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Flight costs

Rae
Explorer C

Now that we have been hooked on Southwest for years because of their low fares, great customer service and baggage policies, I have noticed that the fares have gone way up and the number of available reasonable flights has dwindled.  We have a lot of points on our two accounts and will use up those points and no longer be loyal to Southwest.  It is disappointing that I can find much cheaper flights to more conenient airports and end up buying tickets on other airlines instead of using our SW points most of the time.  This has been going on for at least the last year.  I also dont appreciate getting sale emails regularly from Southwest and opening those emails only to find out there really is no deal at all.  I am going to start just sending them to the trash without opening.

6 REPLIES 6

Re: Flight costs

elijahbrantley
Aviator A

Rae, 

 

There is usually no one perfect airline, and it is important to consider the overall value proposition! I hear feedback similar to what you are saying; here are a few things I like to consider:

 

-If cheapest is best for you, go with that. It’s expensive to fly, and cost is important! But....

-There is more to the overall cost than just ticket price. If you fly a super low cost carrier, for example, can you change your flight for free? Check your bags for free? Do you have to pay for a seat assignment? Do the fare and fees cost more than the SW fare?

-It costs me less today to fly to NYC than it did 10 years ago. So when I get frustrated with flight prices, I try to remember that they haven’t increased drastically over the recent years. 

-SW advertises sale prices much like Old Navy. There may be some things that are 50% off, but not everything is. Some flights might be $69 each way, but not all are on sale. 

-I frequently save money when SW introduces a sale by rebooking my flights. You can get money or points back. Every time a sale is announced, I check all my flights. 

 

I have have no doubt you have considered all these things, but it’s one of my favorite things to discuss. For me, SW’s value proposition beats any other option for our family. But I also have status and Companion Pass, which offer tremendous value. 

 

Here’s to you finding the right solution for you, and maybe there can still be some SW mixed in!

-A List, Companion Pass holder

Re: Flight costs

Rae
Explorer C

Well, thanks for the replies everyone.....there is still a huge difference in prices between SW and other airlines that was not part of the equation when I first started using SW.  My preference would be to fly SW all the time.  But, my last 10 flights have been on other airlines because of a drastic gap in prices. I will most likely switch my credit card to a different one that collects miles and my husband will do the same.  Sad to go because I have loved the ease of using SW.

Re: Flight costs

dfwskier
Aviator A

Hi again, Rae.

 

I fully understand why you want to fly other airlines that have fares significantly cheaper than those offered by Southwest. In similiar situations, I do the same.

 

Since you apparently like fliying with Southwest, you might just want to occasionally check  SW fares

in the future to see if the situation changes.

 

Have a good week.

Re: Flight costs

dfwskier
Aviator A

Well Rae, flight costs have gone up -- for all airlines due to the cost of jet fuel among other things.

 

As elijah said, you shoud consider the entire value proposition:

Cost of ticket

Add on gotcha fees

What happens to your ticket cost if you have to cancel.

Seat width

Seat selection -- will the airline select a given seat for you or do you send $$$ to choose.

What happens if your flight gets cancelled (especially for Spriit, Alegiant, Frontier) as they       ........ normally have few flights during a day or even a week.

 

If you balance everything out and think another airline fits your flight better, by all means go with the ther airline

 

I've evaluated the alternatives, and found no airline better than SW --- but that's just me.

Re: Flight costs

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@Rae wrote:

Now that we have been hooked on Southwest for years because of their low fares, great customer service and baggage policies, I have noticed that the fares have gone way up and the number of available reasonable flights has dwindled.  We have a lot of points on our two accounts and will use up those points and no longer be loyal to Southwest.  It is disappointing that I can find much cheaper flights to more conenient airports and end up buying tickets on other airlines instead of using our SW points most of the time.  This has been going on for at least the last year.  I also dont appreciate getting sale emails regularly from Southwest and opening those emails only to find out there really is no deal at all.  I am going to start just sending them to the trash without opening.


I'll add to the others, feel free to use up some of your points if that helps your situation and improves your mindset that you can make the best choices for each flight in the future.

 

As you book new flights, consider all the factors and Southwest will still come out on top a lot of the time, in my opinion. For me the checked bags and no change fees are important, and as an A-lister I like the benefits for same-day changes, etc.

 

 

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Flight costs

chgoflyer
Aviator A

Sadly, I have to agree. 😞

 

I've been forced to use other carriers more and more these days, due to relatively large fare differences. The days of assuming that Southwest had the lowest (or at least competitive) fares in any given market are no more. When I can control it I still fly Southwest -- for personal travel, for example. But when I'm flying on a client's dime I simply can't justify the extra expense. (When I do the bookings myself. When flights are booked for me I don't even have any say, and Southwest loses on the fare proposition more often than not these days -- even factoring in bag fees.)

 

I remember when Southwest was a low-fare leader. IMHO, these days they're more aligned fare-wise with the legacy carriers. It's unfortunate.