Amid pressure from investors (including one who is currently trying to oust chief executive Bob Jordan), Southwest Airlines (LUV) has been going through a period of transition that is not proving popular with many of its frequent customers.
The airline recently confirmed that it would be replacing its decades-old open seating policy with regular booked seats while there are already whisperers that its two-bags-regardless-of-fare-class policy may be next on the chopping block.
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But in one move to draw in customers to use its site for their wider travel journey that will be appreciated by frequent customers, Southwest is now allowing cruises to be booked through its site alongside the current flights, cars, hotels and vacation packages.
Image source: Carnival Corporation
Customers have 'access to all major cruise lines': Southwest
Such a feature is already available both with airlines that fly to popular vacation destinations and mainstream carriers such as Delta Air Lines (DAL) . The new feature is done in partnership with World Travel Holdings, a vacation booking platform commonly used to book cruises.
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"We've heard from our customers that cruises were of interest to them, and our new partnership with World Travel Holdings gives customers access to all major cruise lines, such as Carnival (CCL) , Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) , and Royal Caribbean (RCL) , to complement their travel experience on Southwest," Southwest's Vice President Of Product Development Phil Gouel said in a statement. "This partnership also gives our loyal members new ways to earn points."
The new partnership means that those who book cruises through the Southwest platform will now also earn points through the airline's Rapid Rewards loyalty program. To promote the new feature, Southwest is offering two instead of the usual one point for every dollar spent before Oct. 31.
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'Rapid Rewards points, vacation packages, car rentals and hotel bookings'
The promotion also comes alongside Southwest's annual "Week Of WOW" sale offering 40% off certain base fares and taking $250 off vacation packages with the OCTOBERSALE125 promo code. The new cruise booking feature and sale prices are available directly on Southwest.com.
"In addition to this week's sale on base fares and the cruise bookings offer, Customers can shop for additional travel offers on Rapid Rewards points, vacation packages, car rentals, hotel bookings, and more," Southwest writes of the promotion.
The change is one of several that Southwest is undertaking to turn around the string of unprofitable quarters that have been the cause of growing investor pressure.
Elliott Investment Management, which recently acquired enough stock to be able to call a special shareholder meeting in which it wants to put Jordan's and the current board's leadership under question, called the future introduction of paid seating "too little too late" and remains uncompromising in wanting to see both Jordan and most of the current board replaced by aviation insiders such as former Air Canada (ACDVF) CEO Robert Milton and Virgin America head David Cush.
Another major change recently announced by Southwest includes the introduction of red-eye flights — the carrier previously ran only flights that started and ended in the same day regardless of time zone but will now start running a few select red-eyes to different Hawaiian islands from Las Vegas and Phoenix beginning from February 2025.
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