Southwest, United, or Delta?

[bcbmommy]

I normally like flying SW, but for this particular trip, their flight choices are limited. I've flown United, but I'm not sure about Delta. Any preferences?

 

[Judyat]

For us the answer will always be Southwest simply because if I want to change I can without being charged. Plus no charge for up to 2 bags. And if I need to cancel I have a year to use the credit. Delta and United will charge you for everything. It's their penalties that I will not be part of.

 

[bcbmommy]

Yep, I do love SW for all those reasons, as well. I just wish I had more time to plan this trip, because what's left of their flights are not great. Ugh. I need to make a decision tonight, though, because I'm right at the 2 week point.

 

[sam_gordon]

Cost difference (including baggage fees)?
Flight times?
Non-stops?

To me those are the most important factors.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

For us the answer will always be Southwest simply because if I want to change I can without being charged. Plus no charge for up to 2 bags. And if I need to cancel I have a year to use the credit. Delta and United will charge you for everything. It's their penalties that I will not be part of.

What do you mean by "will charge you for everything?" This is not true. Delta and United don't charge for advanced seat assignments, carry-on bags, or non-alcoholic drinks. If you are a frequent flyer or have a branded credit card on UA (and probably Delta; I'm not familiar with their credit card), you get a free checked bag, priority boarding, upgrades, etc. I do agree that change fees are outrageous, but how often do you really need to change flights? Get travel insurance!

OP, all these airlines are fine. Chose the one with the best schedule and best price for your trip.

 

[elgerber]

My only problem with Delta is they are always changing my flight times often by 2-3 hours! But, if this is a fairly last minute trip, that shouldn't be an issue. It just happened to me for a flight in August.

 

[sam_gordon]

What do you mean by "will charge you for everything?" This is not true. Delta and United don't charge for advanced seat assignments, carry-on bags, or non-alcoholic drinks. If you are a frequent flyer or have a branded credit card on UA (and probably Delta; I'm not familiar with their credit card), you get a free checked bag, priority boarding, upgrades, etc. I do agree that change fees are outrageous, but how often do you really need to change flights? Get travel insurance!

Didn't Delta recently start charging for picking your own seat? I might be confused on the actual process.

And yes, if you hold Delta's AmEx card (free for first year, $95/year after), every member of your traveling party (up to 9) gets one free checked bag.

My only problem with Delta is they are always changing my flight times often by 2-3 hours! But, if this is a fairly last minute trip, that shouldn't be an issue. It just happened to me for a flight in August.

You can also use that to your advantage... if the make an extreme change (I believe they define that as any change that affects your departure or arrival time by more than an hour), you can generally "hand pick" replacement flights and they'll move you with no fee.

Delta did come through for us for our flights in June 2014. I had a strange combination of factors... some tickets bought on points, some with money, purchased as two one-way tickets, all leaving from an airport 90 minutes from home. They had oversold one of our departure flights and contacted me wanting to know if I'd be willing to change. I ended up getting flights in/out of our "home" airport (35 minutes from home), at the times I wanted, for no extra charge.

 

[elgerber]

Didn't Delta recently start charging for picking your own seat? I might be confused on the actual process.


You can also use that to your advantage... if the make an extreme change (I believe they define that as any change that affects your departure or arrival time by more than an hour), you can generally "hand pick" replacement flights and they'll move you with no fee.

.

No, they don't charge for pick your own seat. They have economy comfort that has a fee, and some flights have preferred seats with an extra fee, but regular pick at booking seats are still free.

Yes, I have used the cancel to my advantage before, and this time I still made them move me to a different flight from the one they changed it too, but the flight I booked this time is exactly what we needed. We have some weird circumstances this time, and the new flights both earlier and later both mess it up for us.

 

[bcbmommy]

I found a decent price with American Airlines, but goodness, their cancel fee is $200 pp! Yikes! I'm just nervous, because my FIL is in the hospital, very sick right now. This flight I found is 5 hours from us, ugh. Our closest airport is a little over 2 hours away, but their selection at this point is limited.