpose of the special?

SurferStitch
08-05-2009, 02:28 PM
We noticed a significant decline in viable DINGs starting a couple years ago. We like to fly down very early in the morning, and fly back later in the evening. We just couldn't find those options.

We found that PHL to MCO options were extremely limited, and even their special prices were getting high. That's when we started driving down, and never looked at flights again.

We will be driving down in December, too.

NotaGeek
08-05-2009, 04:00 PM
Ding was brought out to help Southwest fill seats on empty planes ... all the airlines have cut so many flights in the last 1-2 years and with the ongoing "sales" that Southwest has they might not need to offer as many Dings as before ... or depending on the market, it might not make financial sense for them to Ding your city. I moved to Spokane and I don't even expect it anymore ...

AZ Disney
08-05-2009, 05:01 PM
Part of my routine each morning is waking and checking for DING fares...I'd say 4 out of 7 days I have them and good options. My favs are set for PHX, OAK, SF, SD and there are plenty. Even $89 one way to PHX to MCO recently.

NotaGeek:
Thinking of a move to Spokane, how do you like it?

NotaGeek
08-05-2009, 05:43 PM
NotaGeek:
Thinking of a move to Spokane, how do you like it?
I moved here from Phoenix in March of 2008, trust me, visit here in the dead of winter and stay for a week before you make the decision. We had 52" of snow this year and it didn't melt until the beginning of May. It's a very sleepy Hamlet and there's NO decent Mexican food. Or Thai Food. Or Chinese food. Seafood, we got though. :)

I love downtown so it's much less hassle, but I find groceries expensive, but the overall cost of living is less than Phoenix.

crazypoohbear
08-05-2009, 07:56 PM
Most of the Dings I have gotten lately have been to apply for the credit card... with a 59.00 annual fee!!!
I am not even getting real dings, just ads or flights to obscure places from Providence to Ohio?
We have not flown SW yet and probably won't given the lack of incentive

crazeedizneefinatic
08-05-2009, 11:39 PM
I must agree...they have been few and far between. They always used to offer dings from pittsburgh to orlando and vise versa quite regularly....I got better deals just checking the site, usually 2 times a day, yes it changed on a dime. We are flying round trip for our upcoming september trip for $160 a person round trip, which is not bad at all.....

Ian
08-06-2009, 12:54 PM
Huh ... I've been having pretty good luck with DING! lately.

I scored a $129 r/t fare from Philly to Orlando for our September trip.

NotaGeek
08-06-2009, 01:24 PM
Huh ... I've been having pretty good luck with DING! lately.

I scored a $129 r/t fare from Philly to Orlando for our September trip.
Yeah, you big city folk get all the perks ... dear God get me out of here... :mickey: