Southwest Airlines just announced a monumental shift in its passenger experience. The Dallas-based carrier said on July 25 that it plans to soon introduce seat assignments, as well as premium extra-legroom areas on board its fleet of narrow-body aircraft.
Southwest Airlines sees 'daylight' with extra flights for Taylor Swift US tour dates
12.07.2024 - 20:26 / thepointsguy.com
Southwest Airlines is the latest airline to jump into its Swiftie era.
The airline will add a dozen flights to its schedule in October as Taylor Swift's Eras Tour returns to the U.S. following a summer of shows across Europe.
The additions will come in South Florida and New Orleans as the tour visits the two areas in late October. The full list of extra flights is:
Thursday, Oct. 17
Sunday, Oct. 20
Thursday, Oct. 24
Friday, Oct. 25
Sunday, Oct. 27
Following New Orleans, the tour heads to Indianapolis for three performances at Lucas Oil Stadium. Southwest has not added flights to Indianapolis International Airport (IND) yet — while the airline has seen significant spikes in flight searches and bookings for the first two stops, there hasn't been as much of a surge for IND, a carrier spokesperson said. The airline may add flights to IND if that changes, the spokesperson added.
After Indianapolis, the tour heads north of the border for a series of dates in Canada in November.
Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG's free biweekly Aviation newsletter.
It's common for airlines to add a handful of flights or frequencies to support major events, ranging from sports finals to large conventions like the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Perhaps the industry could coin it "the Taylor Swift effect" — a play on "the Southwest effect" terminology introduced in the 1990s when Southwest emerged as a disrupter in the airline industry.
Similarly, the Taylor Swift effect has had an outsize impact on airlines and the broader travel industry. During the first U.S. segment of The Eras Tour, Southwest saw more than a 10% increase in bookings in most concert markets on the dates surrounding the show, a carrier spokesperson said.
Elsewhere, the tour boosted hotel demand in Asia last year, while search volume for Airbnb listings in Europe coinciding with Taylor Swift concerts was up 70% in June. Search volume was up even higher for the U.S. dates.
In September, the U.S. Travel Association reported that the total economic impact of the tour likely exceeded $10 billion when considering direct travel expenses and indirect spending, while a QuestionPro report found that the tour had a total of $5 billion in direct impact on the economies of 20 different cities visited by the first U.S. tour.
As airlines struggle with higher costs and a softening domestic revenue market, the boost from the Taylor Swift effect clearly helps to fill a blank space.
Related reading:
The website maxtravelz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Autors
Popular Topics
nytimes.com
25.07.2024 / 19:57
Southwest Airlines Will End Its Longstanding Open-Seating Policy
Southwest Airlines will start assigning seats to passengers, ending its longstanding policy of allowing passengers to pick their seats once they have boarded, the airline said on Thursday.
travelandleisure.com
25.07.2024 / 17:31
This Airline Just Launched $52 Flights To Jamaica, Cancun, and More
A low-cost airline is on the move with new routes and flight deals. Avelo Airlines, based in Houston, recently announced a major expansion with its first international destinations of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Cancun, Mexico.
skift.com
25.07.2024 / 12:23
American Airlines Sees Profits Sink by 46% in the Second Quarter
American Airlines’ profits dipped significantly in the second quarter as it seeks to recover from a controversial distribution strategy that led to the departure of its chief commercial officer.
thepointsguy.com
23.07.2024 / 19:20
American Airlines adds new domestic destination in Southern California
American Airlines is growing its domestic operation with the addition of a new destination.
breakingtravelnews.com
22.07.2024 / 19:33
June was another record month for Ontario International Airport with 652,000 passengers
Passenger volume at Ontario International Airport (ONT) climbed to a new record in June, topping 652,000 and eclipsing the previous record of 618,000 set just one month before, officials announced.
insider.com
21.07.2024 / 17:18
Southwest Airlines blames the boiling summer heat for exploding soda cans that have injured 20 flight attendants
The sweltering summer heat has caused an unexpected problem for flight attendants: exploding soda cans.
insider.com
21.07.2024 / 11:39
I took my daughters to see Taylor Swift. It was cheaper than a typical family vacation and more fun.
"I'm not spoiling my children; I'm making deposits of joy," that's what I recited to myself silently as I clicked on four tickets for Taylor Swift's one-night-only Eras Tour appearance in Cardiff, Wales.
skift.com
19.07.2024 / 23:47
American Airlines Reaches Deal With Flight Attendants
American Airlines struck a tentative deal with its flight attendants union, ending years of contentious negotiations.
insider.com
19.07.2024 / 12:58
Some airports were forced to use whiteboards to handwrite flight information due to the global IT outage
Staff at several airports had to handwrite flight information on whiteboards due to a worldwide IT outage.
travelandleisure.com
17.07.2024 / 18:35
This Major Frontier Sale Has 75% Off Flights Right Now — When to Book
While Amazon’s Prime Day may have deals for just about everything, travel brands are jumping in on the excitement with deals of their own. Frontier Airlines recently introduced a “Primetime Deals” fare sale with a fun nod to the shopping extravaganza. Travelers can take advantage of the fare sale by purchasing tickets on Frontier's website and using the promotional code PRIME. Travelers can save 75 percent on base fares of tickets through August 18, 2024, and then also save 50 percent on base fares for flights through November 13, 2024, which makes it a great option for booking a fall or early winter getaway. The fare sale ends at 11:59pm EST on July 18, 2024, and the fare sale has limited days that the tickets can be purchased for, such as travel only on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Frontier also excluded several popular routes from the promotion including Atlanta to/from Las Vegas, Dallas to/from Seattle, Fort Lauderdale to/from Philadelphia, and others listed on the sale's page.Travel + Leisure spotted a variety of deals when using the promotion code including:
insider.com
16.07.2024 / 23:22
Taylor Swift U.S. tickets cost $1,832. I saw The Eras Tour in Amsterdam for $384. Credit card points covered almost everything else.
Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate credit cards to write unbiased product reviews.