PTinbound said:
"Low Service", at SWA, just to clarify, means we don't serve meals on our flights or have a first class cabin. However, I think if you ask 9 out of 10 passengers they'd tell you that we have a much HIGHER level of service than most of our competitors - we hire kind, friendly employees who treat our passengers and each other with concern and respect. There are always exceptions of course, but in general our people care and we won't lose your luggage. To me, that's a high level of service.
Yeah, that compares to 100+ worldwide destinations, executive lounges, gourmet meals, seats that fold into beds with entertainment systems, widebody cabins, etc.
In my previous employment I traveled a great deal. I got a SWA Visa and joined Rapid Rewards because SWA rewards more quickly and went where I wanted to go at the time. In less than a year I ran enough through it for a roundtrip for my wife and I. We went to San Diego and had a great time. A friend of mine at work had chastized me about getting the SWA card, so I felt pretty cool when I got my trip first. Well, it was only about 6-8 months later when he took vacation and he went business class to Germany! I felt pretty stupid because I realized my mistake. At some point, it becomes less about what you pay, and more about what you get. See, the money was already spent. I mean, the money we ran through the cards was going to be spent as a cost of doing business. The key becomes what do you get for your money. I can tell you from experience, it is worth it to wait and get the superior product/service. And of late, the prices have changed a great deal. You can actually find a lot of legacy fares that are cheaper than SWA. When the non-market, global dynamics settle a bit, a lot of customers will come to the same realization that I did.
I am not confused about premium travel. SWA is not a real consideration in this regard. To say you have a "higher" level of service is to make a mockery of what service is.
Beyond that, I think the plan at SWA is to avoid DFW, expand LUV after repeal of the WA, and then work behind the scenes to encourage cabotage at DFW. The day after the repeal of the WA you will hear an outcry of uncertainty over what to do with a half empty DFW. That is when the SWA spin machine will fire up in a not so covert manner to get every long haul, government sponsored foriegn carrier into DFW. Sounds crazy? You bet! Are they above it? NO!
The key for AA (or any legacy) to survive is to quickly realize that SWA is not some good natured competitor. There is no bottom, no out of bounds or the like for SWA in its pursuit of market share. In fact, they don't want market share, they just want to kill legacy airlines, They certainly don't want to fly to all the places USAir went (or provide that level of service), they just want them dead.
I miss the SWA that Herb ran. I was treated well by SWA as a customer (although I would not do it twice). This new SWA disgusts me.
any group other than A is cause for great concern. Sun chips or Doritos?
