Southwest Airlines fined $200K for deceptive advertising

[loveswdw]

Not that this really shocks anybody. When was the last time you snagged a $59 fare?

http://news.yahoo.com/southwest-fined-200-000-fine-174223416.html

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I like SW but their advertising has several flaws. They seem to imply that you can just change your ticket for NO cost at any point LOL! And the fare sale "headline" fares aren't even contained in the emails they send. SO the "topic" says $59 fares but from Atlanta they show no options at that price!

The advertisements that claim business travelers fly them to avoid the fees are viewed as hysterical by most business travelers who have status and don't pay any of the "fees" they show they don't charge. For me the only difference is the "change fee" waive which can be a negative. SW won't let me fly standby on an earlier flight for free and other airlines will so..... I would rather have a standby option then the "no change fee" since changing on the day of costs can cost a LOT of money!

 

[lylone]

Last time I snagged a $59 fare was about 2 years ago and it was through Airtran. SW promised all us loyal Airtran folks that fares would stay the same. That has been untrue. This year a trip normally planned for the first week of Dec has changed to first week of Nov and the cheapest fare ATL to MCO is $111 and that is for early AM or late PM. The "prime travel times" are $264 one way per person.
My husband and I are not happy at all. They have also considerably cut the number of flights daily.
Lack of flights and only one other competitor for nonstops to Florida have jacked up prices at least 3 - 4 times here in Atlanta.
Thanks SW for screwing us loyal Airtran flyers. We are going to fly Delta instead!

 

[lylone]

Last time I snagged a $59 fare was about 2 years ago and it was through Airtran. SW promised all us loyal Airtran folks that fares would stay the same. That has been untrue. This year a trip normally planned for the first week of Dec has changed to first week of Nov and the cheapest fare ATL to MCO is $111 and that is for early AM or late PM. The "prime travel times" are $264 one way per person.
My husband and I are not happy at all. They have also considerably cut the number of flights daily.
Lack of flights and only one other competitor for nonstops to Florida have jacked up prices at least 3 - 4 times here in Atlanta.
Thanks SW for screwing us loyal Airtran flyers. We are going to fly Delta instead!