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Southwest tightens up on freebie seats



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 14th, 2005, 02:44 AM
Ablang
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Default Southwest tightens up on freebie seats

Southwest tightens up on freebie seats
By Clint Swett -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, August 11, 2005
When Elaine Archibald wanted to book last-minute trips home to
Sacramento for her daughter attending college in San Diego, she would
usually grab a free seat using a Southwest Airlines frequent flier
award.

Beginning early next year, she and other Southwest customers will no
longer have that flexibility.

On Wednesday, Southwest announced it is altering its Rapid Rewards
frequent flier program, including limiting the number of available
seats used for free travel.

Such changes could have a widespread impact among air travelers in the
Sacramento area, where Southwest is the dominant carrier, handling
more than 50 percent of all passenger traffic in and out of Sacramento
International Airport.

Beginning Feb. 10, the airline will eliminate the ability of fliers
using awards coupons to claim an available seat right up to the time
of departure.

Instead, Southwest, like most other carriers, will set aside a certain
number of seats per flight for frequent flier awards. The number of
available seats depends on the demand from paying passengers.

Among other changes announced by the airline, Southwest said it would
immediately double the time customers can build up points to get their
free travel awards - from 12 to 24 months. It also will eliminate
blackout dates - such as popular holiday periods - on awards travel.

Citing competitive reasons, Southwest declined to reveal how many
Rapid Rewards members it has. But the airline said it redeemed awards
for 2.5 million free flights in 2004.

Archibald, a water consultant who builds her frequent flier stash with
business trips to the Los Angeles area, said she wasn't happy with the
move. "It's unfortunate, because it was really nice to be able to use
those Rapid Rewards tickets at a moment's notice," she said.

Other Southwest customers were less distressed. Sacramento housing
consultant Mary Ellen Shay said she hoards her Southwest awards for
more expensive cross-country travel. And she usually knows far in
advance when she will make those trips.

And Mike Barnbaum, a materials handler for Pride Industries, said he
generally plans his travel months in advance, so the last-minute
feature wasn't that meaningful to him.

Yet eliminating that benefit removed one of the few features that set
Southwest's frequent flier program apart from other carriers, said Tim
Winship, publisher of Frequentflier.com.

"That was the only unique benefit they could claim," Winship said.
"This makes them worse than generic."

Southwest officials didn't explain why they tightened their seat
policy, other than saying it was a business decision.

But it's likely they made the switch because so many of its flights
are already full, said Tom Sieber, general manager of the Boyd Group,
a Denver-area airline consulting firm.

"It's one thing to have empty seats and give the product away," Sieber
said. "But Southwest was pulling away from the gate and leaving some
guy willing to pay for a ticket."

The decision to extend the time customers have to accumulate frequent
flier miles was made after numerous requests from passengers,
according to Southwest spokeswoman Debra Benton.

"After all the research and surveys, this is what we heard most people
want," Benton said.

On Wall Street, Southwest's shares closed at $13.76, down 11 cents on
the New York Stock Exchange.

Winship said the move still puts Southwest behind most other carriers,
which give customers three years or more to build enough frequent
flier points for travel.

In addition, most carriers have alliances with other airlines, giving
customers a chance to redeem their miles on international travel.
Southwest, by contrast, has no such relationships.

Winship was hopeful, however, that Southwest's strong financial
position would allow it to provide more frequent flier seats than its
financially strapped competitors, such as United Airlines and Delta
Air Lines.

But Jim Wallace, a banking consultant who lives in Gold River, isn't
so sure. This summer, Wallace said, he tried to redeem United miles
for a trip to Australia and found no seats available.

He thinks the same thing could happen with Southwest, a carrier he
flies more than 50 times a year.

"I don't think they will be any more generous than any other carrier,"
said Wallace, who also owns Southwest stock.

http://www.sacbee.com/content/travel...14234123c.html


===
"The pressure is outrageous. Everyone is picked apart and it's so superficial and not real. I'm not superskinny and not overweight. I'm just normal."
-- Hilary Duff
  #2  
Old August 14th, 2005, 04:28 AM
Clark W. Griswold, Jr.
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Default

Ablang wrote:

It also will eliminate
blackout dates - such as popular holiday periods - on awards travel.


No blackouts, but they won't allocate any seats on busy days or flights, so it
amounts to the same thing.
 




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