Rivals match Southwest’s sale fares – but not everywhere
Rival airlines are selectively matching some -- but not all -- of the sale fares that Southwest Airlines rolled out Tuesday as part of a 72-hour flash sale.
Fares on several airlines – including American, United, JetBlue and Virgin America – have dropped to below $97 on some short routes where Southwest is offering similar fares.
But it appears that Southwest’s rivals are being selective on which routes they’re matching the sale fares. Some city pairs show multiple airlines offering discount fares. On other routes, Southwest's fares are only partially challenged.
Southwest first rolled out the sale on Tuesday, making dozens of its shortest nonstop routes available for fares of less than $100 round-trip. Other routes are also included, where one-way fares of $49, $99, $129 and $149 roughly correspond to the length of nonstop flights. Most connecting itineraries are excluded from the lowest sale fares. The sale ends at the end of the day Thursday.
The broad sale has become a staple for Southwest. The airline has rolled out similar 3-day sales each June and October for the past several years. The sale from June 2015 was so popular that it crashed Southwest’s website, prompting the carrier to extend the sale by an additional 24 hours.
As for the latest sale, it’s a bit more restrictive than Southwest’s previous iterations. For most domestic routes, Southwest’s lowest fares are valid only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays (with some holiday blackout periods). In prior similar sales, the discount fares were available every day except Friday and Sunday.
And, as with any major airline sales, the discount fares will sell out as flights fill up.
Still, for fliers able to comply with the day-of-week restrictions, some unusually low fares remained available for travel from late summer through early winter. And, as of Wednesday morning, that included both Southwest and some of its rivals.
Here’s a spot-check of where rivals where rivals were – and were not – matching the fares unveiled in Southwest’s latest sale. (Search conducted via Kayak.com at around 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, June 8. The search looked at only at nonstop flights for travel departing Oct. 5 and returning Oct. 8).
Dallas-Houston
Southwest: $97
United: $97
American: $97
Los Angeles-San Francisco
Southwest: $97
Virgin America: $97
Delta: $135
American: $147
United: $161*
* United Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue also were offering competing $97 round-trip fares between other airports in the metro areas. For example, United Airlines’ lowest SFO-LAX fares were $161 for the selected dates. But its San Francisco-Orange County flights were on sale for the same $97 fare being offered by Alaska Airlines.
Elsewhere, Alaska Air was selling $97 round trips on its San Jose-Orange County routes. JetBlue was offering the same fare on its Oakland-Long Beach route.
Chicago-Cleveland
Southwest: $97
United: $97
American: $215
Kansas City-Minneapolis/St. Paul
Southwest: $97
Delta: $234
Phoenix-Los Angeles
Southwest: $97
American: $97
Spirit: $97
Delta: $137
United: $183
Minneapolis/St. Paul-Chicago
Southwest: $97
Spirit: $97
Delta: $167
American: $185
Boston-Baltimore (including D.C.)
Southwest: $140* (BOS-BWI)
Spirit: $99 (BOS-BWI)
JetBlue: $158 (BOS-DCA)
United: $161: (BOS-IAD)
American: $165 (BOS-DCA)
* Southwest's $49 sale fares were only offered on its outbound BOS-BWI flight, but were not offered on the return, Sub-$100 round-trips were available on the route on other days.
Denver-Salt Lake City
Southwest: $162*
Frontier: $97
Delta: $137
United: $227
* Southwest's $49 sale fares were only offered on its outbound DEN-SLC flight, but were not offered on the return).
Denver-St. Louis
Southwest: $137
Frontier: $107
United: $137
Boston-Nashville
Southwest: $116*
JetBlue: $153
* Southwest's lowest $54 sale fares were only offered on its outbound BOS-Nashville flight, but were $62 for the return).
Notable connecting fares: United ($124), Delta ($296), American ($301)
Baltimore (including D.C.)-Buffalo
Southwest: $97
United: $201 (from IAD)
American: $207 (from DCA)
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