<p>I know many of you are loyal to Southwest as I am. Got an email this morning that they’re going to acquire AirTran. Can’t wait to see how this all plays out in the markets Southwest isn’t officially in yet!</p>
<p>As an Atlanta area resident, I am DELIGHTED. When the deal with Frontier airlines didn’t go through, you could almost hear the collective sigh of disappointment in Atlanta–so many of us were hungry for SW to be in our market.</p>
<p>Maybe this deal will work and finally, we’ll have access to Southwest. Not a moment too soon.</p>
<p>My mom will be :(. As residents of Ft. Myers, FL they liked having 2 options for getting to us at BWI. But then they had one bad experience on SWA and now only fly AirTran. So now they’ll only have one choice; their unpopular choice. Let the griping begin. :p</p>
<p>Our very close friend is a Southwest Capt. He has stated the reason they went this route is because it was the only way to acquire gates at certain airports. That’s the system…SW couldn’t get into certain markets because other companies owned the gates.</p>
<p>For the DC area I don’t see a big impact on commercial flyers because SWA flies out of Dulles and BWI, but not Reagan, and that is where ATA flew out of. HOWEVER, fiscally it is a very smart decision because the govt and DoD now will use SWA since ATA no longer exists. SWA flies to their big contracting worlds, such as FL, TX, NV and CA.</p>
<p>I always check out SW first for my frequent flights up and down California. Just lately though, I’ve noticed that United has actually been cheaper on some days. What’s up with that I wonder?</p>
<p>SWA buys their fuel far out, thus, when the gas prices are high and they bought when it was low they are okay. However, if the gas prices increase and then drop they are boffed. It is a fuel issue.</p>
<p>Ah, thank you for the explanation. I really like SW and life was easy when I didn’t even need to check elsewhere for the best fare.</p>
<p>Same here, puzzled, I have always used SWA for flights up & down the west coast, but the past 4 years oft times Alaska is cheaper and that includes using the local small town airport instead of shuttling to a big city</p>
<p>Virgin America serves some left coast markets, SF, LA and Seattle with more on the way…</p>
<p>It means higher rates than would otherwise be available. It also means more profits for airlines.</p>
<p>Puzzled - don’t forget; with SWA if you buy your flight and the price drops, you can rebook it for a credit. Their prices do sometimes drop.</p>
<p>I love this! SWA is my favorite and it will be great for them to fly into Atlanta!</p>
<p>I have done that JustAMom and it is one of the many things I like about SWA. Along with Jet Blue, they are still my favorite.</p>
<p>The latest flight I was searching for was a Thanksgiving trip but while UA was cheaper than SWA, I finally decided to use mileage because $300 was just too much for a flight that normally costs around $100. I’ve always heard that if a 25,000 mile flight costs more than $250, it makes sense to use miles. Is that still true?</p>
<p>Puzzled:</p>
<p>Generally the rule I use is that miles are worth 2 cents. So a 25000 trip = $500 worth of miles. The 2 cents figure is one that is pretty widely used by frequent fliers.</p>
<p>As of a couple of weeks ago, United was running a sale where shorter flights were less miles. Not sure if that is still on - but you might want to double check.</p>
<p>I have never found SW to be a good price when I have been pricing tickets. I have checked priced 3-4 times this year for my son when he has had interviews and have been surprised at how high SW has been. Are they just good for certain routes or in certain areas?</p>
<p>and we still won’t get SW in Newark…or anywhere close to bring down our fares…oh well…</p>
<p>It may be location. I also have not found SW to be competitive with other airlines – but I prefer to fly out of SFO, maybe from other airports it is different. I’m usually flying from one major hub to another major hub (SFO to LAX, JFK, etc.) – so lots of competition, many direct non stop flights to choose from. </p>
<p>I do fly SW to some areas though – in fact, I’ve booked on SW to Chicago next week. It was a late booking, so perhaps it was cheaper because of the timing. </p>
