SouthWest airlines why so cheap?

[Drivercan]

I just saw a flight for a family of 4, round trip Buffalo to Orlando $549 US with SouthWest airlines.

How can this be so cheap? What is the catch?

What kind of planes do they fly? My husband does not like flying and can't stand the small noisy planes.

I understand that taxes for Canadian airports are much higher than in the US but what are the other drawbacks of flying Southwest?

Anything to help convince my husband that we should fly instead of driving, please do tell!!

 

[Hockeychic]

Shhhhhhhh don't tell everyone.....

No catch, I have flown SW I think 3 times, never been delayed, never had my flight changed......(touch wood) superstitious thing.

SW is great, crew are very friendly. I love SW, also if the flight goes down or you get a DING for a lower flight, you can almost always get a refund, or for sure a travel credit that has to be used within a year.

Also Buffalo airport is amazing to get around...nothing at all like Pearson.

Not sure what type of planes they are but they have 2 rolls of 3 each seats....does that make sense. Not noiser then any other plane I have been on.

They are great airline...but don't tell everyone......

Kim

 

[talicskai]

Hi there~ Southwest is awesome ~ I fly with them every February from Buffalo. The only drawback I can think of is that they do not assign seats. 24 hours prior to departure you can check in online and receive a boarding card. They issue "A" "B" or "C". The passengers with "A" get to board first and choose their seating. Then B, then C. If you only get "C" cards then you will probably not get to sit together but sometimes (depending on your DH) that is a bonus!

I never look at other carriers anymore. This Feb I only paid $407 US for three seats! Great deal ~ same price as driving.

Try them ~ he'll be forever grateful at the money you are saving!

Teresa

 

[snickerboo]

Why so cheap? 2 words:no union. As I understand it, SWA's employees are not unionized.

My dh has flown all of the major carriers for business and he really likes SWA. Not to mention, not everyone flying SWA is getting those fabulous Ding rates that we're getting. My dh has never used a Ding rate for business. I had just heard so much about it here that I ventured a try and it was well worth it.

Quick question: Do I still get "A" boarding assignment if I have a Ding fare, so long as I do the online check-in right @ 24hrs prior? Last year we flew Delta through Travelocity and when you do Travelocity you get the last boarding because you booked a discount rate (at least, that's how it was for us on Delta).

 

[cabmom]

Quick question: Do I still get "A" boarding assignment if I have a Ding fare, so long as I do the online check-in right @ 24hrs prior? Last year we flew Delta through Travelocity and when you do Travelocity you get the last boarding because you booked a discount rate (at least, that's how it was for us on Delta).

If you check in online in advance you will still get your "A" presuming that there are some.

 

[dsneygirl]

They keep costs down by~
-not serving meals
-no inflight entertainment (movies or music)
-flying only 1 type of aircraf 737, maintenance costs are so much lower than having a diverse fleet

We have flown SW at least 2-3 times a year since 2001 or so and never had a problem.

 

[Csaks]

I also remember watching somewhere an interview with the CEO of American Airlines that they locked in their price of fuel for a certain amount of time. The basic idea was say they locked in at 1.00/L , no matter what the actual price was, higher or lower thats what they paid for the length of the contract. At the time everyone thought they were crazy, who's the crazy one now with fuel prices going up and up. But he also said sooner or later the contract would be up and their prices would reflect it.
Again this is just something I remember from a TV interview a few months ago, so take it with a grain of salt.
Chris.

 

[Hockeychic]

DD and I are heading to WDW early May....round trip for 2 people....non stop flights $271 US....

Kim

 

[disneyfan2]

You also cannot pre-select your seats.

 

[nosnobunny2006]

We just came home Tues from Ft Lauderdale and flew SW out of Buffalo. It's a bare-bones airline with no extra frills but the staff is exceptionally upbeat and helpful, moreso than any other airline I've flown lately. I was pleasantly surprized with the price as well as their relatively on-time schedule.

The only thing I didn't like (and believe me I REALLY didn't like it) was the open seating. You cannot reserve your seat in advance. All boarding passes are coded A or B with A's loading right after the pre-boards. You then pick whichever seat is available. The part I dislike so much is having to stand in line in your category to get a crack at the seats first. That wait was over a half hour last time. Other than that, I think it's a great carrier.

Beth

 

[F4disneyfan]

I just saw a flight for a family of 4, round trip Buffalo to Orlando $549 US with SouthWest airlines.

How can this be so cheap? What is the catch?

What kind of planes do they fly? My husband does not like flying and can't stand the small noisy planes.

I understand that taxes for Canadian airports are much higher than in the US but what are the other drawbacks of flying Southwest?

Anything to help convince my husband that we should fly instead of driving, please do tell!!

No matter the cost of flying it is still cheaper and WAY WAY more fun to drive even though it is just the wife and I heading to Disney in Dec we are still driving rather than flying. For us it just isn't a Disney holiday unless we drive that is all part of the fun and part of our holiday.

 

[canron]

we have been flying southwest 3 to 4 times a year for 7 years ,,its so cheap..we have gone for 4 day weekends ..i donnt know how they do it ,,but never been late even been early,,we got $21.00 each way 3 years ago..just take the deal and have fun we went in mar,going back in may,,4 day weekend..$290,00 return for 2 ,,out of toronto,,,$489.00 for 1

 

[lisaviolet]

How does the A/B/C boarding pass work on a connecting flight with SW? Thanks.

