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Re: Anyone notice rates are going up?

PrevLUVLoyalist
Explorer C

Yes!  I have noticed rates have gone up.  All the points I accumulated from flying and the SW credit card has lost their value too.  Not to mention their flights are being delayed and rescheduled at an alarming rate.

 

Sad to report I can no longer be loyal and am cutting ties with SW's credit cards.

 

It's such a shame because Southwest used to be such an easy and affordable option.

Re: Anyone notice rates are going up?

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

@PrevLUVLoyalist Have you not seen any of the numerous news articles talking about ALL airlines raising prices because demand is insane and ALL airlines struggling with having enough crew to meet that demand which results in ALL airlines cancelling and delaying flights?

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Anyone notice rates are going up?

PrevLUVLoyalist
Explorer C

@TheMiddleSeat  Yes!  Everything is going up in price!   I'm guessing SW's new "Wanna Get Away Plus" means there will be less "Wanna Get Away" fares available too!

 

There are so many issues right now with SW it's hard to ignore!

 

The number of SW delayed flights (20.64%) is the highest it's been since 2014 (28.13%)* and it's only June 2nd.  It also has the 2nd HIGHEST cancellation rate behind Spirit**!  

 

So with SW's fares now on par with other major airlines, what benefit do you have booking with them? Other airlines offer a wider range of nonstop flights and red eye flights! (SW doesn't even offer a NonStop option between Los Angeles and New York!)

 

I was a HUGE and LOYAL fan of Southwest for many, many years... I would cringe when people in my circle would refer to them as Southworst!  But times have changed!  I am all ears and open to persuasion! 

 

*According to United States Department of Transportation

** According to Inc.com

Re: Anyone notice rates are going up?

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

I'm not here to beg you to stay with Southwest, every traveler should evaluate their needs and options.  If you want to fly a transatlantic red eye then go for it.  All I'm saying is that every airline is having it's fair share of problems and price hikes so to look only at Southwest and leave them because of the increases while ignoring what is happening at other airlines then you are not seeing the whole picture.  Southwest is not the only one raising prices and having increased delays and cancelations.

I also disagree with your guess about WGA and WGA+.  My guess is they both pull from the same bucket of seat availability and you won't see a WGA+ fare when a WGA fare is not available.  We are both guessing though and only Southwest knows.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Anyone notice rates are going up?

5280Av8r
Frequent Flyer C

I definitely understand the frustration. My biggest issue would be that of price because it doesn't seem to reflect that of a low cost airline. Now a lot of that is due to higher fuel costs right now, so I can give a little slack. As far as the delays and cancelations, all airlines are being affected by weather, pilot/staff shortages, among other things. So, Southwest isn't the only one affected here. Don't forget we're still on our way out of a pandemic. People are still getting sick, so there's going to be callouts. 

 

As far as "Other airlines offer a wider range of nonstop flights and red eye flights!" I will definitely agree with you on the redeye flights and hopefully they're in Southwest's future. As for the nonstop flights, that is true to a degree, but really only if you include long-haul and the regionals (SkyWest, Envoy Air, ExpressJet, etc). Comparing just the domestic mainline networks, Southwest has more airports with more service than most of the legacy carriers. American has the most number of hubs at 10, which means for the most part, on a legacy carrier, you're not going to have service to more than 10 airports unless it's from their hub (American - 10 hubs; Delta - 9 hubs; United - 7 hubs). On Southwest, you can get service to at least 10 airports from a whopping 50 airports! Now some of these are on a more seasonal basis, but that's still a lot of airports with at least 10 nonstop destinations on Southwest. And there's even a lot with service to 8 or 9 airports, not to mention, Southwest has the most nonstop service to Cancun and San Jose del Cabo in Mexico.


DEN (CLT) Based | Aviation Enthusiast | Full of Passion for Southwest