Southwest Airlines Launches New, Second-cheapest Airfare

(RTTNews) - Southwest Airlines Inc. (LUV) on Thursday announced a new fare class- a second cheapest option, which is expected to bring in more customers, who are ready to pay for more flexible options.

Called the "Wanna Get Away Plus" fare, it is placed just above the "Wanna Get Away" fare and just below its "Anytime" fare. This new fare class will let passengers make same-day changes to their tickets without paying up the fare difference as required by the lowest tier.

Customers who choose the new fare, or classes above the new fare will get more frequent flyer miles than the lowest tier and they will be able to transfer their flight credits to another RapidRewards member. This is an added new feature. Passengers can continue checking in two bags for free.

The new fare type is the latest effort by an airline to increase revenue after being severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Airlines like Delta, American and United have in recent time introduced no-frills basic economy tickets, excluding ideas like free seat selection.

Southwest will make the new fare schedule operation in the second quarter The Dallas-based airline had announced last year that it would launch a new type of fare but had not gone into the details.

Higher air travel, particularly for domestic leisure trips, and higher fuel prices are already pushing the fares up. Airlines report the maximum revenue during the second and third quarters, when vacation season keeps up the sales.

In February, bookings by both number and value on US airline websites were higher than pre-Covid levels for the first time in the pandemic, said reports.