Andy2

I am curious about something.

I have always believed that Southwest's policy of only having their schedule open a few months "out" costs them revenue.

I understand the benefit of not having to continue an unprofitable route just because passengers are booked on it (or being like other major airlines and just cancelling the service and inconveniencing the stranded passengers).

I am wondering if anyone has ever booked a flight with a competitor just because SW's schedule was not open. A number of possibilities exist:

1. A desire to have a definite receipt to bill a customer or turn in an expense report - the type of somewhat price indifferent customer that SW likes.

2. A desire to finish the travel reservation process all at once without the worry of forgetting to book the airline tickets once SW's schedule is finally open.

3. A lack of awareness by the unsophisticated traveller that the SW price will be lower than the competitor's price once the SW schedule opens up (or that the competitors will lower their prices once the SW schedule is extended).

This may not be a good target audience since most of the readers are so skilled in obtaining the RR vouchers that they are truly price indifferent and can wait until the schedule opens. But I think the current policy is unprofitable to SW. It is now Nov. 20 and the schedule is only open until Apr. 2. That seems unreasonable to me.