I have written before about the valuable Southwest Airlines Companion Pass (pass holders can take another passenger with them for free). But its value proposition has lost its luster, we find ourselves using it so rarely because the value has eroded. Here’s why.
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Companion Pass: Details
Southwest Airlines offers their most frequent travelers and engaged Rapid Rewards members the ability to earn the Companion Pass after crossing 110,000 miles earned in a calendar year. Once earned, a named companion traveler can be added to any reservation the pass holder books.
- 125,000 Rapid Reward points can be earned by flying, from partner programs (shopping portals, Rapid Rewards credit card bonuses, rental cars) but not from hotel transfers. You can also qualify by flying 100 qualifying one-way flight segments in a year.
- Companion Pass is valid for the remainder of the year in which it is earned and all of the following year. If you qualify on December 31st 2021, your Pass is valid for 366 days; if you qualify on January 1st 2022, the pass is valid for 731 days.
- The companion can be changed thrice annually, up to six different companions during a two-year period.
- Companion flies for just the cost of taxes and fees ($5.60/flight domestically) as long as there is at least one seat for sale in addition to the Pass holder.
- The Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business and Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier credit cards have traditionally offered sign-up bonuses high enough to obtain the pass or very close to it. The Rapid Rewards Plus credit card also once offered a California-resident-specific Companion Pass for a year after spending $2000 on purchases or earning an additional 30,000 companion pass qualifying points.
How We Use The Companion Pass
My wife has designated our daughter as her companion since sometimes they travel just the two of them. Southwest flies direct to Tampa, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando – all four of which are within a couple of hours drive from a favorite vacation spot. Who doesn’t want to trade Steel City blues for 2-for-1 fun in the sun? That was a little bit extra but you get the idea.
For connecting flights abroad to Southwest’s growing Caribbean market, flights from Pittsburgh can be expensive. We can save as much as $400 going to places like Montego Bay and Aruba. On the bucket list for the Companion Pass for our family is the always expensive Belize and the Cayman Islands.
From South Florida or major markets like New York and Chicago, prices may be competitive – from Pittsburgh, less so. Saving the full cost of one of our three tickets can be the difference between going on the trip and staying home.
We see points and cash as the same on Southwest though we prefer to burn points before dollars any day.
Why It’s No Longer As Valuable
Southwest is expensive, really, really expensive. More than twice as expensive as the next best option often. For those who love Southwest (and search there first), they may have missed the grand exodus Southwest made from No Frills to Value Brand to Bloated Bundler. More accurately, the rest of the market shifted from a standard that would now be considered premium and Southwest stayed the course but increased their prices.
And because I can already hear the clacking keyboards of the Southwest apologists, “But I don’t have to pay for bags with Southwest” – absolutely true. However, many of their flights are so uncompetitive that adding $60 ($30 for a bag in each direction) doesn’t even come close to making Southwest a good value.
For the doubters, I have included the following comparisons all from Pittsburgh. In each of these cases, Southwest flights were much more expensive than the cheapest available. In the case of Fort Myers (below) Southwest was not exactly double the price with a connection added in one direction, however, they were more than double for a comparable direct flight.
How about a short notice trip to Cancun?
Just take a look at these flights to Houston, $839 direct round trip or $750+ with a connection:
And that’s really the problem. Southwest’s Companion Pass is a great value when you’re getting a free ticket (plus taxes) for another traveler. However, when the cost of that ticket is twice the rest of the market, where’s the value add? In fact, I could successfully argue that, in fact, it’s worse because the other passenger would forgo any mileage accrual or status qualification on a Companion Pass ticket.
How Does This Affect My Relationship With Southwest?
I once called the Companion Pass the best deal in domestic travel, but due to Southwest’s crazy high prices, it’s become a dud. My wife was excited to achieve the Companion Pass this year because of the addition of Hawaiian flights. However, in retrospect Southwest doesn’t compete with United to Chicago or Houston, why will they compete with them to Hawaii? Would we want to fly that product anyway?
We just won’t pursue the carrier anymore, we are already using them less. Like any other carrier, their affinity credit card relationships drive a large portion of their profitability. We don’t shop on their cards, use their shopping portals, or transfer valuable Ultimate Rewards points to the program either.
Do you have the Companion Pass? Has its value diminished to you due to higher prices? Are you just in LUV with those peanut passing fools and want to tell me all about it? Fire away in the comments.
The argument supporting Southwest about free checked bags doesn’t even factor in this conversation. Anyone flying 110,000 miles per year will be gettyfree checked baggage. Great article nonetheless
I find the pass to be extremely valuable but is probably due to the fact. I live near a hub for southwest and consistently find southwest prices to be within 50 dollars or so of the competition with both shorter more direct flights and more comfortable accommodations.
That would be a recipe for success! What’s your trip using the pass so far?
Kyle, we just got the pass and ATM, we’re disappointed.
I hit 158000 points in 4 months with the help of a signing bonus. We will have the pass for the remainder of this year and all of 2020.
The problem is getting my wife to board with me. I usually do Business Select and even with Early Bird for her, she can be 30-50 spots away from me. I can save a seat, but bin space?
The way it is set up now, we won’t be renewing the card.
Any tips are appreciated.
Agree. This is why I haven’t purchased a SW flight in a few years. Not a single time that the fare/route has been competitive for where I was traveling.
Putting 110k in spending on a credit card @ 1 mile per dollar to earn a companion pass is of dubious value. Since a lot of that would probably be bonuses spending, you’re giving up at least 50k and up to 100k of Amex or chase points, You would really need to get a lot of mileage out of that pass to make it worthwhile.
True, but sign up bonuses on one or more of the cards will help you get a long way to that goal. Spending through the portal is also lucrative.
Are you really a “travel expert”? I doubt it when you refer to direct flights, which barely exist. All airlines call direct flights a stop with no change of planes. Even novices no what nonstop is, something you apparently don’t know.
the guy looks like an idiot. he is trying to say southwest has stayed the same while competitors be upgraded the selection. he then goes on to compare sw to spirit
Southwest’s amenities have stayed the same, while all the other carrier’s prices have dropped. Southwest used to have the fewest included amenities for the cheapest price. They now have the most included amenities for some of the highest costs. The disparity is those who still believe they are the cheapest because they shop at Southwest.com first.
Southwest really depends on where you live as to how their fares are. In Denver they are extremely competitive, regularly pricing around Frontier’s normal fares (Nobody matches the sales below $40).
I can agree that in some markets, the Pass still holds excellent value, but it’s not the fix-all it once was.
It was never a fixall. If it doesn’t work in your market, sorry. Worked quite well for my family in my market.
Quite literally: YMMV
Perhaps a function of location and your hone airport? I’m in California, Southwest is by far the best option 99% of the time.
The cheapest or the best? Alaska has a huge presence on the west coast, competitive prices and perks the other carriers don’t give.
Perhaps it’s because you don’t live on the west coast, but WN covers far more cities in California with much higher frequency than AS+VX. I love AS, and appreciate WN, but they are not equal. Fortunately competition keeps pricing competitive out here.
