Southwest Airlines has added a new feature to its popular online ticket-booking system with the addition of online car-rental reservations available with Southwest's partners, Alamo Rent A Car, Budget and the Hertz Corp.
Southwest now is seeing about 30 percent of its revenues generated through its Web site at www.southwest.com.
The addition of the rental-car service is a convenience for customers, who often want rental cars available immediately once they reach their destination, according to Southwest officials. Making the car-rental arrangements at the same time a passenger books airline tickets makes the whole process easier, officials say.
Southwest also is offering a short-time incentive: each car rental firm will double the frequent flyer credit offered through Southwest's Rapid Rewards program for cars rented through the Web site.
"You receive double credit on Hertz and Budget through Jan. 31, 2001, and Alamo through Feb. 28, 2001," according to Jill Howard-Allen, Southwest's manager of marketing automation.
The rental service was added because "it was something our customers were asking for," Howard-Allen said.
In September, Southwest added a free service to www.southwest.com titled SWABIZ, which lets companies book travel online and track it more thoroughly than they had been able to do in the past. It shows which employees traveled, when and where, departures and arrivals, costs and other information.
"It has been very successful with our business customers," said Kristin Nelson, Southwest public relations specialist.
Southwest's Salt Lake service has 37 daily non-stop departures to 14 cities, with other connecting service to 35 cities.
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