An Open Letter to Southwest Airlines
Jul 10, 2017, 11:18 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 24
An Open Letter to Southwest Airlines
Suggestion / Comment:
I would love to have a conversation with a leader responsible for online reservations. Southwest is lagging the competition in terms of ease of use and customer friendly capabilities.
As an example, try to search for a flight from San Diego (SAN) AND Santa Ana (SNA) to WAS (all Washington D.C. airports) using Google Flights, then try to do the same on Southwest. With Google, it's a single entry of SAN, SNA in the "where from" box (maximum three airports), and on the "where to" side I only need to enter WAS. I can easily switch dates and ALL the flight options appear.
Your site, on the other hand, involves entering the to/from pair for every option, so for a single day I would need to check the following options: SAN:IAD, SAN;DCA, SAN:BWI, SNA:IAD, SNA;DCA, SNA:BWI. That ignores the possibility that I might find a less expensive option returning from a different airport, or may want to also add in flight options to Philadelphia!! Compound that with the idea of changing dates and it becomes incredibly cumbersome.
Please forward this to the right team, as I think your service is usually stellar, but your current system seems "old school" in comparison to Google. In fact, why not allow Google to search your flights and list the options, it would likely add market share for Southwest.
In any case, please make it EASIER for us to search flight options.
Thank you,
MXD
I would love to have a conversation with a leader responsible for online reservations. Southwest is lagging the competition in terms of ease of use and customer friendly capabilities.
As an example, try to search for a flight from San Diego (SAN) AND Santa Ana (SNA) to WAS (all Washington D.C. airports) using Google Flights, then try to do the same on Southwest. With Google, it's a single entry of SAN, SNA in the "where from" box (maximum three airports), and on the "where to" side I only need to enter WAS. I can easily switch dates and ALL the flight options appear.
Your site, on the other hand, involves entering the to/from pair for every option, so for a single day I would need to check the following options: SAN:IAD, SAN;DCA, SAN:BWI, SNA:IAD, SNA;DCA, SNA:BWI. That ignores the possibility that I might find a less expensive option returning from a different airport, or may want to also add in flight options to Philadelphia!! Compound that with the idea of changing dates and it becomes incredibly cumbersome.
Please forward this to the right team, as I think your service is usually stellar, but your current system seems "old school" in comparison to Google. In fact, why not allow Google to search your flights and list the options, it would likely add market share for Southwest.
In any case, please make it EASIER for us to search flight options.
Thank you,
MXD
Last edited by mxd; Jul 10, 2017 at 11:48 am
Jul 10, 2017, 2:53 pm
#2
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: San Diego, Ca
Programs: AA 2MM LT PLT; AS MVP Gold75k; HHonors Diamond; IHG PLT
Posts: 3,502
There is GOOD REASON why WN flights can only be booked in the Southwest website: they are generally not price competitive. WN banks on casual travelers who still perceive it to be a LCC, avoid sites like Kayak or Google flights to comparison shop, simply go directly to their site to book travel. Sprinkle with some bags fly free and no change fee pixie dust, and sheeple will follow.
Jul 10, 2017, 2:53 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1,868
That is certainly one of my big complaints with Southwest, I hate having to run all the combinations manually. I still don't really understand why they don't want their prices to be indexed like everyone elses =/
Edit: diver nailed it, of course, but it's a big irritation for me just the same. Except for me the no change fees is actually real pixie dust - with AS and AA not making nice anymore, WN is going to be all I have left...
Edit: diver nailed it, of course, but it's a big irritation for me just the same. Except for me the no change fees is actually real pixie dust - with AS and AA not making nice anymore, WN is going to be all I have left...
Jul 10, 2017, 3:33 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: ORD, MDW or MKE
Programs: American and Southwest. Hilton and Marriott hotels primarily.
Posts: 6,459
There is GOOD REASON why WN flights can only be booked in the Southwest website: they are generally not price competitive. WN banks on casual travelers who still perceive it to be a LCC, avoid sites like Kayak or Google flights to comparison shop, simply go directly to their site to book travel. Sprinkle with some bags fly free and no change fee pixie dust, and sheeple will follow.
Jul 10, 2017, 4:12 pm
#5
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 616
There is GOOD REASON why WN flights can only be booked in the Southwest website: they are generally not price competitive. WN banks on casual travelers who still perceive it to be a LCC, avoid sites like Kayak or Google flights to comparison shop, simply go directly to their site to book travel. Sprinkle with some bags fly free and no change fee pixie dust, and sheeple will follow.
Jul 10, 2017, 4:19 pm
#6
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
WN does not pay to participate in any of the GDS and the various websites such as Google and the like all draw from the GDS. As WN does not interline with other carriers, there is no particular reason for it to spend the money and, diver858 points out, there is little incentive as WN banks on people falling for the "we're cheaper because our staff wear polo shirts" stuff.
On the other hand, rather than argue about it, if you find WN both better & cheaper, you ought to fly it.
On the other hand, rather than argue about it, if you find WN both better & cheaper, you ought to fly it.
Jul 10, 2017, 4:26 pm
#7
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1,868
Last minute is hit or miss, but I often find some good last minute hidden city routings on WN that put them back on top.
Jul 10, 2017, 4:33 pm
#8
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 616
When booking far in advance, SW is usually on the cheaper end. When booking less than a month out, though, I can usually fly out of my home airport on AA or DL for less than I can fly out of MCO on WN. It could be my market, but Southwest hasn't been the price leader for me in quite some time.
Last minute is hit or miss, but I often find some good last minute hidden city routings on WN that put them back on top.
Last minute is hit or miss, but I often find some good last minute hidden city routings on WN that put them back on top.