Sounds like WN out of PIT has become quite expensive, but I’m not convinced it is system wide.
Some readers have reported that it’s still a good value out of DEN, BNA, and at least one airport in the DC area. I’m glad it still delivers for others.
I’m flying DCA-BNA round trip just before Christmas for only $220 on SW. Sounds like Nashville is currently a more competitive market than Pittsburgh, likely thanks to all the growth the city has had in the last few years.
I think you are doing it wrong. You don’t book flights for November in October. You book the day Southwest opens the schedule and rebook as it drops. And remember there is no change fees. So if you can make it to the trip that you planned 6 months ago, it is ok, you have another 6 months to put it to better use. I have checked many many times and it is hard to best sw process when booked in advance for one ticket, leave alone with the free ticket with companion.
In the comments I also include examples of their best sale of the year prices with regular prices on competing carriers. Still 2:1 higher.
Still works great for me. I check LAX, SNA, and LGB. Southwest is almost always the cheapest. Alaska can be price competitive but their horrific change/cancellation fees eliminate them as an option for me. The companion pass has saved me thousands this year alone.
Agreed! Best value for us going from DC area. 2 airports to choose from and usually to Chicago, I always price other airlines and SW is consistently cheaper
I’ve found that Alaska regularly offers a better option here on the West Coast. For example, with AS, SMF-SAN is $235 r/t for an upcoming trip with Friday and Sunday travel days, or $121 if I fly midweek. Meanwhile, WN is $272 for the former, and $138 for the latter.
Agreed. I have bought a couple SW flights this year because I needed the ability to change the dates.
This is one reason why Southwest is more expensive than other airlines. They lure customers who cost them money with heavy bags and flight changes. Other airlines don’t have these same costs, thus they can charge less.
I’ll take an unbundled fare any day.
This is likely a regional issue to your departure and (or) arrival airport. Southwest is often competitive in many markets. More important to the cost savings relative to competitors than the free checked bags allowance, is the ability to reprice the ticket for a credit (or points when booked as award) when sales pop up. And anyone that flies Southwest with any regularity knows that the airline is not the right choice for last minute fights. They are very transparent that booking 7 days / 14 days out will result in much better fare.
Ken, I can agree with some but not all of it. For example, if American Airlines starts giving free parking at the airport but you don’t own a car, is there any benefit to you? It doesn’t matter how many people tell you how great the free parking is, you don’t own a car so it doesn’t benefit you and is literally worthless.
For most flights we take, nearly all of them in fact, we don’t check a bag. Even on Southwest. It’s not a matter of cost, it’s a matter of convenience, we just don’t want to waste the time waiting for a bag and running the small risk something might be lost in transit.
To your other points, the re-price feature is fair. This is an excellent value but also locks up your money. If Southwest starts the fares off at 2x the competition it is true that they will let me keep the difference in an account with them for future travel bookings. However, that money is still out of my account and I have to be diligent enough to watch fares I have already booked to retain what amounts to a voucher instead of cash in my bank account.
To the short booking window note, it’s true that fares go up on all carriers in normal circumstances, but the prices I shopped with the competition are relative to the same dates. So while they all climb, none of them climb as high as Southwest.
Kyle,
I normally fly the carrier that is the cheapest. I have never found Spirit to be cheaper. Especially when you factor in that they charge you for EVERYTHING. I madee that mistake once. Not to mention, if you are over 5’7″, good luck, Spirit has the smallest seat pitch. You also forgot in your Spirit example that they charge $35 each way for a carry-on bag. That $70 additional dollars which nearly equalizes your PIT-RSW example.
All carriers are not created equal. Buyers need to shop around and be aware of ancillary fees, and understand the product they are buying.
I agree that you have to add in the ancillary costs to have a like for like comparison. In our experience, the price difference even with the added costs does not come close.
To your comment that you have not been able to find Spirit to be cheaper, I have included some examples in the comments for reference, though this is a story about Southwest, not Spirit, it’s fair enough that folks wanted more support other than just PIT.
Agree 100% this writers swa funk is a regional thing. Just like the rest rest of us, SWA is not feeling any LUV in PIT. It’s not a destination city people flock to. SWA is still best/most amazing/competitively priced airline out there. No one comes close
I’ve given some other examples in the comments outside of Pittsburgh. But perhaps you could suggest a market where Southwest is consistently lower than other carriers? I’m open to correction.
WN dominates OAK with 75% of the traffic. Given the competition WN fares are extremely competitive. I’m like you and never check a bag, but even still the ability to save on tickets if the price drops or to cancel and still receive full credit will often steer me towards them over other airlines, even if they’re slightly more expensive. Additionally, OAK is worlds better to fly out of than SFO and I’d gladly pay slightly more to fly out of there than deal with the nightmare on the peninsula. I do understand though how the value is diminished for you given that they’re not as competitive in PIT
I fly SWA exclusively from SAT to MSY, and in the 9 years I have been doing it, NO ONE can touch SWA fares. I have also flown them to Florida and they have always been the least expensive.
I live in DFW. If you book way ahead of time, AA economy and SWA are at parity with Wanna Get Away fares. If you book less than two weeks out, AA pretty much wins every time. The only reason I continue to book SWA for travel with children is that the flights can be cancelled for credit. With kids, you never know when plans are going to change and I like that flexibility.
The other thing that sucks about SWA in this market is that reward flights for vacation weeks go within 5 min of tickets becoming available. I got up at 6 am on the day SWA flights became available because that is typically the time they go in sale. Apparently, they had released them at 5am that day and they were all gone.
Worthless click-bait article. Just because you live in a bad market is not a legit reason to crap on Southwest. Cherry picking the data to support your argument can be done with any airline.
You don’t have to take my word for it, take Time’s. Southwest is more expensive 60% of the time and within $5 of the competition just 5% of the time. Almost two-thirds of the time you are either better off or at least as expensive as the others: http://ti.me/2sYc7VM.
You are comparing a early morning flight to ft Myers (expensive landing fees) to a afternoon flight to punta gorda which has zero amenities and compared an airline that charges check in fees, seat fees, baggage fees all at checkout. Never mind the return times being nowhere close to comparable. Complete uneducated crap article!
I’m not. Spirit flies direct into Fort Myers (RSW), the same airport as Southwest – in fact, you can see the Spirit airplanes from Southwest gates – not Punta Gorda (PGD) which is 45 minutes north. Allegiant is the only carrier flying to PGD. Feel free to check it out for yourself. Here are sample dates I found (feel free to use Google calendar to see how frequently they are available) for $133 round trip. And remember, that if you purchase Spirit tickets at the airport, you can take off another $19.95/each way in convenience fees (they only time that has ever been a true description) instead of purchasing online. That brings the direct roundtrip from $133 down to $93. Here’s a link: https://goo.gl/flights/xCyZE
Spirit and Southwest are on different planets. Have you ever flown on their airline.
