Experience with Southwest Airline?

[Jdbsfw]

+1 for SWA, I’m a fan and I don’t really like flying

 

[Darcy03231]

While its not my airline of choice, we've flown with them before several times and everything has been fine. Only delays we've ever had were weather related. Planes are clean, crew is pleasant and we've found their customer service to be excellent.

 

[Disneylover99]

I've flown exclusively with SWA for the last six years or so. I've always had great experiences. Nothing negative to say. Their customer service is awesome!

 

[jaiminee krikit]

Southwest is my favorite airline. Their service is amazing and no hidden fees. We are a party of 3 and have never had an issues sitting together, but we do always purchase EBCI.

 

[firefly_ris]

Never had a problem. Been flying with them since 2005.

 

[scoutie]

Southwest is great. Never had a negative experience with them.

 

[Klayfish]

I don't fly as much as some, but over the past 15 years I've flown an average of 4-8 times per year. I've almost never had a positive experience with Southwest. By a country mile, they are the worst airline I've ever used. I've had delays of 14 hours, 6 hours, 3 hours. Customer service is horrible...they're rude and not very helpful. Their seating strategy is utterly horrible. The flight attendants are obnoxious. They try to be funny, but it's annoying. The seats on their planes are terrible, and their in flight entertainment stinks. Other than that, they're wonderful.

I try my best to avoid using them whenever possible. I far prefer Spirit Airlines, Frontier, Delta, Jet Blue. However, for some places I fly Southwest is the only practical choice...so I cross my fingers, hold my breath and prepare for the worst.

 

[_19disnA]

Flown several times on Southwest and never had any issues. They board in groups/sections as a previously poster described and that works out well for seating. If you want to sit near the front of the aircraft it is better to buy that option when ticketing. Never had any seating issues.

USA airports recommend arriving 2 hours prior to your domestic flight. You have to check-in/drop off baggage and then go through the TSA screening. Sometimes lines are short, but other times it may take longer. Walking to your gate can also take a few minutes depending on how large the terminal is. Better to be early then cut it close and possibly miss your flight. If you get to your gate early, you have time to shop or get something to eat.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice regarding Southwest Airlines - we will be traveling over from the U.K. and so while I’ve heard of them, I really don’t know if they’re a decent airline. Does anyone have any experiences with them? We are driving from Florida to Tennessee and then wanting to fly back to Orlando - Southwest and Allegiant seem to be the only airlines with direct routes. I’ve also seen that you can’t reserve seating in advance which isn’t ideal - does anyone know how likely it is that we will get seats together?

My main concern is that they’re a budget airline that might be comparable to Ryanair here in Europe which is notorious for its lack of customer service and hidden fees.

Plus, how early are you supposed to arrive at the airport for domestic flights in the US? I’ve seen two hours suggested in places, but I’ve heard security queues can be really bad so not sure if we need to account for more time.

Thanks in advance!

They started out a total cut rate airline. They didn't have food when pretty much everyone else had liberal meals. In the early days you literally lined up in a chute. People would get there 4 and 5 hours early on early flights to be A cattle. They were point to point and you had to get and recheck your bags at every stop. But they aren't like that at all now. They're pretty much a full service airline except that they don't have assigned seats, first class, or meals. Instead of lining up in a chute now, you get your boarding number upon check in. It does cost extra for early check in You do still get some free bags and they go through to your final destination now. Have for years. Oversized and the like there is a fee just like everyone else. They don't serve meals but you usually get a snack bag with some cookies, crackers and the like in it and a drink. Other domestic airlines have cut their meals way back on shorter runs too so they're about the same. There is no first class. I've never had bad service out of any flight crew from any airline. Anything bad has come from the ground employees. But never from Southwest.

Their fleet consists of mostly 737 700s and 737 800s They do have a few 737 Max 8s. and are scheduled to start replacing their older 737 700s this year. They also have some 737 Max 7s and Max 8s on order.

 

[Squirlz]

Southwest is great, but they no longer have direct flights to MCO around here. We fly Allegiant which has been fine, never a problem or delay. There are no hidden fees with Allegiant. You pay extra to pick a seat and check bags but it's all spelled out, not hidden at all. That said I would choose Southwest over Allegiant if they offered a direct flight.

 

[Planogirl]

I think that flying is a miserable experience nowadays but Southwest keeps it to a minimum.

 

[Toolulu22]

Southwest, at least from my experience, tends to offer less direct flight options. Hence, longer trips and more opportunities for delays and possible missed flights or cancellations. I’ve become accustomed to expect to arrive home later than expected when I have a connecting flight.

I hate the boarding process and the uncomfortable seats. Early bird keeps going up, and more people use = less value. Rapid Rewards points are so devalued now that its laughable. I checked last night and a $200 flight costs almost 13,000 points. We used to earn one flight a year, now it takes over a year to earn a one-way ticket.

I like the ease of making changes to an itinerary, no additional bag fees.

They are in smaller airports- easier bag check, security and boarding process, we would be fine to arrive an hour before our flight out of Islip, even less if no checked bags because it’s so quick. We usually whip through every thing in ten minutes and sit around until they board 10 minutes before flight time. Larger airports like MCO are obviously much different and certain times of year are busier.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I'd bone up on them via their website.
Southwest really is a great airline.
They have some of the best customer service in my opinion.
They really have no hidden fees.
They have open seating which means you sit where you want once you get on the plane.
Be sure to check in at the 24 hour mark to get the best boarding position possible.
How many people are in your group and are there children under 6 or anyone have a disability that would require preboarding? If so you may be eligible for preboard or family boarding.

