Southwest Airlines to SNA?

[Daisybelle]

I'm getting ready to purchase airfare for our trip this Fall. I have used Jet Blue our last few flights to Disneyland and have really liked them. Southwest, which I've never flown, has a great sale right now that puts them about $80 less per ticket.

Question. I know they operate differently, but does that add a lot of stress and unpredictability to the experience? Are they reliable?

I'd love some feedback from those that have used them!

 

[Vijoge]

We only fly SWA. Have not had so much as one bad experience. Great flight crews, our plane has never been late, no lost luggage. Excellent customer service when I've screwed up my booking. Free checked baggage. Just remember you need to check in at exactly the 24 hour mark if you don't purchase EBCI. (we don't)

 

[Wilcojoe]

Southwest reliable? They have only been the highest rated major airline over the course of the last two decades. Unless you have status with JetBlue or if they offer better flight times from your origination, to me that's a no-brainer. Southwest all the way.

 

[RobertaMomof2]

We have flown both. Both are great, but if one is cheaper we go that route. Honestly, I prefer to fly into SNA. It is easy and close to DL so we try to fly into SNA whenever possible. Uber is really cheap to Harbor hotels as well. We do the early bird check in so we are sure to sit together (I have an 8 and 12 year old).

 

[Shanti]

I'm getting ready to purchase airfare for our trip this Fall. I have used Jet Blue our last few flights to Disneyland and have really liked them. Southwest, which I've never flown, has a great sale right now that puts them about $80 less per ticket.

Question. I know they operate differently, but does that add a lot of stress and unpredictability to the experience? Are they reliable?

I'd love some feedback from those that have used them!

They're as reliable & easy to deal with as Jet Blue or any of the legacy carriers, for better or worse... They're not Spirit Airlines, in other words.

The main difference from flying Jet Blue or coach on a legacy carrier is there is no assigned seating on Southwest. I always get Early Bird Check-In to help get a better spot in line on the way in to get seated, but some people don't want to pay the extra $15 per flight, & instead log in exactly (to the second) 24 hours ahead of their flight to try to get a decent spot in line. Kind of a hassle that I don't recommend for a newbie. Get Early Bird.

SWA also gives each passenger 2 free checked bags, and you can change your flight without penalty.

 

[Metalliman98]

Depends where you are coming from and how much of an issue cost is. Southwest is fine for short direct flights. Too cramped (for me any way) for anything longer than about two hours, and if you're coming from more than two time zones good luck getting a direct, which is really the deal breaker for me on recommending southwest for cross country flights. But we fly whenever we can from sac to SNA, and southwest is often the best deal.

 

[SMD]

I fly Southwest on short direct flights. Since they stopped flying direct from LAX to many places on the east coast I've started looking elsewhere for those flights. You have to understand the open seating at their boarding procedure and be ok with it. Some people aren't, but that's how they do it. Also, the lack of optional inflight snacks for purchase might bother some people. But they are not immune to delays at all. Especially on the west coast where the planes do many short hops along the coast all day, and pass through SF and Seattle, if there's a weather delay in the morning, the flights can be delayed all day. For every time I've gotten in 10-15 minutes early, I'd say I've also been 30 minutes or more late.

 

[GatorGirl]

This is good to hear - we are flying Southwest later this week - we did do the early bird check in........

 

[Shanti]

Southwest reliable? They have only been the highest rated major airline over the course of the last two decades.

Their on-time rating has actually suffered quite a bit in recent years as they've been trying to cost-cut by stacking flights. I've dealt with delays and misrouted luggage with Southwest, just as I have with other airlines. My experience is that they are no less reliable than any other airline, but no more reliable, either.

 

[daneenm]

We always fly SWA. However, i must say that this trip (6/28-7/2) we had both a cancelled flight and a delayed flight (by 45 minutes). These are both things we have never experienced on SWA in all the years we have used them. The cancelled flight was the most disconcerting because they kept telling us it would be going and then, an hour after flight time, they told us it was cancelled - we had a plane but no crew. Luckily, we were flying business select so they automatically pushed us to the next flight, but others had a harder time.

Once we were on board, all was well.

Forgot to add...we always do early bird check in. Just makes things easier for our family.

 

[Daisybelle]

Lots of good information so far! We're flying from Portland, OR so it's just a 2+ hour flight. I'm not worried about snacks for that length, and we're short so that helps with space issues. I'll have to study up on how to board so that I can make sure I can sit with my daughter. She's 21, so it's not the end of the world if we can't, but it wouldn't be nearly as fun! I think the not having a specific seat assignment is messing with my head but I sure like the price!

 

[bcla]

I'm getting ready to purchase airfare for our trip this Fall. I have used Jet Blue our last few flights to Disneyland and have really liked them. Southwest, which I've never flown, has a great sale right now that puts them about $80 less per ticket.

Question. I know they operate differently, but does that add a lot of stress and unpredictability to the experience? Are they reliable?

I'd love some feedback from those that have used them!

