Southwest Airlines' Sale Is Kind of Insane

It's the most wonderful time of the year: Southwest Airlines' nationwide ticket sale just launched, and it's going to be a very happy holiday season for travelers this winter. The sale impacts domestic flights this December and January, and has rates as low as $49 for a flight, which makes getting home for the holidays suddenly so much more feasible.

The cost of a ticket depends on the length of the flight, so the more miles you travel, the more expensive the trip is. But the tickets start as low as $49 and don't exceed $150, so it's still kind of an insane markdown. Here's how the mileage breaks down:

• $49 each way for 500 miles or less
• $99 each way for 501-1,000 miles
• $129 each way for 1,001-1,500 miles
• $149 each way for over 1,501 miles

The tickets are only valid for trips between Dec. 2-16 and Jan. 5-10, which means that if you want to book a long vacation for the winter holidays, this is absolutely your chance. No longer will insane airfare stand in the way of you and your mom's Christmas pudding! And let's be real — booking now will get the hassle out of the way, so your parents don't have to bug you about whether you've bought your ticket or not.

There are, of course, some kickers. The sale price isn't valid for any Fridays or Sundays, which definitely puts a hitch in some travel plans. But with a little creativity, you can work around that. And most importantly, in order to get the sales, tickets have to be bought by the end of day on Oct. 15. Which is probably a good thing, so that you won't find yourself sobbing at a ticket booth on Christmas eve because the only available flights are over $600 dollars while your dad blows up your cell phone ... not that this has ever happened to me or anything.

Southwest Airlines has done some handy math for you, however, and calculated out the cost of trips from tons of different places in the country, if you decide to take advantage of their deal. Here are just a handful of examples.

• From Dallas to Memphis, Tennessee: $49
• From New York City to Austin, Texas: $89
• From Phoenix to Seattle: $99
• From Washington, D.C. to San Diego: $149

Southwest Airlines has pretty much every combination of flight patterns you could imagine on their website, so if you're interested in scoring a deal, definitely check it out. Remember, though, that the sale is for domestic flights only, which unfortunately rules out any Christmastime jaunts to Paris. But getting across the country for less than $150 sounds almost as good.