Southwest Opinions Needed!!!!!

[dmdj232]

We have trips planned for Aug 2017 and Oct 217. We will be 5 adults and 1 infant. We would be flying from Newark to Orlando Non-Stop. We are considering flying Southwest, we have never flown SW but after looking at the HUGE price difference in air fare, IT IS VERY TEMPTING!!!! I would love to hear some pro's and con's compared to other airlines!! THANK YOU!!!!!

 

[preemiemama]

We have flown SW our past few trips. One drawback for families is the open seating, although with an infant you should be able to have at least 2 of you seated together through family seating. You could also do their "Early Bird" check in which would give you priority boarding over people just using the 24 hour check in. The boarding group is not guaranteed, but it typically results in a better group which means a better selection of seats together.

An advantage is not having to pay for 2 pieces of checked luggage per person- this has been invaluable to us when flying to WDW. Between this and the lower price for a direct flight that most of the competitor airlines charge for a flight with 1 stop/transfer, SW is a no-brainer for us!

 

[dmdj232]

GREAT INFO! THANK YOU!!

 

[dmdj232]

We have flown SW our past few trips. One drawback for families is the open seating, although with an infant you should be able to have at least 2 of you seated together through family seating. You could also do their "Early Bird" check in which would give you priority boarding over people just using the 24 hour check in. The boarding group is not guaranteed, but it typically results in a better group which means a better selection of seats together.

An advantage is not having to pay for 2 pieces of checked luggage per person- this has been invaluable to us when flying to WDW. Between this and the lower price for a direct flight that most of the competitor airlines charge for a flight with 1 stop/transfer, SW is a no-brainer for us!

GREAT INFO! THANK YOU!!

 

[maxiesmom]

I love Southwest. Being able to check to bags for free is such a great perk! I also always pay for Early Bird Check In. It is worth it to me to be at the front of the boarding group.

 

[DebbieB]

That's over a year away,

We have trips planned for Aug 2017 and Oct 217. We will be 5 adults and 1 infant. We would be flying from Newark to Orlando Non-Stop. We are considering flying Southwest, we have never flown SW but after looking at the HUGE price difference in air fare, IT IS VERY TEMPTING!!!! I would love to hear some pro's and con's compared to other airlines!! THANK YOU!!!!!

It's over a year away, are you comparing this year's prices?

 

[dmdj232]

That's over a year away,


It's over a year away, are you comparing this year's prices?

Obviously I'm comparing this year's prices because next year's rates are not out yet. I'm not sure what that question has to do with my question which was......What are the pro's and con's of flying Southwest? Thank You for your "contribution".

 

[maxiesmom]

Obviously I'm comparing this year's prices because next year's rates are not out yet. I'm not sure what that question has to do with my question which was......What are the pro's and con's of flying Southwest? Thank You for your "contribution".

I think she is trying to point out that you cannot depend on Southwest being cheaper next year. There is no way to know this far out. You made it clear in your original post that price was a huge reason you are considering Southwest. Which is fine, but as the old saying goes, Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

 

[DebbieB]

Obviously I'm comparing this year's prices because next year's rates are not out yet. I'm not sure what that question has to do with my question which was......What are the pro's and con's of flying Southwest? Thank You for your "contribution".

Sorry to offend, I thought possibly your dates were off ("it is very tempting!"). If you plan farther out, the prices between the airlines may be different. Also rules and routes change.

 

[dmdj232]

Sorry to offend, I thought possibly your dates were off ("it is very tempting!"). If you plan farther out, the prices between the airlines may be different. Also rules and routes change.

No problem, I "read" the question the wrong way. I've seen a lot of post's where people reply with an answer that is irrelevant to the question. I apologize for my inappropriate response. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!!

 

[danjoan14]

It's kind of 1/2 dozen of one thing, and another 1/2 dozen of another. If you don't mind the open seating, Southwest is usually pretty good. They don't charge for checking in luggage, but you still have to pay if you wish to use the early bird check in for a good boarding group. We've seen numerous times where families that have a group C seating walking up and down trying to figure how to sit their family of 4 with only single seats left. I don't think the open seating speeds anything up. Just MHO. And I find the 737's not having enough leg room. I really like having my seat assigned so I know exactly where we'll be. More manageable to fill the aircraft from the back of the plane to the front. But you then have to pay the fee for the luggage. JetBlue is a good choice as well if they fly out of your location. They now have a 3 tier system for ticket purchases/luggage fees. So know matter what you select, the airlines will nickel and dime you for additional fees. The best thing to do is to dollar everything out to see what is your best option. Some time the cheapest isn't always the best. Good luck!

 

[Googelibear]

Here is what I think of SW. And, yes, I know that I am in the minority.
More so than any other airline, flying SW is flying like cattle.
The only time we flew SW was because I had heard such amazing things about SW. Well, let me tell you, standing in line, having paid extra to get on that plane earlier and watching the late comers having to squeeze into seats that were meant for smaller passengers than these peeps were, it was painful.


No thank you, never again.

 

[pooh4evr]

We always fly SW. With 3 kids it has always worked for us. We usually do EBCI, and haven't had any trouble. For your group, traveling with a child UNDER 6 allows the parents, and child to board during family boarding (between boarding groups A and B). BUT in the next 18 months or whatever the timing is things could change A LOT. Pricing, boarding policies and so on. SW releases their flight info in groups, a few months at a time.

