Southwest Airlines coming to DM

[Broodwich]

I, along with Governor Branstad are pleased to make this possible for Iowans. We've been working for the past year to make this happen and hope that Iowans will take advantage of the competitive fares and that it makes the Des Moines area even more attractive for businesses.

 

[isuno1fan]

standing ovation for this...bravo!

 

[CyCrazy]

Not a single time.

Well there is one in every group. SWA has been cheaper and outstanding for me every time I fly.

 

[Flag Guy]

I love that some hate SWA. That leaves their fantastic service to the rest of us. There must be some reason people have driven to MCI, Omaha and Mpls to fly them....

Because MCI is usually $150-300 / trip cheaper than DSM. Be it SW, Delta, AA or Continental, I will fly to MCI instead of DSM if I have a ride because it saves that much money.


DSM and CID are the problems...


Southwest can be cheaper, but not always. Usually pretty decent service though

 

[NobodyBeatsCy]

What about Blue Star? are they coming to DM?

Blue Horsehoe loves Blue Star Airlines..

 

[CtownCyclone]

I flew back from NYC for the ISU bowl game for $114 one way. Every other airline was well above $200. Are they always the cheapest? Probably not but in a general sense they are.

From my experience in Houston, Southwest is not the cheap airline. FWIW.

 

[bluestarcyclone]

Because MCI is usually $150-300 / trip cheaper than DSM. Be it SW, Delta, AA or Continental, I will fly to MCI instead of DSM if I have a ride because it saves that much money.


DSM and CID are the problems...


Southwest can be cheaper, but not always. Usually pretty decent service though

Yup. I'm no 'SWA hater'... i just havent seen the cheaper prices that people always talk about. If SWA can provide good decreases for DSM then great. I'm willing to pay a little more to fly ouf of DSM, but i often have done the same as you and flown out of OMA or MCI because the price difference is so big.

 

[ISUAgronomist]

From my experience in Houston, Southwest is not the cheap airline. FWIW.

Continental HQ FTW! (still grumpy about the United "merger" )

Going to Charleston next week $250 roundtrip w/ direct flights. :yes:

 

[CtownCyclone]

Continental HQ FTW! (still grumpy about the United "merger" )

Going to Charleston next week $250 roundtrip w/ direct flights. :yes:

The credit card is the way to go. No checked bag fees, you get to be in the "Special Person" security and boarding lines, plus the club passes...good stuff. Direct flight to CR as well. Good stuff.

And United can go DIAF.

 

[CysRage]

Yup. I'm no 'SWA hater'... i just havent seen the cheaper prices that people always talk about. If SWA can provide good decreases for DSM then great. I'm willing to pay a little more to fly ouf of DSM, but i often have done the same as you and flown out of OMA or MCI because the price difference is so big.

What is one thing Omaha and Kansas City have in common that Des Moines doesn't? The answer is Southwest airlines. The current director of the Des Moines airport calls it the southwest effect. Southwest airlines tends to drive other airlines prices lower to compete with southwest. The director of the Des Moines airport would know, he was in the same role at Omaha when SWA moved in and it drove all airlines prices down.

 

[bluestarcyclone]

What is one thing Omaha and Kansas City have in common that Des Moines doesn't? The answer is Southwest airlines. The current director of the Des Moines airport calls it the southwest effect. Southwest airlines tends to drive other airlines prices lower to compete with southwest. The director of the Des Moines airport would know, he was in the same role at Omaha when SWA moved in and it drove all airlines prices down.

Theyre also bigger cities. I'll believe the lower prices when i see them.

 

[Flag Guy]

That's one thing DC has going on.... 3 major airports in a 40 mile radius. If one airport can't get you there, good chance another will be cheaper...

Assuming your final destination isn't DSM or CID (Seriously... I can fly to the west coast for cheaper)

 

[Flag Guy]

Theyre also bigger cities. I'll believe the lower prices when i see them.

This. Volume goes a long ways to lower prices

 

[Three4Cy]

Current flight from Omaha to Vegas

Southwest $375
Southwest Airlines - Pricing and Restrictions

United $313 or Delta
Expedia.com Travel

 

[Cyclonepride]

I've made the drive to KC once. I may not do it again. I did it for two reasons. A) It was a direct flight into Pittsburgh and B) there was a $200 difference per ticket. It ended up saving us $400.

We drove down the morning off, parked in long term and got on the flight. I'm not sure I'd do it again. It was a long drive back after flying in.

We did that to Daytona Beach. Was worth it, but yeah, long drive back after all the travel beforehand.

 

[clones26]

soooo...Bobcats was right?

 

[aute19]

We did that to Daytona Beach. Was worth it, but yeah, long drive back after all the travel beforehand.

That's the one thing that I had underestimated: the length of the drive back to the DSM area after you've spent all day in airports, etc.

However, driving to KC saved me $650 for two people over flying out of DSM, so yeah, I'll suffer through a bit of a drive for that.

 

[MeanDean]

Is there anything happening w/SWA and MLI?

One of the bad things with the AirTran/SWA merger was loss of Air Tran service out of Moline. If I remember corrently at one time it was the most northwest location they serviced before they went to the West Coast, etc.

I suppose competing with Delta who also hubs in ATL was too much competition.

I flew many times to and from MLI to Florida on AirTran, usually for a decent price and usually without incident. The planes always seemed full or nearly so.

 

[chuckd4735]

Is there anything happening w/SWA and MLI?

One of the bad things with the AirTran/SWA merger was loss of Air Tran service out of Moline. If I remember corrently at one time it was the most northwest location they serviced before they went to the West Coast, etc.

I suppose competing with Delta who also hubs in ATL was too much competition.

I flew many times to and from MLI to Florida on AirTran, usually for a decent price and usually without incident. The planes always seemed full or nearly so.

The 22 AirTran airports that will continue to operate and will eventually join the Southwest route map include: Flint, Mich. (FNT); Rochester, N.Y. (ROC); Pensacola, Fla. (PNS); Charlotte, N.C. (CLT); Dayton, Ohio (DAY); Richmond, Va. (RIC); Key West, Fla. (EYW); Washington, D.C. (DCA); Memphis, Tenn. (MEM); Akron-Canton, Ohio (CAK); Wichita, Kan. (ICT); Des Moines, Iowa (DSM); Branson, Mo. (BKG); Portland, Maine (PWM); Grand Rapids, Mich. (GRR); Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ); Cancun, Mexico (CUN); Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ); Aruba (AUA); San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU); Bermuda (BDA); and Nassau, Bahamas (NAS).

 

[cygrads]

Yup. I'm no 'SWA hater'... i just havent seen the cheaper prices that people always talk about. If SWA can provide good decreases for DSM then great. I'm willing to pay a little more to fly ouf of DSM, but i often have done the same as you and flown out of OMA or MCI because the price difference is so big.

+1

I don't fly a lot but when I do I find flying out of Omaha or KC is usually well worth the drive - however I don't think I have ever flown SWA. I do remember flying to HI out of Omaha and the line at the SWA counter was tremendously long and was glad we were not flying SWA.