<p>So I have a big trip coming up with a lot of Southwest flights (we’re taking S on the last round of college visits). I’m kind of a worrier anyway, so all these stories about the age of their aircraft and the potential for more planes becoming convertibles at inopportune moments is making me a bit uneasy. Anyone else got Southwest flights coming up soon? Are you nervous?</p>
<p>they will probably be the safest planes in the air for a few months now.</p>
<p>On the bright side, one less possible freak accident to worry about on those 70-odd planes! DS is flying SW in a couple of weeks, and we’re flying next month. Increased nervousness. My husband was actually in the air on a SW flight Friday evening when I saw the story online - fortunately from the east to the midwest. But until I clicked on the story and saw “Yuma” I was pretty scared!</p>
<p>I just learned about a site called flightaware dot com that shows the actual model of the plane as well as tracking info - it does have info for about a day ahead so you can check. DS’s upcoming flights were 737-700’s today - don’t know if that will be true on his flights but it’s a bit reassuring. </p>
<p>And yes, it’s still 60 more times dangerous to drive. And probably more dangerous to step in a bathtub. (My mom fell in a bathtub on a cruise ship and couldn’t get up - she turned 85 yesterday - she had to yell off and on for quite a while until a room steward finally heard her from the hall.)</p>
<p>I’m flying Southwest (two legs) in about 16 hours. Not worried a bit.</p>
<p>I fly SW unless I’m leaving the country. Flew last week, will fly again next, and again in May. My peeve lately has been lack of on-time service. Each of my last 4 flights has left a minimum of 45 minutes late.</p>
<p>Just got back from a SW flight and agree. Their lateness is getting annoying. They used to be pretty good but now they seemed to be stretched so thin that anything happening anywhere in the country and they are late.</p>
<p>We were booked on a Southwest flight on Sunday afternoon. We got an email a few hours in advance saying the flight was cancelled and they were sorry if there was any inconvenience. There was a one hour wait by phone to get rebooked, which was useless because there were no other flights available that day. We had to drive a rental car for eight hours home instead. When I finally reached another Southwest rep by phone to get a refund of the cancelled tickets, she said rudely, “Well, you got home, so it all worked out.”
We have booked on Jet Blue for Memorial Day instead…I do not trust that this issue will be resolved by then.</p>
<p>Well I suppose the answer depends on whether you believe in precedent, or fate, or the law of averages. Southwest has never had a crash involving fatalities … so precedent is good. On the other hand, this is a record that can’t be improved upon … so the law of averages suggests you might want to fly another airline. When it comes to flight safety, I happen to believe in fate. [Full disclosure: I prefer Southwest Airlines.]</p>
<p>I fly Southwest whenever I can and, in fact, have a flight tomorrow morning. I’m not worried and it looks like most of the cancellation issues are finished. Anyone who thinks there is a better domestic airline simply must not travel very much. Word.</p>
<p>Complete hysteria. Just like H1N1, radiation, etc, etc. </p>
<p>Go ahead and fly.</p>
<p>Southwest probably has the safest fleet right now… I hope Alaska is checking their 737s thoroughly.</p>
<p>Just like the aging aircraft problems, H1N1 and radiation are real issues; unfortunately, the press has blown them out of proportion and created panic among not so well educated in these issues population.</p>
<p>I thought it was ridiculous when Southwest cancelled my flight and suggested a flight several days later as an alternative. The first call center representative tried to blame weather, which was not plausible on a sunny California day.</p>
<p>That 737 was not really that old, less than 20 years. Consider, we still have KC-135 tankers being flown by the Air Force (about 60 years old). But Southwest does abuse their airplanes, alot of takeoff and landing cycles.</p>
<p>A hole in the fuselage is pretty dire, that could have gone terribly bad. It’s going to take awhile for them to get all those inspections done, they have alot of 737’s. But it seems unlikely that there will be a mad rush of metal fatigue on their other airplanes, it could have just been one that the mechanics did a poor job inspecting.</p>
<p>Take comfort in that they have very experienced, competent crews, who landed at an unfamiliar airfield in a hurry. And maybe tickets prices will go down.</p>
<p>busdriver, I have complete confidence in the pilots, I’m wondering about the maintenance guys though, especially since I’m reading that a lot of the maintenance is done outside the US, in places where unannounced inspections are not allowed. But I imagine the pilots wouldn’t fly if they had concerns, so… hell, I’m just going to drink myself silly and wake up when we land.</p>
<p>“But I imagine the pilots wouldn’t fly if they had concerns, so… hell, I’m just going to drink myself silly and wake up when we land.”</p>
<p>Well, though, they have to get a paycheck. And a pilot can’t walk away from the aircraft because he is concerned about metal fatigue (he can walk away if he’s concerned about personal fatigue, though). You can’t really see it just walking around an airplane. But these airplanes just don’t start falling out of the sky, there’s so many other random things that could possibly go wrong but rarely do…you really are in more danger in your car. Especially after your flight, if you’re DRUNK!</p>
<p>Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re going to be all over it now, and hopefully the local unions can start getting a little more work. I’m with you there on the “drink yourself silly and wake up when you land!” A couple of glasses of wine will definitely take the edge off.</p>
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<p>Huh? Southwest doesn’t fly anywhere outside the US.</p>
<p>Actually, my flight from Nashville to Chicago last night was delayed about ten minutes because they were waiting for arrival of a part they were taking to the Chicago maintenance facility.</p>
<p>Boeing has come out and announced none of this is Southwest’s fault. They report they underestimated the amount of flights it would take for this kind of problem to arise. </p>
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<p>Well, there was a fatality in Chicago several years ago when a Southwest flight overran the runway and crashed through the fence at the end of the runway and onto Cicero Ave, crashing into a car and killing the driver.</p>
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<p>and hopefully see someone a tad more competent checking the work they actually do …</p>
<p>OK, to be fair to Southwest, Boeing did not expect this particular failure mode at this point in that type of aircraft. Southwest probably found it first because they run so many short flights where the planes are cycled repeatedly through takeoff and landings. And their maintenance locations are in a number of US cities – Dallas, Houston, Baltimore, Chicago,…-- they’re not flying planes overseas for maintenance. </p>
<p>But… H is taking a Southwest flight Friday afternoon, and I hope we get some notice if they need to cancel or reschedule it – anyone know if they are they writing tickets over to other airlines?</p>
<p>We’re big, big Southwest fans, and I say that as a kid who’s parents both worked for one of the major airlines. Nice people, great service, and fabulous policies. I still don’t understand why the other airlines haven’t done more to be like them. (I particularly love the ability to cancel a flight segment with no penalty, as well as the baggage policy.)</p>
<p>arabrab - They are back to their full schedule as of today (maybe yesterday).</p>
<p>"I’m reading that a lot of the maintenance is done outside the US </p>
<p>Huh? Southwest doesn’t fly anywhere outside the US."</p>
<p>But they ferry some of their planes to San Salvador for heavy maintenance work, and have since July 2009, because it’s cheaper. Mechanics earn less than 15K/yr there. It saves alot of money, and other American carriers outsource maintenance work also.</p>