Fares!

[KCFlyer]

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On 1/28/2003 1154 PM CLTBWIDAYSYR wrote:

KC,

Believe it or not, we DO have loyal customers like Art. Now, we are all WELL aware how you love LUV, but do you really think it's beyond the realm of possibility that we might have folks who think we do a pretty da mn good job too?

Happy to have you aboard, Art.
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I've never doubted that U had good employees. Not once. Every time I've flown U, I have had great service and friendly faces. But my point was - Art spent 11 hours to get from point A to point B at a low cost. He could have gone between the same places on another airline for no more than $169 one way (SWA's highest fare - lower fares were avialable in advance), and on one flight that took just under 2 and a half hours. Wasn't it only a few months ago that folks cited the "5 stoppers" on SWA to cross the country, and ridiculed those who would subject themselves to such "punishment"? You're right, I love LUV, but you know something, back in the days when I wanted to go from point A to point B and the only thing LUV offered was a three stop, including a change of planes, I would opt for the airline that offered me a time savings as well as a $$ savings. Even when I "two step" from MCI-DAL via OKC on SWA, I'm finished travelling in less than 4 hours. And when I "two step" it's not really to save money, but it's because I get double credit for two trips, thanks to the Wright Amendment. That means just going to Dallas twice gets me a free trip.

 

[KCFlyer]

Art - you left out the "business in CLT" part in your original post. So I stand corrected on the 11 hours of time. I don't disagree with you on the fares for the more direct routings, IMHO, it's foolhardy for US to even suggest a multileg routing that will cost them more to operate than to offer a competitive fare on the more direct flights. Even then, when I tried to price a CLT-MCI routing, the U website suggested a "low fare" alternative that was CLT-RDU-BWI-MCI, with a return being MCI-PIT-RDU-CLT routing. The outbound was over 12 hours in length, and the fare was $850 round trip, and loaded with restrictions. That's not the employees fault, but one has to wonder why they didn't just offer the $800 fare on the CLT-MCI nonstop.

BTW, I don't like being treated like cattle either. And in all the times I've flown SWA, I don't feel that I am in any sort of "cattle class". In fact, I feel that I have been treated like a "premier" flyer. Indeed, IMHO, flying on a commuter prop with an assigned seat is more cattle like than flying on a 737 with open seating. If I have a complaint about SWA, it is that they are far to lenient at MCO on what they consider "parents flying with small children". I watched too many familys preboard with a kid who was 7 or 8 years old. My 7 year old at the time was capable enough to get situated on the aircraft without the need to preboard.