Alaska has two cabin seating (First Class or Business Class and Economy). Given all that, let’s get back to Southwest vs. departure might be cheaper than the more desirable 9:00 a.m. Also, the time of day you depart often affects the ticket price. Therefore, a non stop flight might be slightly more expensive than an itinerary with stops or connections. That’s point A (the place you are flying from) to point B (your ultimate destination) without having to stop, or change planes.
Airlines know through years of industry research the flying public wants non-stop flights. The longer it takes to get somewhere.the less you might pay. Now let’s look at the value of your time. Issues such as missing your flight, weather delays, crew delays or airplane mechanical problems. Why is this important? Because the more fights per day decreases the chances of issues on your air travel day. Alaska's hubs include Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Anchorage and Los Angeles area. The top five hubs for Southwest include Chicago Midway, Baltimore, MD, Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas Love Field. More gates and more flights equal more flexibility when things don’t go as planned. To give you a clue, research online and check the number of gates an airline occupies at any given airport and then check to see how many flights depart from that airport or city per day. That’s where the word HUB comes into play or “cities of focus” or operating bases. And finally, in some instances how far in advance you book and pay for these seats.įor starters, in many cases getting the lowest or cheapest airfare has everything to do with where you live and what airport is your home airport.
These include, the specific airline, the on-board experience, the class of seat, where you are flying from and where you are going and how long it takes to get there. Many factors contribute to the cost of an airline seat. You expressed an interest that you want a cheap flight to wherever you are going. If the flight takes off and a seat is empty, then it becomes a piece of fruit the airline makes no money on. That seat on that day on that flight (or segment) is only going to exist once. Unless the commercial aviation industry radically changes the way they charge for seats, then think of every seat on every flight as a piece of rotting fruit.
The grocer wants to charge as much as he or she can for that orange before throwing it away. It was picked off the tree, and now it’s ready for you to purchase. When you look at the produce section of a supermarket, an orange has a fast expiration date. What is the highest price an airline can charge for a seat? The sky's the limit! Revenue management is a big deal for airlines. Let’s look at this idea from an airline’s perspective and then we will get to you. Alaska does typically charge for your first and second checked bag ($30 and $40 respectively)īefore we go any further, deciding HOW you are going to get somewhere via flight can be a seemingly daunting task when it comes to price.Southwest allows two (2) checked pieces of baggage per ticketed Customer.As of January 2021, Alaska Air Group serves 115 destinations with 1,200 daily departures in the United States, Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica.As of March 7, 2020, Southwest flies to 103 destinations in the United States and ten countries outside the United States.Bombardier Embraer jets are operated by Horizon Air. Southwest’s entire fleet consists of all Boeing jets while Alaska’s fleet is a mix of Boeing and Airbus. Alaska (mainline) operates217 aircraft ( 166 Boeing 737 and 51 Airbus A320).A merger with Star Air Service in 1934 created the largest airline in Alaska, which eventually became Alaska Airlines With roots tracing back to 1932, the airline was founded when Linious "Mac" McGee of McGee Airways started flying his three-seat Stinson between Anchorage and Bristol Bay, Alaska.Southwest Airlines was established in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s (depending on what benchmark you are using).But they do compete for the same dollar, so that is why we are comparing the two. Southwest Airlines is a much larger airline than Alaska Airlines. My most recent trip was on Alaska Airlines from NYC to Los Angeles. I have flown on both airlines over the years and have never had an issue with either of them. My travel snowflakes, travel normalcy is on the horizon in 2021 and you may be considering Southwest Airlines or Alaska airlines to whisk you away to your next great escape! Today, I am comparing and discussing cheap flights on both.