Friday, November 26, 2010

Southwest Fares...

And one more thing about flying Southwest. (When you work for the government, you fly the airline they pick, and this year, to Boston, that's Southwest...)

They have these commercials in which they tell you that "there's only one place for great low fares: Southwest dot com". "We're not on Orbitz", they say cheerfully, not on Travelocity or the others. Just Southwest dot com.

Well, I was wondering about that as I sat in my middle seat (despite having paid top dollar for it), waiting for the guy to finish up his joke-filled safety spiel, so I decided to check that out. Seriously, if their fares are so low - $49 to Boston! - why don't they want them out there where everyone can see them?

Turns out it's because those fares are part of an elaborate ... well, no. I won't say that. But it does turn out that those fares are part of a triple-tier pricing system. Yes, you can fly to Boston on Southwest from Washington for $49... as long as you book really early and your plans don't change. Because that fare is non-refundable and non-changeable, and exists for a tiny percentage of seats on the plane. Otherwise... well, book for couple of weeks from today, and it's $54. A few days closer, and it's now $84. A week from now, $91. Tomorrow? "From $101 to $136". And that is of course one way, so you're looking at from $98 to $202-272. For those few seats.

For the rest of the seats, you pay $143, again one-way, which means a total charge (according to their website) of $307 or higher. On Airtrans, that same flight - same days, a couple of minutes off - is $213. That's leaving tomorrow. Next week it's $129, and even cheaper on Jet Blue, $103, when Southwest is (still) $143 = $307. And yeah, they're not going to charge you for your bag, but check one bag and it's still cheaper on Jet Blue or AirTrans.

No wonder they don't want you comparing them on "those other travel websites".

That "Wanna Get Away" fare is indeed cheap. But like every other business out there, they subsidize the cheap come-on by making it limited in availability and jacking up the price on what you'll probably end up having to buy.

Southwest isn't evil. They're just a profit-making company. And it doesn't do to forget that, even when they're whispering low fares into your ear.

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