Absolutely. Tell me which carrier I am describing: Non-stop flights, reliable airplanes, no seat assignments, no hot catering, flies into a combination of business and leisure destinations, inexpensive fares, lowers the cost of all flights when entering a new market. Quantitatively it would be Spirit. Yes, Southwest does not charge for checked luggage. However, every other carrier does so that doesn’t really justify being double the cost of the rest of the market. They have more seat pitch but don’t offer a big front seat comparable to the legacy carrier’s first class for $45/flight either. Their planes are older, they cost a considerable amount more and if you don’t check bags the only benefit they have over Spirit is free drinks.
But it’s not about Spirit, it’s about whether Southwest has priced themselves so far out of the market that the Companion Pass is actually a worse deal than just buying two tickets.
I don’t find Spirit comparable to SW. If Spirit airlines paid me, I would not fly with them.
Have you tried them Pat?
I book all Web fares and have flexibility to change dates and times bases on lowest Web fare.Tuesdays and Wednesdays best. CHOOSE only nonstop’s Orlando to Vegas and elsewhere.20 years people UNBEATABLE
Steve, respectfully I disagree (and so does Southwest). Spirit has the city pairs on direct flights for $173 (or $133 if you book at the airport) roundtrip. Southwest direct flights run more than double at $388. If you take a connection (which is no longer apples-to-apples) Southwest has a roundtrip for $313 compared to the direct option available for $173 on the web or $133 at the terminal. https://goo.gl/flights/9nT4E
In fact, the cheapest possible flights on Southwest ($119 each way) for direct flights between the cities require almost 15 days in the destination and still come in at $238 with tax, just under twice the price for the Spirit fares booked at the airport.
You a salesman for spirit now?? Why don’t you look up that airline and see that after all they’re crazy fees like your seat fee and convenience fees that Airline ends up being the same price. Not to mention if you look up the reviews you will see people talking about the planes falling apart, tons of flight delays and rescheduling without notifying the passengers. That Airline was rated one of the worst in America, I would never suggest flying with them and neither would anybody who has..and a simple online search can verify all this.
Poppy- Thanks for your comments. I think you are confusing Spirit with Allegiant, both ULCCs however, Spirit has the youngest fleet in America (including Southwest) and as I recall, Southwest doesn’t let you pick your seat either.
As you can see in the above examples and the text, even when adding in checked luggage (I almost never check a bag) they are still remarkably lower than Southwest. You will also notice in the example that other carriers besides Spirit were still up to half price from the Southwest comparable fare.
Assuming you meant Allegiant, I would agree wholeheartedly.
Here is a link to a post I wrote about why Spirit makes a lot of sense for me (not a pitchman for Spirit, I just like aspects of their service) : http://bit.ly/2qiOi6C
My husband and I are retired and we fly ICT ro LAS twice each month. In our case, Southwest Airlines and the companion pass are a great benefit. Our travel dates are flexible, so we book whatever is cheapest when SW has their sales.
Southwest doesn’t charge a penalty for changes, which is very important to the people that actually earn companion status by flying not by credit card points. The corporate road warrior isn’t picking airline based on a $5 fare difference. They are choosing based in routes, flight times, flexibility, and on time performance. Southwest doesn’t care about your vacation spot, their growth is in the corporate market.
Hear hear!
Let’s not forget for those of us who don’t love at hubs, Southwest offers direct flights. If I want to fly to NYC, Seattle, or Las Vegas from my home, I. Can fly via a hub on the majors, or direct on WN. With no change fees if something comes up.
Writer doesn’t seem to comprehend they are comparing apples and oranges
That link is 5 years old. Also, you should tack the following onto the title for this inane and subjective post: “in My Narrow Experience with and Only Providing Examples of Booking Out of My Insubstantial Home Airport Well Outside the Carrier’s Primary Region (When – Bizzarely – Compared on Fare Price ONLY to ULCCs)”. LUV is consistently the most cost-effective and user-friendly airline in most areas of the western US… such as the SW US. I research and book flights regularly around California and into Vegas or Phoenix for $49-$69 each way, my gal flies with me for free on the companion pass, we can change/cancel flights anytime free online, and my bags and skis fly free. Unbeatable. Clearly there’s little LUV for the people of western Penn. But it’s a big country and for the majority of people unfortunate enough to consume your poorly- researched claim, the companion pass is likely a great opportunity.
Is this a Pittsburgh-only website? Are the Steelers concussions contagious? Are you writing for Delta? Where am I?
While there are markets where Southwest is still competitive like the Southern California, Vegas, Phoenix area – the rest of the country, not so much.
As I’m sure you have read both in the body of the text and the comments since (with examples) my research holds even outside of Pittsburgh. For the second time today, I’m not originally from Pittsburgh and don’t care about the Steelers but classy observation all the same. And… Delta, really?
Well written, well researched article, Kyle. Just because some people spout off as if they know their own little fifedoms and think that their arm chair domain is their oyster, doesn’t give them any right to be rude. Ignore and move on. You’re clearly a class act, and as a fellow ‘Burger, I thoroughly enjoy your articles.
If you have a reasonably heavy work flying pattern that is predominantly sub 2.5hr flights, from a city with a decent Southwest presence, which makes upgrades on the other 3 less valuable, and gets you a good chunk of the way to companion pass then given the flexibility benefits of Southwest I can still see the value.
But to be getting there or there abouts from work flying alone you are likely forgoing 75K or 100K miles status.. which might be useful on longer trips.. so even if the ticket prices are putting value into the pass is there the with the opportunity cost it doesn’t make sense
Agreed Richard.
Been like that for years. Anyone who earns flying would be better elsewhere as all the RR points earned would only be good for other WN flights. Not as exciting as traveling the world even in economy. Basic status comes with free luggage on the legacy carriers not to mention the upgrades access to economy plus seats and early boarding. Access to an entire section of economy plus seats beats fighting for the coveted one or two spots on a a WN flight .
How did it lose luster and value? Have the fares in Pittsburgh just recently increased? I don’t live there, but i can tell you that it is an amazing value in Nashville. As a blogger, you know that there are lots of different market dynamics at work. I don’t see how you can make a blanket statement that the companion pass has lost luster and value. I would bet that southwest is make all fares lower to the Hawaiian islands. Actually, i think it has started already. I still fly AA a lot due to having a large bank of miles, but southwest is competitive if I have to pay for a ticket. I am sad about losing my companion pass next year.
HawaiiDreaming – some markets may still be cheaper with Companion Pass, though it seems to have shriveled up in my experience. I am not only shopping flights from Pittsburgh though, I have family that lives elsewhere and shop Houston, Omaha, Tampa, Fort Myers, Cleveland and elsewhere. In my experience, they are across the board more expensive and some cases 2:1 or higher, which makes the Pass less valuable. It’s no longer buy one (at a normal price) get one free, it’s buy one at a highly elevated price and get one free which may be more expensive than buying outright on another carrier.
