Southwest buys airtrain...

[Hedy]

http://www.southwest.com/html/sites/lowfaresfarther/press_release.html
Thoughts?

[sunshinecindy]

I am not so sure I like this, because now they don't have to be competitive with eachother. Seems to me too that Airtran was running some better deals then SW, but then again, SW doesn't charge for luggage.

[MamaO]

Personally, I'm not so sure I like this either. We fly out of Milwaukee fairly often. Southwest is a new player in that market, and it has really meant some good competition and fares since last November. It's been nice to have those options.

[dwkay8]

I think I could write a novel on this, and in fact maybe I have between posts on other boards and email chains with family and friends... :rolleyes:

This merger benefits people who love Southwest, or people who want to go to airports Airtran has a presence in but Southwest does not.

The rest of us are left with a dearth of competition when the only two legimitate competitors in our markets become one. The inevitable reduction in flights (and therefore increase in demand) and lack of competition will lead to an increase in fares.

In my market, Airtran has consistently been cheaper than Southwest at the time I book, even accounting for baggage fees. Airtran has more nonstop options than Southwest. I like the comfort of my seat assignment, but I could get over that if I had to. However, I can't get over a lack of business class. The hope of a business class upgrade is the only thing I look forward to when I fly.

I am just not a happy camper, and if another airline doesn't step up and start offering nonstops to MCO from my city, I'll simply start driving there.

[linanglab]

I am not so sure I like this, because now they don't have to be competitive with eachother. Seems to me too that Airtran was running some better deals then SW, but then again, SW doesn't charge for luggage.

I agree... I flew Airtran this summer. For the 4 of us it cost us under $600, round trip. But I did have to pay for luggage. I noticed SW fares were quite a bit more expensive than Airtran. When I look for flights the next time, I guess I will know how I feel about it.... Not a regular flyer, so I guess time will tell!

[ShanPooh]

Hmmmm, interesting.
Other than two flights I've taken in the past twelve years. We've flown with either Southwest or AirTran (from Akron/Canton, Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh, or Detroit - give me the best deal, I'm not picky)
I agree with others that prices won't be so good without the competition between the two value carriers. Then again, the bargains haven't abounded in the last two years or so anyway. In fact, we ended up driving down the last trip we went to WDW (8/09) and really did have a good time!
We got a DING! about four years ago for $49 per person each way (before taxes and everything else, of course). Probably never see that again :cry:

[m 'n c]

I am not a happy camper. I love SWA but am not a fan of Airtran. I know some people love them but I thought their customer service was lacking when I flew them earlier this month. I also didn't find that their planes and seats were as nice as Southwest and I hate extra fees - hopefully SWA will upgrade their planes and get rid of the baggage fees.

I had been watching their fares for a few flights the last couple of months and I found them to be the same or more than SWA but that might be due to flying out of Houston. I also noticed that they don't have many non-stop flights out of Houston unlike SWA so that is another minus for them in my book. Hopefully SWA can turn it around and still be a low cost carrier.

I also flew Continental and SWA this month. Loved SWA out of Houston but Continental was another story. I felt super cramped in their cabin. Bleh!

[dwkay8]

I am not a happy camper. I love SWA but am not a fan of Airtran. I know some people love them but I thought their customer service was lacking when I flew them earlier this month. I also didn't find that their planes and seats were as nice as Southwest and I hate extra fees - hopefully SWA will upgrade their planes and get rid of the baggage fees.

I had been watching their fares for a few flights the last couple of months and I found them to be the same or more than SWA but that might be due to flying out of Houston. I also noticed that they don't have many non-stop flights out of Houston unlike SWA so that is another minus for them in my book. Hopefully SWA can turn it around and still be a low cost carrier.

I also flew Continental and SWA this month. Loved SWA out of Houston but Continental was another story. I felt super cramped in their cabin. Bleh!

I think a lot of how you feel about this merger really depends on how both airlines operate in your market. In my area, Airtran has more routes and nonstops to MCO (the only place I fly) than Southwest. If you compared Southwest fans to Airtran fans, I think Southwest fans are coming out on the better side of the deal.

Airtran's fleet and airports will be absorbed into Southwest, there will be no such thing as an Airtran business model, which means no baggage fees, no assigned seat, and no business class. So Southwest fans will be stuck with Airtran planes for a while (although Southwest will probably phase out the 717s), but that's really all that someone accustomed to Southwest might notice.

I'll admit, it's just been a pity party around here all day ;)

[dwkay8]

If you're really interested in learning more about this, you can check out this website.

http://www.lowfaresfarther.com/