I like to watch the fare prices on various routes that I fly from time to time but none more so than the Dallas to Milwaukee run.  To me, it’s an example of what real competition can do and I’ve written about it before.  You can read my earlier post HERE.

Well, I took some time to see what was going on with that route now by sample fares and flights for mid-week departures between the two cities in August.  First, the good news:  Fares are holding steady at or about $170 for advance purchase tickets. 

Second, the better news:  Airtran is using the Boeing 717 on that route already.  No SkyWest CRJ-200 regional jets, we get the real Airtran on a real aircraft that is really pretty comfortable.  I figured Airtran would move in with the larger aircraft if only to put pressure on Midwest Express.

Now some bad news:  Airtran is only flying an early morning and late afternoon flight on the DFW to MKE run.  It’s worse on the MKE to DFW segment with a plain morning departure and late evening departure.  I’m guessing it’s the best they can do for now but they’re going to need at least one more flight to make that really work.  Their current offering via Atlanta is *not* what I meant by needing another flight either.

Midwest  aka Frontier aka Republic is hanging in there.  They have 3 flights using the E-170 Embraer jets and that’s really not a bad aircraft for that route.  With 2×2 seating and a bit bigger cabin, it works for what is essentially a long and thin domestic route.  Well, long-ish anyway.  The bad news is that Midwest  aka Frontier aka Republic has its first flight on the DFW-MKE run after 10am in the morning.  That’s about 2 hours later than necessary.

American Eagle is hanging in there.  This is a route that used to often cost as much as $300 round trip just 3 years ago and that was the best fare you could get.  Often the only tickets to be had were in excess of $500 and the only choice you had was to fly to Chicago and take the bus if you wanted to save money.   But here is the interesting part:  American Eagle has its 5 flights a day and I will say they’re well laid out in terms of departure and arrival times.  However, American Eagle is now using the CRJ700 on 3 of those five flights (the remaining two use the clapped out ERJ-140)  and their fares are as competive as anyone’s. 

And then there is Southwest.  Southwest’s cheapest fares are competitive with everyone else’s and continue to be one-stop flights with no plane changes.   Those flights are now running about 3 hours, 25 minutes however and that’s a bit longer than they were taking earlier this year.   The non-stop flights of the other airlines are doing it in 2 hours, 20 minutes.   Still, they are the bargain choice for 2 reasons.  First, Love Field is cheaper to fly from for more people in the DFW area in that its taxes and fees are slightly cheaper and the travel to Love Field and parking at Love Field is cheaper too.  Second, Southwest still isn’t charging for baggage.  That means for someone checking a bag, the savings could range from $35 to nearly $80 and that’s real savings. 

In practical terms, for me as a passenger to that destination, I probably could save as much as $50 each way in “real” savings by using Southwest.  And I’d do it in the aircraft that had the *most* seat pitch of those serving the routes.  That’s worth the extra hour of transit time on a leisure flight and might just be worth it on a business flight too. Why?  Because my door to door time in the Dallas area is likely to be about the same using Love Field or DFW.  I don’t have to drive as far to Love Field airport, take as long to park and/or transit into the terminal, check in quite as early or frenetically and that amounts to probably as much as an hour gained making the trip from the door of my house to the door of my family’s homes in the MKE area about the same no matter which airport and airline I take. 

But I can save about $100 round trip if I’m flying with checked baggage and that’s a deal. 

If Airtran wants to win Miwaukee, this is an important route for them to succeed on.  They’ve got the right equipment for the route now but they’re going to have to work on their frequencies and departure times a bit to really win.  Right now, their schedule looks like a compromise.

Midwest is probably continuing to do well but let’s see how they do when the brand changes to Frontier.  I’m not saying they’re out of the game.  To the contrary, this whole competition thing on this route could end up being Midwest/Frontier and American Eagle again in a year or two.  Midwest has good frequencies, good flight times (mostly) and good service.   However, Southwest will win this route, I think, when they can start flying it non-stop But that opportunity is still 3 1/2 years away.

Filed under: Airline Fees, Airline Fleets, Airline Service by ajax