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Southwest Airline next schedule extension
Does anyone have a rough idea when Southwest will extend their schedule passed to current August 24, 2007 date?
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No good predictions seem to be available yet.
In the past, the dates for extensions were reasonably predictable. However, this last extension opened up a longer window than has been the norm. So the "experts" at FlyerTalk haven't spoken yet on their prediction for the next extension.
There are two ways to watch for advance info on the next date for an extension.
First, check the Southwest Blog for articles by Bill Owen. Although some of his articles (such as his current one) have nothing to do with scheduling, he had an article in late January that accurately portrayed the date and extent of the February extension to late August.
Second, check the last page of this FlyerTalk "Official schedule extension prediction thread" from time to time for posts by "nsx". He is the guru of predictions for these extensions. Thus, far, he hasn't made a prediction for the next extension. -
However, here is the general rule, as espoused by Bill Owen, the Schedule Planning Lead Planner at Southwest:Following that rule, it would seem that the most likely date for the next extension would be Thursday, April 26 at 11:00 a.m. EDT. That would be 121 days prior to August 24. Almost all extensions in recent years have occurred on a Thursday at 11 ET.So remember the “120/180 rule” for future bookings on Southwest. We will usually make up to 180 days of inventory available for sale, then allow that booking window to tick down to 120 days-then “recharge” the booking window by putting another 60 days or so of salable inventory out there, taking the total days available back up to around 180. But if you keep this general rule in mind, it’ll provide a good yardstick to see where Southwest stands in with respect to the booking window.Comment
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