Beginning next fall, Southwest has announced that they will have 15 new non-stop flights from Dallas Love Field. Among those favored cities is Las Vegas, Denver, Nashville, Orange County California, Tampa, San Diego, and Washington Reagan. This is great news for travelers because on many of these locations, they will be competing with American, Delta, United, Spirit, and Frontier. American offers many non-stops to these locations, even though they are out of DFW.
Initial look at fares shows Spirit Airlines being the low-ball carrier in some of the markets, but that’s not the whole story. Traveling on Spirit means you pay a minimum of $35 for just a carry-on if you pre-pay, and $100 if you pay at the gate. You also pay for an advanced seat assignment as well as currently $2 for a soft drink.
The “Best Fares” guy, Tom Parsons believes that introductory fares on Southwest will range from $99 to $139 one-way, and some of the competing carriers might offer the same fare, but for a limited time only and with limited seat inventory, which means those rates will disappear with a few phone calls or clicks on-line.
It is a pretty good bet that the other major carriers will follow suit so let the fare battles begin!!! Of course Southwest does not open their reservation system until 4-6 months in advance, so it will be an interesting development when they go operational in these markets.
We have noticed that many times Southwest out of Midland or Lubbock to Las Vegas or other western U. S. cities that they serve, is not the least expensive as far a base price goes, even traveling out of Abilene American will sometimes beat the Southwest fare. However, there are certain perks and considerations that Southwest offers that gets the travelers attention.
One of those perks is not charging for a checked bag. If two persons are traveling on a competing carrier with a bag apiece, the round-trip cost for their bags is an additional $100. Another consideration is if you have to change or cancel your ticket, on one of the majors it can cost $175-200 plus additional fare difference. So far, only one airline does not charge for a checked bag, neither do they have cancellation or change fees. .. . .yet. That airline is Southwest.
The consumer is in for a real good fare ride for the rest of the year, and the best place to get guidance is at your local travel agency. The experienced and professional travel counselors at The Travel Factory will be glad to help with your travel plans, so call us at 698-1421 or toll free 800-760-4040, or better still let’s have a personal, face-to-face encounter at 4150 Southwest Drive at the Plaza at Park Central.