Just want to get away ticket costs

[kps01824]

Has anyone noticed how Southwest is ripping people off now? The March 2018 fares just went on sale this morning and there are NO low fares or they say they are already sold out for weekend travel! I am trying to get Airfare to go on a cruise so I am limited to when I can travel. It use to be that you could get a round trip ticket for $200 then they went up to around 300.00 when we had the Gas crises and that was the expalnation you would get from all of the airlines as to why prices went up. They said they would come back down if fuel cost did, wel fuel cost are now lower than they were before the price increases but ticket cost doubled instead of coming back down. How can Southwest continue to say they are the best when it is clear they are now the worst because of there lies to us.

[stevekay]

Fairs are always high on SW. I travel 4-5 times a year and have never come close to using SW because of the high cost.

[franktravel]

2 free checked bags, free seats, no carry on bag fee.  Just saying. 

[chgoflyer]

I'm finding lower fares on other carriers, even when factoring in baggage or other fees, at least 50% of the time. It pays to compare. Southwest isn't a low-fare leader anymore. 😞

[stevekay]

The family flew on Spirit this summer and even after paying for bags and paying to sit in the front row (reserved!) they were cheaper. SW NOT low cost airline. 

[TheMiddleSeat]

Spirit and Frontier may be be less expensive, but they also have a far inferior product. After flying once on Spirit and a handful of times on Frontier there is zero chance I would be ever go back regardless of the price. And yes, other airlines do occasionally beat SW on price, but for me, the benefits of loyalty and consistent quality of the product keep me coming back. Price is just one factor. 

[chgoflyer]

Frontier with The Works, which includes the extra legroom seat, free bags and full refundability (among other perks) is often much, much less than Wanna Get Away on Southwest. An upcoming flight is less than half of the WGA price, all in. (During the holiday travel period, when Southwest has chosen to jack up prices to an unreasonable level.) I wouldn't fly Frontier in a regular seat for any flight over an hour in length, but the bigger seats are awesome.

AA and United are often the same price as Southwest. Southwest wins when these are my choices.

JetBlue and Delta regularly beat Southwest's fares on my routes. JetBlue's overall passenger experience is head and shoulders above Southwest's.

Alaska and Virgin only cover a couple of my routes, but their fares are often the same as Southwest's, and both provide better passenger experiences.

It didn't used to be this way. It was so much easier to be loyal to Southwest when fares were low and reliability was high. 😞