Originally Posted by
pmaddock
While I agree that things are going to change the Legacy Carriers are taking thier lives in their hands if they screw around with the fundamentals. This is just my opinion of course but if they took away major aspects - say NW actually eliminating the FC benefit - then there would be no effective difference between them and the "Cattle car" (WN). In that case I'd stop fighting the various "cheap as possible" policies in my company and just take solace in the easy WN reward redemptions.
I just posted pretty much the same thing over on the Southwest forum. Except:
1. Lack of availability of international awards is another way legacy carriers are alienating the high-fare customers they need to keep.
2. Southwest Airlines is not a cattle car any more than any other airline's coach. In fact, it's better than most. The new boarding process is more orderly than any other airlines', and you'll be in line literally 2 minutes or less.
3. Award redemption for Southwest Airlines has taken a dramatic turn for the worse this summer. It's not as tight as legacy saver awards, and it may open up in the fall, but right now it's downright ugly.