FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Speculation-palooza: What new fees are coming next year
Old Oct 23, 2012, 3:07 pm
  #14  
acasteve
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: HOU, IAH
Programs: WN A-List, CP, Marriott Gold
Posts: 67
Well folks... It really does look like the beginning of the end. We've been saying it for years... but I looks real to me now. And in the end, I think WN will look more like FL, than FL, WN. It seems that the process is well underway. I can easily envision reconfigurations of the cabins to include an Economy Plus seating scheme, paying for one bag and introducing a nominal change fee (of course, it will be lower than the other airlines). If you think RR2 is bad, just wait 'til we see RR3... Award flight change fees (1,000 pts. per change, 1,000 pts to check a second bag) In addition to all of that, I think at this time WN is quite subtlety guiding people to Air Tran by offering lower (sometimes substantially lower) fares on FL. For example, compare fares on WN to those of FL. It's been my experience lately that FL has many lower fares on the routes I fly than WN where both fly to the same city. And, indeed, I have bought flights on FL because of this fare difference. I may not make CP and A List next year because of this. It would be interesting to see if other FTers have observed the same shift of lower fares to FL. Getting WN FFers onto FL's website gradually accustoms the WN FF base to Air Tran's M.O. making an integration (and its end product) more acceptable to us, even though it is likely, from a flyer's point of view, to be quite inferior to WN's current business model. DL, US, AA, and UA must have big smiles on their faces... WN...? Our love has been great, but I've lost that LUVin' feeling and I just can't get it back.
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