<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by CALeeIII:
This will only work if it is a move toward being like Southwest.
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Which it isn't -- anyone who thinks that it is is completely missing the point regarding why LUV is a threat to the majors.
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How many of you realize there is NO $100 PENALTY for changes at Southwest? At ANY fare. You buy a ticket and those FUNDS are nonrefundable. If you want to make a change, you go online and make the change. ALL your money is applied toward a new ticket whether it is a last-minute full fare (which is still much less than most fares on the majors) or another advanced-purchase fare.
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This is the threat. SouthWest's flexibility and simplicity is the big advantage. It isn't price -- that point was lost years ago. Price is a red herring being latched onto by people who are missing the point and who hope desperately that there really is a viable market for $2,000 round trips in coach.
The majors
can differentiate themselves sufficiently to succeed with a premium product. But not when the sole differentiation is
cost and there is no
value to be had in exchange for that cost -- then even the blind will go elsewhere.
I'm willing to pay a premium for:
- better schedules
- a broader network
- more comfortable seats
- laptop power
- flexibility
and I'll even stretch the definitions some in exchange for a decent loyalty program.
But my idea of a premium doesn't include paying 10x a leisure fare to sit next to Aunt Sue just because I didn't have a Saturday night stay in my itinerary.