Originally Posted by
sbm12
I agree re the "cash-grab" mentality. The majors really seem to like that.
I'm not sure that the fare policies are what is driving loyalty at WN. I think that they built a huge reputation as the cheapest carrier and are living off of that a bit. There are plenty of folks out there who don't check anywhere else and book on WN, paying more, because they believe that they are getting the best fare.
I don't know how I'll react when WN shows up at LGA and becomes an option for me. I don't really fly domestically all that much and I love me some good international reward options. Still, I am very price-sensitive in my flying and would consider them if the price is right.
It's interesting you mention that.. if you look up-thread a little bit you'll see folks mentioning that the legacy airlines rely heavily on booking engines and that the lost-cost is often the winner.
Interesting in that WN
doesn't appear on those searches.
Thus the other airlines struggle in the price war and WN continues to keep their customers happy. I think a key to their process is that even a high WN fare doesn't look absurd. Meanwhile, I've pulled up plenty of fares from the various legacy lines and spit out my coca-cola at the sheer audacity of what they were charging.
I think WN's prices are often more palatable (lack of a better term) to the public and the legacy airlines need some adjustments to become more in line with them. They aren't losing money on the lower fares, so obviously the legacy airlines are doing something wrong in how they choose to price their "extras." If people wont buy them, they're not valuable.