First of all, I want to say 'Hi!' to Inkkognito!! Now that I've said that, I can go on...
I also want to say 'Hi!' to bicker!! I haven't seen him since they eliminated the Debate Board!
Yes, yes, yes, I hear that Southwest has great prices and nice people, but DON'T GET CAUGHT IN AN IRREGULAR OPERATION AS THEY DO NOT OFFER THE REPROTECTIONS THAT OTHER AIRLINES OFFER.
That means, that should they have a cancellation due to something controllable, like a mechanical problem, or something they have no control over, like weather or air traffic control delays, they do not have to provide ANY compensation or ammenities like virtually all of the other airlines do. How can they do that you ask??
That's because its built-into their contract of carraige. So, although Southwest might be great to fly for its prices, it is THE WORST airline to fly if cancellations occur. Business travelers know this as they fly very often, other airline employees know this as they know what the industry offers.
In all my years of professional flying I have only flown Southwest once. The boarding process was chaotic, to say the least. The cheerleader attire of the cabin crew resulted in a loss of credibility for 2 of the flight attendants as they dealt with a very unruly customer. Although that can happen to any airline, other airlines wouldn't even consider placing male crew members in short shorts as a uniform...
But separate and apart from all that, the management of Southwest is quite savvy, and nows how to turn a profit in these very unprofitable times. As Dadof2Princesses said, hedging fuel is the key to their money-making.