Delta and Southwest? What are the differences?

[Denise W]

Based on reports I have read in the last few days, the FAA is now investigating Southwest's maintenance issues, so more planes may be pulled out of service.
Denise

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Based on reports I have read in the last few days, the FAA is now investigating Southwest's maintenance issues, so more planes may be pulled out of service.
Denise

They've been investigating SWA for the load issue since Feb 2018. Truly the issue which is described as "the reported takeoff weights to be 1,000 pounds lower than the plane's actual weight." and this was due to "airline employees made mistakes that caused pilots to compute the wrong weight of planes at takeoffs." is old news but the wear and tear on the planes is catching up to SWA thus large amounts of planes at once taken out in recent time. That aspect is making the news now.

 

[Denise W]

They've been investigating SWA for the load issue since Feb 2018. Truly the issue which is described as "the reported takeoff weights to be 1,000 pounds lower than the plane's actual weight." and this was due to "airline employees made mistakes that caused pilots to compute the wrong weight of planes at takeoffs." is old news but the wear and tear on the planes is catching up to SWA thus large amounts of planes at once taken out in recent time. That aspect is making the news now.

That is correct.
Denise

 

[DebbieB]

You can't pick your seat ahead of time on Southwest either. There is a notice on the Delta website if you're booking Basic Economy you don't get to choose your seat. If you click on that fare and go further there's a pop-up that asks if you're sure you want that fare, it doesn't include a seat assignment or checked bags (I know because this is the fare I use when I'm paying for DD's flights).

I think most people know by now that airlines, with the exception of Southwest, charge for checked bags. I can check a lot of bags for the difference in fare between the JetBlue flight I booked (total of $392 for 2 people roundtrip) vs. Southwest's fare ($876 for 2 people roundtrip).

The difference with Delta is people with main cabin fares are able to get assigned seats when they purchase. With Basic Economy, you get assigned whats left at check-in. Frequently seats are changed when there are equipment changes so there are no guarantees. There have been posts where people find out when they check-in the day before that their family is scattered around the plane and they start scrambling to get it corrected. Point is, there is no seat assignment guaranteed on Delta or the other legacies.

 

[AngiTN]

I have had small and dated planes on Delta flights, with limited room for carryon baggage so you may be forced to check your bag before boarding. Maybe it depends on both your departure and destination? I now avoid all of Delta’s “partner” flights.

Then that means you can't fly from a regional airport. Period. Same with American. So research things before you ever move to a small town

 

[Darcy03231]

The difference with Delta is people with main cabin fares are able to get assigned seats when they purchase. With Basic Economy, you get assigned whats left at check-in. Frequently seats are changed when there are equipment changes so there are no guarantees. There have been posts where people find out when they check-in the day before that their family is scattered around the plane and they start scrambling to get it corrected. Point is, there is no seat assignment guaranteed on Delta or the other legacies.

I guess we've just been lucky then. We buy Delta Comfort (DH is 6'4") and any time we've had a flight or equipment change we've still gotten Delta Comfort seats in the same row.

 

[snappy]

Then that means you can't fly from a regional airport. Period. Same with American. So research things before you ever move to a small town

Nope. Don’t live in a “small town” and nope, I fly out of New Orleans and it’s no JFK but MSY is international. Building a great big beautiful additional terminal to up their international game. Which is great for us as we have a lot of plans for international travel now that we have time.

I have been on Delta’s partners’ planes flying out of New Orleans over the years. I started using Kayak to “research” and avoid those flights. Would have to be some sort of emergency for me to book one now.

 

[ScoutsMom21]

We flew SW to Orlando once and it was an uneventful trip and not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Our plane was full but we managed to find decent seats all together, people were polite during boarding (not the stampede I imagined in my head), and we had plenty of room.

I think the option to pre-board is most critical for the elderly, with small children or if you don't intend to check bags. I travel abroad a lot for work and loath baggage claim. I always travel with only carry on luggage for work and nowadays as that's more of a trend, it can be difficult to find a spot in the overhead compartments if you're boarding later. So, that's why I generally like pre-boarding.

