Earlier this month, Southwest Airlines revealed that it would change just about everything that makes it unique and stand out from the competition. This includes everything from charging for checked bags, to adding expiration dates to flight credits, to introducing basic economy.
Continue reading: Southwest Rolls Out Dynamic Award Pricing, Devalues Points
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
The other Rapid lRewards variable is how Awards will adjust with the new Basic fare.
#1, Will there be the same flexibility and no fee re-deposit? The revenue Basic fare we'll have a 180 day expiration of the credits.
#2, Will prices drop significantly - it appears that Basic replacing Wanna Get Away is designed to compete with ELCCs more aggressively. For example, presently in Denver, Southwest typically aligns fares to United Economy and ignores Frontier.
Also worth noting - the new RR program is based on round numbers. The days of 5,383 points for BWI-ATL have been replaced by 6,000 (or 16,000!)
Southwest will survive as long as they keep one thing.
Passengers that have a modicum of basic manners.
Southwest despite its brand image, and even 20 years ago when it was legitimately cheap, never attracted the hordes of low class, ill mannered people who are onboard every Frontier flight nowadays.
I will not fly Frontier any longer. Although 99% of Frontier passengers are just fine, Frontier flights each carry over 200 pax. That means there’s an expectation on each flight of 2 problematic pax. Believe me, those 2 pax will find a way to find each other and cause a scene. That is why I will not fly Frontier any longer.
When I say problematic, I don’t mean they’re not going to make partner at a law firm of Skadden caliber. I mean they wouldn’t get hired to be the janitor at Skadden, due to their manners. And by the way the janitors at One Manhattan West are personable and would never cause the kind of scene which every Frontier flight has greater than 50-50 odds of having.
Partners at Skadden don't fly Southwest, least of all have deep understandings of the behaviors of pax on Frontier.
WN will continue to have customers because a large portion of their market base are not knowledgable travelers. These are the folks that think the WN of the 1980s is the WN of today - always has the lowest fares. The sort of passengers that only look at WN and no other airline because WN has the only non-stop from Bumfuck to Nowheresville. This blog is an echo chamber of fairly savvy people when it comes to traveling. That is not who WN is flying. WN is flying Ma and Pa Kettle to see their new grandbaby in the Midwest for the first time. Or the one-vacation-a-year family of 5 to the Outer Banks. And they'll continue to do so despite these cuts because their passengers simply don't know better.
If you worked at Wachtell Lipton or Williams & Connolly, I might value your opinion. But Skadden (i.e., the Walmart of big law)? Lol no.
Just requalified for companion pass a month ago, I forget the first year I earned it. During these years I've watched everything good about Southwest decline. Even your picture of the pretzel snacks is from a bygone era. Flying with them, at least after they gut companion pass (which most certainly will happen sooner than later, it's just too generous a benefit... They'll likely end the credit card points count option), will become unnecessary. They'll lose business as flying really morphs into best value for cash tickets wins
It has always been the case that for low cost flights the redemption rates in dynamic systems appear better, because the fixed per-segment taxes and fees represent a higher portion of the ticket price. It seems they haven’t killed that yet.
Is it now a better deal to redeem through the UR Portal if you have the reserve card?
Better than before yes. Prolly not better than xfers to Hyatt. Don't sleep on UR xfer bonuses esp to AC & BA.
Arps, I gotta hand it to ya...you've really committed to the bit.
To everyone else, clearly the character of 'Arps' is an exaggerated caricature of posh lawyers. If you didn't realize it before, read the paragraph that starts with this:
"When I say problematic, I don’t mean they’re not going to make partner at a law firm of Skadden caliber."
Clearly that's satire. Andy Kaufman would appreciate. At least 'Arps' is funny, as opposed to the Tim Dunn types.
But did the ticket price not come down? since it no longer include free checked bag?
When you add the devaluation of the points to horrible the long long long lay overs ..plus no more free bags!!!! It makes you really think if you want to take this trip at all...I can go to JFK..but for a 76-year-old woman its quite a chore!!
I for one will not sit at a 3 hour Hold over and pay for my bags. If I can fly from JFK non-stop from New York to Denver I will have to do so. Going from Riverhead New York to Laguardia in a car. Or a uber for me is a 175.00 $$$..nope
Shelping from Riverhead to Ronkoncoma to jamaica on to the shuttle make for a very long day
I guess everything goes its own way.Southwest.I'm very disappointed
I think we are witnessing the beginning of the fall of Southwest. I am certain, in 5 years, they'll be filing for chapter11. They are becoming just like every other Tom, Dick, and Harry. Getting rid of everything that made them unique and well liked.
The days of WN's marketing savvy ( ie, brainwashing) are rapidly declining. More and more people have realized that WN fares are just as bad or worse than the big 3 even before the Elliott tyranny .... "If ya can't beat 'em, might as well join 'em" on the continual descent to the bottom ...
You should check out the r/SouthwestAirlines subreddit, lots of p'o'ed customers there.
Frankly your elitism and ignorance are showing, along with your ass. Southwest dominates a lot of markets like intra-TX and CA where the majors are also-rans, and/or forcing unneeded connections compared to nonstop. A lot of business customers need nonstops and couldn't care less about upgrades on a 60-90 minute flight, it's dilettante blog readers who don't mind wasting time connecting for that off chance at scoring an F upgrade, so they can get slop that cost the airline $3 as "first class food".
It isn't that Southwest won't have customers. Spirit has customers, Didn't keep them out of bankruptcy. The question of whether or not Southwest has can succeed after turning itself into Spirit with heart logos and high labor costs due to unionization is what's at stake here.