Sales Force Pitches Airline To Corporate Travelers
They've put the plan in motion... now, they have to sell it.
Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines has dispatched a
newly-bulked-up sales force throughout the country, in an attempt
to woo the business travelers the airline recently revamped its
very corporate culture to attract.
As ANN reported, Southwest
announced earlier this month it will move away from its former
"family-friendly" image, in hopes of attracting more travelers
flying on business trips. Those passengers typically fly on
short-notice, often on their company's dime... and pay higher fares
than the airline's usual clientele.
"That is admittedly the customer that is harder to win,"
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told The Wall Street Journal.
To attract those fliers, the airline unveiled a "Business
Select" fare: for a $10-$30 premium over the cost of a regular,
full-fare ticket, travelers will receive a guaranteed "A" group
boarding pass; extra Rapid Rewards credits; a free drink coupon;
and the option of a full refund or changeable fare if they need to
cancel their trip. Southwest will also reward its most frequent
fliers, who fly 32 flight segments per year, with "A-List"
status... who will be automatically checked in for their
flights.
To spread the word, Southwest has launched an aggressive
advertising campaign... including not only television and print
ads, but also direct appeals to companies that often send employees
on corporate trips. The airline has dispatched a 15-member sales
force to a dozen US cities, to drum up business for the new
program.
Earlier this month, Southwest sales rep Tony Roach lured travel
managers for 14 businesses to Houston, for a white-tablecloth lunch
at the Hotel Derek -- if you have to ask for room rates there, you
probably can't afford it -- to make his pitch to win their
business.
Results from that lunch were mixed, according to the WSJ.
Phyllis Morrow, who handles travel for CenterPoint Energy Inc.,
told Roach she sees little benefit to the airline's program... as
all it would mean for the company is higher air fares, at the
expense of low-fare travelers. Roach replied anyone flying more
than 16 round-trip flights per year would qualify for such perks as
preferential boarding.
Some at the lunch meeting saw the benefits. Toni Henderson,
corporate travel manager for Rimkus Consulting Group, notes
Business Select perks are "only $10 to $15 more one way" than what
the company typically pays for last-minute air fares.
Many in the industry caution Southwest on putting all its eggs
in the business-traveler basket, at the expense of its
bread-and-butter customers.
"It is integrity, really, that's at stake," said corporate
advisor Jim Kane, a partner in the consulting firm Brookeside
Group. The airline runs the risk of alienating its core clientele,
Kane added... and as Southwest shifts its focus, "opinions and
perceptions will change."
Leisure travelers -- once attracted
to Southwest's low-fare structure -- may be dismayed when they
check the airline's revamped website for airfares, only to learn of
the three new fare categories, "two of them aren't them," said
travel agent Steve Danishek of Seattle-based TMA Travel. More
business-oriented seats also means fewer seats available at lower
fares... and those customers may look elsewhere, instead of paying
a premium.
In fact, Danishek adds, that's already happened. Michele
Copeland, who tried to book seats for her family last month on
Southwest for a return trip from a cruise, found the airline's
"Wanna Get Away" fares already sold out for the date she planned to
travel -- leaving only business fares available.
"I felt cheated," said Copeland. "There was nothing available
for a good price, only business fares." Danishek wound up booking
the Copelands on United... for over $100 less per seat than
Southwest's available fares.