Southwest takes off

With the recent demise of several major air carriers, discount airlines have capitalized on the ability to provide low-priced flights if travelers are willing to compromise on convenience.

Airline companies such as AirTran Airways, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue pride themselves on their unique method of business – offering limited service to and from select airports at discounted prices.

Providing 90 percent of all discount air travel, Southwest Airlines advertises itself as the “nation’s leading and largest low-fare airline.” It offers unrestricted and fully refundable tickets for domestic travel. The consumer drawback, however, is that Southwest travel is limited to 58 cities in 30 states. For example, on a flight to Chicago, a Boston traveler would save $136 by flying with Southwest but would need to spend extra time to depart from Providence.

Though Southwest offers “no-frills” travel, meaning it offers no extra amenities, such as meals and movies, it has consistently ranked first for the fewest customer complaints for the last 11 years, according to the Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report.

While other airlines are laying off employees during this hectic time for the industry, Southwest advertises that it has never laid off any employee and has not cut capacity in the previous year. Last month, the company actually reduced their prices, refusing to sell any round-trip airfare for greater than $299.

“Over the past 31 years, we have proven that you can inspire travel when you decrease its cost and offer a high level of service,” said Joyce Rogge, Southwest’s senior vice president of marketing in a press release announcing the fare drop. “We’ve certainly seen this lately. Lots of people are flying, but they are flying on more discounted, restricted fares. We want to take that trend a step further by offering a significant savings to those who need the convenience of last-minute fares.”

While US Airways is struggling to maintain adequate customer service in the face of bankruptcy, Southwest is intent on “improving the airport experience.” Automating the boarding process as well as introducing a self-check-in technology is hoped to increase efficiency. With the new system, the company expects a Southwest customer to spend no longer than 15 minutes in line at the airport.

Overall, Southwest’s low-cost and “no-frills” strategy has sustained it through the turmoil of the current airline industry.

“Financially speaking, we are well prepared for the economic storms besetting the airlines,” said Gary Kelly, Southwest’s chief financial officer, in a press release. “We are focused on improving our customer service, rather than considering other drastic choices, as some in our industry face.”