Southwest Airlines faces problems on two fronts. It's battling public perception after its holiday meltdown caused even its biggest fans to question their loyalty to the airline and it looks at having to battle a strengthened JetBlue (JBLU) Airlines should it be able to complete its merger with Spirit Airlines (SAVE).
A combined JetBlue/Spirit represents a big challenge because that merged airline will operate more like JetBlue than Southwest (LUV). Instead of using an extreme value model, the company will be a discount airline that uses a very similar pricing strategy to the one Southwest uses.
DON'T MISS: Why the JetBlue/Spirit Airlines Merger Is Good for Consumers
That means that Southwest will still battle with ultra-discount, no-frills airlines like Frontier (ULCC) but it will also face JetBlue in nearly every market it operates in. It's a tough situation for an airline that once enjoyed tremendous customer loyalty but has squandered some of that, maybe a lot of it, with its holiday meltdown (and its immediate response to those issues) that left tens of thousands of passengers stranded at exactly the worst time for that to happen.
Now, the airline has been executing a plan to keep its loyal customers in the fold and that has included a bold offer to make it easier to attain its A-List status, which comes with some very meaningful perks.
Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
Southwest Airlines Makes Getting A-List Easier
Southwest Airlines has a promotion ongoing that makes it easier to earn its A-List status, That's a very meaningful loyalty perk as it comes with early check-in, which normally costs extra, as well as the ability to fly same-day standby.
Normally it takes 25 one-way flights or 35,000 tier qualifying points per calendar year to earn that level. Many Southwest customers lost their A-List status in 2022 as people were generally traveling less due to the lingering impact of the pandemic.
Now, the airline has an ongoing promotion (which requires registration) open to all Rapid Rewards members. It allows people to earn status faster, which could increase their loyalty to the airline. Southwest recently sent out an email reminding Rapid Rewards members how the program works.
- Earn 2X on flights: Earn double-tier qualifying points on all qualifying flights when you register, book, and fly between March 1-May 31, 2023.
- Earn with reward travel: Every flight purchased with points counts as one tier qualifying flight, and 10% of points redeemed qualify as [tier qualifying points] when you register, book, and fly between March 1-May 31, 2023.
- Earn with Rapid Rewards Credit Card purchases: Earn 3,000 tier qualifying points for every $5,000 in purchases you make with any Rapid Rewards Credit Card from March 1-May 31, 2023. These bonus TQPs are in addition to the TQPs you already earn as a cardmember.
A-List Status May Keep People Loyal to Southwest
During the early days of the covid pandemic, Southwest extended A-list membership for a full year because people mostly could not/would not fly. It could not do that forever, but losing A-List members meant the airline opened up some of its most loyal customers to cheaper flights or more luxurious ones from other airlines.
This promotion seeks to win some of those customers back because the A-List perks are generally enough to tip things in favor of the airline over its competition. People who have meaningful status with an airline sort of give it first dibs on their travel and losing A-List means that more fliers will look at other airlines.
Southwest lost the trust of some of its customers and put doubt into the heads of others. This promotions may help it put some more people back into the loyalty fold and be one step on its comeback.