OP. I have flown SW 7 times in the last two years. I have only had one delayed flight. And it was for good reason. Long story. Many of these flights have been early. Every single one of these flights has been direct (hence the connecting question above) . Love the direct flights. I, and I know I'm in the minority, love the unassigned seating. Love the choice of seats. If I get an "A", which is pretty simple to get, I don't line up at all. I just go to the end of the "A" line when it starts moving. Best spot in my opinion. I can judge where the "quiet" area might be. I like how quickly unassigned seating boards. To me there is no comparison between the time to board and take off on SW and Air Canada or any other assigned seating airline. On, sit, takeoff. Done.

And as for overbooking. Heck. I've never had it on any of my flights. But I would love for it to happen. They almost always, or maybe always, fill their quota with volunteers. And I would be first in line if it wasn't an emergency to get home. It's not a bad package by any means.

SW has allowed me the financial ability to have the choice between flying and driving. Love the airline. And don't even get me started on their superior changing/cancelling reservations policies. I just changed my family's trip to California three times. Three times, saved one pair $127 cash and the other $40 voucher. The price got so low I thought of booking myself. Changing flights and saving money. Unreal concept.

As for your question on "how can they do it?". When I first found them I used to ask the same question to my friend and say, "$49? What do they use for fuel...banana peels?"

 

[LegoMom3]

Just adding my own experience with SW - it has been GREAT and I hate to fly in general!! Planes are clean and seem to be fairly new (or just VERY well kept). No meals but you do get drinks and a snack box for flights over 2 hours I think. Staff is always helpful (at least that's been my experience) and on occasion I 've had a really funny pilot! They also consistently come out on top as having the fewest customer complaints against them (USAir being #1....and they are the reason I found and now use SW!).

 

[nosnobunny2006]

How does the A/B/C boarding pass work on a connecting flight with SW? Thanks.

OP. I have flown SW 7 times in the last two years. I have only had one delayed flight. And it was for good reason. Long story. Many of these flights have been early. Every single one of these flights has been direct (hence the connecting question above) . Love the direct flights. I, and I know I'm in the minority, love the unassigned seating. Love the choice of seats. If I get an "A", which is pretty simple to get, I don't line up at all. I just go to the end of the "A" line when it starts moving. Best spot in my opinion. I can judge where the "quiet" area might be. I like how quickly unassigned seating boards. To me there is no comparison between the time to board and take off on SW and Air Canada or any other assigned seating airline. On, sit, takeoff. Done.

And as for overbooking. Heck. I've never had it on all my flights. But I would love for it to happen. They almost always, or maybe always, fill their quota with volunteers. And I would be first in line if it wasn't an emergency to get home. It's not a bad package by any means.

SW has allowed me the financial ability to have the choice between flying and driving. Love the airline. And don't even get me started on their superior changing/cancelling reservations policies. I just changed my family's trip to California three times. Three times, saved one pair $127 cash and the other $40 voucher. The price got so low I thought of booking myself. Changing flights and saving money. Unreal concept.

As for your question on "how can they do it?". When I first found them I used to ask the same question to my friend and say, "$49? What do they use for fuel...banana peels?"

I often fly from BUF to Ft Lauderdale and unfortunately most airlines don't have non-stop service. That means connecting flights are the norm for me. We just flew SW for the first time on our last trip. Connecting flights work the same way. You print your boarding passes at home (to get A passes) and you'll get all your boarding passes for your complete trip. When you board in BUF just give them the first leg and keep your next passes handy because you'll need then for the next leg of your trip. You'll have to line up for boarding on each phase of your trip. Our outgoing flight was Buffalo to Tampa and due to a technical problem with the jetway, we were quite late getting away from BUF. SW was right on it and held our connecting flight in Tampa. It was only 15 minutes or so. Then they hustled all 16 Ft. Lauderdale passengers through the terminal. We made it and happily so did our luggage. I didn't care so much about my clothes as my golf clubs!

Beth

 

[lisaviolet]

I often fly from BUF to Ft Lauderdale and unfortunately most airlines don't have non-stop service. That means connecting flights are the norm for me. We just flew SW for the first time on our last trip. Connecting flights work the same way. You print your boarding passes at home (to get A passes) and you'll get all your boarding passes for your complete trip. When you board in BUF just give them the first leg and keep your next passes handy because you'll need then for the next leg of your trip. You'll have to line up for boarding on each phase of your trip. Our outgoing flight was Buffalo to Tampa and due to a technical problem with the jetway, we were quite late getting away from BUF. SW was right on it and held our connecting flight in Tampa. It was only 15 minutes or so. Then they hustled all 16 Ft. Lauderdale passengers through the terminal. We made it and happily so did our luggage. I didn't care so much about my clothes as my golf clubs!

Beth

Thanks so much Beth. Good to know that an "A" is an "A" the entire trip if available.

 

[nosnobunny2006]

You're very welcome. This was our first experience with open seating so we didn't know what to expect or how it worked. Other than lining up, it's not too bad.

Beth

 

[lordnamis]

Hey lisaviolet, make sure you prebook both flights when going down on the computer. So you should have 2 passes for the trip and you just give the one pass in Buffalo and keep the other one for the connecting plane. I have seen people print out the first plane thinking it is for the whole trip but it is not, print them both out and keep the second for the second plane.

Flown SW 7 times in the last 2 years and never had a problem even with connecting flights.

 

[lisaviolet]

Thank you.....