Don't ya just love watching Airline???

[laurabelle]

I fly SW out of BWI and they have signs all over saying you may be filmed in this area of the airport. I'm just grateful I've never done anything to make it on the show...

 

[MayMom]

I also was a flight attendant with SW based in Chicago. I love to watch the show because it brings back so many memories of my pals and all of the funny stories we had to tell. My family would literally get in the floor laughing at my stories! Southwest is such a wonderful company to work for. I loved the episode with the woman who had the gross fish wrapped up for her daughter's wedding - it was supposed to be a delicacy or something and when they opened the package bugs ran out everywhere! Can you imagine being cooped up on a plane with those bugs for a couple of hours?! YUCK!

 

[meloneyb21]

That show is addictive to me. I just saw one today where they had to tell a man that he couldn't board because all the other passengers complained about his smell. The SW employee had to get an old uniform from in the back for the man and told him he had to go to the bathroom and wash up and change. It was so funny, yet so sad. If someone told me that, I'd probably break into tears .

 

[stacy6552]

yes I do. And I will never ever travel with Southwest. Probably not the response they were hoping for.

 

[dsneygirl]

DH and I love it. Our fave employee is Yolanda at LAX. We met her on a trip in Oct 04. Just coincidence that she was at our gate that day. We told her we were big fans of the show and she was a sweetheart.

 

[Beca]

Yolanda IS very sweet. It's funny, though. Before the show started, she was VERY quiet...nice, but almost "shy" when we would see her. I think the show has definitely brought her out of her shell.

Beca

 

[GatorGal]

I always laugh when people have seen the show and say "That's why I won't ever fly Southwest." Just about every situation they show is caused by the passenger's own stupidity. Sometimes though things happen that are just out of the airline's control. This happens on all airlines.

I give Southwest a lot of credit for showing this stuff. I remember one time they had a woman in a wheelchair who missed her flight, and her husband was upset because their luggage was on the plane that left and his wife's medicine was in it. Duh! You're not supposed to put that stuff in checked luggage. Always carry on your medication. People like this annoy me. They blame the airline for things that are not their fault. I give ALL airline employees kudos. They put up with a lot of sh*t.

After watching this show, which I find to be highly entertaining, I wouldn't fly that airline if you gave me a ticket. While I agree that most of the time the problems are due to the passengers' stupidity and other things are out of the airline's control, I am amazed how many times they over book flights. I realize that all airlines do this, but I have NEVER been denied boarding a flight I have paid for because of overbooking, like I've seen on Airline. I saw one episode where they overbooked the flight by 54 people, that just floored me. I realize their business model helps them to keep their fares low, and that's fine if you want a cheap flight, but it's not for me. I'll stick with Jet Blue, but will keep watching Airline.

I do applaud their policy on drunk passengers. They seem very strict and adhere to the policy consistently.

 

[dsneygirl]

After watching this show, which I find to be highly entertaining, I wouldn't fly that airline if you gave me a ticket. While I agree that most of the time the problems are due to the passengers' stupidity and other things are out of the airline's control, I am amazed how many times they over book flights. I realize that all airlines do this, but I have NEVER been denied boarding a flight I have paid for because of overbooking, like I've seen on Airline. I saw one episode where they overbooked the flight by 54 people, that just floored me. I realize their business model helps them to keep their fares low, and that's fine if you want a cheap flight, but it's not for me. I'll stick with Jet Blue, but will keep watching Airline.

FWIW DH and I have flown SW probably 2 dozen times between us all over, LV, LAX, BWI and have never been on a full flight where they had to ask people to give up their seats let alone deny them boarding. But it makes for better drama. They have several camera crews at many different airports for months at a time and probably dozens of hours of the normal, on time day to day stuff that I have always experienced.

 

[DianeV]

I personally admit that many of the passengers cause their own problems however I sometimes also feel the way SW handles some of the situations is not right either..many times situations escalate as passengers feel shafted or mistreated and then get angry which sometimes I agree with the passengers!

 

[Kimmielee]

I also was a flight attendant with SW based in Chicago. I love to watch the show because it brings back so many memories of my pals and all of the funny stories we had to tell. My family would literally get in the floor laughing at my stories! Southwest is such a wonderful company to work for. I loved the episode with the woman who had the gross fish wrapped up for her daughter's wedding - it was supposed to be a delicacy or something and when they opened the package bugs ran out everywhere! Can you imagine being cooped up on a plane with those bugs for a couple of hours?! YUCK!

