DALLAS – Demand for one-way fares as low as $49 during a three-day sale overwhelmed Southwest Airlines Co.’s website, making it impossible to book a trip.
“We currently are working to resolve the issue,” Southwest told complaining consumers Wednesday on Twitter.com. “We hope to have it back up soon.”
The sale began Tuesday and ends at 11:59 p.m. Thursday in the time zone of the originating city. The discounted tickets are available on select routes for travel Aug. 24 through Dec. 16. U.S. airlines often introduce fare sales in the fall, after the end of the busy summer travel season.
“The response from customers taking advantage of our recent sale is creating website performance issues,” Brandy King, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Southwest, said by e-mail.
Southwest is offering fares as low as $49 one way nonstop between cities including Las Vegas and Los Angeles and Baltimore/Washington and Boston. Dallas to Washington and Atlanta to New York each are on sale for $99 each way.
