Southwest Airlines, anywhere they fly $34 to $89

[pagemap]

Just saw the commercial on TV.

[Burzhui]

wow they must be desperate

[Grimm]

It was my understanding that the whole industry was desperate.

[hapoo]

How do i get that price?? and is that for round trip or one way?

[Twilight]

Watch out.. airlines sometimes run huge specials right before they go bankrupt. I saw today on CNN that SwissAir is considering bankruptcy. I remember when I was a kid my mom booked us a flight to disney world for spring break on Eastern Airlines, and then they went out of business. Luckily my parents booked with a credit card and were able to protest the charges and got their money back. But we still missed our vacation :-(

[Twilight]

Originally posted by hapoo
How do i get that price?? and is that for round trip or one way?
It's one way, and you have to book a round-trip flight, and it doesn't include up to $18 airport taxes... go to www.southwest.com

[Memo]

It's actually still a bad ass deal. I mentioned it to my friend and he's getting a round trip from Austin, TX to Raleigh, NC for $100.50

[attgig]

They fly into and out of Baltimore, but that 'anywhere they fly' is crap~! :mad:


And trying to do a flight between batlimore and portland..
freakin shows up Unavailable :mad: .

on edit: Just called them, they said the seats at that price range are sold out.... >(

[Markel]

Among the airlines, Southwest is actually among the least impacted by the current situation. Their entire operations are designed around "leanness", so when things are lean, they aren't hurt as much. Many of the larger airlines are quite envious of Southwest right now. Some of their "secrets": quick turnaround (in and out in 35 minutes or so, simplified boarding), all the same aircraft (easy re-arranging of pilots, simplified maintenance, etc.), low-frills (no meals).

They run this kind of special frequently. The current deal requires 3-day advanced round trip purchase.

[welfareloser]

Originally posted by Markel
low-frills (no meals).


what, throwing peanuts at you as they sing doesn't count as a meal? :heh:

[Markel]

Originally posted by welfareloser

what, throwing peanuts at you as they sing doesn't count as a meal? :heh:
Well, at least they still serve genuine peaunuts, and haven't wimped into the pretzel substitute. I've only flown them once, a few years ago, and they didn't sing. Is this a recent innovation? :P

[welfareloser]

i flew em at xmas/new years 98-99 ... and all the flight attendants wore jeans and goofy xmas sweaters and sang and threw peanuts at us. friendly, yet disturbing...

[Memo]

Haha welfare I know exactly what you mean. My best friends mother works as a stewardess for Southwest Airlines and his dad is a Pilot. Goofy people ;). And they fly ANYWHERE in their scope of service. They're not called SOUTH WEST airlines for nothing.

[Markel]

I think Southwest currently is among the top as far as on-time performance goes. They certainly can't be compared with United, American, etc., but I think they are much better than many of the bottom tier (AirTran, Spirit, etc.) airlines. My daughter usual flies Southwest between Omaha and Chicago - usually grabs tickets when they have their $30 fare (one way) specials.

[chrissy]

I flew SW also this summer going back to STL. (TWA dropped my ticket -- went to pick it up and they had cancelled it and wanted me to pay over $1000 for a new one??) They were great. I got more than peanuts :) They give out a little snack thing with breadsticks and cheese (well they call it cheese)spread and a jerky stick... something else too... cookie or something maybe?

I can't eat when flying so, I normally give it to the kids or something when I get off the plane.

[Markel]

Originally posted by chrissy
I got more than peanuts :) They give out a little snack thing with breadsticks and cheese (well they call it cheese)spread and a jerky stick... something else too... cookie or something maybe?

Oooo. You got the "deluxe" service that is reserved for flights over 2 hours duration. Since most of Southwest's flights are shorter hops, not many fall into this category.

[jujubees]

A couple of years ago, my bf flew Southwest from California to Connecticut ($200 RT!). The flight was about 8 hours long because it made two stops. I called ahead and sure enough, they only served snacks on long flights too so we got him a foot-long sub in the morning, and he was good to go.

I fly SW all the time, and their flight crews range from "pleasant" to downright insane. Once, the pilot announced at the end of the flight, "We have a man on board who is 100 years old and has just completed his first flight!" Every passenger clapped and looked around, wondering where this man was. The pilot continued, "If you'd like to offer your congratulations, stop by the cockpit on your way out." :heh:

[attgig]

Actually about SW....
There's Harvard Business School studies about them cause they're supposedly really good.

They only have one plane....so it makes it REALLY easy for them to maintain their planes, and all their pilots are on the same playing field.....no meals = less $$$ (cheaper flights, cheaper for them)
and about their practical jokes and what not...their CEO takes part in them too, he has on occasion hid in the overhead compartments and stuffs...

their business slogans are 'FUN' & 'LUV'. And they're supposed to be practicing these as they work... And they are one of the best at keeping employees around....over 90% yearly retention rate.

BTW, their stock symbol: 'LUV'

[johnnymk]

America's airlines are in a tailspin and heading for an economic crash despite the massive government bailout in the works.
According to the September 24 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology no fewer than five airlines are on the "most endangered" list -- and several may go banktrupt in months.
Because their cash reserves are tissue paper thin, the magazine lists Air Tran, America West, Continental, Northwest and US Airways as possible candidates for bankruptcy.
It's "not inconceivable", that airlines handling 85-90 percent of all airline traffic "could file for bankruptcy within the next 3 to 12 months," Aviation Week reports.
Already financially troubled, US airlines took a staggering hit from the September 11 disaster.
"Where I would have argued the week before last that the industry had the financial wherewithal to survive, I can no longer make that claim," Scott C. Gibson, a senior vice president of SH&E. a New York aviation industry consulting firm told a House committee.
A quick look at the cash position of 8 of the top carriers tells the glum story. According to Aviation Week here's a rundown of the time each needs to run though all their cash on hand:

Air Tran - 15 days
Continental - 15 days
Northwest - 50 days
American West - 52 days
US Airways - 52 days
Delta -74 days
United - 81 days
Alaska - 110 days
"Bases on what we see in terms of travel, the industry will run out of cash in less than 30 days," Gibson said.
"Some airlines were barely hanging on before the attacks and are now certain to declare bankruptcy. While most would have been able to restructure under court protection, the current environment makes that unlikely."
Making the situation even grimmer, is the fact that "lenders are closing their doors to the airline industry," David Swierenga, chief economist of the Air Transport Association to Aviation Week,
Looming just ahead is a financial catastrophe for two of the strongest airlines, United and American.
It was their planes that were hijacked by the terrorists and used to destroy the World Trade Center and devastate the Pentagon. As a result they both face horrendous contingent liability judgments so massive they could quickly plunge into bankruptcy.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I envision anything this horrific," Darryl Jenkins, head of George Washington University's Aviation Institute told Aviation week.


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[Kenas]

Just checked the web site, price the same as anywhere else. Plus they don't fly from NY.

[jujubees]

Originally posted by Kenas
Plus they don't fly from NY. Did you try Islip or Buffalo? They mainly fly into and out of secondary airports so don't be searching for Laguardia or JFK ...

[Markel]

Also remember that Southwest doesn't show up in some online systems. I don't think Travelocity lists them (but I think Qixo does). It's best just to go to their web site at southwest.com to see where they fly.

[Nanotech9]

bas-tards... they dont fly to Denver, or anywhere in Colorado. dangit!