<p>Not sure if this was already mentioned here or not, but I saw on the news last night that Southwest is likely going to start charging for bags. My girls are going to have to start packing much lighter for breaks! </p>
<p>Other than this impending change, we’ve used SW for their travel this year and been pleased so far. We used the credit card offers and have taken advantage of the free flights.</p>
<p>The news articles indicate that they have no plans for baggage fees (beyond the existing charge for the third and higher checked bag, or overweight or oversize bags) for 2013, but “never say never”.</p>
<p>I like Southwest too, and would say that the free checked bags thing is BIG for college students who tend (like my daughter) to pack a lot at the beginning and end of term. Also, booking a flight a couple of months in advance is less stressful/risky, since I know that if I have to cancel a flight, I can bank it for later. And since kiddo has a couple of years still of flying back and forth, I know I will use any banked $$. In our case, Southwest is almost always the cheapest way to go. Sometimes it might be $30 or so higher than another airline, but then the checked bag savings more than makes up for the difference.</p>
<p>A couple of times recently, I’ve experienced less than stellar customer service, which makes me think Southwest isn’t quite what it used to be. However, whenever I try a different airline, they are always worse! Southwest is still better than most. The lack of direct flights to/from some locations is annoying, but in our case, it only tends to add an hour or two to travel time.</p>
<p>One important thing to me is that they NEVER overbook flights. It relieves a lot of stress to know if you hit some last minute snag in traffic or on that security line that you won’t be bumped. </p>
<p>Also, don’t overlook the perks of being in the middle that B boarding group. I was traveling with D3 and she really wanted an aisle seat. I knew that the flight was full and so I would end up in the middle seat. Who wants to be in the middle seat next to — fill in your horror story - a lap toddler, a person who sits like they’re riding a horse, someone with headphones on so loud that your teeth begin to buzz? Not me. We walked down the aisle and chose a row with a small and quiet looking young woman already in the window seat. Perfect!</p>
<p>Pros of SWA: 2 checked bags are free (most airlines charge $25 for 1st bag and a lower fee for the second bag), if you don’t use your ticket, you can use the dollar amount to apply to another ticket or tickets for up to 1 year after the original flight. The new boarding system with the markings on the floor make boarding much better than the cattle call a few years ago.</p>
<p>Cons of SWA: they do “short” trips so one may need to make 1 or 2 stops to get across the country. Seats are loaded on like a bus, without reserved seats, so a group of 4 (ie a family) might not get to sit together unless your get your boarding pass really early (on line 24 hrs before flight) or if you buy a $10 boarding pass upgrade. SWA used to be cheaper than say American or united, but nowdays it seems that SWA is pricier.</p>
<p>OTher airlines have “refundable” tickets, but the prices of those tickets are very high…much higher than SWA tickets.</p>
<p>Another Southwest fan here. When DH was a road warrior, he chose Southwest as often as possible, because they had the least hassles. I’ve flown quite a bit the past year & SW has been great. I’ve signed up for their emails & also for the Ding program on my computer, so I keep an eye on the fares. I was just able to take advantage of a price drop on previously booked flight to Charleston & Raleigh; I was then able to use that credit towards flight to Orlando that I’d been watching that were much lower than other airlines. The no bag fee makes a cheaper flight more expensive for us most of the time. </p>
<p>Another suggestion I will make though is to run your flight request through Google Flights to see what the other airline rates are. Southwest prices aren’t listed on there, but I’ve found some alternative routes that I wouldn’t have looked into that way.</p>
<p>I am lifetime platinum on American due to many years of business travel while living in Dallas. I flew SW about 10% of the time- mainly around Texas. Since I moved to Tennessee, I do anything possible to fly Southwest. Excellent company, service and cost. I like rebooking if the fare goes down. There is no reason to delay booking- just keep checking the fares. I made A List, which was awesome and gave me automatic check-in and other perks, but I lost it since I didn’t fly enough in 2012. I also had a companion pass and H could fly free with me.</p>
<p>Low low cost and low low hassle. Always my first choice.</p>
<p>^^ And isn’t rewarding frequent flyers part of the game? </p>
