SonOfACaptain From United States, joined May 2004, 1747 posts, RR: 5 Posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 1886 times:
My answer is both yes and no. Now before you start to yell at me listen to my argument.
TRUE, system wide WN is or near the cheapest fare airline.
TRUE, when WN goes into a new market, they bring down the fares. An example is PHL.
BUT, I'm talking about routes that they compete with the majors. We all know majors cannot survive if they don't bring down their fares, and they realize it too. That's why they do it. They match and MOST of the time go lower than WN. To prove my point I compared WN with majors on some routes. For an example I picked DFW-SAT round trip. On AA the fare was $84.70. On WN it was %112.20. THAT WAS THEIR LOWEST FARE.
So you get what I am saying.
So now, the next question is. Why does everybody think WN is the cheapest?
The answer is marketing. They have great GREAT marketing. The have made everybody think they are the cheapest. So in return, people automatically goes to WN. That brings up another point. Have you ever wondered that WN only puts their fares on their own website? Why is that? It's because they don't want people to compare prices. That's the only reason.
Well that's it for now.
PS- I am not a WN basher, although they are not my favorite airline, especially after they are trying to kill my airline, HAHA. But seriously, WN is an airline during business, and I respect that, just as I do every airline
Freshlove1 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 2, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 1865 times:
If you don't make your reservations like 72 days in advance on WN you don't get the $59 dollar fare. Lots of times I have seen other airlines offer lower prices then WN. I believe their advertizements are a bit decieving. But I don't fly them, never have and never will. I can barely stand to work one of their charters so I would certainly not fly them. I dont live in a double wide so there is no need for me to fly WN. Ill stick to my free employee travel on US.
Type-rated From United States, joined Sep 1999, 1886 posts, RR: 30 Reply 3, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 1857 times:
Remember now, we have people who don't even know what kind of airplane they are flying in buying tickets too.....
A lot of people just call WN when they have to fly thinking "Southwest is ALWAYS the cheapest" without doing any comparison shopping.
Back when TI took over CO it was the same thing. "CO is ALWAYS the cheapest!" The Peanut Fares were still fresh in the public's eye. So most people did not check with other carriers.
It's all about public perception.
I too find that WN is not always the cheapest. I have also found that F9 is almost NEVER the cheapest! But I pay the extra $$$ 'cause I like them. I think of F9 as a MCC (Mid Cost Carrier).
Fly North Central Airlines..The route of the Northliners!
Nonrevman From United States, joined Nov 2001, 1166 posts, RR: 1 Reply 4, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 1845 times:
Going from DFW to DEN last winter, Frontier was the cheapest fare at just below 200$. If I remember correctly, it was 20$ cheaper than the next competitor.
Acho From Mexico, joined Jan 2004, 307 posts, RR: 1 Reply 6, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 1833 times:
Th only time I've flown Southwest was a oneway trip from HRL-HOU. WN had the cheapeast fare, but in ew had to depart from HRL instead of MFE. This is the only time I've found that they actually have the lowest fare. Most of their flights are more expensive and involve stops.
Not to mention the crappy service, and shitty aircraft they fly (I got a rusted 732). The type pf people on the flight were also unpleasant (Loud rednecks).
It would take some very low fares for my to go on them again.
M404 From United States, joined Nov 2003, 1955 posts, RR: 4 Reply 7, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 1787 times:
I would prefer to put my own spin on your quote if you must compare them when going into a new market - "WN is the cheapest while maintaining a profit"
Less sarcasm and more thought equal better understanding
Nealcg From United States, joined May 2004, 141 posts, RR: 2 Reply 8, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 1783 times:
WOW!
The WN bashers are staying up late tonight. A couple of very fundamental points here that I believe people are missing.
1) Fares: often when doing an advance purchase the legacy's are competitive with WN. However the legacy's reserve only a small amount of seats and the closer to your flight the higher the fare. WN is similar but to a much less extent. Where as walk up fares at the legacy's can exceed $1000+ with WN they rarely exceed 2X the normal fare.
