NWA answers SWA at MSP -- adds Chicago flights

[Schwanker]

[FONT=&quot]NWA to add flights to Chicago, match Southwest's air fares
By LIZ FEDOR, Star Tribune

October 22, 2008

In an aggressive response to Southwest Airlines' decision to begin service
from the Twin Cities, Northwest Airlines said Wednesday it would expand its
flights to Chicago and match Southwest's low fares.

Northwest will offer competitive prices on Southwest's connecting routes
from Chicago. Southwest, which now carries more fliers domestically than any
other airline, connects to nearly 50 cities from Chicago's Midway airport.

"We'll have 10 or more trips to both Midway and O'Hare at competitive
prices" on airplanes that include both first-class and coach seating, said
Tim Griffin, Northwest's executive vice president of marketing and
distribution. That's an increase of four to five nonstop flights daily, with
some on bigger airplanes than are used now.

Northwest also will be competing with Southwest on connecting routes.

"We always look at the full offerings of competitors, both their nonstop
participation in our markets and their connect participation, and factor
that into prices that we will offer," Griffin said. "And we'll do so this
time."

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said in an interview in late September, when the
airline announced expansion to the Twin Cities, that he'd offer at least 8
to 10 daily departures to Midway beginning in March.

Northwest, United and American offer nonstop service between the Twin Cities
and Chicago, but no low-fare carrier has been flying the route since AirTran
Airways dropped its service to Midway in May.

Southwest, which will operate 137-seat Boeing 737s, plans to release its
schedule and fares on Nov. 6.

Griffin said Wednesday that Northwest stands a good chance of holding on to
its customers.

"The big three criteria in customer decisionmaking are schedule, price and
frequent-flier programs," Griffin said.

Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said Wednesday that the airline is known for
stimulating traffic and decreasing fares when it enters a market. "It's a
classic example of what the Department of Transportation has coined 'the
Southwest Effect,' and it appears that Minneapolis-St. Paul is already
seeing this phenomenon in action."

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[MCDU]

No one competes better then NWA. If NWA were in ATL Valuejet never would have made it.

M

 

[CatfishVT9]

Yeah, and Braniff is gonna to kill SWA........

 

[BLUE BAYOU]

Although only briefly mentioned, its not just the flights between MSP-MDW that NWA has to worry about-- it is the 50+ connections one would get out of MDW by SWA that NWA would have to compete with also. That would seem, to me, something more of a challenge to compete with... Hey, doesn't SunCountry and SWA have the same colors now???

 

[fiel12]

Well, the commute just got easier.

 

[GuppyWN]

All this over one little 35 minute flight.

Gup

 

[ualdriver]

Although only briefly mentioned, its not just the flights between MSP-MDW that NWA has to worry about-- it is the 50+ connections one would get out of MDW by SWA that NWA would have to compete with also. That would seem, to me, something more of a challenge to compete with... Hey, doesn't SunCountry and SWA have the same colors now???

Conversely, SWA has to worry about the same with NWA/DAL/regional feeders. A passenger flying out of ORD/MDW to MSP has many, many connecting options in MSP- certainly more than SWA out of MDW.

Plus I would imagine NWA/DAL will match their fares but will have a far superior frequent flyer program (in my opinion). I would guess a business man would rather have miles on the "new" DAL network rather than SWA's, price and schedule being equal.

 

[mrebuck]

All this over one little 35 minute flight.

Gup

I agree.

 

[pipe]

Yea. Huzzah. A new fare war - that'll be great for everyone. You are now free to lose some money. Ding.

Massive sarcasm intended.

PIPE

 

[firstthird]

the difference in this 'fare war' is that SWA charges what it takes to make money (with the possible exception of a few weeks on a new route to 'introduce' it).

NWA will probably have to operate flights at a loss to match our fares. They can do that as long as they want, but I doubt they will run us out of town. I suspect the days of OALs taking a bath while they drive the LCCs out of business are gone.

Either way, passengers on the MSP-Chicago route win. At least it seems the "Southwest Effect" is still in play. You'd think it was gone with all the talk about how SWA really charges more and it is only our tricky marketing that makes people 'think' they are getting a good deal.