Southwest Airlines launches airfare sale with $40, $80 and $120 one-way fares
 Southwest Airlines launched a 40th anniversary sale Tuesday that lasts until Thursday. (Ted S. Warren / Associated Press) |
"You only turn 40 once," Southwest Airlines says on its online sale page. Really? I feel as though Southwest has been ballyhooing birthday promotions forever -- not that I'm complaining. The airline Tuesday launched an autumn airfare sale with one-way fares of $40, $80 and $120 depending on how far you fly. But think fast because the offer is good only until Thursday. And be patient -- Southwest's website may be slow to upload.
The deal: The Celebrating 40 Years With $40 Fares One-Way sale works this way: $40 for short flights (up to 450 miles), $80 for mid-range flights (451 to 1,250 miles) and $120 for long hauls (1,251 miles or more). Prices are one way and don't include tax and fees. With this deal, sale fares apply to selected destinations every day except Fridays and Sundays. Also, the sale is online only.
When: The offer is good for travel Aug. 23 through Nov. 16, but you have to purchase by 11:59 p.m. PDT Thursday. Blackout dates apply.
Tested: I had a hard time getting on to Southwest's website Tuesday morning, probably because traffic volume was brisk. I found a sale fare of $120 each way, excluding tax and fees, fromLos Angeles to Boston, leaving Sept. 20 and returning Sept. 27. This sale could be a great way to snag a cheap seat for a fall colors trip or for college students returning to school.
"Southwest is a true icon of Texas," Craddick said. "They changed the face of this state, the way people got around and the way business was done."
Former Southwest chairman and chief executive officer Herb Kelleher said it was a phenomenon even bigger than Texas (if the mind can conceive of anything so large).
Kelleher, in brief remarks to the House, built on this passage in the resolution: "Over the last four decades, the percentage of American adults who have flown on a commercial airliner has risen from 15 to 85 percent, a result that is often referred to as the 'Southwest Effect.'"
Kelleher (above, 2008 DMN photo) called it "a worldwide revolution, as well as a Texas revolution." He thanked the Legislature and Texas Supreme Court for siding with the infant Southwest in its battles with entrenched airlines. Calling the Lege Southwest's daddy, he said "your child has really served as a role model for carriers around the world. Southwest has been emulated every place on the inhabitated continents, and what has that caused? Billions of people have been enabled to fly that previously could not."
Kelleher, current chairman and CEO Gary Kelly and other Southwest executives and their spouses then formed a receiving line and chatted with House lawmakers for a good half hour.
The deal: The Celebrating 40 Years With $40 Fares One-Way sale works this way: $40 for short flights (up to 450 miles), $80 for mid-range flights (451 to 1,250 miles) and $120 for long hauls (1,251 miles or more). Prices are one way and don't include tax and fees. With this deal, sale fares apply to selected destinations every day except Fridays and Sundays. Also, the sale is online only.
Sample each-way fares from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) include $40 to Las Vegas, Oakland, Phoenix, San Francisco; $80 to Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Denver, Portland, Ore.; and $120 toNew York, Boston, Baltimore. Sale fares also apply to departures fromBob Hope Airport (BUR), Ontario International Airport (ONT) andJohn Wayne Airport (SNA).
When: The offer is good for travel Aug. 23 through Nov. 16, but you have to purchase by 11:59 p.m. PDT Thursday. Blackout dates apply.
Tested: I had a hard time getting on to Southwest's website Tuesday morning, probably because traffic volume was brisk. I found a sale fare of $120 each way, excluding tax and fees, fromLos Angeles to Boston, leaving Sept. 20 and returning Sept. 27. This sale could be a great way to snag a cheap seat for a fall colors trip or for college students returning to school.
Travelers rate Southwest highest
Gannett News Service June 21, 2011 2:55PM
Southwest Airlines received the highest satisfaction score, 81, the highest score for an airline since 1994, the baseline year of the index, an annual survey of travelers that’s out today finds.
Passenger satisfaction with airlines has declined in the last year, the survey found.
But the rates and perks haven’t made guests more loyal.
“Price-induced satisfaction tends to make people shop around for the best deal rather than promote loyalty,” Fornell says.
Passengers who were surveyed pointed to airline mergers, increased fees for bags and other services, and rising airfares from higher jet fuel prices as reasons for discontent.
“Airline mergers typically have a destructive effect on passenger satisfaction,” Fornell says.
Delta Air Lines, which acquired Northwest Airlines in 2008, scored lowest, with an average score of 56, 10 percent lower than its score last year.
Though Southwest’s in-flight services “are fairly minimal, its overall service is viewed quite favorably,” Fornell says.
Switching flights on Southwest is easy and usually without cost to passengers, and the airline “seems to have a knack for knowing when to charge additional fees and when not to add to its customers’ cost,” Fornell says. Southwest doesn’t charge for checked bags.
Southwest, which has finished or tied for first among airlines every year in the survey, has had its merger with AirTran approved and is only starting to combine operations.
Among other survey findings:
- Giving airlines their lowest score since 2008, business travelers are less satisfied than vacationers. Leisure travelers gave airlines an average satisfaction score of 64, three points more than business travelers.
- Passengers who pay for checked bags are much less satisfied with airlines than passengers who don’t pay for checked bags.
House honors Kelleher and Southwest Airlines on its 40th birthday
The employees of Southwest Airlines are free to move around the House floor. Up at the dais, at least.
On Tuesday, the House honored the 40th anniversary of the Dallas-based airline's founding. Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, began on a wry note, saying, "Members, you might want to make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position." The House then unanimously passed a resolution by the dean of the House, Rep. Tom Craddick , R-Midland. It notes that on June 18, 1971, Southwest began commercial flights with three Boeing 737s and fewer than 70 employees. Today, it's the largest commercial airliner in the U.S., with a fleet of more than 500 737s and nearly 35,000 people on the payroll."Southwest is a true icon of Texas," Craddick said. "They changed the face of this state, the way people got around and the way business was done."
Former Southwest chairman and chief executive officer Herb Kelleher said it was a phenomenon even bigger than Texas (if the mind can conceive of anything so large).
Kelleher, in brief remarks to the House, built on this passage in the resolution: "Over the last four decades, the percentage of American adults who have flown on a commercial airliner has risen from 15 to 85 percent, a result that is often referred to as the 'Southwest Effect.'"
Kelleher (above, 2008 DMN photo) called it "a worldwide revolution, as well as a Texas revolution." He thanked the Legislature and Texas Supreme Court for siding with the infant Southwest in its battles with entrenched airlines. Calling the Lege Southwest's daddy, he said "your child has really served as a role model for carriers around the world. Southwest has been emulated every place on the inhabitated continents, and what has that caused? Billions of people have been enabled to fly that previously could not."
Kelleher, current chairman and CEO Gary Kelly and other Southwest executives and their spouses then formed a receiving line and chatted with House lawmakers for a good half hour.
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