The only thing that some consider a downside is their first-come, first-served boarding procedure. Outside of that, your fare includes two included checked-in bags and the official carry-on size limit is the largest of any major domestic airline. They also still have complimentary beverages.

Other than finding a seat, it's no worse than any other airline. On top of that, they have the most generous cancellation policy of any airline with full credit and no change fees. They're not as cheap as they used to be, but I think they still provide excellent value if you consider the entire package.

 

[ktlm]

We have had lots of good experiences flying into SNA on Southwest. We typically pay for the early bird seating so we don't stress about getting seats together. We have to connect from home to most places. We had a trip to SNA where our initial flight was delayed quite a bit. It was going to make us about 20 or 30 minutes late for our connection to SNA. Because they had over 10 people on that flight going to SNA, they held the connection for all of us so that we would not miss our flight. Others that had tighter connections which had fewer people were rebooked automatically and SW was calling them up to the counter and telling them when their rebooked flight was, and the few that they could not get new connections for that day had the option of either taking the first leg and spending the night there, or flying out early the next morning. It was the smoothest we have ever seen when flights were delayed. We had another experience on a different airline where our flight was delayed for 8 hours, and we had no help in the airport rebooking our connection or changing flights. We had to call the airline from our cell phones and attempt to find a new way to get to our destination as the people at the counter would not even attempt to rebook anyone's connections.

 

[thatgrljme]

Love love love Southwest. They are the first airline I flew with my son alone and they were so gracious and helpful even when I didn't need any help. Easiest flight I have taken in years, and if I can fly them to where I am going they will be my first choice always!

 

[ParkHopper1]

I am on Southwest every two weeks for everything from 30 min flights to cross country and love them. Their system is quite a bit different than the other major players and I tell newbies that don't have it mastered yet to pay for the Early Bird Check In. That will ensure you a decent boarding position since it is open seating and well worth the few bucks. Being in the back of the C boarding group blows if you forget to check in right at the 24 hour mark. Even better not to have to worry about checking in during your last day in the park for your return flight! Even if you have already purchased your ticket you can can and add EBCI to your reservation.

Reliability is the same as any other carrier...if there is weather anywhere across the country and you have a flight or connection later in the day delays are inevitable . That is more a function of the airlines industry procedures as a whole and not just a SW issue.

The ability to check two free bags and change or cancel a flight without any change feee or penalty is one of the things that sets them apart from everyone else.

Bring snacks if you will want them. SW gives you peanuts and sometimes pretzels along with typical soft drinks and beverages. You get a bit more on longer flights but if you want something more, bring it along. Perfectly acceptable and normal to bring food with ya on the plane.

 

[GenGen22]

I have flown both Southwest & JetBlue. No issues with either of them. I fly Southwest more because of the free baggage and JetBlue I have to go to San Francisco which is an hour away and flies to LGB so I prefer to fly SJC to SNA. LGB has a nice airport as well. Anyhow no issues with Southwest at all.

 

[mamapenguin]

I fly Alaska out of PDX to SNA and love them, but if SWA had a better deal I would definitely consider them.

 

[AmberK24]

I am a tried & true Southwest fan! I typically have 15-20 flying trips per year & if SW goes there, it's what I'm on. While they can have the same weather delays as any other airline, the customer service aspect of how they are proactive about fixing the problems is far superior. In addition to their free bag & no change fee policies, they are incredibly low key and make flying enjoyable instead of stressful.

 

[Jrsy Boy]

We're big SWA fans, too, and although I used to be poised at the keyboard at exactly 24 hours out to check-in, that is usually a hassle for the return flight so we always do Early Bird Check-In now. Typically, even with the fee, the total cost is still less than other carriers fare+baggage and only once have we not been in the A boarding group with EBCI. As far as sitting together, I have heard the A, B & C boarding groups referred to as A = Awesome because you'll have a lot of seats together to choose from, B = Back because that's where seats together will be found and C = Center because those will be the only seats left when C group boards.

Also, because there are no change fees, I follow the price changes after I've booked and rebook if the fare drops. You get the difference as SWA Travel Funds which you can use on future flights. The fares for our last DLR trip dropped over $80 from when we first booked and we are using the difference on our vacation this month.

 

[bcla]

Reliability is the same as any other carrier...if there is weather anywhere across the country and you have a flight or connection later in the day delays are inevitable . That is more a function of the airlines industry procedures as a whole and not just a SW issue.

Southwest also has fairly new planes, although my last flight was on a downright ancient 737-300. Fleet reliability can affect on time performance.

I am a tried & true Southwest fan! I typically have 15-20 flying trips per year & if SW goes there, it's what I'm on. While they can have the same weather delays as any other airline, the customer service aspect of how they are proactive about fixing the problems is far superior. In addition to their free bag & no change fee policies, they are incredibly low key and make flying enjoyable instead of stressful.

Other airlines have a no change fee policy - if you're willing to purchase full fare. I've flown on business before and was shocked at how much full fare was. What sets Southwest apart is that they have no change fee on any fare. I'm on their rewards program, and occasionally I'd cancel and all my points went back without any penalty.