Southwest losing consumer lustre as pilots vote on integration

Two things are happening at Southwest that threaten both its consumer-friendly image and its plans to integrate AirTran into a single carrier and maximize the synergies between the two airlines.

Having built its 40-year reputation on working on behalf of the beleaguered airline passenger suffering from fees and high fares, numerous stories are appearing announcing the legacy carriers are successfully beating Southwest at its own low-fare game by consistently being cheaper than the Dallas-based airline.

Avondale Partners analyst Bob McAdoo received widespread coverage when he looked for a reason business demand at Southwest softened in the second quarter and he didn't have to go far to find out why. He suggested it might be Southwest's fare aggression.

Examining his own experience as a Southwest passenger out of Kansas City, Mr McAdoo then studied 70 routes out of eight cities, selecting both busier and less busy routes. McAdoo reported fare activity on 20 routes were not clear while in 40 of the 50 remaining routes Southwest was higher and only on 10 routes was it less expensive.