Wright Amendment repeal, part 3: Will it really benefit the tourist/vacation traveler that much? And, is Southwest the “Amway of the airlines”?

My short answer to the first question? Probably not. And my short answer to the second question? Sure as hell sounds like it. (See below.)

Both of these are especially true if J. Gebhart, who responded to my original post about Wright repeal as currently agreed to by Southwest, American, Dallas and Fort Worth being a third of a loaf, accurately reflects Southwest business practices (re Question No. 1) and employee/corporate culture (re Question No. 2).

At the end of that post, I said that I hoped Southwest used the elimination of Wright to eventually again become an airline listed on Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, etc.

To which, Gebhart responded:

The Wright Amendment compromise won't affect Southwest refusal to allow their inventory GDS wide and on third-party services. It is about control over how their available inventory is displayed and managing customer expectations.

When some travel sites were displaying SWA fares, they were comparing different fare types. Generally they were showing more expensive and less restricted SWA fares against less expensive and more restricted participant airline fares. This made SWA look like the more expensive airline, and didn't inform customers they could get a cheaper rate going to SWA directly.

Alternatively if one service becomes a large enough portion of your sales, the extortion effect becomes possible. That service could start demanding a referral fee or a higher fee than they were already receiving. If you train your customers to go to your own distribution channel, you can prevent the threat of that possibility.

Finally southwest.com is an award winning site for clarity and ease of use, and their 800 number is always answered by humans and not voice response robots. Many of these other services have usability problems. Not all customers are savvy enough to recognize the difference and blame the third party. Customers could come to think of your company as providing this sub-standard service and negatively affect your brand image.

It is in Southwest's interest to maintain tight control of their distribution channels.

Let me, then, analyze some of his key comments.

In the first graf, he talks about managing customer expectations. This customer, me, likes the ease and convenience of being able to look up all airlines, if possible, through one, or a set of similar, travel agency websites. This customer’s loyalty is toward getting the lowest fare — with the least amount of work possible — no matter the airline. This customer’s loyalty is to himself first and NOT to Southwest Airlines.

So, if enough other customers are like me, Southwest will learn to change its management of customer expectations. Besides, I’m an analytical and skeptical enough person, I fairly quickly see through having my expectations managed by any business. Indeed, in light of details of the Wright repeal agreement, my ardor for Southwest has already cooled, and my skepticism as to how much this has been about customer expectation management has increased.

Second, in reference to Gebhart’s second graf, I’ve bought Southwest tickets online once. I’ve never bought tickets online from another airline. I do know that Southwest has a multiple fare structure which may be geared more at business travelers than tourists. I also know that both American and United’s websites, and probably other major airlines, are structured more like Travelocity et al than like Southwest, whether that’s for better or for worse. I also do know that listed prices on Travelocity et al are cheaper for the “legacy airlines” than is visiting their individual websites. Maybe Southwest is afraid of adapting enough to meet competition head-on?

Third, in response to Gebhart’s third graf, in addition to the “Big Three” of Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz, we also have Priceline and Hotwire, among others. They’re not all under the same ownership; in fact, none of them is. Now, Southwest DID have a dispute with Orbitz, which was founded by legacy airlines; however, I’m not aware of any dispute with the other online agencies. So, what I said in my graf immediately above refutes Southwest’s alleged concern for a travel agency monopoly. And, in fact, it’s arguable again, from my graf above, that Southwest only selling tickets through its own website is in fact guilty of the very thing it claims to worry about.

Also, again, note his comment about “train your customers.” This DEFINITELY sounds Amway-like.

Fourth, in the next graf, the only time I’ve spoken to a “bot” on American, Continental or United is to confirm flight time and departure gate on the date of a flight. If a bot will service me immediately, rather than waiting on the phone for a human, I’ll take the bot any time. A human just isn’t needed for such automatic services. AND, if it’s cheaper for a bot to be used, AND that savings is passed on to me, I’ll definitely take the bot. Wake up and smell the coffee, Gebhart.

Finally, Gebhart all but calls many online airline ticket buyers idiots in his next–to-last graf, and specifically, idiots who need the mind-control ministrations of Southwest “because not all customers are savvy enough.” Wow. If that’s Southwest’s idea of “managing customer service,” I take back my statement two grafs above. THIS comment is even MORE Amway-like.