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Old 07-27-2012, 02:23 PM
 
Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
5,152 posts, read 8,503,787 times
Reputation: 2038

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I work in the travel industry. I've just played around with a few markets and they are no where close to having the lowest fares. While I know that each market is different, has anyone else noticed this? Maybe they get around revenue wise, their no bag fees deal, by still advertising from the past about this low fare image, when, thanks to no bag fees, they're the same as a legacy airline, fare wise.
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Old 07-27-2012, 02:44 PM
 
15 posts, read 99,623 times
Reputation: 21
True, but highly competitive. I still think they are one of the best deals out there. And their service is superb for basic air travel. I just tried to book a flight with them and was shocked how expensive they were. Seems that anything flying out of Greenville-Spartanburg (SC) is always more then flying nearby Charlotte or Atlanta. The airline taxes in the area your flying seem to be the biggest culprits for fee increases, sadly.
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Old 07-27-2012, 04:13 PM
 
Location: City of Angels
2,923 posts, read 5,592,987 times
Reputation: 2267
i haven't flown with them in years. they are always among the most expensive. granted, i usually only fly one way and book the day before or same day, maybe they simply dont offer deals that late in the game?
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Old 07-27-2012, 04:16 PM
 
26,585 posts, read 61,890,307 times
Reputation: 13161
Southwest kept their prices artificially low for years because they had locked in pricing on fuel when it was very low. Once those contracts had expired and they had to compete with the other carriers using current fuel prices, they had no choice but to raise rates.
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Old 07-27-2012, 04:42 PM
 
Location: Orlando
8,176 posts, read 18,493,796 times
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They are still compatable....if you add in baggage fees......before the carryon only police comment....if you need to check baggage...everytime I've flown them, they have still been cheaper.
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Old 07-27-2012, 05:40 PM
 
26,585 posts, read 61,890,307 times
Reputation: 13161
They have their purpose, but for frequent flyers, there are better choices. Frequent flyers with most carriers actually get higher free checked bag allowances than SW offers, they can switch tickets without charge, and they get first class upgrades, which when you are traveling for business are valuable to be able to catch a nap before you land and immediately head into a meeting or have more room to spread out and work to finish that report. in some cases the f/c seats come with power for laptops and some carriers have planes with in air WiFi.
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Old 07-27-2012, 07:26 PM
 
16,368 posts, read 30,128,764 times
Reputation: 25417
Quote:
Originally Posted by beenhereandthere View Post
I work in the travel industry. I've just played around with a few markets and they are no where close to having the lowest fares. While I know that each market is different, has anyone else noticed this? Maybe they get around revenue wise, their no bag fees deal, by still advertising from the past about this low fare image, when, thanks to no bag fees, they're the same as a legacy airline, fare wise.

Let's assume that American and Southwest have identical fares on a two hour domestic flight. Southwest still has a lower fare because:

1) No bad fees.
2) Many fewer other fees.
3) Ability to change or cancel a flight without paying a penalty.

Also, you get some satisfaction knowing that the airline you choose has HONORED their commitments to its employees unlike the legacy airlines who used the US Bankruptcy Court to renege on their commitments.
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Old 07-27-2012, 07:47 PM
 
Location: OC, California
192 posts, read 323,403 times
Reputation: 93
In the past few years, I have always found flights cheaper on legacy airlines than Southwest, so I have never understood the whole it being a low fare carrier.
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Old 07-27-2012, 07:58 PM
 
Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
5,152 posts, read 8,503,787 times
Reputation: 2038
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flamedown View Post
In the past few years, I have always found flights cheaper on legacy airlines than Southwest, so I have never understood the whole it being a low fare carrier.
Goes back to the point about how, this is how they've been making up, for not charging bag fees. Maybe the need to be like Jet Blue and charge for the 2nd one?
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Old 07-30-2012, 08:05 PM
 
9,418 posts, read 13,441,099 times
Reputation: 10304
I'm a planner so they've always been cheapest for me. I use the web specials on their site. Granted, I'm in Dallas so we are somewhat limited on where we can go on SW. The most recent trip was roundtrip to St. Louis back earlier this month. Did several short-haul trips in Texas over the last few years, and a trip to Santa Fe a couple of years ago...cheap, cheap, cheap. If you travel on the spur of the moment, then I'm sure they can be beat though.
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