Originally Posted by
akillourhy
We have noticed that, since the MAX-8 drama began and sidelined 5% of Southwest's fleet, Southwest's fares on all three of those city pairs are now completely non-competitive.
I'm not seeing "completely non-competitive" fares, e.g. far higher than the competition. But everything I check is running way ahead of a year or so ago. My wife and I fly Chicago-DCA frequently for reasons to do with elder care. 18 months ago, we were going every weekend, but with a little careful shopping we could always find sub-$100 one-way fares. Right now the lowest WGA fare seems frozen at a flat $169, and those are for off-hour / crack-of-dawn flights. (Peak flights can easily exceed $250.) We just booked a bunch of autumn trips @ $99 each way during the three-day sale, but bear in mind that this year's flash-sale screaming deal was, just a while ago, the regular, everyday deal.
I do not know if this is the Max effect, higher demand, or the result of reduced competition / capacity discipline / de facto fare collusion (the majors' BE fares typically match WN to the penny). Maybe all three.