In a soon-to-be-released study of airline prices in 100 major markets, Topaz International has found that while many travelers expect Southwest Airlines to have the cheapest fares, that in fact is not usually the case.
But Southwest’s free baggage policy often makes it the lowest-cost solution for those who check a bag.
The Topaz study, to be officially realeased later this month, found that Southwest’s eight competitors in the 100 cities surveyed–American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, Frontier, Spirit, United Airlines, and US Airways—beat Southwest’s fares more than 60% of the time.
But since Southwest is the only airline to allow travelers to check two bags for free, it often is the smartest choice overall. The study found that when travelers check one bag, the total cost of flying Southwest beat that offlying its competitors 60% of the time. And for travelers schlepping two bags, Southwest won 88% of the time.