 

[Minnie824]

I love flying southwest, and we fly them quite frequently. They are reasonably priced, and the workers we have dealt with in many airports and on the flights have always been friendly. If there are delays they do their best to make up time and apologize for the inconvenience. The last flight we just took, they were telling jokes during their speech and everything. That being said, dealing with the other passengers can be annoying...DH hates it. If I know its a busy time of year or location I will pay for the early bird checkin. Even so, people constantly go in and save seats. There are 4 of us though, and we have never had an issue all sitting together as we normally do. I would say give it a try and if the time you're going is busy, just add in the extra cost for early bird.

 

[goofy4tink]

Here is what I think of SW. And, yes, I know that I am in the minority.
More so than any other airline, flying SW is flying like cattle.
The only time we flew SW was because I had heard such amazing things about SW. Well, let me tell you, standing in line, having paid extra to get on that plane earlier and watching the late comers having to squeeze into seats that were meant for smaller passengers than these peeps were, it was painful.


No thank you, never again.

I have to take issue with some of your statements. First, flying like cattle? Nope. I just flew AA, a legacy airline, from Boston to Cabo! Boarding, every single time, was miserable. The people all jammed in the gate area, as if standing there was going to get them on sooner...all it does is slow down the boarding process. Squeezing into seats? Well, unless you are paying for first class, you are getting pretty much the same sized seat on every airline. We paid for addtl leg room on AA...dh is 6'4". Well, it sure didn't give much more room. His knees still hit the back of the seat in front of him.
I like the boarding process with SW...it's all very organized and not chaotic. You get on, you sit down. Easy. Because you get two checked bags, carry on bags aren't a huge issue with SW. So, no standing there, waiting for the nutty lady to get her oversized carry on bag in the overhead bin!!

My only issue with SW is that there is no entertainment at all. But....that trip on AA didn't have any either, and those were 5 hr trips!!! Plus the 2 hrs from Phoenix to Cabo!! I'm flying Virgin American to, and from, LAX next month. They have in seat entertainment, their seats are very comfortable. But, they don't hand out many snacks, so we will be bringing our own. I usually fly JetBlue...love them. I love the extra legroom seats if my dh is flying and the flight is over 3 hrs. I love that they will give you as many snacks as you ask for...with zero attitude.
I am quite happily flying SW in Sept. I always pay for EBCI...I figure I'm not paying for bags, so it's not a big deal.

 

[maxiesmom]

[QUOTE="goofy4tink, post: 55578134, member: 37963"
My only issue with SW is that there is no entertainment at all. [/QUOTE]

Not quite true. You can pay for wifi, if the aircraft you are on offers it.

 

[PCFriar80]

[QUOTE="goofy4tink, post: 55578134, member: 37963"
My only issue with SW is that there is no entertainment at all.

Not quite true. You can pay for wifi, if the aircraft you are on offers it.[/QUOTE]


We've had free entertainment via our iPads on our last 8 or so flights over the last 2 years.

WiFi and Inflight Entertainment
By accessing the SouthwestWiFi hotspot onboard, you can make time fly on your own personal electronic device!

Free live and on-demand television:

• 19 live channels and up to 75 television episodes from popular series
  *Where available. Does not include NFL RedZone. Limited time.

 

[BrownHP800]

One tip for Southwest, after booking your flight. Keep checking on flight prices. They will *usually* go down at some point. There is no change fee for Southwest, if you find a cheaper price, rebook it and you will be refunded the difference. We usually book on points and I just checked on our flight home from Disneyland to Raleigh and it was 6800 points per ticket cheaper which is a lot. I simply rebooked and my points were refunded. Now I have enough for our December trip to WDW.

 

[Ginny2128]

We have flown SW our past few trips. One drawback for families is the open seating, although with an infant you should be able to have at least 2 of you seated together through family seating. You could also do their "Early Bird" check in which would give you priority boarding over people just using the 24 hour check in. The boarding group is not guaranteed, but it typically results in a better group which means a better selection of seats together.

An advantage is not having to pay for 2 pieces of checked luggage per person- this has been invaluable to us when flying to WDW. Between this and the lower price for a direct flight that most of the competitor airlines charge for a flight with 1 stop/transfer, SW is a no-brainer for us!

I've also been on flights where crew members will ask people to trade their seats so that a parent and younger child can sit together. If no one jumps up right away, SW crew will "bribe" people with a free drink.

I personally like the prices and customer service that I get on SW, even if I don't like the opening seating that much. If I'm not seated with the rest of my group, I just figure 3 hours of time being slightly uncomfortable is usually worth the price difference.

 

[goofy4tink]

Not quite true. You can pay for wifi, if the aircraft you are on offers it.

We've had free entertainment via our iPads on our last 8 or so flights over the last 2 years.

WiFi and Inflight Entertainment
By accessing the SouthwestWiFi hotspot onboard, you can make time fly on your own personal electronic device!

Free live and on-demand television:

• 19 live channels and up to 75 television episodes from popular series
  *Where available. Does not include NFL RedZone. Limited time.

[/QUOTE]
True. But I have never had any luck getting hooked up!!! Tried like crazy, coming and going, on my AA flight a few weeks ago. Just didn't work for me. Then again, I do tend to be a bit of a Luddite when it comes to these things!!!