$29 flights? Southwest Airlines offering special fares for flights out of Fresno
Southwest Airlines hasn’t even started flying to and from Fresno Yosemite International Airport yet, but the company is already including the city in a new sale of special fares in California markets for travel through June.
The airline announced earlier this year that it will offer three daily nonstop flights between Fresno and Las Vegas, and one daily nonstop round trip to Denver, starting on April 25. Fresno will become the 13th California market served by Southwest.
The fare special announced by the airline is available for tickets purchased by Friday night, for travel from March 30 through June 30 with a 21-day advance purchase requirement. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for example, a flight between Fresno and Las Vegas will be as low as $29, according to the airline’s reservations website at southwest.com.
Fares are higher on other days. Seats, days and markets are limited. And sale prices for flights within the continental U.S. are blacked out over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, May 29-31.
Still, even with those limitations, the $29 fare is eye-catching – and an example of the competition that Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and the city’s airports director, Kevin Meikle, said they hoped would ensue with Southwest’s entry into the Fresno market.
“I really believe competition always causes other folks in the industry to step up their game,” Dyer said in January, when the airline announced details of its Fresno plans. “I also believe it’s going to cause them to be more competitive.”
Meikle was optimistic about competitive fares among airlines serving Fresno.
“I think we’re going to see great fares. … Maybe we’ll see some other movement with other airlines that’s going to further enhance the offerings out of our airport.”
Within weeks of Southwest’s announcement, Alaska Airlines offered a short-term promotion that included $50 fares from Fresno to Los Angeles and San Diego.
“Fares are 100% market driven, and competition driven,” Meikle said before Southwest unveiled its Fresno route plans. “I think what you’re going to find is when Southwest shows up … it’s going to help drive some competition with our other carriers.”
“The best thing we can do is foster competition, and that’s exactly what this will do,” he added.