Jul 10, 2017, 4:47 pm
#9
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: USA
Programs: Chase Sapphire Reserve, WFBF
Posts: 1,573
Suggestion / Comment:
I would love to have a conversation with a leader responsible for online reservations. Southwest is lagging the competition in terms of ease of use and customer friendly capabilities.
As an example, try to search for a flight from San Diego (SAN) AND Santa Ana (SNA) to WAS (all Washington D.C. airports) using Google Flights, then try to do the same on Southwest. With Google, it's a single entry of SAN, SNA in the "where from" box (maximum three airports), and on the "where to" side I only need to enter WAS. I can easily switch dates and ALL the flight options appear.
Your site, on the other hand, involves entering the to/from pair for every option, so for a single day I would need to check the following options: SAN:IAD, SAN;DCA, SAN:BWI, SNA:IAD, SNA;DCA, SNA:BWI. That ignores the possibility that I might find a less expensive option returning from a different airport, or may want to also add in flight options to Philadelphia!! Compound that with the idea of changing dates and it becomes incredibly cumbersome.
Please forward this to the right team, as I think your service is usually stellar, but your current system seems "old school" in comparison to Google. In fact, why not allow Google to search your flights and list the options, it would likely add market share for Southwest.
In any case, please make it EASIER for us to search flight options.
Thank you,
MXD
I would love to have a conversation with a leader responsible for online reservations. Southwest is lagging the competition in terms of ease of use and customer friendly capabilities.
As an example, try to search for a flight from San Diego (SAN) AND Santa Ana (SNA) to WAS (all Washington D.C. airports) using Google Flights, then try to do the same on Southwest. With Google, it's a single entry of SAN, SNA in the "where from" box (maximum three airports), and on the "where to" side I only need to enter WAS. I can easily switch dates and ALL the flight options appear.
Your site, on the other hand, involves entering the to/from pair for every option, so for a single day I would need to check the following options: SAN:IAD, SAN;DCA, SAN:BWI, SNA:IAD, SNA;DCA, SNA:BWI. That ignores the possibility that I might find a less expensive option returning from a different airport, or may want to also add in flight options to Philadelphia!! Compound that with the idea of changing dates and it becomes incredibly cumbersome.
Please forward this to the right team, as I think your service is usually stellar, but your current system seems "old school" in comparison to Google. In fact, why not allow Google to search your flights and list the options, it would likely add market share for Southwest.
In any case, please make it EASIER for us to search flight options.
Thank you,
MXD
On the other hand, some sites take it way too far in the other direction by including so-called "alternate" airports by default. I can't imagine booking a flight to Washington where I was indifferent between all three of DCA, IAD, and BWI. These airports are awfully far away from each other given the notorious traffic in the region (especially BWI). I would never book myself on a flight to IAD if going to the Maryland side or to BWI if going to the Virginia side, or to any airport other than DCA if going to downtown. The cost savings would have to be in the multiple hundreds in order to consider such a thing (on the other hand as OP points out of course it would be nice to be able to make that comparison).
Jul 10, 2017, 5:35 pm
#10
Join Date: May 2006
Location: TUS/PDX
Programs: WN CP/A-List, AS MVPG75K
Posts: 5,798
Jul 11, 2017, 6:08 am
#12
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Orlando
Programs: AirTran Elite, Southwest A-list
Posts: 46
Southwest's posted fair is not comparable to many other carriers' posted fare.
Other airlines are also going to charge you bags, also going to charge you early boarding, also come with built in change fees. Other carriers clearly 'game' the places like kayak and what you end up paying is far more.
And to save $50 or more is it REALLY that much work to enter a date & flight info into TWO websites? We're too spoiled these days.
Jul 11, 2017, 6:42 am
#13
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 921
This is also not really a Apples:Apples comparison.
Try going to the websites for American Airlines, or United, and you have to plug in each departure/arrival airport as well.
Your real beef is why Southwest won't participate in 3rd party searches. Diver hinted at it...because they don't need to. Southwest's planes are already full from people that have gone to Southwest's websites. If Southwest was last in the industry with their planes consistently empty, then they would have to figure out new ways to get people to take their flights.
As is pointed out in their monthly numbers (and as many people on here constantly say), most of their flights are full. Why should they pay 3rd parties millions of dollars in commission?
Try going to the websites for American Airlines, or United, and you have to plug in each departure/arrival airport as well.
Your real beef is why Southwest won't participate in 3rd party searches. Diver hinted at it...because they don't need to. Southwest's planes are already full from people that have gone to Southwest's websites. If Southwest was last in the industry with their planes consistently empty, then they would have to figure out new ways to get people to take their flights.
As is pointed out in their monthly numbers (and as many people on here constantly say), most of their flights are full. Why should they pay 3rd parties millions of dollars in commission?
Jul 11, 2017, 7:09 am
#14
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 1,868
I'm not diver, but I'm pretty unhappy about it! I've been booking crazy AA flights out west - four or five segments each way - for months and now it feels like wasted time and hassle. I won't even get decent seats next year!
Jul 11, 2017, 7:50 am
#15
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: San Diego, Ca
Programs: AA 2MM LT PLT; AS MVP Gold75k; HHonors Diamond; IHG PLT
Posts: 3,502
Since you asked: As a lifetime PLT on AA, I earn AS miles while flying on AS to qualify for MVP (or better) status - no need for AA miles. When flying AA, I earn AA miles for elite status benefits (upgrades, priority standby, IROPS). In other words, change will be disruptive for some, see no effect for me - other than not being able to board with top level elites when not flying in first on AS, will have to wait for the second tier to preboard - foreign concepts to those on WN.