<p>The other issue for me is that I can get direct, nonstop flights on Virgin to my 2 most frequent destinations (NY & Seattle) – whereas SW connections hop & stop all over the place, and I’d rather spend less time on the ground at airports and get to my destination faster. And Virgin has a really great frequent flyer plan, – I only signed up for it at the beginning of this year, and I’ve already got enough points for my third free flight - and wi fi on board, which is nice for me on those cross-country flights. </p>
<p>But then, if I am flying to a destination not served by hub airports, none of the airlines will have direct flights, and SW is more likely to have a flight that makes some sense in the routing, as opposed to flying out to a hub airport that is 600 miles beyond my destination and then having to fly back the way I came to get to where I’m going. Even if another airline is cheaper, when I factor in time and convenience, SW is then the way to go. </p>
<p>Also, SW really has the best collateral fare policies. Right after I booked my Chicago flight, I was asked by the people on the other end if I could possibly book an earlier flight – so I went online at SW and changed flights – it only cost me $9 more for the change. Any other airline would have charged a $50 change fee. Also, even though the fares are nonrefundable on SW (at least for my bookings, since I opt for the cheapest fare category) - if you cancel a flight, you’ve got credit to apply elsewhere. I generally fly with only carry on luggage, but SW still allows 2 free check in bags – so it makes a lot more sense for my son & dil, traveling with a baby these days. They almost always can get a spot on the plane for the baby & his car seat, even without paying for an extra seat, because they can preboard & seats aren’t assigned – so as long as the flight isn’t full, there will be a spot for the kid.</p>
<p>As I was flying SW home a week ago, I told the flight attendant, as I was leaving the plane, “I love Southwest.” And I meant every word (OK… it’s only three words). </p>
<p>SW can run about the same as other airlines we have the options to fly, or it can be less. However, I am willing to drive past O’Hare and to Midway because I can almost always count on SW to be more reliable than any other airline I’ve flown. I don’t stress out about delays or cancellations with Southwest as I do when I’m booked on another airline. As Calmom states, if you factor in checking luggage, Southwest usually ends up being cheaper. And, as also stated above, if the price drops, you can rebook with no charges.</p>
<p>We now also have Milwaukee as a choice to fly Southwest out of, but haven’t had to use that option yet. I’m thrilled they are flying directly to Logan now. </p>
<p>I’ve earned at least three free trips with their Rapid Rewards program, and am .5 credits from my fourth. I will concede the fact that they have better service to certain cities than others, and we do live in a good market, and since we’re in the Midwest, there aren’t many places Southwest flies to that we can’t get to non-stop. I understand that passengers in other cities don’t always have this option.</p>
<p>I guess for me, it all boils down to the superior customer service, and if price is the same, or within $20 or so, I will always choose Southwest for the reliability. </p>
<p>We are going to Hawaii this Christmas and flying three different airlines since H and I, and daughters are coming from two different cities on four different days. I am already dreading the high risk of something going wrong.</p>
<p>rodney, don’t give up hope. SW is coming to Newark in March!</p>
<p>[UPDATE:</a> Southwest Airlines To Begin Flights To Newark Liberty In March - WSJ.com](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100827-712148.html]UPDATE:”>http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100827-712148.html)</p>
<p>I don’t fly much - mostly to Fla a couple of times a year. My kids fly only occassionally. Right now I am looking at a round trip from bwi to fla. SWA is 216.40 and Air Train is 184. But I check a bag so Air Tran is 199. I will probably still book SWA since I can change my ticket without a fee. Also, the price to Fla is a little bit high and if it goes down, I can rebook for a credit.</p>
<p>I like the flexibility offered by SWA. I like their on-time percentage. I like that you can book one way tickets. I like that I can check a bag if I want. I don’t mind their boarding policy, in fact I like it since I can choose to sit next to a smaller person. I like their rapid rewards where you earn flights and the flights can be to anywhere.</p>