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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 |
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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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