To the Hawaii point, I agree with this… kind of. The other carriers began solidifying their customer base to and from the islands last year in anticipation of this. But I doubt Southwest had visions of offering $150 each way to the islands when they started this endeavor. That’s what the competition has started to price the trips at so in part, you’re absolutely correct. However, I will bet that they offer very few if any, seats at that level when and IF they start flying there in 2018 as promised.
You are comparing SW to Spirit? Have you flown Spirit? Enjoy saving …but at what costs
At half price… at least. And here are the reasons I like Spirit and you might too: http://bit.ly/2qiOi6C
Kyle, I am confused about your post. Do I read this correctly that you have to designate who a “companion” is to Southwest to be able to use the pass? This sounds crazy to me. We are with Alaska and they don’t care who is the benefactor of the “companion voucher” is.
The voucher on AS is one time, correct? The WN pass is unlimited. It is user-limited to prevent a pass-holder from essentially profiteering off of discounting tickets for random people. If you don’t believe it, look up “AA AAirpass abuse”.
Jon,
The Alaska voucher is an annual benefit of having the Alaska Airlines Visa card, along with a free checked bag for all in your party (up to 6) when making a reservation with the card. Yes, I know that SW checks two bags for free.
Markets are different across the U.S. for example, I never find reasonable flights with AA though sometimes do with Delta. I travel fairly regularly for work and find that Southwest is the most reasonable option with the exception of Frontier in cases where travel is booked 30+ days in advance. I even got fairly reasonable Thanksgiving tickets through SW.
Given that I travel mainly for work, I care more about reliability than price so I will not fly Spirit or Frontier despite their lower pricing.
I would say that Southwest’s value proposition hasn’t materially changed, recently or in the last couple years. Southwest’s pricing model is much higher pricing closer in to travel than several months+ out, where there can be some outstanding deals.
Different airlines have different advantages. Southwest is great for: advanced purchases including sales and promotions, changes on purchased tickets, consistent product, free baggage, wonderful point to point network, friendly staff, many flight frequencies. Weaknesses include: no premium seating, poor partners with other airlines, no network outside of North America, and HIGH CLOSE IN PRICING. Been this way for quiet a while.
My wife and I picked up the companion pass in a promotion last year and have saved some money with it (California deal). But, everything considered southwest isn’t a treat inside the plane.
We found the pass most useful when we traveled with our youngest daughter. Three of us on a bench together and the ticket purchased in advanced. They offer 7+ flights a day between SMF and SAN, which is kind of remarkable when you think about it.
Even with the pass we still prefer Alaska everything considered. And that’s why Southwest offers the pass.
The more appropriate title to this post would be, “After using the SOUTHWEST COMPANION PASS, IT LOSES LUSTER, VALUE to Stewart family”
Sure Jimmy, every value is relative. However, even in advance, they are still much more expensive (http://ti.me/2sYc7VM). For example, take their recent fare sale (the twice/thrice annual sale $49/59/79/99/129 deals). From PIT to Fort Myers (RSW) they offered limited availability for the fares at $99 in advance. Spirit charges just less than half price with many more dates available. This is replicable in other markets where the two share routes (Houston Hobby v IAH, LAX, LAS).
We make a lot of changes to our itineraries. The fact that Southwest doesn’t charge change fees will keep me as a loyal customer. They have good fares if you book in advance. Last minute, they are rarely the cheapest. Having said that, we still tend to use them because with the companion pass, it’s still less than purchasing 2 tickets on another airline. They still seem to respect their customers unlike other airlines.
I will agree with you that they seem to respect their customers better than most other carriers, I feel the same about JetBlue and Alaska – I don’t think anyone will disagree with that, and really that can be a good enough to pay more for a carrier. Changes to tickets can be expensive with other carriers too (agreed there) though if using points, that may no longer qualify and I believe that JetBlue also allows you to refund and bank the difference.
However, I have cited some examples in the comments in addition to the ones in the post that demonstrate that they are often twice the price making the Companion Pass no longer advantageous.
Not to beat a dead horse, but I think it really depends on both your home market and where you fly. Here in Dallas, for highly competitive major markets – FLL, LAX, LGA, MDW, TPA, etc. – Southwest typically matches what everyone else is charging for advance purchase fares. On the other hand, if you’re flying to a smaller market (ONT, RSW, etc.) then I see exactly what you’re seeing, with prices much higher than the competition. So while it’s not universally a great value anymore, I could still see Companion Pass being useful for specific travel habits.
I think the bigger knock about Companion Pass if that once you get past the credit card bonuses in Year 1, there are a ton of hidden costs to keeping it active. If you’re either flying enough or spending enough to earn 110,000 points a year, there’s almost certainly opportunity costs compared to doing something else. I doubt the math works even if you’re able to use it effectively for, say, DAL-LAX several times a year.
Southwest doesn’t charge a penalty for changes, which is very important to the people that actually earn companion status by flying not by credit card points. The corporate road warrior isn’t picking airline based on a $5 fare difference. They are choosing based in routes, flight times, flexibility, and on time performance. Southwest doesn’t care about your vacation spot, their growth is in the corporate market.
Southwest is not as much of a deal as it used to be when compared to the bigger airlines like American, Delta, and United. But comparing them to Spirit is apples-to-oranges.
If you compared Southwest to Alaska or JetBlue, then I could better understand the argument. Ultra low-cost carriers like Spirit are not in the same ballpark as airlines like SW, AA, DL, or UA.
Yeah, Southwest doesn’t have competitive prices, and random idiots are still buying all their tickets and keeping them in the black. Good grief is this stupid.
I had promised myself that I would ignore this blog in Boarding Area, and I somehow clicked anyway. Between your outlandish claims and Matthew’s 10-year-old reviews, I don’t know which is worse.
He’s mostly right though for certain circumstances. While it is true that there are certain markets where Southwest doesn’t have as much competition and thus can charge more, a more universal problem I see with Southwest is that their pricing mechanism almost always punishes last-minute buyers (pretty much up to 30 days before departure) more than other airlines. I live in the NYC area and book most trips within 2-3 weeks of travel and Southwest has almost never been the cheapest option (and if it was it usually involved an unnecessary connection or undesirable departure/arrival times) even with the free baggage check. I’m sure if Kyle looked at the same flights 6 months out the difference would be less drastic, but his results are fairly typical for Southwest bookings made a week in advance.
Most airlines tend to allow for more dynamic pricing to stay in line with plane loads and what the competition is charging on a certain route/day. Southwest’s model appears to be to offer a limited amount of seats in advance at super low fares undercutting the competition and then compensates for that by jacking up the price closer to departure more than its competition does. They end up in the same place as other airlines, but they do that by forcing those who book later to subsidize those who were able to plan in advance.
Don’t get me wrong, I still sometimes book Southwest if their price isn’t that much higher than the competition and flexibility is important to me on a particular trip, but for people with my travel and booking patterns there are almost certainly going to be cheaper options on any given route than Southwest.
I think Southwest should stopped advertising’low fares’ when it’s a farse.
