In one corner is the newcomer from Dallas, touting free checked bags, no change fees and seat-yourself boarding.
In the other corner is the hometown giant boasting of its cushy first class cabins and 1,000 daily flights from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to cities all over the world.
The prize is the Atlanta flier.
Dallas-based Southwest and Atlanta-based Delta airlines are waging their 2012 Battle of Atlanta on the airwaves, on billboards and online. It’s driven by Southwest’s launch of service at Hartsfield-Jackson in February and Delta counterpunching to defend its citadel hub.
Delta needles Southwest and its all coach seating in an ad: "Improving first class begins by offering one." Ouch!
Southwest has its own zinger on checked luggage: "Say bye-bye to bag fees, Atlanta." Oh, snap!
Southwest is introducing itself to the Atlanta market as it takes over AirTran Airways and gradually replaces AirTran service with its own planes and way of doing business.
“Southwest has very much made its presence known and we will continue to do that,” said Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins.
Delta’s ads are a variation on its national “Keep Climbing” campaign, but clearly tailored to the new local competition.
Ken Bernhardt, marketing professor at Georgia State University, said the competing ads are aimed at travelers who aren’t buying solely on price, with each airline showing off what else they offer and appealing to different target markets.
He doesn’t expect the battle to translate into what many fliers probably hope for most: fare wars.
“People who believe that fares are going to be lower because Southwest has entered the market are going to be disappointed,” Bernhardt said. Because of high fuel costs, “you’re going to see them rising, not dropping.”
Along with the ads, each airline offers a web page targeted at Atlanta travelers.
Delta touts itself as “Atlanta’s Hometown Airline.” It even trademarked the phrase, having filed for the rights in late 2010, a few weeks after Southwest announced it was buying AirTran.
The page also mentions its expanded first class and a free first checked bag for SkyMiles American Express card holders, among other amenities.
Southwest’s web page is part promotion, part education for Atlantans -- starting with its “Bags Fly Free” line, also trademarked.
Though it doesn’t offer first class and is ditching AirTran’s old business class, Southwest makes a bid for business travelers with its no change fees policy giving them more flexibility. It also offers “Business Select” fares with extra amenities such as free drinks, priority seating and security lane access and extra frequent flier points.
The education part comes under the heading “Southwest Travel Experience.”
“We like to do things differently than ‘the other guys,’” it explains.
Among those differences are an open seating system -- passengers board by zones and then pick whatever seat they want. Southwest also is not listed with online travel agencies like Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz. Southwest’s website is the only place travelers can book flights online -- one reason Southwest advertises more heavily than other carriers.
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