American airlines companies

Unfortunately, US air travel (with a couple of exceptions) is not structured like in other countries; what that means is that price for fares is usually very tightly banded between all carriers, and dependent on competition. In an odd paradox, deregulation has actually stifled competition.

So, while JetBlue and Southwest have a reputation for being "low cost carriers," their pricing is not different from "full-service" carriers on routes.

An example: AmericaWest (now part of USAir) and Southwest have the exact same fares between Reno and Las Vegas. Or Las Vegas and LAX. etc. etc. etc.

I say this because it's predictable that you will be encouraged to book tickets with Southwest and/or JetBlue, and I think that's a terrible idea, with one important exception I'll mention in a moment. Book with a full-service airline -- you will have an assigned seat, and should something go awry, at least you will have some semblance of customer service to help you. In fact, in the case of America West, you will have exemplary customer service.

The one important feature of Southwest is that they do offere refundable fares. Those are expensive, but quite useful if you think you're likely to require changing of plans last-minute.

The lesson to be learned is shop around hard. Most of the big websites (travelocity.com, expedia.com, kayak.com orbitz.com and a lot of others) will give you a good idea of whats out there, but if you have time shop around, sometimes the airline websites are a LOT cheaper. And Southwest airline-the US's largest "discounter" doesn't allow tickets to be sold by anyone else, so you have to go to southwest.com for fares on them.

Ed

For your other thread, I did a quick price check on Seattle to SF. The cheapest fares were a tie between Southwest and American. On the other hand, I recently flew Sacramento to LAX. Southwest was by far the cheapest. So "shop around hard" is indeed the right answer.

The fares are so "tightly banded" because people will which airlines to save $25-50. For example, if Southwest drops its fares, most of the other airlines follow suit. Twenty years ago, fares were regulated and generally the same (and a lot higher) due to government regulation.

Southwest Airlines's fully refundable fares are more expensive that their non-refundable fares. However, they generally provide great savings over the other airlines "last minute" fares. Also, Southwest's NON-REFUNDABLE fares allow you to cancel and rebook within twelve months of purchase without penalty or additional fees. Most other airlines charge $50-100 to make a change to a non-refundable ticket.

I fly Southwest out of Chicago at least once monthly and the customer service that I receive is better than my other options - American and United. The people are friendly and go out of their way to make flying pleasant. (Maybe it is because their pay isn't cut or their pension isn't being reduced.)

Hi, Lawrence -

I fly 3-4x/weekly - my life of perpetual upgrade could indeed have altered my perspective, but I have plenty of "regular" passenger friends from whom I draw my information. I'm at around 1,500,000 miles and counting, and definitely have learned some things along the way.

My experience with Southwest in, erm, the southwest, has been this:
horrible, unspeakably bad service - and no reserved seats means stampedes at gate time; and
they have purchased many of the routes, so they have a nice network of flights.

I'm aware of the FAA regulations - one of my friends works for them.

Southwest's refund policies are terrific -- if you need to a) get your money back and/or b) switch your flights a bit. I have the nice privilege of having a corporation pay for ticket changes, but can be quite the cheapskate on vacation.

I always think that airlines are identical until something goes amiss. Then you will know if you are dealing with a real company, or not. Especially if one is flying in a country where one is not native, or on a vacation where you might not feel comfortable fending for yourself, I say go with the full-service airline. And shop hard, indeed.

Travelocity.com is where I check first, I'm sure there are a dozen others as good. Airlines are not cheaper, fares are. Sometimes certain runs get discounted, and all airlines on will be within $10.

OP, as an Aussie just be aware that some of the travel sites referred to such as Travelocity may not accept credit cards with non-US billing addresses when booking flights. I think the airlines generally will if you book with them direct. Also expedia has just recently started up an Australian branch (www.expedia.com.au) which does accept AU credit cards for flights - the US branch of expedia (www.expedia.com) will accept them for hotel reservations and rental cars but not flights.

#6- Yes, you are a premium flier. When I was collecting 150k miles per year on airlines and could get upgraded to 1st class (which is generally well less than 1% of fliers), I would not fly Southwest. You are going to get the best seats and get on the plane whenever you want to. Talk to the station manager and they will get you free access to their airport club and they'll waive all the cancellation fees.

However, for the rest of us unwashed masses flying on our own dime, Southwest is generally a better option, especially if plans change.

pshaw, I'm not all about myself that way. I'm just very strongly opinionated: when the (cough) garbage hits the fan, I'm always glad I'm booked on a real airline -- for domestic US travel. It's not about the seat, it's about the person who:

- actually makes a reservation at an airport hotel for you, if you can't fly out that night, and takes care of the tab, as by law they are supposed to do; and
- makes a decent effort to help, should you need to find your lost luggage, get on a different flight on a different carrier, etc.

When you parse all that, and the fact that on VERY few routes will SW/JB be the lowest-price option (always setting the price, but always met within minutes by one of the others), I say why torture yourself?