2) Profit: at the compared rates above between AA and WN you forgot one important fact. At those prices AA is losing money where as WN is making a very tidy profit which equals....
3) Frequency. WN DAL to SAT = 15, AA DFW to SAT =8. More frequency equals more choices for the passenger which equals more business.
4) The consumer is not as dense as you suspect. By in large people are very educated as to there fares they purchase. I imagine most people go to iflyswa.com only AFTER they have gone to the other sites. This may shock some of you but their is a large flying public which prefers WN besides price. They have a good reputation for on time performance, friendly laid back crew, and an overall excellent reputation.
Look, I don't often fly them myself but I have never had a problem with them and I am a very happy stockholder in their company.
Cheers
_________________
AGGIES WIN !
REMEMBER...NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO...THERE YOU ARE !!
Las757300 From United States, joined May 2004, 261 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 1772 times:
I don't like Southwest because all the other airlines allow me to shop around using expedia, yahoo, or orbitz. Maybe that's why people keep flying them, they don't sell fares on popular travel websites.
7574EVER From United States, joined Jan 2004, 478 posts, RR: 5 Reply 10, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 1769 times:
I flew from Chicago to Houston in late march. I purchased the tickets three months in advance and the fare was still $389 with stopovers in Nashville both ways. I looked online at UAL and AA, and their fares were much lower. If I didn't have a $200 Southwest travel voucher I would have had a few choice words for WN.
Right rudder....Right rudder...Come on, more right rudder....Right rudder......Aw forget it, I quit!!
FlyingDoctorWu From United States, joined Feb 2004, 296 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 1764 times:
But I don't fly them, never have and never will. I can barely stand to work one of their charters so I would certainly not fly them. I dont live in a double wide so there is no need for me to fly WN.
quite a lot of hostility towards southwest you have. Though I think your statement is a bit of an overgeneratlization- and remember affluent people don't like to overpay either. I'll fly Spirit Airlines a lot between MYR and LGA because it's a better deal- and that's important to me. Or i used to fly WN from BWI to PVD because hey I dont want to pay too much. There was a survey that was completed recently about the shopping habits of the affluent- Target, Costco, Home Depot were among the places most shopped at by the well to do. So it's not all riff-raff that fill up the seats on WN- it's grandmothers, college students, even the affluent I'm willing to bet. And remember if it's a WN charter than that necessary may not be reflective of their clientale- check out who the charter company is.
Better hope somehow that US manages to cut their costs- 2004 Q1 CASM was 10.24 cents vs WN's 7.82 cents. Remember what WN did to US at BWI- better hope that PHL doesnt turn into an Alamo for US. Future's not looking to good for them though I am pulling for them for the sake of my 120,000 FF miles.
WN may not always be the absolute cheapest but you can bet that they are probably making money at the fares they offer. Plus on the day of they are more than likely going to be price king.
FlyingDoctorWu From United States, joined Feb 2004, 296 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 1752 times:
I don't like Southwest because all the other airlines allow me to shop around using expedia, yahoo, or orbitz. Maybe that's why people keep flying them, they don't sell fares on popular travel websites.
that's what keeps their costs down- no need to share money with other booking sites. Ryanair only allows bookings through their website or their phone- cutting out the middle man is always an effective way to save money. if the majors could funnel more of the traffic to their own sites then they very would.
Goose29 From United States, joined Jun 2004, 41 posts, RR: 0 Reply 14, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 5 hours ago) and read 1733 times:
Did you ever think that maybe people keep coming to WN because of the excellent service they get and if it cost a little more then so be it. At least on WN you get employees who care about you and not just how much money you are giving them.
Expressjetphx From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 16, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 5 hours ago) and read 1712 times:
Did you ever think that maybe people keep coming to WN because of the excellent service they get and if it cost a little more then so be it. At least on WN you get employees who care about you and not just how much money you are giving them.
