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Aug. 29 - Sep. 4
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How Southwest is wooing business travelers
By Ryan Poulos |
 AUSTIN – Southwest Airlines wants to shed its image as a "leisure airline." That's why the airline has added a new class of fares aimed at the business traveler willing to pay a little more for early boarding and better seating.
As El Pasoan Chris Robertson arrived in Austin on a Southwest flight, he told El Paso Inc. that he likes what the airline is doing.
"I think that now they definitely compete with some of the other airlines that have already been offering perks to business travelers," Robertson said.
The slightly higher-priced "business select" fare comes with top priority in boarding, extra frequent flier credits and a free drink.
"These folks are our true Southwest road warriors, and they should be rewarded for their devotion to Southwest Airlines," said Gary Kelly, Southwest's CEO at a news conference unveiling the plans.
But business flyers aren't necessarily being rewarded, as the new "business select" fares cost from $10 to $30 more each way, compared to standard business fares.
The new fares are expected to account for 10 percent of seats per flight. Officials say that will give other passengers a legitimate shot at receiving a better boarding pass.
No leisure here
"For 21 years, I've heard us categorized as a leisure airline and that dumbfounds me," wrote Richard Sweet, Southwest's senior director of planning and distribution, on his Southwest blog.
He says Southwest has five or more daily flights between more than 100 city pairs.
"Grandma certainly doesn't need that kind of frequency to visit the grandchildren, and surfer dudes usually don't want to travel and return the same day," he wrote.
The airline has made it clear that it wants to increase revenue to offset rising costs – mostly from fuel and labor – and to stay on par with increased low-fare competition from airlines like JetBlue.
Last year, Southwest set a goal to boost annual revenue by $1 billion a year by 2010, and according to officials, this is just another step in that process.
The new business perks are expected to bring about $100 million in new annual revenue to the airline.
"We're trying to customize our product so that all of our customers get what they want from Southwest," said Ashley Rogers, a regional spokesperson for Southwest.
She said that about 45 percent of passengers on Southwest are business travelers.
"The business traveler is a big part of the travel industry and a big customer base – we would like to gain more of those travelers," she said.
Simplified fares
"We're simply offering business travelers new reasons to choose Southwest Airlines," Kelly said. "In this decade, with soaring energy prices and the kind of competitive environment you still see, every airline is forced to offer many, many more low fares. The techniques that worked for us in the 1980s and 1990s many not work for us now."
The airline also said that it is changing the way in which fares are presented to customers on its Web site.
Instead of six different rates, there are now only three to choose from: Business Select, Business and Wanna Get Away.
"Under the old system, people were just picking the cheapest fare and they often didn't realize there were restrictions on the tickets," Rogers said. "Our customer service agents will always be available for help, but this new system really makes things more self-explanatory."
Many passengers deplaning a flight from El Paso to Austin said they have already used the new Web site, and that it did make things easier.
El Pasoan Robertson said about 75 percent of his travels are on business.
"I really like what the airline has been doing lately to make things easier for their customers," he said.
Comments or questions about this story? E-mail news@elpasoinc.com
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