We're flying Delta to Orlando in April and I had enough points for Premium Economy for the family. I think the kiddos are finally old enough to learn from mom how to travel without heavy, cumbersome checked baggage so we may give nothing but carryon's a go this time! For anyone that has connecting flights, I highly recommend you ditch the checked baggage and learn to travel with a smaller suitcase. Then you never need to worry that they've lost your bags in transit.

 

[snappy]

We flew SW to Orlando once and it was an uneventful trip and not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Our plane was full but we managed to find decent seats all together, people were polite during boarding (not the stampede I imagined in my head), and we had plenty of room.

I think the option to pre-board is most critical for the elderly, with small children or if you don't intend to check bags. I travel abroad a lot for work and loath baggage claim. I always travel with only carry on luggage for work and nowadays as that's more of a trend, it can be difficult to find a spot in the overhead compartments if you're boarding later. So, that's why I generally like pre-boarding.

We're flying Delta to Orlando in April and I had enough points for Premium Economy for the family. I think the kiddos are finally old enough to learn from mom how to travel without heavy, cumbersome checked baggage so we may give nothing but carryon's a go this time! For anyone that has connecting flights, I highly recommend you ditch the checked baggage and learn to travel with a smaller suitcase. Then you never need to worry that they've lost your bags in transit.

I agree! I found the perfect lightweight Tumi suitcase and tote that is lightweight and can handle a lot. We stay for 8-10 days so I learned to pack light and wash clothes in the DVC villas. We stick with direct flights to avoid risk of us missing the connecting flight. It happens.

 

[pattyw]

Nope. Don’t live in a “small town” and nope, I fly out of New Orleans and it’s no JFK but MSY is international. Building a great big beautiful additional terminal to up their international game. Which is great for us as we have a lot of plans for international travel now that we have time.


I have been on Delta’s partners’ planes flying out of New Orleans over the years. I started using Kayak to “research” and avoid those flights. Would have to be some sort of emergency for me to book one now.

Living near New Orleans- nice!! New Orleans is no way a "small town" airport !! International travel- go for it!


Yes I agree! That's why we fly Southwest- no small planes with them!

 

[AngiTN]

We flew SW to Orlando once and it was an uneventful trip and not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Our plane was full but we managed to find decent seats all together, people were polite during boarding (not the stampede I imagined in my head), and we had plenty of room.

So strange how people think this.
Honestly, I find it less of a stampede
Southwest has everyone in a line, numerically A1-whatever then B1-whatever and so on. So it's all nice and orderly lines.
Delta and American (the only 2 other airlines I fly) is the stampede. You have a bunch of 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, etc and they'll call them up 1 group at a time. As each group is called they'll all bum rush the agent to get checked through. I find that way less orderly than lining up numerically but I guess that's just me.

 

[AngiTN]

Nope. Don’t live in a “small town” and nope, I fly out of New Orleans and it’s no JFK but MSY is international. Building a great big beautiful additional terminal to up their international game. Which is great for us as we have a lot of plans for international travel now that we have time.

I have been on Delta’s partners’ planes flying out of New Orleans over the years. I started using Kayak to “research” and avoid those flights. Would have to be some sort of emergency for me to book one now.

It's our only option to fly from home. Drive 2 hours, parking hassles, security hassles, or small planes with no parking hassles and no security hassles. When we go to the big airport we have to worry about traffic getting there and worry about arriving early and all that. When we fly from home we get to the airport an hour before our plane leaves, and that's only if we are checking a bag. If it's carry-on only we just need to get there about 10 min before departure. And it only takes 5 min to walk in from the parking lot. Yeah, it's a small commuter plane but after years of dealing with driving to big airports before giving our local airport a try it didn't take me long to learn when we found we prefer. I do have a least favorite of the planes though, one is so small there isn't even a first class, LOL

 

[Lilsia]

Our plane was full but we managed to find decent seats all together, people were polite during boarding (not the stampede I imagined in my head)

I wonder why people think that it is going to be a "stampede"? You are not the first person to think this. Everyone is assigned a number and lines up. Everyone just walks and gets their ticket scanned and goes down the jet way like any other flight. Weird. EDIT, Hah, I just read AngiTN's post.