Yes arrive 2 hours prior for domestic flights.
Security really isn't too bad at most airports (honestly LAX and MCO are the only ones I've found it to take more than 5 minutes).
Yes it had been getting bad during the shutdown and we'll probably have another one February 15th but who knows

 

[RedAngie]

I fly Southwest when their schedules and fares meet my needs. I never had a major problem, just occasional delays, but not more than any other airline. Once a flight was cancelled while we were at the airport but they rebooked us via a different route that landed only about 90 minutes past our originally scheduled arrival time.

Their boarding practice is far from the "cattle call" days of decades ago. I think their current system is the most efficient process of any airline. No dozen of pre-board groups before Zone 1 like the others.

Southwest really isn't a "budget" airline anymore. Yes, there are no hidden fees, but those other budget airlines don't have them either. All the extra fees are clearly spelled out before you purchase the fare. In most cases you have to manually decline the fees, so I don't understand why some people call them "hidden."

 

[tvguy]

Everything pretty much has been covered above, but my two cents worth.
> I am always at the airport 2 hours before a domestic flight, 3 hours before an international. Pretty common with frequent fliers. Without regard to airline.
> Southwest usually is the lowest fare, but not always, so at least check to be sure. Only got caught on that once though.
> Southwest is safe, clean and well organized.
> Their check in 24 hours in advance for a boarding letter is something I dislike. Oh, but for a FEE, you can get around that!
> Their lack of assigned seating is the number one complaint they get (according to them). They even experimented with assigned seating on all flights out of San Diego for a while and decided unassigned seating would stay.
>They tend to book connecting flights much closer than I am comfortable with, especially through their hub in Phoenix. An hour is perfect to me. I had a 20 minute layover in Phoenix and my flight came in 10 minutes late and my connection left 10 minutes EARLY! I booked that flight on the phone with one of their agents, who assured me "the computer wouldn't let me book this if you couldn't make it". Once on the ground the ground agent questioned why I had booked the connection so close, and I told her I didn't, SOUTHWEST did. She was even more confused when she saw she had about a dozen other passengers in the same boat that needed rebooking. She said the computer should have put a hold on the connecting flight with so many passengers coming in behind schedule. She also checked whether this was an approved connection time in the computer, and found I was telling the truth. She was sending a note to have that reviewed because it clearly was cutting it too close.

 

[CynBeth]

Southwest is my favorite airline!!

We get Early Bird Check-In, so I don't worry about boarding order at all, and I love the fun crews!

Same here!

 

[clh2]

We prefer to fly SW. We always get Early Bird, although, we haven’t flown since they raised it to 25.

To the OP, since this is your first experience, be sure to read up on their boarding process. It sounds stressful, but really it is very smooth process. My DH both prefer aisle seats, which is why we pay for early boarding.

 

[sasywtch]

When hired at SW, you receive stocks in the company with the option to buy more. In my opinion, it makes the employees strive harder for something they "own". Going to Orlando, I'd definitely buy the early check in. Seems more kiddos under the age of 5 pre boarding. We had older children and had no problem at all even in the B section. We bought some Taco Bell at the airport and took it on the plane with us. Someone previously mentioned obnoxious, I thought the stewards were funny especially the ones going to Orlando since they catered to the kids. My daughter asked for more pretzels when he was passing them out, we thought he didn't hear but all of a sudden we hear this "incoming" and a big plastic bag with 10 packets of pretzels lands in her lap. When we were landing, they got on the loud speaker making clicking sounds like a horse loping and doing horse sounds, then when the brakes came he started with the whoa nelly. All the kids on the plane enjoyed it. My son was listening to his ear phones and one of the stewards put them over his ears and starts dancing in the aisle. I've had other such experiences with them flying north/south California. I'd definitely fly SW

 

[bcla]

Southwest is great, but they no longer have direct flights to MCO around here. We fly Allegiant which has been fine, never a problem or delay. There are no hidden fees with Allegiant. You pay extra to pick a seat and check bags but it's all spelled out, not hidden at all. That said I would choose Southwest over Allegiant if they offered a direct flight.

It's changed over the years. Now Southwest has some cross-country nonstop flights, when before going coast to coast might mean one or two stops.

The thing that's really changed for them was how the worked out of their big hubs in Texas where landing fees are cheaper. They saved money by flying out of Love Field in Dallas and Houston-Hobby Airport rather than the big international airports. Also Midway Airport in Chicago. Southwest absolutely dominates those airports. They were restricted at Love Field to only routes to states bordering Texas. They finally repealed the law in 2014.

https://www.economist.com/gulliver/2014/12/11/good-riddance

Still - it might help if your destination is one of their big hubs. Sometimes that's a large airport such as LAX, but in the San Francisco Bay Area they've made it Oakland. They even left SFO for a decade before coming back.

 

[tvguy]

When hired at SW, you receive stocks in the company with the option to buy more. In my opinion, it makes the employees strive harder for something they "own".

I agree, but some may not. That has been Walmart's practice for decades. People actually retire from modest paying jobs with millions in stock.