No change fees do not mean it will cost you $0 to change your flight…but that is exactly what the latest Southwest Airlines ad campaign implies (despite the small print). While Southwest Airlines has a lot to boast about, I candidly find the latest ad campaign to be disappointingly misleading.
Latest Southwest Airlines Ad Campaign Is Misleading Concerning Change Fees
Watch the two ads below and tell me what the takeaway is:
My takeaway is that if you want to stay an extra day, you can move your flight at no cost.
But that is only half-true, as the small print at the bottom of the ads (you would be forgiven for missing them) implies.
Yes, there is no fee to change your flights. But (and this is often a very big but), any difference in fare may apply.
So let’s say you booked your vacation five months in advance for $99 each way and you decide, while in Honolulu, that you want to stay one more day. It is free to change in the sense that you will not be hit with a fee, but a last-minute ticket from Honolulu to the Mainland may cost $299 instead of $99…meaning you’ll still pay $200 per ticket to make the change.
Not so free after all, is it?
US legacy carriers like Alaska, American, Delta, and United also no longer have change fees on most fares so the “no change fees” selling point is no longer a big point of distinction between Southwest and its domestic competitors.
And that’s what strikes me as so misleading about these ads…and a total missed opportunity. Southwest still has no basic economy fares and its miles and credits do not expire. That’s a big point of distinction that still exists.
In two other ads, Southwest also does a good job of highlighting that the first two checked bags are still free, something no other US carrier allows on economy class fares.
But the focus on change fees…and in such a misleading way for the casual traveler…does a disservice to the sort of corporate persona Southwest Airlines has spent decades trying to cultivate.
Is another U.S. Department of Transportation fine enroute?
Which other legacy airlines offer no change/cancelation fees on their BASIC fares like Southwest does?
Exactly! No other airline has no change fees for ALL fares. UA is even more misleading because they say “No change fees, EVER” but it excludes basic economy. Southwest does require the fare difference (unless you do same-day standby which is free/no fare difference) – but the point is that Southwest doesn’t nickel and dime you with hidden fees that other airlines do. Fare difference isn’t a fee, and if the fare is cheaper you get a credit. Nothing sleazy about that.
There’s nothing misleading about UA saying there are no change fees for Basic Economy. There aren’t any.
But, this is nothing new and has always been the case. Only the travel novice doesn’t realize that the fare can change. And, it’s literally in your contract of sale. Now, there have been times when I have, indeed, changed flights on WN and UA for NO extra cost. In fact, on a recent trip, I got a $29 credit from UA thanks to a flight change. Conversely, I’ve been b*tch slapped pretty hard on other trips, having to pony up as much as $400 per ticket when trying to do a last-minute change (international flight during Thanksgiving when we all got sick – and it was money well spent).
In other words, this is obvious and there’s nothing misleading about these ads unless you’re in idiot. Which, admittedly, does include a large percentage of Americans. Still, TS if you’re too dumb to get it.
I agree with everything you say.
However, “Airlines” in the title does not need an apostrophe. It is not possessive in this case.
Thank you for your as-usual excellent commentary
This has been standard practice at Southwest for years. Your “misleading” inane complaint is just that – inane. Stop with the click-bait . — Apparently Jason has no clue as to what Southwest is advertising .
Stadnard practice does not make it any less misleading. I found the ad highly miselading and it undermined what could have been an effective ad campign. So no, not just clickbait…
Remember the joke in 70’s TV :”there’s never truth in advertisements”?
Versus the legacy airlines who say “no change fees”, but the disclaimer text for non-basic economy fares in a unreadable text size?
NOT as misleading as the title of this column.