Transit| Published on June 5, 2007 11:12 am

Southwest stepping to Skybus with $15 fare

By: Walker


The Columbus Dispatch wrote Southwest stepping up with $15 fare

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

By Marla Matzer Rose

Is Southwest Airlines targeting hometown upstart Skybus?

Southwest representatives said that one-day promotional fares yesterday as low as $15 one way were part of the airline’s 15th anniversary celebration at Port Columbus.

The ultra-low-fare destinations included such short-haul trips as Chicago, Philadelphia and St. Louis, and were only available through Southwest’s “Ding!” fare alerts that users must sign up to receive via email.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a direct response to Skybus,” said Southwest public relations executive Chris Mainz, who was in Columbus for the day for a flurry of ticket giveaways around town. He added, though, that $15 is probably the lowest “Ding!” fare ever offered by Southwest.

READ MORE

Tags: , , , , , ,
Related Posts:
Author: Walker Walker is the founder of ColumbusUnderground.com and co-founder of TheMetropreneur.com along with his wife and business partner Anne Evans. Walker has turned local media from a hobby into a full time career over the past decade and serves on multiple boards and committees throughout the community.

7 Comments

  • Brewmaster June 5, 2007 11:30 am

    Saw this story about Ryanair (the European company that Skybus modeled itself after)…

    http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070605/earns_ireland_ryanair.html?.v=5

    AP

    Irish Airline Ryanair Posts Record Profit

    Tuesday June 5, 9:41 am ET

    By Shawn Pogatchnik, Associated Press Writer

    Irish Budget Airline Ryanair Posts Record 2006 Profit, Offers Cautious Forecast for 2007

    DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) — Ryanair Holdings PLC posted a record full-year 2006 profit Tuesday amid higher fuel prices and strong competition, but offered a cautious forecast for 2007.

    The Dublin-based airline said net income, excluding exceptional items, rose 33 percent to 401.4 million euros ($541.7 million) in the 12 months through March 31, while sales rose 32 percent to nearly 2.24 billion euros ($3.02 billion).

    But chief executive Michael O’Leary said he expected to post less stellar growth in 2007, with overall profit growth slowing to 5 percent, mirroring the percentage drop for an average ticket.

    “Forward bookings and yields continue to be soft and Ryanair continues to respond with aggressive price promotions. … Ryanair will lead and win every fare war in Europe, because Ryanair has the lowest costs and the lowest fares,” O’Leary said in a statement.

    O’Leary said Ryanair expected most of its fiscal 2007 profits to be generated from April to September, while the airline could suffer “small losses” in the October 2007-March 2008 period.

    Ryanair said its average ticket price rose 7 percent in the last year, while sales of “ancillary” products — insurance, car and hotel booking, baggage-checking charges, food and beverages — rose 40 percent to 362.1 million euros ($488.7 million).

    Offsetting some of those gains, fuel costs rose 50 percent to 693.3 million euros ($935.7 million), representing 39 percent of total operating expenses, up from 35 percent in fiscal 2005.

    Airport and handling charges — always a sore point for Ryanair, which seeks out far-flung airports willing to charge less — increased by 27 percent to 273.6 million euros ($369.3 million).

    Ryanair said it sold 82 percent of its seats in fiscal 2006, down one point, reflecting its rapidly expanding route network.

  • ddavis June 5, 2007 11:41 am

    Yay competition!

    :D

  • columbus native June 5, 2007 11:44 am

    I have either heard or seen advertising from southwest that was directed at skybus recently. The add was refering to all of the “hiden charges” and stated that southwest just gives you the good price up front with nothing to hide. I think they feel a valid threat as well as they should. I skybus travels to the states I travel to most and the tickets are about half of the price of southwest. Personally the gummy bears, graham crackers, andlong layovers certianly isn’t going to make me return to the southwest ticket line anytime soon.

  • milodesc June 5, 2007 12:27 pm

    yea i got on this deal yesterday…. got round trips to portland, or and philly for $30 each way.

  • desecration June 5, 2007 1:41 pm

    Oh! Short trips to Lineage Gallery in Philly may be in my future! :D

  • Schoolboy June 6, 2007 11:46 am

    i’m part of that mailing list and didn’t recieve anything! :evil:

  • gramarye June 6, 2007 5:54 pm

    So Southwest is offering the fare *with* checked baggage? That would be a fairly significant distinction for a lot of people.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

ColumbusUnderground.com