As you can tell from our announcement today, we have a lot of exciting news for our business travelers and our frequent Rapid Rewards Members, and these enhancements go into effect tomorrow, hand-in-hand with the systemwide rollout of our new streamlined boarding procedures. Much of my time and focus (and that of the entire Marketing Team) over the past year or so has been devoted to these changes, and I see them as reconfirming the vision of our Founders, Herb Kelleher and Rollin King, who envisioned an airline that would allow business travelers to park the car and travel by air. Herb and Rollin intuitively knew that business travelers want safe, affordable, frequent, and friendly flights that provide outstanding value for their money, and today's announcement is dedicated to that goal.
Road Warriors have special travel needs; their plans usually change at the last minute; and because their time is so important, they often arrive at the airport just before boarding begins. If ever there was an airline that recognized the benefits of productivity, it is Southwest, and while great fares are extremely important for business travelers--and their companies--making the most of their time is critical. The exciting changes that we have announced today will help these Customers meet both their productivity and budget goals. We have a great interactive page at southwest.com, and it will provide you specific details.
However, I do want to touch on the more significant aspects of these changes. Our new Business Select Fare category ensures that, for a few bucks over our Business Fare, our Business Select Customers will be among the first to board and will also receive extra Rapid Rewards credit for their travels and a free cocktail (or beer or wine). Along with this new fare category, our current unrestricted walkup fare is being renamed our Business Fare, and it gives business travelers total flexibility in their travel plans. And, we haven't forgotten our leisure travelers with our Wanna Get Away Fares that offer our world famous discounted leisure fares. (DING! fares remain generally our lowest fares and can only be accessed through the DING! "widget," which is downloaded directly to your desktop. To sign up for DING!, click here.)
Along with the changes in our fare platform, you will see enhancements at southwest.com as we have simplified our initial fare displays to help you find the fare that best suits your travel needs. The Wanna Get Away fare section will always show the lowest available fare (again, except for DING! fares) for your selected travel date. Searching for lower fares on other travel dates is also easier now with the newly improved "Southwest Shortcut."
Aside from new fare product and web display, we have another exciting enhancement for our most frequent travelers, the Customers we call our A-Listers. To be a part of this A-List, you don't have to walk a red carpet, hire a publicist, or hide from the paparazzi; you just need to complete 32 one-way flights (16 roundtrips) in a 12-month period. Once you reach this milestone, you move to the A-List, and we will check you in automatically for your flights and hold your boarding pass(es) for you. All you (or your publicist) have to do is print out your preassigned boarding pass and be at the gate at least 20 minutes before departure. We'll do the work for you.
Another exciting change is the availability to redeem two Standard Awards in our Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program for an unrestricted Freedom Award. We listened to our frequent travelers who wanted "last seat availability" on our flights, and we're introducing this new program today. With the exception of a few select blackout dates, Southwest is making it possible again to redeem frequent flyer Awards for unrestricted travel.
Today is exciting because these new enhancements give us the ability to differentiate our product to meet the differing needs of our Customers without having to change our decades-long dedication to low fares and great Customer Service. I am hoping that you will be just as excited as we are about these enhancements to our product because we really want to be your airline of choice for both your business and personal travel needs.
Comments
You guys did a GREAT job of enhancing the RR program. Face it, every airline (including my favorite) in the past has "enhanced" their frequent flyer program by devaluing awards, availability and more.
This is the first enhancement I can think of that is truly a step forward for travelers - not a step backwards. Once again, SWA leads!
Wow, so much to process at one time. Looking forward to being an A-lister, although when I travel with the family I will choose to board with them. May these changes at the peak holiday travel period go as smoothly as possible. Best Wishes.
This is BS. You charge higher fares, you devalue your Frequent Flyer miles. I had 110 credits in the past 2 years with you all. I am one of the "business travelers" you so desperately want. I think it is the wrong direction to ask me to make a "double payment" to use my credit awards, when just a couple of years ago, you only had a couple black out dates.
YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHO BROUGHT YOU TO THE DANCE! Instead, you dot to the dance, and have decided to ditch your date.
Dear SW - I am a very frequent business traveler and I must tell you that you have really messed up with one of your new policies. By making families with small children board the plane after group A, you have actually hurt, not helped business travelers. I for one always avoid sitting near families with small children, not because I don't like kids - just the noise and seat kicking. Now this is no longer in my control as they are boarding the plane after me and I cannot control where they sit. This very case happened to me yesterday as I boarded a plane from Kansas City to Seattle. I had a family with one child sit behind me ( the child directly behind me) and he kicked my seat the entire flight and spent the last 20 minutes absolutely wailing. Please re-think this policy to give me back the control over where I sit in relation to these families. Let the group C crowd, deal with this un-intended issue.
Yes, I said ouch too when I saw the 2 for 1 Award deal. I might make the A-List, but I'm not going to trade 2 feebies for 1. They are hard earned, late nights home and sometimes lengthy waits between stopovers. Maybe A-Listers should get some slack on this.
Tell us about how BIG a problem it was before you started restricing the seats. If there are seats like the day before a departure it should be available. Fun time opportunities usually come at the last minute, especially if you have to travel to the fun. I can think of two times already I was unable to use my award when I really needed to. To me, that was the biggest distinction you had over everyone else, in the old days I could decide to fly that morning and you were happy to have me.
If this is your (SWA) way to reduce the number of feebies floating in your system, think of a charity members could donate the tickets to in order to help someone. Get a Vet home, help a kid. I've flown 10 rountrips this year and by no means am I a road warrior. But I do travel from Wisconsin 3 hours by car to fly Southwest out of Midway when I do. That's pretty loyal don't you think?
Hi Dennis. Thanks for your comment. We feel like the enhancements we made to Rapid Rewards today actually improve the value of the program. We are trying to find ways to reward and thank our most frequent travelers and give our members who are trying to book award travel more choices and flexibility. With as much as you say you fly, you'll be the perfect candidate to take advantage of some of these benefits. We have heard from Customers just like you that are upset about our restricted award seats so this annoucement today is our way of finding a win-win for both our frequent travelers (such as yourself) and Southwest.
Amen and THANK YOU. Speaking as a weekly business traveler who pays the highest fare this has earned you all of my buinsesss.
I will have to drive 150+ miles at times fwhen landing at MDW rather than connecting on another airline but this new plan has earned the business.
Thank you SWA!!!
I have to agree with AJ. I left Delta after being Platinum for 4 straight years because they began the policy of higher mileage based upon tiered pricing levels. I have now been a loyal SWA customer for the past 3 years. I actually liked the fact that we were all treated equally regardless of the price we paid for a ticket. The implementation of the A-List business pricing goes against everything that SWA stood for. Businesses are not stupid, In most cases, we travellers know several weeks out what our travel plans will be. Rewarding the last minute flyer will eventually erode your loyal customer base. I am a business traveller who purchases my tickets early. I am also willing to check in 24 hours early to insure myself an A Boarding Pass. If that is no longer available, I may have to rethink the convenience and comfort of the Crown Room and First Class Seating.
Although I appreciate your new improvements for business travelers, I'm concerned about some of the policies. We visit my wife's relatives in NH about once a month. Leaving on a Thursday evening and coming back on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. Of course, these are the main times for consultants and our flights from BWI-MHT are normally packed.
I'm afraid we're going to be in the "B" (or even worse, "C") group now that all of these business travelers are "A" prioritized.
I want to echo the comments about the "families with small children" policy. I can see where on one of your "shuttle" legs (DAL-HOU, for instance) it would be beneficial to be at the front of the plane... if every second counts. Also, on a 45-minute flight, if the 3 year-old behind me was kicking, I wouldn't be that worried about it.
However, on BNA-SAN, it is VERY important to me that I either can sit in a spot where I'm not annoyed by children, or I can sit in a spot where my child isn't annoying.
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