Southwest er Southworst has officially shit the bed

I have not taken a non-Southwest flight anywhere in more than a decade, probably since Southworst decided to not follow legacy airlines in not charging for checked bags.

Well, their clusterfuck decision to do that earlier this year, combined with other David Singer changes?

As of last Thursday, it was $25 cheaper, or $15 less slightly higher prices for a checked bag, to go American for my Christmas-New Year holiday. (Further Googling says the AA charges the same as Southworst if I pay online; at least on its own site, I can't tell if Southworst offers such an option.)

My one brother, long a mild to moderate road warrior for his biz, said that the AA was long cheaper for him out of St. Louis, where he lives. For me, in the past, Southworst had generally been cheaper, period, PLUS the lack of checked bag fees.

What a clusterfuck. 

I promised, in March, that when Southworst announced the end of bags fly free, I'd look at American (and others). Southworst made that easier by listing on Expedia and Travelocity, along with the other legacy airlines. The comparison is made easier there by those sites listing bag fees as you go through the price choice; Southworst doesn't do that on its own site.

Is this clusterfuckery part of the "more changes" vulture capitalist Paul Singer said he wanted in May? 

Don't forget that Southworst starts assigned seating next January. 

I'll probably eat the extra $15 if nothing else changes. Leaving an hour later is of advantage to not feel rushed. Parking at both airports is about the same; hate that Love got rid of that el cheapo remote lot on Harry Hines.

Check that. Yesterday, but a few days after I started writing this? I checked again. American had dropped about $30, and added a flight (or I missed it earlier) that runs an hour later than Southworst. Southworst, meanwhile, went UP on the old flight.

Tweeting again to Southwest with a tag got their attention. Yes, popular fares fill first. Also yes, American added a flight and dropped costs. 

That said, when the bag fee was announced, I thought the corner office people would only charge $15 for the first bag, figuring they'd retain most of their family travel biz that way while still making more money. God, Paul Singer is a Dum Fuq. 

If I'm still here in the Metromess in a couple more years, we'll see if Love's long-term expansion leads to lower parking rates, and more competition on airlines with the new terminal. We'll also see who flies out of McKinney once that has its passenger terminal open. Were I the FAA, United would get first shot among legacy airlines.

As of early this year, here's where that was at:

McKinney is in negotiations with two airlines for passenger service. Fuller says this will mean flights to major markets like Las Vegas, Orlando, Los Angeles, New York, and Denver. He noted that TKI would serve as a regional operations base for one of the airlines.

Denver? That could mean United is indeed one of the two airlines, since that's a hub. I'll take it. 

Especially with the 2023 bond issue failing (maybe they try another after commercial service opens?) this won't be big at all, but it will be something. 

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Update: Given the above, why does Southwest need to expand by 2,000 employees in Austin?