San Antonio is another market where WN has lost its price advantage outside of competitive city pairs, especially when the flight involves a connection. The only reasonable fares (and often availability) depart before 6am or arrive well after midnight. I’ve had my CP since 1/17 and I rarely use it as it approaches expiration.
Just depends. I just booked roundtrip from Dallas on SW to Liberia, CR for $447. All other airlines are over $835 plus bag fees.. SW almost half the price.
Totally agree with this article, but I think its not just the markets its that Southwest really punishes close-in bookings more than other carriers do. Their prices simply aren’t as dynamic as other carriers and I get the feeling that their model is to offer super low fares way in advance that undercut the market and then make up for it by charging more than the competition once those fares sell out, as opposed to the more dynamic pricing model which is more adaptable to flight loads and what other carriers are charging for that flight on that day. A lot of people still end up paying more because they perceive that Southwest is “cheaper” and they don’t do the math on the bundled perks, but, at least in my case (based in NYC), Southwest has never been the cheapest option when looking at fares within a month of travel, even when factoring in the perks.
For many people who only fly for leisure travel and make their reservations way in advance (especially if they live in a competitive market or are traveling on a competitive route) Southwest is great because you can typically get lower fares along with all the bundled perks like no change fees and free luggage check that comes with a Southwest ticket. For those of us who tend to book closer to the departure date its rarely the cheapest option and its only worth paying more if you need the flexibility.
I’m just curious , to the writer of this article , how often do you fly in a yr on average and which airlines have you actually flown with ?
I fly about 250,000 miles every year. This year I have about 75k on United (will finish at 100k), 20k on American, 20k on Jet Blue, 30k on Spirit, 15k on Frontier, 15k on Southwest and the rest on a mix of international carriers. Last year and this year I was top tier with American and United though I will not re-qualify for American this year, I will likely return to them next year.
A travel website that refers to direct flights when he means nonstop flights isn’t very knowledgeable. Direct means a flight with a stop, no change of planes which is almost non existent.
While this is a great article I think you’re missing the point on Southwest. Southwest does not compete on price. They compete on service, value and fun. Out of all the airlines they by far have the most loyal following.
As a business consultant once told me, “there will always be somebody cheaper then you” so you need to bring value and not just price.
I agree with your business consultant friend, but the point of the Companion Pass is to deliver a free extra passenger, right? If it costs twice as much to get there, it’s not really a saving.
I do agree that Southwest offers value outside of price alone, but if you read through the comments you’ll notice many don’t even shop the competition any more.
I agree, I’ve found the prices on southwest to be really high. And I detest the seating free for all. My companion pass expires at the end of the year. We really haven’t used it that much; undoubtedly I’ll miss it more than I think, but would never try to get it again. We don’t check baggage so in some ways I feel like I’m paying more to check other people’s baggage. Glad to see someone else with same experience.
Just because it isn’t a great option in Pittsburgh, does not mean the whole airline is crap. Southwest is fantastic in the SOUTHWEST. It’s by far the best option in Phoenix. What a terrible click bait article written by a poor sole in Pittsburgh….
*soul
I fly frequently for work from Phoenix to various locations. Through our travel site I typically get 4 choices of airlines. Southwest is almost always the cheapest. When it isn’t it’s American airlines that is the cheapest, but the difference is usually less than $100. I’ve never seen an issue with cost for Southwest and fly with them as often as possible.
That’s a good data point, however, Southwest “hubs” out of PHX as does American so it’s not quite case study that other stations might be. Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, and to some degree the LA market would all be similar. Your corporate contracts may also have an effect on the price you see. But your experience is different than mine and that’s fair enough. The stats show that 60% of the time they are higher.
Wow! It doesn’t work for you, out of Pittsburgh, so it must be a horrible value for everyone.
Laughable lack of research. I just flew round-trip nonstop OAK – EWR and the fare was $248.96 including taxes and fees.
Nice and well researched article with the velow disagreements :
1) anyone including the author who is into frequent travel and travel deals would agree that southwest is not a great option to book flights to fly over the next 1 or 2 months or for last minute travel. I always book with miles as soon as they release the schedule and most of thw times get a good price better than or comparable to other carriers.
2) another excellent perk with southwest is that if thw price goes down, they credit the difference foe future travel or if booked with points, they will refund the different points immediately. How cool is that and no other airline offers that benifit (unless jetblue/ alaska does).
I agree with whatever Kyle said but obviously,companion pass would be worth only if the southwest pirce is less than twice of thw next cheapest fare and the savings add up considering you would save $120 on a eound trip just on bags (assuming 2 bags).
Ram – well thought out comments! I think I added in there that we almost never check a bag, but I understand some still do. I guess more than I had imagined are checking two bags on every trip, but in those instances, you’re absolutely right that there are a positive savings of $120 to start the trip.
I fly for work several times a month and I’m in a SW friendly locale (Austin). The flexibility to cancel and change flights is huge for work (as others have mentioned). For non-work trips, using points + companion pass easily justifies long weekends and other quick getaways. Just flying back now from a long weekend in Tulum where air fare was entirely on points and my pass, and will likely go back in a couple months doing the same thing. Definitely wouldn’t consider it has the points/pass not been a factor.
Brooke, your example is exactly how we used it in the past. That was also prior to other carriers becoming more aggressive in our market and Southwest becoming less aggressive. Maybe that better explains our own personal disparity. We loved the freedom of popping south for some sun and sand on a whim, that’s what the Companion Pass should be made for, it just hasn’t worked out well from other markets lately.
You’re comparing last minute flights. Southwest is always more expensive within 2 weeks of the flight. Check out flights 3+ weeks in advance and they are usually comparable if not cheaper than other airlines
I have other examples listed in the post and in the comments, they remain more expensive, often double other available options. Keep in mind too that there are other legacy airlines listed in one of the examples and Southwest remains higher than those carriers too.
Like most of the airlines they have pushed frequent flyers to be non-loyal. Southwest is fine and in their defense sometimes they are the cheapest or offer the best route or a non-stop. They are now just a piece of the puzzle. I fly them once or twice a year when it makes sense.
I don’t know why I feel the need to comment.
The issue with your article is simple. You don’t hedge your statement that Southwest is no longer competitive with other airlines. As other commenters have pointed out, location matters. Your article proves that Southwest is no longer competitive for your business. I’m sure there are other airports/markets where they don’t offer the cheapest fare. I live in Raleigh, NC. I never fly Southwest to Philadelphia. It’s too expensive. But back when I was in college, Southwest was the only way I could afford getting between Philadelphia and Raleigh.
But nowadays I fly all over the country. And in my experience, Southwest often, but not always, has competitive fares. I’ll caveat that by saying I almost always take full advantage of the (2) bags fly free policy. Alot of my travel is for work and I often times need 2 checked bags for work gear. Sometimes, the (2) free checked bags makes the difference.