 

[Lilsia]

I think the option to pre-board is most critical for the elderly, with small children or if you don't intend to check bags. I travel abroad a lot for work and loath baggage claim. I always travel with only carry on luggage for work and nowadays as that's more of a trend, it can be difficult to find a spot in the overhead compartments if you're boarding later. So, that's why I generally like pre-boarding.

I am wondering if you are confusing pre-board with early bird check in. You can not pre-board just because you are travelling with just a carry on. Pre-board is for those with a medical need. SWA does not even let those with small children pre-board. Anyone with a child under 4 goes between the A and B group. And elderly does not mean disabled.

 

[snappy]

I just make sure and check in at exactly 24 hours to the second when my southwest flights open for check in. Almost always get A boarding group. I haven’t yet paid for early bird boarding but I would consider it. I haven’t had a problem finding room in overhead for my suitcase.

 

[EACarlson]

Depends on where you're flying out of and where you're flying to. I flew from Milwaukee to Denver in November and with EBCI I was B5. I flew home from Disney in 2017 and there was no one from A1-A15. I'll pay for EBCI if I know I'm not going to be available to check in at T24, or if I really care about where I'm sitting. Otherwise the one time I forgot to check in on time, I paid at the gate to move up, ended up A1 on that flight.

 

[ScoutsMom21]

I wonder why people think that it is going to be a "stampede"? You are not the first person to think this. Everyone is assigned a number and lines up. Everyone just walks and gets their ticket scanned and goes down the jet way like any other flight. Weird. EDIT, Hah, I just read AngiTN's post.

I had NEVER flown Southwest before. All my husband told me was that there was no zone boarding - everyone boards at once. That was the only information I had at the time until actually having arrived at the gate.

 

[ScoutsMom21]

I am wondering if you are confusing pre-board with early bird check in. You can not pre-board just because you are travelling with just a carry on. Pre-board is for those with a medical need. SWA does not even let those with small children pre-board. Anyone with a child under 4 goes between the A and B group. And elderly does not mean disabled.

I wasn't clear in my post and transitioned my thought awkwardly. I realize that SWA doesn't have pre-boarding as you've mentioned. I was referring to other airlines (admittedly, I was vague about that). I generally fly Delta and they start out with an announcement that anyone with a medical condition, disability, or small children is welcome to board after first and business classes. Next up comes everyone with early boarding in premium economy, followed by anyone that paid extra for early boarding. Then they start boarding by group starting with the back of the airplane and working their way forward. In those instances, if you're trying to exclusively use carry on luggage, I think it's to your benefit to book your travel with an early boarding option in cases where you suspect the plane will be full. Otherwise, you risk having the flight attendant tell you there's no more room for overhead bags and yours will be checked at the gate.

 

[Lilsia]

I had NEVER flown Southwest before. All my husband told me was that there was no zone boarding - everyone boards at once. That was the only information I had at the time until actually having arrived at the gate.

I get it. But your hubby gave you bad info LOL. They assign everyone a group and a number. So group A 1-60 goes first, then B, then C. Everyone lines up according to the number that you are assigned. It is all very organized and I actually find it less of a cattle call then other airlines where they just board by group and everyone in that group rushes to get to the gate first.

 

[AngiTN]

I just make sure and check in at exactly 24 hours to the second when my southwest flights open for check in. Almost always get A boarding group. I haven’t yet paid for early bird boarding but I would consider it. I haven’t had a problem finding room in overhead for my suitcase.

We never worry about ECBI either. It's too easy to use the app on the phone to check in at 24 hours, even going home when at Disney. We've never gotten a bad boarding position. Even if I did, I can survive not sitting next to my DH for an hour. Heck, may be a nice break, if we are flying SW it means we also have a 2 hour drive after all. LOL