THAT show was one of my favorites... the bugs were maggots!!! EWWWWW..... The poor woman couldn't speak english and couldn't understand why they wouldn't let her smoked fish covered in maggots go with her!

I decided then and there to wrap the contents of my entire suitcase in plastic. OH MY... what gets on the plane that they DON'T catch?

 

[Kahana-ri]

I love watching that show. I don't understand why Southwest would 'highlight' so many episodes of unsatisfied costumers. I am trying to understand how this helps them? Ironically, we are flying SW to go to WDW in three weeks. The flights were dirt cheap, so how could we pass it up?

 

[ksumn1]

I work for a different airline in reservations and I love watching the show. But I don't think I could ever work as a ticket counter, gate agent or be a flight attendant. I deal with alot over the phone, (good and bad) and there is a certain comfort level especially with an irate passenger of NOT being face to face. I agree it seems like sometimes the agents seem like they are being unhelpful, but if you have bad weather in Chicago and the flight is delayed 2 hrs, do you delay the other pax on the connecting flight for 2 hours as well? There are many things that you as an employee can't control, weather, overbooking of flights (all airlines do it) maintainence issues, etc. Can you imagine having to be the person telling 40+ pax that there flight was cancelled, delayed, oversold etc on an almost daily basis? I think they have an incredibly stressful job and overall they provide great service given the circumstances. And I love talking to the Southwest Flt attendants when they call in, they are always the sweetest, friendliest people. The airline industry is a very unusual industry to be in. I don't work at the airport but even in reservations I have some crazy stories to tell.......

 

[DisneyPhD]

For awhile, I always seemed to get this trip that included a flight from Burbank to Las Vegas on Friday evening. There was this one pax who boarded every week. She was older...I'd say early 70's, and she had lived a hard life of drinking and smoking. She always had a few drinks in the airport (or, on the way to the airport) and wanted to get a few more on the flight. Because she had caused problems in the flights a few times, SWA had a standing agreement with her...she could fly us, but she couldn't drink while on our flights (I guess she got pretty mean when she drank too much).

Every week when they carried her up the stairs, I would say, "Ma'am, you understand that I am not going to be serving you alcohol on the flight today, right." She'd say, "Right, right...I know the rules." Well, as soon as our wheel lifted off the ground, she'd hit her call button. When I went over to her, she'd say, "Bring me a double bourbon!". I'd remind her of our agreement, and she would say, "Just send another waitress over here...I don't like you....you're fired!!!" She'd eventually ask all of us, and all of us would get "fired".

Then, the next week she come back on and try it again. As she'd see me, she would say, "Well, hello sweetie!!! Good to see you again!! But, I'm confused...didn't I fire you last week?" I'd reply, "Yes ma'am, you did." She'd just laugh, and say, "Well, it's good to see you again." Then a few minutes later, she'd fire me all over again.

She was a riot!!!



Beca

It is rather funny actually, wacthing airline (and stories like yours) makes me think of my old job. I worked as a clinical therapist in an out patient mental health clinic of a inner city hosptial. Many of the cusmtors really remind me of dealing with my patients (and their families.) The poor airline workers don't have a back ground in mental health and access to major pharmasuticals and psychotropic drugs! (Thank God for Zxprexa, Risperdal and ativan! ) Really it does seem to me that if they got rid of the bars at airports it might make the airline workers lives a little easier!

I love that show. I won't fly SW anymore. Not just because of the show, I think every empolyee I have ever seen on there has been great and gone out of their way to help people. It is because of SW policies, overbooking, open seating, and a few others that I take Spirit instead. (that and SW isn't non stop to Orlando from Detroit.) We had flown SW a number of times before we had kids though. Every times the airline was over booked. Everytime. The poor workers spend so much time fixing things. I felt sorry for them. I don't need the drama when I fly. BTW SW from Detroit (at least in the past) didn't preboard families with young children to orlando, because that was most of the flight. Now as a mother I don't need the stress of worring if I will get to sit with my kids (mabye I would have a better flight if I didn't have to sit with them, but the rest of the passangers wouldn't). We always try to ge there early, but things can happen.
Enjoy the show though.