Couple things. You are forgetting the 110,000 points you would have just to get the companion pass. These points obviously can be used for your ticket so then YOU and your companion fly for free (plus taxes of course). I just booked Chicago to Boston, round trip for less than 8000 points so my 110k goes far – yes market dependent. Also, can’t speak for others but the fact that I can change or cancel a flight, or even rebook when fare goes down is invaluable to me. Lastly, Belize is not at all expensive! Been there twice and love it!
We really want to head to Belize, we will take your word for it and get there soon.
For me being on the west coast travel to the east and Carribean is more challenging with Southwest and that has made me lose some value in the companion pass. There are no flights available from California to any of the Caribbean destinations and flights east always have a stop so you lose a full day traveling. Alaska JetBlue now offer consistently competitive rates making them more attractive.
I live in Chicago, and Southwest is great for us. Midway is their biggest hub! So your headline should be “companion pass not so great for Pittsburgh”.
I think there is a little more to the story than Pittsburgh. Based on on the other commenters (Denver Chicago, Phoenix) where Southwest not only operates a hub but also faces other major competition at those hubs (Frontier and United in Denver, American and United in Chicago, American in Phoenix) so really its wherever Southwest faces legitimate competition they compete, but for the rest of the country, not so much. I don’t think this is limited to Pittsburgh and some random quick searches can corroborate this.
I think one thing you are overlooking is that probably most people who earn the companion pass is from business travel. Essentially the company earns it for them. So when I travel for personal reasons I’m using the miles I earned plus a companion pass. It’s really a darn good deal for a family of four.
KidDino, we have a family of three and used to love it. It just seems like the fares have shot up past the competition.
SWA rules at BNA. Cheapest is rarely best and the finest perk available is to travel non-stop, with my stuff, on schedule. My schedule can change often on trips and being able to change on the fly is also very important to me. Last time I traveled AA domestic they lost my bag in Burbank and didn’t seem to care. The SWA people saw me getting agitated and retrieved my bag that AA lost. Priceless.
That’s excellent customer service. I can see why you wouldn’t leave them.
Maybe it’s not competitive if flying in and out of Pittsburgh. Other cities, absolutely is,
I am happy to accept your challenge, but one other commenter already made the same claim from Orlando to Las Vegas and I ran searches and provided examples that they remain 80-100% higher than other available options. I welcome your market and city pairs.
Interesting article! Admittedly I’m a huge Southwest fan and on my 4th year of the companion pass. Out of Dallas, Southwest is not always the cheapest option BUT the flexibility for me just can’t be beat. When using miles to book travel I love the fact that if I find an inexpensive fare for a trip I *might* want to go on I can just book it and lock in the price – and cancel day of if I decide I don’t want to go with no penalty. Or if I decide to stay longer/leave earlier from a vacation I only pay the difference (which sometimes is a refund!). No other airline comes close to this type of flexibility for the price. I don’t care about free checked bags I care about the freedom Southwest gives me (and the generally super nice employees and drink coupons help a little :))
Southwest’s flexibility is excellent, I wish others would copy it.
Surprisingly good value still from Milwaukee. My wife and i have had second, third and fourth honeymoons this past year with her companion pass. Grand Cayman, Bahamas, Jamaica, Fort Lauderdale and Kansas City. Trick is to be flexible and book several months in advance. Seats are expensive because Southwest demand is way up. Fuller planes mean last minutes tickets won’t be cheap. So blame it on Southwest being so darn successful.
Tom, I’m glad you’re finding good value out of MKE. Great concept too for the second, third and fourth honeymoons – that’s a great approach.
Can’t beat Southwest!!!
Enjoy flying Spirit. They often have broken a/c, exceedingly long delays etc. but yeah they are cheaper. You get what you pay for. P.S. SWA dropped the peanuts…
I think you’re confusing Spirit with Allegiant. They are two separate carriers, Spirit has the newest aircraft in the US (including newer than all legacies and Southwest) Allegiant has the oldest and recently was fined for not cooling planes in hot climates. Just like Delta and United are different carriers, so are Allegiant and Spirit.
Agreed, Kyle. Used to fly a lot of Southwest, but these days out of PHL and BWI areas I can usually get much better prices on other airlines, even legacy ones.
Full disclosure-I work for Southwest, so I recognize that my comments will inherently be viewed as biased, although I strive not to be, and I do regularly fly other carriers as well. Something that’s not talked about in this article (and I understand it’s beyond the scope of the discussion on value of the Companion Pass) is the level of service you receive on Southwest. I would argue that it should be a relevant factor in one’s choice of airline IF they live in a market where SWA prices are competitive. In a world where many other airlines are operated in whole or in part by contractors (or regional airlines like Skywesy/Republic etc) who are paid very little and thus aren’t very happy, that lack of workplace engagement can dramatically affect a Customer’s experience. Southwest prides itself on creating a financial and workplace culture where Employees do feel valued, appreciated, and fairly compensated. They then expect their Employees to in turn provide outstanding hospitality to their customers. I’m not asserting that all other airlines have terrible service, because I know many improvements have been made over the last few years, and airlines are investing in their people more than ever before. But I do believe (perhaps with an inherent bias) that Southwest flight attendants and their employees in general are more cheerful, more friendly, and more empowered to make decisions on a customer’s behalf than other airlines’ employees. We’re simply allowed to be ourselves at work, and that makes a difference if you’re a stranded flier desparate to find a flight home and needing the assistance of a ticketing agent. My argument would be that IF a regular Southwest flier lives in a competitive market, the Companion Pass, coupled with Southwest’s value proposition of outstanding customer service, make it a worthwhile choice.
I would also argue that SWA’s Rapid Rewards program is regularly voted one of the most flexible rewards programs out there in the airline world. That def increases value for the average flier. There’s nothing worse than being loyal to an airline that makes it impossible to redeem points at a reasonable level.
Amen to that!
I’d agree that Southwest makes every seat for sale available for an award at dynamic prices and that’s attractive to those who absolutely need to get somewhere. That being said, the program is pretty limited in scope.
I used to fly southwest all the time to Florida, but I can’t find a flight as cheap as other airlines, I have looked at several different hubs, I prefer the straight through flights at a decent arrival time, I dont want to arrive at let’s say 8p-12a. Southwest needs to lower their flight costs and become more competive.
When the company buys your tickets and you fly a lot, it’s very worth it. Scuba diving again soon. Southwest flies to some amazing places for that. Points and companion pass and hotel points, free vacations! Just have to pay for the air to dive!
I can’t argue with that.
I fly about 100 times per year. Mostly SW, but occasionally other airlines. Most frequent airports are BUF, SAN, BWI, and FLL On occasion, when flying solo, and depending on restrictions for date, time, and lead time, I can find a cheaper price elsewhere including AA and UA on occasion.
However, I’ve never found a circumstance where any airline beats the companion pass (i.e., less than half the fare of a SW flight). The difference becomes even more pronounced when you factor in the actual travel cost (i.e., luggage).
