Southwest Airlines

[buckguy]

They live up to their hype in Texas, but the when I've flown them on the East Coast and in the Midwest, the service has been somewhere between forgettable to terrible; they've been right up there with the worst of them in handling delayed flights. After years of backpacker traveling, I've gotten so that I rarely have a bag to check and get everything into a carryon and maybe a computer bag, I've gotten so that I rarely check bags, so the 2 free bags isn't an enticement for me.

[Electra 225]

I've been flying Southwest since their earliest days when they only served Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas and it cost $15.00 (full fare) to fly from Houston Hobby (HOU) to Dallas Love (LUV). I use them almost exclusively as they are more convenient for me for flights to and from Houston to the places I go most often. I fly them two to four times a month (round trip) and have rarely had any problems. Do note, however, that the later in the day (and especially in the evening/night) the more the flight departure times seem to be delayed by an hour or more (they try to turn around quickly, but getting that done and off the ground can be difficult and delays have a way of compounding over the course of a day). I usually depart in the morning and return in the evening if it is a one-day trip. Longer trips mean I usually depart from both ends of the trip in the morning.

[+ ArVaGuy]

Deej

 

Do you have some vendetta against KMEM? What's the deal? For a while now it appears you've been baiting him and trying to manufacture an excuse to issue a time out. You are labeling him a troll which he most certainly is not as evidenced by his many valuable contributions posting here for years. Are you that intimidated by him that you are trying to drive him out? Is the fact that KMEM is politically conservative and differs with liberal gay orthodoxy you and others espouse here the reason for this vendetta? If not, it sure looks that way. The activity on this board appears to be declining of late. The last thing I'd hate to see is that there is a concerted effort to drive off a valuable contributor.

 

QUOTE=deej;842250]http://www.dfapam.com/pics/troll.jpg

[+ Cock Eyed Optimist]

"Down to Business" has a good summary of the best points. If you don't opt for the Early Bird option ($10), plan to check in online EXACTLY 24 hours before your departure. The numbers for places in line are assigned (after the Early Birds) as first-come, first-served. So if you hit the "Check In" button at exactly 24 hours before your flight, you will get a lower number.

 

As Mikey used to say, "Try it, you'll like it!"

[whipped guy]

Due to the impending weather event in the Northeast I had to alter some travel plans Scheduled for this weekend. I opted to call SW. They answered within one minute and within five minutes rebooked my flight and sent me an email confirmation and the rebooking did not cost me a dime. I am sure that with any other airline I would have been on hold for hours... Almost too easy!!!

[GoodFella69]

2012 Airline Quality Rankings

 

Below is this year's ranking of the nation's leading 18 airlines, according to the Airline Quality Rating. Th "AQR" is highly regarded by the FAA and is closely-watched by many of us working in the commercial aviation industry. The 20th annual national Airline Quality Rating, published jointly by Purdue University and Wichita State University, ranks the nation's leading airlines based on a variety of criteria including on-time arrivals, involuntary denied boardings, mishandled baggage and a combination of 12 customer complaint categories. Southwest has been consistently ranked in the "Top 7" for all 20 years of the rankings. AirTran, SWA's recently-acquired partner airline, is ranked #1.

 

1. AirTran

 

2. Hawaiian

 

3. JetBlue

 

4. Frontier

 

5. Alaska

 

6. Delta

 

7. Southwest

 

8. US Airways

 

9. SkyWest

 

10. American

 

11. Continental

 

12. United

 

13. Atlantic Southeast

 

14. Mesa

 

15. American Eagle

 

Source: http://www.airlinequalityrating.com/reports/2012aqr.pdf

[KMEM]

I'll fly with you anytime.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[gp0560]

Good tips for the SW neophyte. Thanks, guys. Sounds as if the Early Bird is an option I'll use. And I'll break my shuffleboard stick over the head of any jolly person within range.

[unsub2O17]

One final thing. I've had a great experience with SWA when they overbooked and asked for volunteers to give up their seat in exchange for a free hotel stay-over, a first flight out in the morning (very low number), AND a credit which made a second trip possible for free. They got the whole thing done in 15 minutes, and I had a great time on my later free trip. BTW, the only group activity I've ever had on SW was singing "Happy Birthday" to a very embarrassed 13 yo. Happy flying.

[whipped guy]

Well... as alluded to above my "rescheduled due to the blizzard flight" is this Monday. Usually the only out-of-the-ordinary thing I have experienced with SW is a bit of joking around by the flight attendants during the pre-flight instructions... and some of the jocularity can really be a hoot designed to put some of the more tense passengers at ease... and regarding a hoot...

 

If I experience a hootenanny at 35,000 feet I will duly report.

[gp0560]

If I experience a hootenanny at 35,000 feet I will duly report.

 

If I have to hoot a nanny, SW is not for me!

[+ ArVaGuy]

Though a lot of my colleagues fly SW for business, it just is not my preferred airline for that purpose. It once took me a combined seven hours to fly to Detroit. From DC or rather BWI. The amount of time wasted was not appealing from a business efficiency stand point. And I let the idiot manager know the waste of time was not worth it versus the low ticket price.

[+ Axiom2001]

I use Southwest almost exclusively. Lately, I haven't found that they're particularly cheaper than other airlines, but they're remarkably prompt and efficient. Baggage is handled roughly, but they're very generous with carry on so go that way if you can. If you want your pick of seat, opt for what's called the "early bird" offer (usually $10 each way). Otherwise, be sure to check-in as close to 24 hr. before take-off time as possible. Their rewards card (Visa) does give free flights, but, again, not particularly generously. They do serve drinks, but only small snacks for food (peanuts, pretzels, cheeze-its), so bring your own for a longer flight. There's only one class of seats, but they're roomy enough for me. Not that many non-stops unless you're only traveling about 500 miles. They're informal, but I find them fun.

 

I sanction and ditto everything that you wrote. American Airlines was my "choice" airline of the past;today it's Southwest.