Southwest or JetBlue?

[2binak]

We've always flown JetBlue but prices are really high for our next trip. We can save almost $300 & get pretty decent flight times by flying Southwest. I'm worried we won't like flying with them though.

We flew them once many years ago and did not like the "cattle car" experience. Our trip isn't until Oct so we have plenty of time, but I like to get airline tickets out of the way as soon as possible.

Sooooo....should I wait to see if JetBlue prices go down or should we give SW another try?

 

[mom2brooke76]

Southwest no longer has the "cattle call" boarding system. You are now assigned a boarding letter and corresponding letter based on the time you check-in (A 1-60, B 1-60, C 1-whatever) and they have posts with the corresponding number groups. You now line up in numerical order when they're ready to board, so there's no more staking out a spot. I fly them monthly, so I would recommend trying it again. Here's a link to their "boarding school" to explain it a little better:

http://www.swabiz.com/html/customer-service/airport-experience/boarding-school/

 

[disneymom1229]

We flew Jetblue for our first trip. Our second trip down, Southwest beat Jetblue's fares by a couple hundred dollars and their flight times were so much better. We were also nervous as we loved Jetblue. However, our Southwest experience was very positive. We didn't see much difference in the comfort of the seats or legroom. Granted, we did miss the tvs and choosing our own seats. But the boarding process on Southwest was very organized and went smoothly. You could also purchase earlybird checkin and get a really good boarding position. Getting on the plane with an A boarding pass, you really do have your choice of seats and wouldn't have any trouble getting seats together.
We did fly Jetblue for Sept trip because they had the lower fares that time. But I am finding for our Aug trip, Jetblue's airfares are off the page and am tracking Southwest fares daily. They are about $100 less roundtrip...so you can see where I am leaning.
HTH! And good luck booking with some great savings!!

 

[Rosebud123]

Love JetBlue, but I'd fly whatever is the cheapest!

 

[rwdavis2]

For now, fall Jet Blue fares from Regan National ($200) to MCO beat Southwest from BWI ($300) by a long shot.

 

[mymickeyfans]

We're heading to Disney in October and wanted to book Jetblue out of Boston, but Southwest was close to $500 cheaper out of Providence (we're about 45 minutes away from both airports) so we went with Southwest. The times were great and we figured we could spend the extra money on something else!

ME-
DH-
DS (7)
DD(almost 3)

First family trip to WDW 10/8-10/14!!!

 

[mieuxmew]

Have flown Southwest many times. Great service! They allow you to change your flights - no fees!! Of course, you would have to pay the difference if the flight is more expensive. If flight price is lower, you will get a credit to be used on a future flight. Jet Blue I believe charges a fee for changes.

I have never paid for early check-in. I have a smartphone. I set an alarm for 5-10 minutes before the 24 hour preflight and check in right at 24 hours. I have always had an A or B boarding and we have always sat together. Boarding passes can later be printed at home or at the airport. Plane does board very quickly!

This trip JetBlue was cheaper for us (even compared to Southwest), so we are booked on JetBlue. First time using JetBlue! Last two trips were on Spirit Airlines, so I am sure driving an hour less to the airport and flying Jet Blue is going to be a real treat!

Have a great trip!

 

[2binak]

Thank you all so much for your responses! I feel so much better about Southwest being an option for us.

mom2brooke76 - Thanks for the link! I'm glad to hear that the cattle car system is no longer in effect. The last time we flew SW, people were line jumping, people were yelling at the line jumpers....it was awful. I'm off to check out SW's "boarding school" right now

 

[2binak]

We opted to go with Southwest & we bought our tickets! Dh prefers driving to the airport SW flies out of & we're saving money by flying with them so it really was the best choice for us. Thanks again everyone!