If it costs more to fly on an airline with cattle call-style boarding, no seat assignments, frequent stops, and no meal service, why wouldn't anyone fly on an airline with orderly boarding, seat assignments, more nonstops, hub operations, and food service?
FlyingDoctorWu says: Though I think your statement is a bit of an overgeneratlization- and remember affluent people don't like to overpay either.
If the affluent people want to save their money, why are the paying more for less service and more inconvenience? It doesn't make sense with what you are saying.
If finding the best fare is about VALUE, then if the lower fare has more service, it has more VALUE, so for god's sake choose it!
Jetranger2000 From United States, joined Feb 2000, 230 posts, RR: 0 Reply 17, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 5 hours ago) and read 1707 times:
I find that WN is only cheaper if flying around the west coast (Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Arizona, etc). Otherwise I pay good money for a seat on one of the majors.
Silver1SWA From United States, joined Mar 2004, 2222 posts, RR: 8 Reply 18, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 4 hours ago) and read 1697 times:
I find that WN is only cheaper if flying around the west coast (Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Arizona, etc). Otherwise I pay good money for a seat on one of the majors.
I was just going to say something similar.
Southwest's fares, and the kind of deal you get depends on a few things. Out here in California, inner-state travel is definitely cheap on WN, especially with their recurring $39 to anywhere in California promotions. However, in order to get the cheap fare, you must book early. Obviously there is only a limited number of seats at a certain price, and the really good deals book up months in advance. Last minute purchases, especially when booked under 14 days in advance, can get very pricey on WN. Therefore, WN is not always the cheapest. They offer plenty of chances to get a really good deal, but it's more on their terms than yours.
I fly WN more than any other airline. Why? Well, I happen to think their service is great, and I find that they, more often than not, offer the cheapest fare for where I am looking to travel. However, as my recent trip to Washington showed, Alaska Airlines turned out to have the cheapest fare, making them more ideal for a family of 5.
ScottB From United States, joined Jul 2000, 3984 posts, RR: 22 Reply 19, posted (4 years 5 months 2 weeks 3 days 3 hours ago) and read 1674 times:
As the song goes, "you better shop around." I will be the first to say that Southwest is not always the cheapest, but they often are, and you can generally attribute good deals on a given route to Southwest. That $84.70 fare on AA between DFW and SAT is actually a response to Southwest's 33rd Anniversary Sale earlier this week. $33.00 fare each way, plus $3.10 segment tax each way [$6.20], plus $2.50 security fee each way [$5.00], plus $4.50 DFW PFC, plus $3.00 SAT PFC works out to $84.70 -- it would stretch belief to claim that AA selected $33 as the fare on its own during the same week that LUV had its 33rd birthday. It just looks like it has taken AA longer to take the fare out of its computer systems than it did WN.
The primary reason why WN tries to steer people to its own website is not to avoid price comparisons with other airlines; rather, the cost of a booking through their own website is a tiny fraction (a few cents) of the cost of processing a booking through one of the major CRS's like Sabre or Worldspan or Galileo (several dollars). Multiply that out over millions of bookings and it works out to serious money! And if you book a car or hotel or cruise through them, they get a cut as well.
It does not hurt that they generally price very reasonably, even for last-minute travel. People are willing to call or visit their website first because they know they probably won't get cheated. It's like Wal-Mart or Costco -- neither is always the cheapest, but people shop there because they know that the prices are generally fair. And one nice thing about WN is that their tickets don't have penalties; you could change that WN ticket (subject to availability and sufficient time in advance) for free, while changing that AA ticket will cost you at least $100. Even if you had to change that WN ticket at the last minute, it would still only cost you $45 each way (the fare difference with the fully refundable ticket).
Why don't you compare last-minute fares between STL and DFW with the last-minute fares between STL and IAH/HOU and tell us if Southwest has any impact on pricing. AA will charge you hundreds of dollars LESS for taking an extra flight down to Houston than if you were to stay at DFW.
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