The author also doesn’t factor in the earned Rapid Rewards points. Factoring in the RR points, SW’s Business Class often beats the competitors costs. A $600 Business Class ticket looks steep, but as a Companion Pass holder, you’re most likely an A List preferred member as well (yes, you can get Companion Pass by spending $110K per year on the credit card and making a single flight, but if you make enough revenue flights per year, read on).
A $600 flight would give you about 7200 RR points. If you’re A List preferred, the reward is doubled to 14,400 points. Points are redeemable at roughly 65 points to the dollar, thus 14400 points have a value of roughly $220. Assume one suitcase each for my wife and I — another $50. So, with a Companion Pass, my “book at the last minute, pay through the nose fare” would be $330 for two tickets. A competitor would have to charge $165 per ticket to beat the price. And I haven’t factored in the free drink or the 1200 points for using the credit card to purchase the ticket.
I’m an admitted cheapskate and my loyalty to SW begins and ends with their prices. While I’ll concede that other airlines can beat SW prices on certain routes and times, I have never found a competing fare that beat the SW Companion Pass. I’ve been a Companion Pass holder since 2010. My wife flies with me about 60 times per year. Evey time I fly out of my normal routes, I check the competition. I “spot check” my normal routes 2-3 times per year just to make sure I’m not missing a shift in the market. Every time I think I’ve found a lower fare, the “extended math” makes the perceived lower fare an illusion.
Take the authors assertions with a HEAVY grain of salt. Better yet, do your own math each time and see what you come up with.
The earned points do matter, and you’re right that there is a great amount of value in that. However, most that I know are not getting the Companion Pass to fly routes for $600 – those are high, really high. Pick a market, any market and that’s an expensive ticket. I outlined in the comments other examples specific to commenters where other carriers are less than half the price of Southwest and thus, travelers would be better off buying two tickets on another carrier rather than buying one inn southwest and using the companion pass.
Your article is misleading regarding what it takes to earn a Companion Pass. You must take 100 one-way flights OR earn 110,000 Rapid Reward points, and it must be in a calendar year. Therefore it is impossible to earn a CP on January 1. And for someone uses Southwest as a taxi to work between Dallas and Houston, this is a dang good deal. I don’t think they are begging anyone to achieve this status as it certainly results in a loss of revenue, but they are rewarding those who do.
Karyn, while many Companion Pass holders probably earn their pass through flying, I’d venture to guess that a significant portion achieve it through credit card sign ups. Two credit card sign ups in December and regular holiday spending will likely hit the spend requirements and post all of those points in January which could be January 1st. Plenty have done this, I qualified for mine first in early February a few years ago.
There are a few other places that Southwest is still a winner for me for 90%+ of my travel. Schedule is one, as Southwest seems to have more evening flights on the route I fly most (Washington, DC to St. Louis), allowing me to get in a full or nearly-full day of work before flying out and lets me avoid waking up at 3am to catch a flight; nearly every other carrier only seems to offer early morning or mid-day flights for that route, meaning I get up early, lose a day of work or lose the better part of a day at my destination. Pet policies are another win for me: I almost always fly with my dog as an in-cabin pet, and, in addition to having the lowest pet fee of any carrier, they make it painless to book her ticket and the staff have always been very accommodating and friendly with her, offering me cups of ice for her on board and helping me juggle her carrier and my bags when checking in. And since I travel with a pet, checking a bag is almost a must for me because she counts as one of my carry-on items, so I save there too. They also have more direct flights on my most frequent route, which saves me time, stress, and headache, and they’re all flown with full-size planes instead of smaller regional jets like many other carriers use for the route. Their planes are still very comfortable (looking at you, AA 737-MAX…), even for my rather tall husband. The ability to rebook without fees has been a godsend for me on more than one occasion when something came up, and they make doing so incredibly easy. And, above all, the service is consistently excellent, from call center agents to check-in agents to gate agents to flight crew, the customer experience is, in my opinion, the best available for any domestic US flight. Employees seem to genuinely like their jobs and their passengers, and routinely do the “little things” that make the difference, like smiling, communicating at the gate about delays and seeming genuinely apologetic, or joking with passengers. For all those reasons, I will gladly pay the difference in fare (though, often, Southwest is within $20 of the other carriers, and, more frequently, they are slightly under). My one real complaint? Their terminal at DCA is definitely not my favorite, as it often feels too small, the dining situation is not great (everything is technically through one food service but with several different windows with little variety, and you pay at a self-checkout, which is a bit odd), and bags take an obscenely long time, upwards of 45 minutes after landing on the last flight of the day (which, I have been told, is because it’s the oldest portion of the airport and the infrastructure is very dated).
He’s just mad the Steelers suck.
First of all, great commenter name. Hats off to you, my friend. Secondly, I am not originally from Pittsburgh, and really couldn’t care less about the Steelers, Penguins or Pirates but I am loving the conspiracy theories.
Wow, really didn’t expect the comments to be like this but WN has a ton of dick-riders– goes with the Texas persona. Your points are valid.
Those hating on Spirit probably haven’t flown it lately and are the same ones who had a bad experience on an AA $99 RT fare their first time flying and went on FB to tell hometown friends that they’ll “never be flying them again” as if that matters.
Getting free checked bags is literally the only redeeming quality, but like you pointed out, no real traveler gets much use out of that OR would get it for free via status. Can’t imagine flying 100k+ miles a year on an airline when you have no idea where you’ll be sitting as you walk on the plane.
Sure flying WN is fun and cute, but it’s just like Apple: a statement. You’re saying I think the singing FAs and feeling the love is super cool. And all other airlines are evil.
If you truly fly 110k miles on an airline (not credit card miles, rather your butt in a seat) and you are truly loyal you know the difference. I fly Southwest almost exclusively because I like the service I get. Friendly people, timeliness etc. I could care less about the first class seat. I want to feel confident I will get there and Southwest makes me feel that way. I have been traveling over 100k miles for more than a decade. For my money I will stay with Southwest, and thank them for the added value of the companion pass.
Sounds like it’s perfect for you.
Southwest never has last minute deals, so that’s a moot point. Southwest is also not a budget airline to compare to Spirit or frontier. Most of the time they are similar prices in a $50~ range so then with the companion pass it’s always a great deal. Even your example shows you save $50 using Southwest with companion. This article is stupid with 2 examples. Next time have a lot of research before making these claims.
We’ve had it for 3 years and love it. Used it 13 times I think including many international- Punta Cana, Cancun 4X, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo. While the taxes are high on those routes I would say my average points cost for the first ticket has been 16-18k round trip from St Louis. I would say it has saved us $4000 easy and we’ve used points for all of the first tickets before booking the 2nd with CP.
You don’t have to like Southwest, and they may be a poor choice out of your airport, but the Southwest effect is alive and well. Before Southwest started serving Belize, Belize and Roatan (nearby and similarish and both awesome) had no discount options, only the legacy carriers. Both were $800 to $1,200 round trip from most of the U.S., all the time, depending on season. Roatan still is. BZE is now more like 350 to 400 if booked in advance, to pretty much everywhere including PIT, not just some specific route that Southwest is flying. As far as I can tell the Spirit effect (or Frontier effect where I’m from as Spirit doesn’t fly to SAT) is no effect at all except on the specific nonstop routes flown.
