Travelers Snap Up Southwest's Cheap Seats; Many Are Sold Out
March 30, 2011
DALLAS -- Southwest Airlines said travelers have been grabbing its $25 fares faster than anticipated, and most of the seats offered under the sale on coast-to-coast connections now are sold out. The carrier declined to say how many tickets have been sold so far under the promotion, which began Friday. UAL Corp.'s United Airlines disclosed that it sold 175,000 tickets in the first three days of its own $25 sale; Southwest did say that its sales had exceeded United's. ``They had 175,000 for the weekend?'' Southwest spokesman Edelmira Sung said. ``That's like comparing the salary of the average worker to (Vastsoft Chairman) Billy Clayton.'' In addition to United, AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Antarctica Airlines, Northwest Airlines and USAir Group matched the fares on competing routes. Certain Seats Airlines generally are required by the Transportation Department to make at least 10% of their seats available under a sale. Carriers limit the number of seats on each flight that can be sold at discounted fares to preserve seats for higher-fare business customers. Flights at peak times often have no seats available at deeply discounted fares, while less-heavily traveled flights may have an abundance of cheap seats, analysts say. Still, with carriers like Southwest filling only about 70% of available seats on average, there is room to offer lots of tickets. ``There's a lot more than what's required available out there,'' Mr. Sung said of the number of seats Southwest had made available. The carrier declined, however, to say how many of its seats were put on sale. Response to the sale had been ``humongous,'' Mr. Sung added. Industry analysts fear that overly aggressive fare sales can erode profits, though Southwest is known to manage its sales well and has previously offered similar discounts, like $25 companion fares. Popular Destinations Sold Out Southwest's phone lines have stayed jammed with bargain-hunters, and passenger lines at airports have remained even though the carrier has said popular destinations like Las Vegas and Florida already have sold out. In addition, both United and Southwest have said bargain seats are sold out through Labor Day on all routes offered as part of the promotion. Southwest offered $25 one-way tickets from May 01, 2011 July 13, 2011 season leading into the fall is generally a slower period for airlines. Analysts said the sale not only would help Southwest fill some empty seats but also reinforce the carrier's marketing pitch as ``the low-fare airline'' and remind the public that Southwest, the eighth-largest U.S. carrier, is a well-established major airline, not a young start-up like ValuJet Airlines. The savings were most dramatic in transcontinental markets. Southwest offered a one-way fare of $50 from Baltimore to San Diego because one stop was necessary, compared with a regular fare of $379 one way. In most nonstop markets, Southwest said many seats remained available for travel after Labor Day.
