I never fly Southwest because I hate their system. (I fly for business a lot and I want to pick my seat.) But when I am flying for personal reasons, I can deal with it if it means saving money. But every time I look at them, they are TWICE the price of any other airline! Right now, PIT-SFO is $600 round-trip on any other airline out there, but Southwest is $600 FOR EACH LEG! Why would anyone pay double to fly on SouthWest? And how do they call themselves a lo-cost airline?
How far in advance are you looking?
After all the other fees and realizing that you have to be at the airport at 2:holyberk30 AM to fly the other guys, you happily pay the money and have a great flight experience. They also never lose your E36 M3 or leave you in Detroit for a week.
In reply to Javelin:
Actually we have had them loose E36 M3. Specifically they have lost our detection dogs not once but twice.
rebelgtp wrote: In reply to Javelin: Actually we have had them loose E36 M3. Specifically they have lost our detection dogs not once but twice.
Were they able to find their way back home?
Where I live, the only choice is Alaska Airlines. And that's just fine by me honestly, they fly everywhere I need to get to it seems or have partners that do, the people working have always been nice, and being an Alaska resident gets you 2 free checked bags and other perks on the mileage plan. I do wish the fares were cheaper between here and Anchorage and here and Seattle... it's pretty much $500-600 one way to get anywhere in the lower 48 and $300 round trip to Anchorage at best.
I always hated flying Southwest aka cattle car airlines, but it was usually all I could afford so if I wanted to go I flew with them.
Up until about 9 months ago I was I was on a plane 3 times a year or more. I always shop around, I try to travel light, if it's just me I'll likely only have a carry on & laptop bag, so baggage fees are/were moot. I usually get the best rate at Southwest, but shopping around, excluding baggage fees, I found myself on American fairly often and even Delta a time or two.
I've never had just outstanding service from any airline. Though American helped me get on another flight, with a competing airline, Delta, when my American flight to Little Rock, that was supposed to layover in Chicago, got canceled due ice/snow storm at O'hare, they got me on a Delta flight going through Memphis instead. I thought that was pretty nice.
In reply to skierd:
I've always thought Alaska Airlines was ridiculous, they have a pretty good racket/monopoly on that part of the country. I've flown into Ketchikan a few times. The series of flights it takes to get from Little Rock to Sea-Tac usually costs about 1/2 as much as the one ~40 min flight from Sea-Tac to Ketchikan.
I used to business travel a lot, and Southwest's cheapest pricing tier was consistently cheaper than most everyone.
I'll pay the extra $15 for the jump the line fee that automatically checks you in (in sequence of people who paid that fee) so I get a first boarding group slot.
I did 4 legs from BWI to SAN early this year w/ my wife. We checked in at different times and she was always behind me in line - each time I grabbed an exit row middle of 3 seat, put my hoodie up and shades on, Unabomber style, and rocked back and forth muttering to myself 'til she boarded. Then she'd take the aisle and I'd take the window.
Worked every time, and it was kind of fun.
Depends where you are going and your alternatives. Southwest is great for shorter hops across the southern US and in and out of certain airports. Houston to Seattle, for example, not so much. They don't have direct flights everywhere, so you'll find yourself changing planes a couple of times if you're not playing their system right.
For example, if I want to fly between Dallas and Houston (and often do) there is a flight every 30 minutes versus 3 flights a day via the competition. It is reliable enough that I can go in the morning and be sure I'll be home in the evening. And even on longer trips it beats the hell out of United, which is typically my other choice. Being able to select your seat is not nearly worth the sadistic, pocket-picking dance United puts you through.
And, as pointed out, fares on Southwest vary considerably depending on your time horizon. If you buy a couple weeks out you get the best fares. If you buy a couple days before you're gonna pay through the noise.
They treat their employees well and their employees generally treat their customers well. They fly only one type of airliner to better manage maintenance costs and outages. Yeah, you have to line up for a seat and you don't always get your preference, but if you use them for what they're best at, you'll be on that plane for less than 2.5 hours, anyway.
1988RedT2 wrote:rebelgtp wrote: In reply to Javelin: Actually we have had them loose E36 M3. Specifically they have lost our detection dogs not once but twice.Were they able to find their way back home?
One took half a day to get back to us another took two days! We immediately took him to a vet after that.
I just checked Southwest again for some upcoming trips, and I swear that I am missing something. Usair, Delta and United all do the same thing, they show a price when you select the departure leg (say $320) and a then a price for the return leg that ($350) This second price is actually the updated total price that you will pay if going round trip. You can adjust it a bit by departing off-peak or on a different day,
Southwest does a similar thing, except that the $350 price for each leg are ADDED together, resulting in a price that is double anyone else. Their fares for each leg are right in line with the other guys, except the other guys never add their prices together. I have checked several times on several routes, and always come out at least twice what anyone else offers.
I always fly out of Atlanta, and thus always fly Delta. We just booked a trip in December to Ft Lauderdale for work and it was under $400 round trip. For first class. I just got back from St. Louis and I paid the upgrade for first out of my own pocket since it was $59 for the round trip upgrade.
They ain't great, but they've always gotten me there.
I'm with ya, pinchvalve. I hate flying Southwest. I fly 3-5 times per year, and avoid them whenever possible. The hurry up and wait seating model is a joke. Ironically, I have a flight at 9pm tonight to go from ATL to BOS for the LeMons race. I'm flying...yup...Southwest. The one and only reason I'm with them is because I flew AirTran over the summer. My return trip home had a 14+ hour delay due to mechanical issues with the plane, so they gave me a big voucher for my next flight. Since Soutwest owns AirTran and is phasing them out, I had no choice. Keeping my fingers crossed that it's not a debacle.
Boo hoo. You're flying. In an airplane. In an airplane traveling at better than 500kts above 30,000 ft.You will arrive at your destination in a few hours.
Sit back and marvel at that.
Appleseed wrote: Boo hoo. You're flying. In an airplane. In an airplane traveling at better than 500kts above 30,000 ft.You will arrive at your destination in a few hours. Sit back and marvel at that.
LOL.
http://youtu.be/KpUNA2nutbk?t=3m49s
I fly for business 6-8 times per year and personal a couple more usually. I have the worst luck with American...delays, cancellations, lost luggage, etc. These days I just try not to book them at all. Southwest isn't bad as long and you check in 24 hours ahead, so you can get in an early boarding group. Either that or pay for the upgrade.
By far the best thing I've done is pay the $85 to get TSA pre-approved, so I can get the short security lines and not have to worry about getting half undressed and taking my laptop out. Plus once you're pre-approved it lasts for 5 years.
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