Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 airliner takes off from San Antonio International Airport, Texas.
Robert Alexander | Photo Archive | Getty Images
Southwest Airlines announced a new fare class on Thursday. This is the second cheapest option that wants to involve customers who are willing to pay for flexibility.
The “Wanna Get Away Plus” fare is just above the “Wanna Get Away” fare and just below the “Anytime” fare. This allows travelers to make same-day changes to their tickets without having to pay the fare difference required by the lowest tier.
Customers who choose a new fare or a class that exceeds the new fare will earn more frequent flyer miles than the lowest tier and will be able to transfer flight credits to another Rapid Rewards member. This is a new feature. Southwest passengers can continue to check the two bags for free.
The new fare type is the latest airline effort to increase revenue after a two-year bruise on the Covid pandemic.
In recent years, airlines such as Delta, American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue have been rolling out plain basic economy tickets that do not include previously free benefits such as advanced seat selection. ..
Airline executives weren’t ashamed that passengers wanted to pay more to avoid these cheap fares, but many business travelers employers because of their inflexibility. I avoid them altogether.
Southwest Airlines’ new fares will be available in the second quarter. Dallas-based airlines announced last year that they would launch a new type of fare, but did not provide details.
Demand for air travel, especially for domestic leisure travel, and rising fuel prices are already pushing up fares. Airlines make up the majority of their revenues in the second and third quarters, when the holiday season grows in sales.
Airfare in the Ministry of Labor’s inflation index rose 12.7% last month from a year ago, while the overall consumer price index rose 7.9%.
In February, both the number and amount of bookings on US airline websites exceeded pre-Covid levels for the first time in a pandemic, according to Adobe data.