John Matthews
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Caitlyn Jenner isn’t the only one breaking the Internet this week. Southwest Airlines is in the game as well.
The airline’s website has been severely hampered since early Wednesday after it launched its largest airfare sale of the year, with roundtrip tickets as low as $98 for flights between mid-August and mid-December.
“For you to get a $98 roundtrip airfare out of Baltimore — those airfares have been averaging in the $175 to $200 range,” said Tom Parsons with bestfares.com. “This is better than a 50 percent off airfare sale.”
Unlike other airlines, Southwest sells all of its online tickets at its own website, southwest.com, and the demand for cheap seats has taken its toll on the airline’s site, with frequent error messages greeting customers instead of flight schedules.
“They may have to stop this sale just so they can get their system back online,” Parsons said.
The sale, which was set to expire Thursday night, has already been extended through Friday, and Parsons predicts the airline may have to extend the sale even further so customers can have time to get through and get the seats they want.
Customers aching to get the sale can call Southwest, according to Parsons, but they should expect an hour wait-time.
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: southwest.com)
