Southwest 3-Day Sale: Flights Start At $49 From Washington DC

WASHINGTON, DC — Southwest Airlines has launched a 72-hour sale, and tickets out of Dulles International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and nationwide can be had for as low as $49. The fare sale, which posted around 6 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, includes short and long routes; in general, the shorter the trip, the cheaper the fare.

Popular tourist destinations tend to cost a bit more. So from Dulles to West Palm Beach, it would be $114, and Reagan National to Phoenix, it would be $199, or $156 to Newark.

Only Reagan National Airport has one-way $49 tickets to destinations like Providence, Rhode Island and Columbus, Ohio.

Exotic locales are also in the sale. You can jet to Cabo San Lucas for $218, Cancun for $192, or Havana, Cuba, for $170.

One-way tickets out of many airports could be had for as little as $49 or $79, while many round-trip tickets could be had for $98.

Here are the deals out of Dulles International Airport, one-way:

• Atlanta, GA, $79
• Denver, CO, $119
• El Paso, TX, $192
• Ft. Myers, FL, $115
• Greenville/Spartanburg, SC, $141
• Indianapolis, IN, $133
• Jacksonville, FL, $161
• Oakland, CA, $193
• Pittsburgh, PA, $149
• Salt Lake City, UT, $185
• San Antonio, TX, $159
• San Francisco, CA, $199
• Tulsa, OK, $179
• West Palm Beach, FL, $114

These are the deals out of Reagan Washington National Airport, one-way:

• Albuquerque, NM, $189
• Amarillo, TX, $173
• Atlanta, GA, $79
• Austin, TX, $129
• Birmingham, AL, $140
• Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos, MX, $218
• Cancun, Mexico, $192
• Charleston, SC, $155
• Chicago (Midway), IL, $99
• Cincinnati, OH, $135
• Columbus, OH, $49
• Corpus Christi, TX, $155
• Dallas (Love Field), TX, $99
• Des Moines, IA, $148
• Detroit, MI, $135
• El Paso, TX, $192
• Ft. Lauderdale, FL, $79
• Grand Rapids, MI, $137
• Greenville/Spartanburg, SC, $141
• Harlingen, TX, $159
• Havana, Cuba, $170
• Houston (Hobby), TX, $129
• Indianapolis, IN, $133
• Jacksonville, FL, $161
• Kansas City, MO, $99
• Little Rock, AR, $154
• Louisville, KY, $137
• Lubbock, TX, $173
• Memphis, TN, $146
• Midland/Odessa, TX, $173
• Milwaukee, WI, $99
• Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, $153
• Montego Bay, Jamaica, $208
• Nashville, TN, $99
• New Orleans, LA, $99
• New York/Newark, NJ, $156
• Oklahoma City, OK, $79
• Omaha, NE, $99
• Pensacola, FL, $151
• Pittsburgh, PA, $149
• Providence, RI, $49
• Punta Cana, DO, $225
• Salt Lake City, UT, $185
• San Antonio, TX, $159
• San Francisco, CA, $199
• San Jose, Costa Rica, $202
• St. Louis, MO, $99
• Tampa, FL, $99
• Tulsa, OK, $179
• West Palm Beach, FL, $114
• Wichita, KS, $161

As with all Southwest Airlines three-day sales, make sure you read the fine-print. First and foremost, you have to book your flight by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday. The tickets are not refundable, so be sure they're what you want. Certain seats and dates will not be available, including Labor Day weekend and the Thanksgiving holiday.

And you should probably prepare to fly during the week — Fridays and Sundays are mostly unavailable.

Moreover, travel within the continental U.S. is valid only from Aug. 20 through Dec. 5, 2019, and international travel is valid Aug. 20 through Dec. 11. Separate dates apply for flights to places like Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

The sale is meant to fill empty seats during slower travel periods, according to USA Today. The airline has a second large sale in early October.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.