Bonehead

Normally I stop by this forum to see if anything is being done about the various boarding shenanigans that plague WN and keep me from flying them (Blue-sleeve abuse, gigantic families preboarding, etc.), and to make annoying comments when I see that the status quo is prevailing.

Well, I thought that just for fun I'd check WN on one of my regular business runs (DEN--PIT) as I have two of those trips I need to make in August.

Lo and behold, UA's First Class -UP fares are not a whole lot more than WN's WGA fares on many dates (in some cases only $100 to $150 more...check out 8-26 to 8-29, for example), and completely blow the Anytime and BS fares away (in some cases being $350 cheaper) and they are nonstop!!! (WN's nonstop options are limited).

These are mainline FC seats with meals and all the booze you can down in three hours, folks. Maybe you guys need to branch out a little bit...

airplanegod

Yawn, another UA sheep lost from his flock. Maybe YOU should branch out and try other real airlines like VX/B6/AS/AA/DL/AS/HA/US where you will be treated very well instead of "changes you will like", RJ's on transcons, and no free booze in Y trans-pacific. Oh, and you won't have to deal with EWR delays, slimline seating on A320's/CRJ's, and PMCO vs PMUA fights.

olouie

Comparison is really only fair for fully flexible/refundable fares. I see the unrestricted UA fares at $3460 in F non-stop and WN at $890 ish non-stop. UA Econ is $1766 non-stop unrestricted.

Bonehead

I'll keep checking back...maybe there will be a few useful comments from WN flyers on this topic. Believe it or not, there is some hyperbole over on the UA forum regarding UA's problems, and you seem to be buying into all of it. There are quite a few of us who are satisfied with the airline, especially when one can fly in First Class at essentially the price of a devolve seat on WN.

95% of my business trips happen as planned, and any changes usually fall in the SDC (Same-day change) window...free on UA. Free on WN??

olouie

Southwest never has a change fee no matter what ticket you buy. You only pay fare difference if any.

I fly both UA and WN a lot. I mainly book WN for domestic travel since the fares (even at the WGA level) are so flexible. If you have set travel then legacy airlines can be good. If you need flexibility in the tickets then WN is pretty awesome (no change fees, cancel BS/AT for full refunds, cancel WGA for future credit).

Its not for everyone, but for a lot of people WN works. For others UA works. I also love WN customer service. I have had 1K/GS on UA before and GS is great, but even as a 1K the customer service could be terrible. I have yet to have a truly negative interaction with WN CS. Less than optimal? Yes. Terrible? No. Wish I could say the same about UA.

nsx

Same-day change is a known advantage for other airlines over Southwest. Also, fares less than 7 days out are often lower on other airlines. Southwest has been more aggressive than other airlines in charging top dollar for summer travel dates (up to August 24).

I think Southwest is leaving money on the table with these three policies, but I'm just a customer. As customers it is up to us to show each airline its errors by purchasing from its competitors.

olouie

UA SDC isn't free for everyone according to their website. Only free for gold and above. (http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...daychange.aspx)

Bonehead

I thought you had to be at least Gold to be allowed to post on FT...

steved5480

Were that truly the case, there would be no need for for a Southwest board on FT now would there

kerflumexed

Most of my flights this year have been on Delta where I figure I pay 175-225 extra pesos for F. I did have a same day flight change F to F and the change fee was 50 bucks. I am determined to avoid SWA,s new seating except for short segments.

And now there are stories about the rampers getting creative on bags, turn times, etc. the rest of the summer will be interesting. Don't check bags.

airplanegod

Nice try, but I wasn't talking about WN. Maybe if you put down the Jeff McMuffin you will see this country has two other legacy carriers, Delta and American that offer much more than UA at the moment. Then again, I bet if United turned into Spirit over night you'd still go out of your way to fly on them...

ronbo83

I have been buying more last minute tickets lately and have found Delta to have cheaper first class tickets than WN tickets within about a week window. I still like WN for planned out trips but I have been switching most of my business travel to Delta and others who can offer more for less IMO. I know WN wants more business customers but I don't see why I should pay more for a coach ticket on the same routing.

rtalk25

I don't think WN is attempting to be very competitive at PIT. It's somewhat taking the resting on it's laurels approach there.

Maybe it figures that even though US pulled down the hub, that US/AA is the still the preferred carrier there.

Bonehead

I'm truly not trying to disparage WN here (except when it comes to the boarding cheaters/seat savers lol); I just find it fascinating that FC fares on legacy carriers are in many cases competitive with what many folks blindly assume is the low-fare leader. Now I realize that most people here are aware that WN's fares are in many cases a lot higher than they used to be, but to actually see First Class fares compete with WN fares in some markets at some times...wow. I hope that I've opened a few folks' eyes to the fact that UA, DL, and AA are offering a much better product at (again, in some cases) a competitive price and maybe a few people will take a look at those options.

olouie

If I could get the same fare rules for WN and UA at the same price I would pick UA/legacy.

Or if my travel is absolutely set then I will often fly legacy (or most likely VX if they have the route). HOWEVER, with Jetblue's new MINT cabin priced below legacy F I will fly that any chance I get. Too bad its limited to LAX/SFO-JFK for now. I booked a trip on MINT for under $599 each way. Lie-flat seats, nice meals, a private pod (almost). Its impossible to beat that value :-)