Southwest 'Small Plane' Commercials

[Huskers1]

It's a sad world when a 737 is considered "a big, comfortable, roomie airplane" I remember traveling as a passenger pre-rj days, sitting in the boarding area when our plane pulled up to the gate and thinking, "damn a 737".

 

[lear24]

It's a sad world when a 737 is considered "a big, comfortable, roomie airplane" I remember traveling as a passenger pre-rj days, sitting in the boarding area when our plane pulled up to the gate and thinking, "damn a 737".

Indeed, bragging about a 737 seems silly.

 

[crashpad]

Row one seat A in a 1st class section of an RJ is the only place I've ever found bearable for civilized beings.....but you still end up like a convict in a jetway lineup waiting for the carry-ons afterward.

 

[Radiohofo]

Still, the commercial is funny and tries to make a point.
Spinning the wheel of fortune and hearing, "Come on big plane, big plane!" is the comedic commentary of today's road warriors travel woes. I don't care who you are, thats funny right there...

 

[Snapperhead]

The 50 seat cabin sucks, but then I don't see many SWA 737s in most RJ cities....

Southwest and ASA's 70 seater share a lot of destinations; Airtran does also.

 

[Whataburger]

Southwest and ASA's 70 seater share a lot of destinations; Airtran does also.

Not to mention head-to-head with Express Jet in most their cities which is probably a main contender in who the commercials are aimed at.

 

[Airline RC]

Yeah, tell me how big that "big jet" feels when you're stuck in the middle seat, next to a 400lbs guy eating a sandwich.....while he sweats.

Your are zachry right ! I rode in the back of a Skywest CRJ900 from ATL on a 3 hour flight just a few weeks ago. At first, I thought Oh Hell...this plane sux. It was actually MORE COMFORTABLE than the back of an 88 / 75 or 73. Not a bad ride at all!

 

[Jbitzer]

Seat 1A on a Beech 1900. Screw the window, lots of leg room. It only sux after that 3rd cup of coffee and you are still 30 min away from landing in PIT.

 

[Turtlesfly]

oh there's no doubt that SWA ads are anti-XJT.

 

[BigShotXJTdrvr]

In a number of cities I have seen people holding SWA tickets IN THEIR HAND come up to our gate and ask 2 questions: 1) Is this flight going to _____ non-stop? 2) Can I buy a ticket right now?

I guess they're grasping to find reasons why their passengers should volunteer to make stops to get where they're going. Small plane? That's the best they can do?

I think they need to use the fear angle-- tell them the pilots may not have the ink dry on their license, you'll get fat(ter) eating all our food, and drinking $1 beer. Maybe show a picture of some 12 year old at the controls. That might work better.

Kinda cool we've been in business 6 months and we're already a target. I guess they don't think we're another IndyAir flop.

When SWA started undercutting the other majors on costs, everyone was operating basically the same equipment, and if you could drive your costs lower on your ops and sell cheaper fares, you won. Our 50 seater may suck on CASMs but just the fact that it IS a 50 seater makes figuring out how to compete with it much more difficult. In the old days when gas was cheap maybe you could try to destroy your competetion with predatory fares for a few months, then they give up and you win. Much harder to use that strategy with today's fuel prices. The small plane and current high (yes high) fuel prices are our 2 protective moats. High fuel prices may actually be helping us avoid predatory fare sales. In the old days they would not be pointing out how small the other guy's plane is, they would have just sold thousands of cheaper tickets on 1/2 empty planes and run you out of town.