August 24, 2006

southwest DING! annoyances

So I'm a DING! addict. I have it on just about every computer in the house. And, we've actually taken one trip on a DING! fare (I think... maybe not. Maybe it's just fun looking.)

With the latest DING! iteration, they allow you to pick up to ten cities that you want to know about DINGs in. That way, you don't have to weed through all the Tucson to Pittsburgh deals in order to find the ones you might actually want to use.

When you do find a DING! you want, you can only book it directly from the DING page. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars. And on the DING! page, you pick the dates you want to fly and the number of passengers.

Only one problem. Look at today's Nashville DINGs:

Buffalo to Nashville for $74 One-Way!
- Fare is valid for travel Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday, September 1 through October 31, 2006 only
Ft. Lauderdale to Nashville for $39 One-Way on Flight 923 Only!
- Fare is valid for travel Monday-Saturday, October 1 through October 31, 2006
- Fare may not be offered each way
- Fare is valid for travel on Flight 923 only
Ft. Lauderdale to Nashville for $39 One-Way on Flight 923 Only!
- Fare is valid for travel Monday-Thursday and Sunday, September 1 through September 30, 2006
- Fare may not be offered each way
- Fare is valid for travel on Flight 923 only
Nashville to Buffalo for $74 One-Way!
- Fare is valid for travel Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday, September 1 through October 31, 2006 only
Portland to Nashville for $89-$109 One-Way on Flight 1528/1842 Only!
- Fare is valid for travel Monday-Friday, October 1 through October 31, 2006
- Fare may not be offered each way
- Fare is valid for travel on Flight 1528/1842 only


So I see "Ft. Lauderdale to Nashville for $39." Hoo boy! I'm ready to see the Billy Swamp Safari, even if I have to pay full fare for the "Nashville to Ft. Lauderdale" portion of the flight! Let's book!

But you can't. You can't book a BNA - FLL - BNA flight from this page, only a FLL - BNA - FLL flight. The fare is there, but you can't use it. And that bugs me to no end.

1 comment:

Kat Coble said...

This is the type of thing that led me away from a career in travel-agenting.