Southwest just jacked their fares up BIG TIME!

[captainkidd]

They just released the schedule through August on Tuesday. As of yesterday, airfare roundtrip for 5 of us was $1,337. I couldn't book until tomorrow. Today, it's up to $1,667.

Pricks.

 

[captainkidd]

Fares don't always go down, and with the mergers that are going on, the times that they will go down will be even less.

According to everything I've read online, they do. Worst thing to do is buy before 3.5 months out.

 

[googilycub]

According to everything I've read online, they do. Worst thing to do is buy before 3.5 months out.

Well, if you are flexable on dates and flight times, you might be ok. However as these mergers go through and the reduction in the amouth flights an airline flys starts (it will come, the Delta/Northwest merger has all but killed Cincy as a hub city, the UA/CO merger will kill Cleveland as one, and so on) there will be less seats that airlines overall, so less seats to sell at a loss.

 

[redfive13]

Southwest sucks. Fly JetBlue... cheaper fares, more in flight stuff.

 

[captainkidd]

Southwest sucks. Fly JetBlue... cheaper fares, more in flight stuff.

I like Jet Blue, but I don't like their $100 charge per change of ticket. SW doesn't charge you anything.

 

[redfive13]

Agreed. But they're still cheaper than SW these days. I feel like you can't consider SW a "discount" airline anymore...

 

[captainkidd]

Agreed. But they're still cheaper than SW these days. I feel like you can't consider SW a "discount" airline anymore...

For my flights for July, they're both exactly the same. It's like watching 2 competing gas stations across the street from one another.

There's no doubt, SW is no longer a "discount" airline. The $49 days are LONG gone. However, when compared to the legacy carriers, they're still a bargain. Add in the no charge for change policy and no baggage fees, it's easy to see why they're the #1 airline in the country right now. It just blows my mind that the legacy carriers just don't seem to get it, yet are constantly crying poverty.

 

[WDWFigment]

Sorry, but if SW could make money charging $49 one way to Orlando from Providence, it stands to reason any airline can make money charging $99 one way.

SWA can't make money on that flight. That type of pricing has occurred for two reasons: to gain market share, and because seats on a flight are a perishable good. If Southwest anticipates only being able to book 75% of its seats at $109/way, it is better off selling the remaining 25% of its seats for $49/way than having those seats go unfilled (once the flight occurs, they're gone!). Obviously, the carriers don't want to go too low with those prices; even though $10/way per seat is better than nothing, they don't want to create expectations of ridiculously cheap fares in consumers, and have them subsequently hold out for such low fares.

 

[WDWFigment]

Not true - Legacy air carriers will often always have a better rate. I cant remember the study off the top of my head - but after researching fares at different times of the year on different days, it was found that LCC's (low cost carriers) only fared well on short haul trips (flights less than 500 miles). For long hauls, the legacy carriers were significantly better priced. The only exception to this is AirTran, who often has to match Delta's pricing due to their direct competition in ATL (or vice versa, with Delta matching AirTran). The biggest misconception out there is that Southwest is the best priced airline out there - and tons of "ma and pa kettles" (thats what the "common folk" fliers are referred to out there by the frequent flier community), will often book on SW without looking elsewhere. But unless you plan on really bringing a lot of un-necessary luggage, SWA is not a good fit for most people.

Frequent flier benefits are also the weakest on the legacies - and something to remember especially if you fly a lot for work or personal travel. The return of being an "elite" in one of the legacy programs devalues any "value" on a LCC 10 fold.

And quite frankly, the biggest thing to remember, is the lack of flexibility of LCC's in a weather related issue. You are far more likely to be stranded longer by Southwest and Airtran than you are a legacy with 3-5 hubs and 100's of connecting options, versus point to point networks which offer little flexibility and multiple headaches.

I would be interested to hear this study. I have heard the 500 mile mark mentioned as the "equalizer" number, but I was under the impression that the majority of flights were under 500 miles. I don't know where I read that (or if I even did), but is that not true?

If low-cost carriers are generally better priced on <500 mile flights, and the majority of flights are <500 miles, it follows that low-cost carriers are generally better priced. I'm not saying they're always better priced.

No doubt that the Legacy carriers offer advantages to frequent fliers or business fliers. I would hazard a guess that most people reading this thread are leisure fliers, though.

 

[captainkidd]

SWA can't make money on that flight. That type of pricing has occurred for two reasons: to gain market share, and because seats on a flight are a perishable good. If Southwest anticipates only being able to book 75% of its seats at $109/way, it is better off selling the remaining 25% of its seats for $49/way than having those seats go unfilled (once the flight occurs, they're gone!).

Then explain the fact that legacy carriers charge $200 each way and are still in business.

SW was able to charge those prices because years ago they were smart and bought a contract on fuel at a lower price, while the other airlines didn't. The execs at SW then decided to pass the savings on to the customers, and earn their business. SW hasn't always been the #1 airline. They worked at it, and right earned the spot.

Now, I don't like the fact that their fares are triple what they used to be, however, I do understand it. Their fuel contract is over, and they're one of the only airlines not charging for baggage. Plus, shocking as it may seem, from the Boston area, they're only 1 of 3 airlines to fly direct to MCO.

 

[markc]

I would be interested to hear this study. I have heard the 500 mile mark mentioned as the "equalizer" number, but I was under the impression that the majority of flights were under 500 miles. I don't know where I read that (or if I even did), but is that not true?

If low-cost carriers are generally better priced on <500 mile flights, and the majority of flights are <500 miles, it follows that low-cost carriers are generally better priced. I'm not saying they're always better priced.

Thats true (about most flights being only 500 miles) - only because of the hub and spoke network. Most people will connect in a city to their destination that is within 500 miles of both their origin and destination - however, you are coming to an incorrect conclusion that LCC's are better priced. Fares for hub-spoke legacy carriers are not based on adding the cost of the two connecting flights - they are based on end-to-end fares (i.e. Orlando to Chicago connecting in Atlanta would be $130 one way, even though Delta may price the same flight from Orlando to Atlanta at $170 and the flight from Atlanta to Chicago at $100, for a total of $270). Southwest, on the other hand, with their point to point network with no centralized hub, will often add the price of the two connecting flights together - which is why they are often the not the cheapest way to fly.