Does that "average fare" on Continental include international? If so it cannot be used as a comparison since Southwest only flies domestically. If it is an average of just domestic fares it still cannot be used for comparison since Continental sells first class tickets while Southwest aircraft are in an all economy configuration. Additionally Southwest doesn't operate a lot of long-haul flights preferrring instead to force long-haul passengers to make at least one and sometimes two connections. As a result the fares on the short haul flights are usually a lot cheaper. They also do a lot of intra-state flying in Texas and California where fares are dirt cheap because they want people to buy a plane ticket rather than a bus ticket or drive. (That last sentence was paraphrasing a quote from Herb Kelleher, Southwest's former president/CEO) Heck I can buy a ticket on Southwest for a flight tomorrow to Las Vegas, $150, San Diego, $137, or Los Angeles, $147. All three flights are less than an hour in duration and the only reason they can sell them so cheap is that for the most part the passengers all start somewhere other than Phoenix and connect. They are just selling seats that would otherwise go empty and the fare structure reflects that.
No matter what "averages" you pull out of their financial reports you just can't make a comparison between Continental or any other legacy and Southwest based solely on those numbers.
|