I have found that DING DOES NOT work with AOL. So, what I've started to do is, when I hear the Ding and there will be a little letter over the Southwest tail on my task bar (down where the clock is) I open up my Internet Explorer and then I click on the Southwest Ding. Then I click on the notice and it will open on my Internet Explorer bypassing AOL altogether.
I hope this helps and I hope I didn't confuse you more. If you have any questions about something in particular I'll try and help you with that.