What happened to Southwest?

[Kies99]

I think the biggest issue out of Pittsburgh is they bought out Airtran... they are the only two nonstop airlines PIT-MCO. No competition!! Bums me out too!

This is exactly the issue.

We have a really nice airport but no flights. When they shut down concourses because of lack of flights, this tells you something. No competition means they can charge what they want.

 

[dis-happy]

Not only are their fuel prices higher but they can't offset airfare with baggage fees. They spent so long marketing "bags fly free" that this can never* be a revenue source for them.




*at least anytime soon

 

[cricketgirl]

I always fly Southwest but this last trip has me looking elsewhere. I was monitoring the flights daily for a couple months. $188 each way. Then last week they went to $164 and $165 back. SO I went ahead and purchased them. Now those same dates, same flight everything is $284 each way. That is crazy in a week. From Houston to Orlando is 16 hours. At these prices it might be cheaper to drive next time.

 

[AndreaDM]

Check PIT to Tampa, we are flying to Tampa from PIT on Saturday morning for $89 per person. Flying back on the 27th on Airtran for $94 per person. We actually live very close to CAK but the flights were almost double that of Pittsburgh, so the 1.5 hour drive is more than worth it. Also, keep checking over and over, prices, especially on Airtran, change multiple times a day.

 

[MrsDoubtfire]

I also recall super Ding fares from Providence, RI to MCO YEARS ago - as in $39 to $49 each way ... but haven't seen them in forever.

We usually fly SW due to the direct flights and the airport being pretty close to home, and the 2 bag "free" policy. Last year I started looking at fares for our August 2012 trip in February. At that time they were $135 each way. I didn't book since I felt they would drop. As the weeks went by, they actually went up by $5. I booked RT tickets in May - fearing they would go up again - but kept looking almost daily. I ended up being able to re-book in July - saving $30 on my ticket, and $15 each on DH's and DS's - but will lose those credits as our next trip will not be until this August, AFTER the credits expire. Either way, SW has my $.

This time I decided to check fares the day that they are released by SW. With this new tactic, I was able to score one-way tickets for $69 from Prov -to-MCO for August. As of today, the fares for the same flights are $90. I haven't booked return flights yet as they do not come out until February. I will be checking that day to see how the prices are.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Not only are their fuel prices higher but they can't offset airfare with baggage fees. They spent so long marketing "bags fly free" that this can never* be a revenue source for them.




*at least anytime soon

Maybe not, but they are making a lot of money with their EBCI charge - genius idea.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I was fairly disappointed in Southwest's prices myself.

I was interested in a trip from Burbank to Las Vegas. Usually, these fares are $39-79 one way.

But no. They are now $114 going and $166 going back per person. That is just crazy talk. The other option is to drive 5 hours there and 9 hours back, yeah, no thanks!

 

[pigletto]

Southwest and Jetblue are my preferred carriers out of Buffalo. Usually Southwest will come through on a sale or two before our trip, though their regular prices are on par with all of the others. I actually find Jetblue consistently higher than the others.
Gone are the days of the 49 dollar dings but as a marketing plan it worked. They got us in while it was cheap, we liked them and their service, and when the fuel contract expired and they needed to raise their prices, we still wanted to use them.
Overall I can usually fly for 200 per person or less from Buffalo and that works for me.

 

[Lewisc]

Southwest's fuel and labor costs aren't much (any?) lower then the legacy airlines. The legacy airlines were able to use bankruptcy to lower labor costs and shed the leases on some planes and some airport gates.

Southwest no longer has a major (any?) cost advantage over the legacy carriers. Southwest doesn't get revenue from checked bags, less revenue from freight then legacy airlines and fewer full fare business flyers then legacy airlines.

 

[Robbi]

OP, prices like this started in New Orleans after Katrina once the airport reopened. SW is the only nonstop to Orlando though so a lot of people, including us, suck it up. I've even called other airlines to see if they have considered opening a non stop route from New Orleans to Orlando but no luck.

 

[Friendly Frog]

Southwest was never the low cost airline for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Airtran was. Now Airtran is gone and deeply missed by me!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

This is exactly the issue.

We have a really nice airport but no flights. When they shut down concourses because of lack of flights, this tells you something. No competition means they can charge what they want.

This is true! We are in big trouble here in Pittsburgh. SWA and AirTran are the only 2 carriers that fly non-stop out of Pittsburgh to a variety of cities . And since they are now one with no competition , the prices continue to soar.

Spirit is now flying out of Latrobe non-stop to Orlando. My friend just booked spirit and even with the fees , she said the price was wayyyy lower than AT and SWA.

 

[mm1971]

Southwest was never the low cost airline for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Airtran was. Now Airtran is gone and deeply missed by me!

This is true! We are in big trouble here in Pittsburgh. SWA and AirTran are the only 2 carriers that fly non-stop out of Pittsburgh to a variety of cities . And since they are now one with no competition , the prices continue to soar.

Spirit is now flying out of Latrobe non-stop to Orlando. My friend just booked spirit and even with the fees , she said the price was wayyyy lower than AT and SWA.

Remember that the ticket prices have to do with open seats. If a plane is half full you'll see the prices drop (buy tickets on Tuesday afternoons, studies show that is the least expensive time to buy). As planes fill, the prices go up. All airlines have cut flights, meaning less seats so higher prices. Southwest/Airtran is no different. I still like SW for their service and the free bags.

Spirit has always been and continues to be a low cost airline. The prices are usually lower because they are not as busy and do not fly full planes as often. I think the bag fees and other fees have scared people off. It is a psychological thing. It really ticks people off to pay $50 to check a bag and thus they avoid them.