Southwest offers birthday sale starting at $40 one-way

Southwest Airlines is saying happy birthday to you with its 40th Anniversary sale offering fares starting at $40 one-way.

Southwest Airlines

For the next 72 hours or so, customers can purchase one-way tickets for $40, $80, or $120 to select destinations, based on length of travel.

 One-way fares are $40 for travel up to 450 miles; $80 for travel between 451 and 1,250 miles; and $120 for travel more than 1,251 miles, fares are $120 one-way. The fares are good for travel from Aug. 23 to Nov. 16.

Morning Deals: Southwest Fare Sale

And it's a twofer for Baltimore travelers since Southwest is offering a parallel sale with its new subsidiary AirTran, with fares starting at $40 one-way.

"This is the first time that I can remember in my 30 years of tracking airfares that I have seen airfares from over 100 U.S. cities as low as $40 one-way," said Tom Parsons, editor of online travel site BestFares.com.

From Baltimore, a $40 one-way ticket will get you to Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, Hartford, Long Island, Manchester, Newark, Norfolk, Pittsburgh, Providence or Raleigh/Durham.

Southwest's sale does not include travel on Fridays and Saturdays and has a few blackout dates: Sept. 1, 5, 6 and Oct. 10. Taxes and government fees are additional. Tickets must be purchased by 11:59 p.m. on June 23.