Southwest to Add New Fare Class

Southwest Airlines announced today the introduction of a new fare class, without sharing many details. The information comes from a presentation to investors Wednesday, with the “new fare product” expected to become available in mid-2022.

Currently Southwest  has three fare classes, Wanna Get Away, Anytime and Business Select. The new fares will appear in a fourth column when customers search for flights on the Southwest website. The new fares will be available across all channels for business or leisure.

Southwest Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Watterson said the new fare class will be above the airline’s lowest priced Wanna Get Away category. It will offer enhanced attributes “customers will happily pay a little bit more” for. He also said that the introduction of the new fare option does not mean that other fares will change.

Chase Co-Brand Loyalty Agreement

During the same presentation Southwest also shared some information about its Chase partnership, which is the issuer of the airline’s credit cards.

Southwest will extend its co-brand loyalty agreement with Chase, which is expected to contribute to the airlines’ profitability. No details were revealed about the agreement.

HT: USA Today