So, who flies Southwest, anyway?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m not what you would call a very frequent flyer, at least not on the scale used by people who are constantly criss-crossing the country on business. But i do fly a little bit, having made at least 2-3 domestic return flights per year during the four years i’ve been in the US.

Being a grad student with a small income, i look to save money wherever i can, and flying is one area where i definitely like to pay as little as possible. To facilitate this, i usually try to book my flights well in advance, and i’m generally pretty flexible about days, and about times of day. Furthermore, while i prefer not to have to change planes three times just to get from Baltimore to Chicago, i do accept that an insistence on the cheapest fare generally means that it can be difficult to get direct flights.

And this brings me to Southwest. It has a reputation as the budget carrier, and the airline of choice for those without too much ready cash (although Air-Tran and Jet Blue are starting to muscle in on the low-cost territory). Yet, in the four years that i’ve been flying domestic in the US, i have never once found Southwest to be the best deal for any return trip. The only time i’ve ever flown this airline was the one time that i needed to make a one-way flight.

And it’s not like i don’t try all the options. As i said, i book early and i’m generally pretty flexible about days of travel. Also, i’m generally prepared to fly into a second-choice airport, or even a third choice, if that will keep the fare down. For example, my partner’s mother lives in San Francisco, and when we fly out there we always check the fares not only to SFO (where Southwest doesn’t fly), but also into Oakland, and even San Jose.

This week, for example, we bought tickets to go out to SF at Christmas time. I looked, as i generally do, on Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, and Qixo. The best deals were on Orbitz and Qixo, and we managed to book return flights into SFO, on United Airlines (where we both have frequent flyer programs) for about $240 per person, including all charges and taxes. The very best deal available on Southwest.com, flying into Oakland, was $179 per person EACH WAY (so $358 return per person), PLUS airport fees and taxes, which would have taken the total to over $400 per person.

(I should add that we could have got return tickets with American Airlines for $196 per person, but we both prefer to pay a bit more for United in order to rack up our miles).

I’m not pitting Southwest (that’s why this isn’t in the Pit). I’m just curious about who uses them, and when they are the best deal because, as i said, the only time they’ve ever been the best deal for me was on the occasion when i needed to fly one-way.

Are they really only worth flying if you happen to get one of their great deals? I mean, i watch their ads on TV, and if i wanted to fly to Albany NY or Tallahassee FL or Manchester NH, i’d be in great shape, with fares about $40-50 each way. But whenever i want to fly anywhere, Southwest is never even in the hunt, price-wise.

What gives?

2

Fortunately, this is in IMHO, where I don’t have to back this up with facts… :smiley:

I assume that Southwest may have already driven down fares in the cities you’re flying in to. In other words, the fares on the majors were higher until SW came in, they all lowered their fares so that they could compete. Also, SW doesn’t run specials or engage in fare wars in the traditional sense. It’s fares are its fares, and you get a cheaper price by booking first.

Personally, I never ever fly anything but SW home (from Chicago to Omaha). Direct flight, on and off the plane lickety-split, and all this for a roundtrip fare of $82.20. Can’t beat it.

3

Yeah, I’ve noticed this. Try flying into a city SW doesn’t fly to at all. Ticket prics are noticeably higher. And it depends on when you get your tickets. SW always has some of the cheap tickets if you get them early. Plus, that price you quoted for SW is their highest price, i.e. the price you get at the last minute. (sounds like all the cheaper catergory tickets on the days you selected were sold out. At SW.com you can always see what the chaper ticket prics were.) A last minute ticket on other airlines can run you a boatload of money, SW’s highest price is always constant. If I have to fly up to Dallas for the week, I can get a ticket the day before the flight leaves for a little over a hundred bucks each way. A round trip ticket on another airline is gonna be $600 to $700.

4

My friend’s mom just flew in on Southwest for a visit. Brandy Norwood was on the same flight.

5

While my husband was in Baltimore and I was still in Jacksonville, I flew Southwest almost monthly. I was able to plan ahead and take advantage of their specials, and I rarely paid more than $150 for a round trip ticket. I think I had late flights on maybe 2 or 3 occasions.

I thought they were wonderful.

6

I suppose it depends on your location. In Baltimore, it sounds as if Southwest isn’t the best deal. In other markets they do ok. For instance, out of El Paso it’s hard to beat Southwest, especially for flights to California and Las Vegas. To go to Las Vegas on American from El Paso, I’d have to to Dallas, and then to Las Vegas. On United, first to Denver then to Las Vegas. That’s the problem with hubs, because while the prices are ok for American and United, the flight times just suck. Going to the east coast, sometimes Southwest is cheap, sometimes it’s someone else (usually American).

Compared to every other airline, the very best thing about Southwest (IMHO, of course) is that there is no penalty for changing your flights. If you paid $150 for a ticket you didn’t use, you have $150 credit with them. Everyone else seems to charge a $50 or higher rebooking fee. Right now I have a $165 ticket on Frontier that I didn’t use, and it’s only worth $65 because of Frontier’s $100 rebooking fee. That blows. $100 to reissue an electronic ticket?

7

Did you cancel within a timeframe that meant they could reasonable expect to resell the seat? Otherwise, $100 for an booked seat that you chose not to use seems fair enough.

8

Actually, the $179 each way ticket was their second-cheapest possible flight for that trip, and it was the cheapest flight available.

