Southwest Airlines provides reasonably priced flights from many of the major metropolitan areas in the United States. Seats are not assigned on Southwest. Instead, passengers are issued A, B or C boarding passes and board the plane based on the letter of the boarding pass. Passengers can check-in to Southwest 24 hours before their flight time to get boarding passes. Finding cheap flights on Southwest takes some time and flexibility, but your efforts will be worth the trouble when you score those cheap tickets you need.
Register on the Southwest website to be notified of special offers. Click on the "Special Offers" button at the top of the website and enter your email address in the Click 'n Save box. You'll receive an email each week informing you of special offers.
Download the DING! program. You'll be able to choose up to 10 airports and will be notified when there is a sale for those airports. Once you download DING!, you will see a small red airplane tail in your system tray. When there is a new DING! fare, you'll hear a "ding" sound and can access the fare by clicking on the airplane tail. There are usually only a limited number of seats available at the DING! price and they are booked quickly.
Keep checking the website. If you have a trip approaching and need to find cheap fares, check the Southwest website several times each day. Check first thing in the morning, in the early afternoon and before you go to bed. If you wake up in the middle of the night, head to your computer. New flights and prices are sometimes added at odd hours, and you'll want to make it your mission to check the website as often as possible if you want to find cheap tickets.
Drive to another airport if necessary. If you aren't happy with the Southwest fares from your local airport, check out the fares in other cities. Determine the maximum number of miles that you would be willing to drive for a lower fare and check all airports in that radius.
Check prices for two tickets at a time. Airlines price tickets in fare buckets. If there are only two tickets left in a lower fare bucket and you search for four tickets, you will only see the tickets available in the next fare bucket. The system will not split your request between two fare buckets. If you search for two tickets at a time, you'll be able to book two tickets in the lower fare bucket and two tickets in the higher bucket.
Book each part of the trip separately. Book two one-way trip flights rather than one round-trip flight. You may find that you have more flexibility when booking this way and can find cheaper fares by booking them separately.
Tip
Early morning and late evening flights are usually priced the cheapest. If you can be flexible with your travel plans and are willing to get up early to make a flight, you will be more likely to save.
If you must cancel a flight, Southwest will give you a credit that can be used for one year from the date you booked your original flights.