Sign-in if you "jumped ship" from SW to another airline

[Terry's Angels]

Hi all,

Well I've become a total hypocrite, I booked Delta . After being a SW groupie for the past 10+ years, I just couldn't pass up $59.00 fares (total fare $78.11) with Delta vs. SW $92 fares (w/o taxes and fees) with the hope for lower fares. I can't count on Dings - I'm not always at my computer to take advantage of them nor am I willing to play the "check back every single day" game for lower SW fares. So please, please, please - other long time southwest riders who booked another airline share their thoughts.

TIA

 

[Evil Princess]

I did for a family vacation in May, we're going Jet Blue. I'm glad we booked it too, when SW released their fares, it was much more expensive than Jet Blue.

I still check my dings religiously though, in three weeks I'll be flying from Orlando to Long Island 54 dollars I believe one way.

 

[djm99]

After 3 days of holding, I actually booked with American Airlines, $165.58 (Aug 07) roundtrip. I am VERY pleased with that price. Just a week before, we couldn't find a price under $275. I'm not complaining too much with Southwest. I booked a few great rates wtih them (Flying out next weekend), but I don't like their pricing anymore. This whole ding thing sounds great in theory, but the waiting drives me nuts. Its like watching paint dry.

 

[DawnCt1]

I LOVE Delta and booked them as our first choice every time. I fly SWA if the rates are significantly less. They haven't been lately.

 

[Waseller77]

I am signing for my sister (and myself, I suppose). After this recent fare hike (rates for her trip were $57 one way prior to the Feb. 8 schedule release, now they are almost triple that - $158 oneway), we won't be counting on Southwest anymore. If we see a decent fare on another airline, you better believe we're going to book it and not play the "waiting for Southwest" game! It really is too bad because we have been very happy with Southwest...

 

[DISFANS3]

Count us in on that. After doing the waiting game for SW for over a month stalking the phone and Comp,I just about fell out of chair when they gave me a price of seat KC to Orlando. WE just booked on Allegiant, better rate,not much. Instead get to fly from home airport.. SO LONG SOUTH WEST.....

 

[DVC Grammy]

Last fall, I did just that.........jumping from SW to Delta. After 4 flight changes (without notification), 2x losing assigned seating, finding out at checkout that Freedom wasn't part of "participating airline" (at that time), having to board UP and DOWN the steps to their little teeny airplanes (with no overhead room), waiting in their horrid waiting area at MCO, I say NEVER AGAIN!

Of course, after I went ahead and made the switch, dontcha' know that SW came out with a matching Ding? Serves me right!

I won't say I'd never again fly a different airline, just not Delta (please don't flame me..........I know some people have had wonderful experiences with Delta............unfortunately, this wasn't the first time we had problems with them.............it just was the LAST! )

 

[salmoneous]

I'm a long-time SW flyer, and they are still my favorite airline. But for my next trip, they are >$100 more than Jet Blue, so I'll take Jet Blue instead.

 

[pearlieq]

In general I'm a fan of Southwest. Their prices are generally good, I like open seating, and their CoS policy works out very well for DH and I.

That being said, I'd be THRILLED if Jet Blue did a Chicago-Orlando run and I would be very tempted to try them out if the prices were comparable.

 

[TJA]

We have flown Southwest for our last 8+ trips but I was one of the unlucky ones last week that didn't book right when the new fares were released, so I missed the $59 each way (since it only lasted for a few hours.....). So I went ahead and booked Airtran yesterday when their fares dipped to $59 each way, though I just checked today and see they are back up to $89 each way so this time I lucked out.

 

[Terry's Angels]

Last fall, I did just that.........jumping from SW to Delta. After 4 flight changes (without notification), 2x losing assigned seating, finding out at checkout that Freedom wasn't part of "participating airline" (at that time), having to board UP and DOWN the steps to their little teeny airplanes (with no overhead room), waiting in their horrid waiting area at MCO, I say NEVER AGAIN!

Of course, after I went ahead and made the switch, dontcha' know that SW came out with a matching Ding? Serves me right!

I won't say I'd never again fly a different airline, just not Delta (please don't flame me..........I know some people have had wonderful experiences with Delta............unfortunately, this wasn't the first time we had problems with them.............it just was the LAST! )

This is exactly what I'm worried about. I don't think that you should ever be flamed for sharing your experiences - we can all learn a little bit from everyone's travel experiences, even if we don't agree.

 

[momto4obkids]

ME!!

I waited till the fairs came out for our June trip and they were way over our budget. $92 each way.

So, I check American Airlines for our dates and we ended up with $117 total roundtrip from ORD!!!

Even if SW comes out with some good dings i think our price will be comparable. So, I'm happy! Oh, and we got to PICK our seats!!


Amanda

 

[polyfan]

Count me in. I always swore by Southwest, but $268 vs. $99 on delta to Vegas and $233 vs. $109 on delta returning from Los Angeles saves me about $1200 for 4 of us. Sorry Southwest!

 

[TDC Nala]

Heck no. I booked two flights on Southwest last week.

And I like not having assigned seating. Then when I get on the plane I can sit somewhere AWAY from the preboarders.

Maybe if more passengers jump ship there will be more DINGS.

 

[JFrey4240]

Summer rates turned out to be very high so I booked AirTran saving $350. Too bad since we really like Southwest...

 

[K9pal]

We're sticking with SW for several reasons:
1) Even with the high fares, they're STILL lower than any others we can find
2) We can make changes and get a credit if the fares go down
3) We're flying with 2 young kids and want a non-stop; the only other NS out of Louisville is Delta on one of those little planes that doesn't use the jetways
4) I like their schedule much better than other airlines.

 

[Gary M]

Three or four years ago I flew SWA enough to earn a free trip. I have since changed to NWA and have been an elite member the last couple of years(fly at least 25,000 miles per year). Out of IND, NWA has fares as low, if not lower, on most of the flights that apply to me. I also got tired of the "cattle call" boarding. The two times I flew SWA to MCO from IND the pre-boarding line ended up being over 1/2 of the plane. Others sat on the flloor in the A,B and C stalls, about 1 hour before departure. While others love the SWA boarding, I don't, and will not fly SWA if I can help it. I'm glad we have good choices out of Indy.