Here’s the breakdown for the Baltimore to Oakland flight, 21 December:

Internet One-Way: $99 (no flights available)
Fun Fares: $179 (13 flights available)
Advance Purchase: $199 (16 flights)
Restricted Fares: $219 (13 flights)
Special Fares: $259 (16 flights)
Refundable Anythime: $299 (17 flights)

The return leg on December 29 has an identical price structure, with $179 being the cheapest available right now.

Note also that, despite Southwest’s advertising that brags about its non-stop flights, every single one of those flights has at least one stop. Five out the 17 possible flights have 2 stops, and one flight has 3, ferchissakes! So much for the benefits of flying a non-hub airline.

I guess my next question is: How damn early would i have to book to get that $99 fare? I mean, i booked three months in advance, and i can’t imagine that too many people book domestic air travel much further in advance than that.

9

I fly Southwest from Baltimore to Tampa pretty frequently for work. Our office travel agency will put you on the cheapest flight that gets you to your destination at the required time. If I have a limited window to travel, Southwest is generally the cheapest. When I’m more flexible in my travel plans (eg. I have to get there Wednesday night for a Thursday am meeting but I don’t have to wait till after close of business on Wednesday to leave), other carriers do sometimes beat the Southwest fare.

10

I live in Texas, which is supposed to be prime territory for Southwest, and I’ve found that it almost never pays to fly Southwest. I’ve flown Southwest to Los Angeles once, and had no complaints about the flight or the service, but since then, I’ve never found their prices competitive for ANY destination I’ve wanted to fly to.

11

It might just be your location…I fly out of Ontario CA and Southwest consistantly has the lowest prices for me. But then, I tend to fly short distances as well (to Vegas, Oakland, SLC, Kansas City, etc).

12

I flew SW once and only once. They were having some cheap dealie, and I got RT tickets from Chicago to Oakland for $140. Great, great deal. But usually their cheap deals are at time inconvenient for me.

My mom uses them fairly often, to fly from Northern California to see her family in Southern California. They often have good deals instate, and with more local flights. I suppose I could get a cheapo flight to, I dunno, Des Moines or Kansas City or something with them, if I had a reason or desire to go to Des Moines or Kansas City.

13

My experiences echo pepperlandgirl’s. Out of SoCal, and flying to Vegas, Seattle, St. Luois, San Antonio, etc. Southwest always had the cheapest fares and the best service. The wife always flies Delta for work, so we never price-shop those trips. The company pays for those. :smiley:

14

SW has a service where they will notify you on a weekly basis when cheap fares open up. So, the majority probably are snapped up by those notified first, not internet surfers. And their fares are, on the whole, on a first come first served basis.

15

I fly Southwest to BWI from Albany. It’s dirt cheap (about $79 one way). And it has pushed down rates to the DC area: there’s now a carrier going for $59 to Dulles.

16

I flew Southwest once. It was the cheapest round-trip ticket I could find for the time I had to fly, just about $200. I don’t live close to any big airports, so another reason I chose them was because some friends of mine were going to Houston and let me ride with them, so I flew out of Houston. Ordinarily plane trips out of our itty-bitty airport cost about $400 round-trip.

I found the plane to be rather cramped, but my seatmates were interesting, and I always find air travel to be rather fun. I’m rather stay-at-home, so trips are rare adventures for me.

17

I fly Southwest for work every week and have for years. I have found that they can’t be beat for short-ish flights to B level airports (in California were talking Oakland, Burbank, Orange County). They own that market. For long haul cross country flights, they don’t even really try to compete on price. They will get you there, eventually, if you don’t mind a few stops along the way (and no real food).

So, if you are looking to fly cross country (BWI-SFO?) you’ll do better than Southwest on price.

Also, check out using Sacramento airport. I think Jet Blue has service there. It not that far away from the Bay Area if you can get a price advantage on a flight.

18

Actually, on the food issue, some of the major airlines are starting to follow Southwest’s example. More and more flights have no food at all, and others now offer you the chance to buy your lunch for outrageous prices.

All part of trying to make up the profit margin when airfares are so low, i guess.

19

Mr. Legend and I fly Southwest a lot more than anyone else, but we most often fly from Albuquerque to California, and no one beats their fares on those routes. We book all our flights online, and when Mr. Legend was flying to CA weekly for business, he racked up enough frequent flyer credits that we not only got enough award tickets to take the familyon vacation twice, we also got a Companion Pass that let me fly free with him for a year. We wouldn’t pay more for the great frequent flyer program (the closest we’ve ever gotten to cashing in any miles from Delta or American was a possible upgrade), but Southwest does make it very appealing.

Oddly enough, when we were pricing trips to Baltimore from here, Southwest had the cheapest flights by far. I don’t know why the fares from Baltimore to California would be worse deals than New Mexico to Baltimore.

20

I guess it depends when you want to fly, and how far ahead you book.

I just compared the prices for a return trip, BWI to ABQ, leaving on December 21 and returning on December 29 (the same days i booked for SF). I looked at Southwest, and at Orbitz.

The cheapest AVAILABLE flight on Southwest was $159 each way ($318 total) plus taxes and fees.

Southwest had fares of $94 each way and $109 each way, but both were sold out.

On Orbitz, AVAILABLE fares included:

American: $223 return
United: $233 return
Continental $268 return

All fares include taxes and fees.