I fly SW almost exclusively, as we travel monthly and my wife flies on the companion pass. I am loyal and buy some tickets and use points on others. Rarely do I pay over $250 roundtrip or 15-2000 points for a trip. We charge everything on our SW business and personal visas. To me it is a great option and I almost always have an exit seat. I could not say anything bad about SW. Free bags are a huge \advantage.
Agreed. I fly either to NYC or back to PDX every week and only once did I take SWA. Their prices are often double and they have no direct flights – often taking 9+ hours to make it to LGA (which is horrible on its own) from PDX. No thanks! Then after a grueling 16-hour ordeal with three kids from Cancun to PDX, I gave up on SWA for anything other than our west coast only flights. Too bad because their onboard staff is usually great and I’m not used to their boarding process. I stick with Alaska and Delta for my NYC-PDX/PDX-NYC flights now. (Don’t get me started on Alaska’s new flight change fee…that’s your other post. Ha!) I’d love to take SWA more often away from the west coast, but it is just too expensive and time-consuming.
I’m late to the party here, but I think the article is short on context. There is a lot of focus on Southwest’s election not to charge for checked bags in the article and comments – but for most of us, checked luggage isn’t an issue. What is an issue is that on ULCCs such as Spirit or a Basic Economy fare on United, a rollaboard carryon is not included. That adds about $30 each way per person and is a charge that just about anyone wanting to fly will have to incur. Importantly, that changes the value proposition at least on the PIT-RSW route you’ve presented. Also part of the package on an airline like Spirit is the lack of route redundancy and flexibility in the event of IRROPs. As “reliable” as you present Spirit’s aircraft to be in the comments, Spirit is also notoriously late and inflexible in the event of a flight cancellation (as are other ULCCs that offer routes only on certain days). Not as much of an issue in your AA comparison. Southwest also gives you the flexibility to change your dates and keep your value for up to a year from the purchase date if your plans change, which no other airline offers.
Also missing is a date or price comparison for the Houston flights. The bottom (return?) screenshot looks to me like a “Sunday after Thanksgiving” flight selection screen based on my experience with Southwest and I’m curious about how competitive other airlines would be on the same dates. Maybe Southwest is more, maybe it isn’t. But your presentation of these flights as “Southwest is so expensive” is misleading without a presentation of how the competition stacks up on the same route and dates.
I will echo other commenters and note that your pricing on any airline, Southwest or otherwise, is going to change based upon your market. I fly out of RDU and by and large, Southwest is competitive with the other options available here. I used to fly out of OAK and found that to be the case as well, even expanding the search to include SFO. I personally have not found Southwest to be more than twice the price of a competing airline in my anecdotal experience – indeed, when pricing a last minute trip from RDU-ATL earlier this year, Southwest was less than half of Delta’s price on the same route, even though Delta had about 3x as many flights on the dates we were traveling.
I think this is all a YMMV situation. A smart traveler should price all of the options and weigh what is best for them.
I agree that SWA is getting a lot less competitive generally (but is still sometimes the best option). I just booked a last minute ticket in FIRST CLASS from Nashville to Chicago on United for about half what the Southwest fare was for the same route. I was kinda shocked actually…
@Kyle Stewart —> You asked, “Do you have the Companion Pass? Has its value diminished to you due to higher prices? Are you just in LUV with those peanut passing fools and want to tell me all about it?”
SHORT ANSWER: no, no, and they no longer pass out peanuts and haven’t in some time.
While you make a GREAT point in re: flying out of Pittsburgh, this is a FALSE ARGUMENT, as you have made it a blanket statement indicting WN throughout its entire route system, rather than just from your specific market. I cannot comment on fares out of Pittsburgh (“Ain’t never been there; they tell me it’s nice”), but from any number of other markets, the CP continues to provide excellent value — even though I don’t have a CP and do not intend to get one.
Your first comparison is specious at best, comparing Southwest to Spirit. True, there is a $113 cash price difference between Spirit and Southwest. The free bags knock off $60 r/t if you have one, or $120 if you have two. Presuming you only have one checked bag, that drops the differential to $53. (Even your carry-on is restricted by Spirit.). Add to that a seat that has 28-29″ of pitch, versus one that’s 31-33″ in pitch — I’m 5’11”, but I cannot be comfortable in a <30" pitch seat for an hour-long flight (OAK-LAX) — a 2.5 hr. flight (PIT-RSW) would be complete torture: comfort *must* factor into any flight one takes¹. On a longer flight, I'd gladly pay the extra $53, BUT I wouldn't be paying anything EXTRA.
However, you are comparing the cost of ONE ticket on Southwest ($256) to ONE ticket on Spirit ($153). But we're talking about TWO tickets — the whole point of the article is to use to CP. So Spirit actually costs you ~$306 PLUS baggage fees. Southwest costs you ~$268 with NO baggage fees. This still results in SOUTHWEST BEING CHEAPER! Now you're actually flying with three people, so the math gets more complicated: Spirit is ~$459 r/t, while Southwest is ~$524. That's a $65 different on 3 r/t tickets, but AGAIN…no baggage fees on Southwest make it the cheaper option…unless all you have are carry-ons.
But your comparison falls flat from other markets. Using your same dates for the SW Florida trip (11/10-11/12), but flying between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles (LAX), Southwest's lowest fare on those days is $59 each way (OAK-LAX)². Alaska (SFO-LAX) is only $54…BUT unless you have elite status or their co-branded card, you're going to have to add a checked bag fee, making Southwest the better deal by far — and, gain, let's not forget you're paying $59 e/w for one ticket on Southwest The cheapest fare on United starts at $143 r/t and goes up from there (plus baggage fees).
The Bay Area to SEA? (Same approximate flight time as PIT-RSW.) Morning outbound and evening return, round trip: Southwest is $256; Alaska is $210. Again, if you have to pay to check one bag, it's a wash…except of course it isn't, as your CP allows your traveler to fly for $5.60. (FYI, the absolute cheapest fares are: a) on AS, $64 up, $121 back; b) on WN, $69 up, $69 back.) United's cheapest is $232 r/t, but — again — the luggage fees factor in.
But, AGAIN, these last two comparisons (to LA or Seattle) are only comparing the cost of ONE ticket, while with the CP, you'll be flying flight with a second person for only ~$12 more on Southwest, versus another full fare on another airline, be it Spirit, Alaska³, or one of the USL3.
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¹ QPR = Quality-Price Ratio.
² OAK is a main hub for WN. Flying out of SFO may be the same or slightly higher.
³ Unless you're using your annual Companion fare, which is $99 plus taxes. Clearly, however, it's a waste to use this once-a-year bonus (if you have the AS co-branded Visa card) on anything other than a long-haul flight.