<p>Why would an open-seating free-for-all system be better to the business traveler who pays full fare and has to make changes at the whims of clients. Is a system that leaves some poor seats as the only choice really worse than a plane where the people who did not or could not get into the 24 hours lottery are relegated to walk down that aisle in hope of not being between a sumo wrestler and a mother cum toddler?</p>
<p>There are lot of great things about SW, but the open seating and lack of “true” benefits is surely not one of them. And neither is the “what have you done for me” lately politics. You could have flown dozens of segments over a decade and have no history so to speak. </p>
<p>For all the (valid) criticisms of other airlines, a system that remembers its customers past the last 24 months beats that proletarian crap. Regardless of silly giggles and pretense of “having fun.”</p>
<p>PS Low cost is mostly in the eye of the beholder. On the routes I traveled in the past years, SW has rarely been the lowest cost airline.</p>
<p>PPS I really DO like the company, but do not understand the adulation it generates.</p>
<p>I fly either SW or Jet Blue. I hate almost all the other airlines - especially US Air.</p>
<p>I agree about US Air! I did fly them once a year or so ago because I had to go to a funeral and they were much cheaper than SW when you needed a flight within 3 days or so. Still, I was so nervous that they would run out of space and make me gate check my carryon bag, and then they would lose my bag and I’d end up at the funeral wearing jeans. It worked out but, phew, I’m glad whenever I don’t have to fly US Air.</p>
<p>Another plus for Southwest - albeit a grisly one - they’ve never had a fatality. Never.</p>
<p>Not true! One December not too many years back (2005, IIRC), a SW fight landing at Midway went beyond the runway into the street, killing a young boy. It was the only bad storm in the Chicago area that year. I remember it well, as it occurred at almost the exact same time I got a call from H on his cell phone that he had just been rear-ended by a semi, totaling his car. He was not hurt, though. The young boy lived about 15 miles from us in IN.</p>
<p>That said, when my D was to be in a softball tournament for her college, the entire thing was rained out, and the forecast at her school was for rain over the entire Spring Break, too, so the coach said they had the week off. D called, since she knew I was planning to fly o the tournament. I called SW, and in 10 minutes they calcelled my flight and used the money to book her home later that day. It was the only Spring Break she actually had a break for in college.</p>
<p>Southwest did have a passenger fatality, but it was someone who would likely be classed as a hijacker by most (was trying to get into the cockpit, started a fight, was restrained by other passengers, and died as a result of the struggle).</p>
<p>[Significant</a> Safety Events Since 1971 for Southwest Airlines](<a href=“http://www.airsafe.com/events/airlines/luv.htm]Significant”>Southwest Airlines plane crashes)</p>
<p>Some people hate the open boarding. I prefer it. For me, it really depends on where I’m going. Sometimes Southwest just has too many stops/layovers to make it reasonable.</p>
<p>Since boarding is first come first served, I just get there early. I have never had a seating issue…although most of my Southwest flights are usually 3 hours or less…not a huge deal if the seat’s not great. One way to most of my destinations booked in advance can be as low as $65.</p>
<p>Just found out my son’s soccer team booked 20 tickets on Virgin instead of SW to Dallas- I was surprised. In checking into it though, SW was quite a bit more per ticket, and Virgin ended up being very flexible on the return trip( which is a bit up in the air so to speak) because they are buying in bulk. The team doesn’t check bags so that cost isn’t an issue. Seems like SW prices have gone up lately. We still use them when we can, but I have to say I do like Virgin’s perks.</p>
<p>Cromette- boarding on SW hasn’t been first come first served for many years. You have to get a boarding assignment which is available 24 hours before flight time.</p>
<p>Yes, the cattle call boarding is no more.</p>
<p>Also, abasket (and others), some of SW places are 45min. airports. If your bags are not checked in at least 45min. before scheduled departure, they are not guaranteed to arrive with you. Midway is one of them. D learned the hard way, but it is on the ticket info page you will receive via e-mail (the list of such airports listed in mini-print).</p>
<p>For us SW is rarely less expensive, even with baggage fees, than other airlines. Their route schedules are pretty limited as well. I do not like the boarding process. If I am uncertain about dates or know there may be a possibility of a time change then I will book SW unless the fare is such that it’s more than the change fee elsewhere, which isn’t uncommon.</p>