2 Rivals Match Some Fare Cuts by Southwest

A mini-fare war broke out Friday in the Southwest as competitors of Southwest Airlines matched the Dallas-based carrier’s $20 one-way deep discount fares.

On Thursday, Southwest Airlines cut its fares between Phoenix and seven cities, including Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego and Ontario. America West, Southwest’s major competitor, on Friday matched fares between Phoenix and six of the cities, but it declined to apply the discount to the Phoenix-Oakland route. Delta Air Lines also said it would match the fares, but on a much more limited basis.

The cuts also apply to fares from Phoenix to El Paso, Las Vegas and Reno and from Las Vegas to Reno and San Diego.

A typical one-way fare between Phoenix and El Paso or San Diego or Los Angeles would range from $49 to $51. There are no restrictions on the discounted fares except that they must be purchased through Jan. 20 for travel between Jan. 3 and April 5.

“I don’t think this is starting a price war,” said Dik Shimizu, a spokesman for Phoenix-based America West. “I think it is a continuation of an extremely low pricing environment and high competition between America West and Southwest.” America West is dominant on some of the routes and Southwest on others.

Southwest said it initiated the fare cuts to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

“Because of Southwest’s financial strength, we are able to say ‘thanks’ to our customers in such a big way through this special fare,” said Don Valentine, Southwest’s vice president of marketing. A Southwest spokeswoman, Melanie Jones, said another reason was because “we are preparing for the first (1991) quarter, which is typically slow. The matching does not surprise me. Most airlines try to remain competitive on fares they have in common.”

Delta is a minor player on some of the routes subject to discounting. It has four non-stop round trips between Phoenix and Los Angeles. Between Phoenix and Las Vegas it has only two round trips. It says that it will respond to the Southwest fares only in those two markets and not on all flights.

Delta spokesman William Berry said the Atlanta-based carrier will match the low fares on only two flights between Phoenix and Los Angeles in each direction. But it will offer the discounted fare only on one of its Las Vegas to Phoenix flights.

“In all cases the seats will be limited,” Berry said.