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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Southwest Effect

You've probably heard of The Southwest Effect. Of course you have, it's got a Wikipedia page. This is when a certain carrier enters a market and miraculously brings low fares to the previously persecuted denizens of the region. Not unlike a Robin Hood for air passengers.

We always kind of figured there was a little bit of bravado in such claims. Consider it a touch of marketing for the good ole boys to discuss at Rotary meetings in Podunk, USA. No longer. A colleague was buying flights to Minneapolis (MSP) from Chicago this week, a day tripper, business meeting. It resulted in a severe pain in the wallet, and he came to FMV for help.

As it turns out, help is on the way. Do yourself a favor, and spot check CHI-MSP fares, using the distribution channel of your choice, for a day-trip in February. Then lather, rinse, and repeat in March. Chart it all up, and you'll probably find something like this:



Look at that. You can go ahead and guess the general date that the market welcomes a new entrant. Or maybe the winter tourism business drops off in March or something. Draw your own conclusion, but Minneapolis probably hasn't been this happy since Garrison Keiller moved to Lake Woebegon. And now we're believers.

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