Southwest???

[ShannonGle]

Hello,
I will be flying Southwest later this month and was looking for any information good or bad. I always flew Delta Express, now Song, but SW was much cheaper. I have never flown SW so any information would be helpful...


Shannon

 

[4nana]

We have been very satisfied with SW services and fares.
There are no assigned seats, therefore the early bird gets the worm...LOL. Handicap and parents with little ones get first priority. Then it is grouped according to your ck in time:
A,B,C. You get the picture ~ group A boards first. Hope this helps you.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by ShannonGle
Hello,
I will be flying Southwest later this month and was looking for any information good or bad. I always flew Delta Express, now Song, but SW was much cheaper. I have never flown SW so any information would be helpful...


Shannon

Delta express was my favorite mode of transportation UNTIL I discovered SWA. The only downside, for a lot of people, is no assigned seating. And, as the previous poster said, you load in groups. That info is on their webpage under Travel Center.

They are a very laid back bunch, lots of fun, the cocktails and beer are among the lowest in the airline industry, they don't have those insipid drink carts, they take your order and bring it to you.
They don't serve meals, only tiny snacks, you can bring your own food on board. They are often early to their destination, they rarely change flights, rarely cancel, and have a super record.

The FAs have a sense of humor and often crack me up.

They just have a very old fashioned way of doing business that has worked for them for a LONG time and, as a consumer, it works very well for me.

Sometimes they will not preboard children, if the flight has a lot of kids, they que them up. They ALWAYS board folks with special needs.

Hope this helps, and if you have more ?'s just ask. I love to talk about them.

 

[KCDISDAD]

I fly SWA almost exclusively out of Kansas City (so much so that I have 6 free tix in hand now. As for boarding I have generally found that checking in at the ticket counter 90 mins. prior to your flight will get you an "A" boarding pass thus assuring you of good seats. Usually only the "C"s get stuck with the bad seats unless you there are a lot of through passengers from the incoming flight.

As for pre-boards this only applies to families with children under 5.

Otherwise, sit back, relax, and enjoy a fun flight that will more than likely arrive 10 minutes early.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by KCDISDAD
I fly SWA almost exclusively out of Kansas City (so much so that I have 6 free tix in hand now. As for boarding I have generally found that checking in at the ticket counter 90 mins. prior to your flight will get you an "A" boarding pass thus assuring you of good seats. Usually only the "C"s get stuck with the bad seats unless you there are a lot of through passengers from the incoming flight.

As for pre-boards this only applies to families with children under 5.

Otherwise, sit back, relax, and enjoy a fun flight that will more than likely arrive 10 minutes early.

Preboards:
First people with special needs, then families (immediate only) with children 4 and under.

Prior to general boarding, Customers with disabilities, unaccompanied children, and families with small children will preboard. Customers holding boarding pass "A" will begin general boarding, followed by Customers with boarding pass "B," and then "C."

 

[JudithM]

Gail described Southwest quite well . We enjoyed our flight attendants on our flight the other day. It is nice to not have the drink cart in the middle of the aisle & to be served.

I can vouch for the fact that Southwest does preboard people with disabilities or those with a need to take more time getting on the plane.

 

[Prince Eric1]

We love Southwest. Friendly attendants, funny, quirky pilots, direct flights many time, low fairs, and family's with kids get on first.

 

[debster812]

Add us to the list of SWA fans. We flew them last January, and on our flight from RI to Orlando, there was a grand total of 28 people on our plane, and that included the crew!!!! Talk about getting individual attention. The FA's were great, and our DH drew them all pictures, which were promptly taped up in their galley. They made such a neat fuss over us. I've flown with them pretty frequently for work as well, and have always been on time and just really enjoyed it.

 

[lawgs]

sad to say gail....

but the "under 4" boarding situation is not "always" the rule at all airports....out of bwi on sunday to buffalo, it was under 5 and these pre boards even pushed in front of the "special" needs passengers...


oh well, as someone said in line......some people know how to work the system

 

[bigsis1970]

Hi We really like SWA - our first trip with them was this past June .
Michelle

 

[Steve Hurley]

If you like low fares, great service, leaving on time, arriving early then you'll LOVE SWA. If not then try any of the other airlines!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

Another SWA fan here. When we flew into MCO in Aug, I was by myself with 2 DDs (4.5 years and 22 months). The FAs were great a helping me keep my sanity intact and my kids entertained. DD22months did laps up and down the aisle while her older sister sat in her seat and colored. It was definitely nice to not have to worry about a drink cart when running laps! LOL FAs kept bringing my girls snacks also.

Did I mention that I am a SWA fan???

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by lawgs
sad to say gail....

but the "under 4" boarding situation is not "always" the rule at all airports....out of bwi on sunday to buffalo, it was under 5 and these pre boards even pushed in front of the "special" needs passengers...


oh well, as someone said in line......some people know how to work the system

Yep, and some also love to abuse the system. But, I believe I said 4 and under, which is under 5.
Eventually, people's working/abusing the system will end up causing it to end and the only preboards will be folks with "special" needs.

 

[HappyMommy2]

We love Southwest, mainly because of the low airfares and because out of probably 40 flights with Southwest we've never had a cancellation (we've had a few delays, but those were mostly weather-related). We've occasionally flown other major airlines but the ratio of problems-to-flights has been much worse than with Southwest.

We fly with 2 small kids, and the flight attendants have always been very kind and helpful. I like being able to pre-board with the kids; we sit in the very back and will often have an empty seat or two near us so we can spread out a bit.

A relative of mine who is a pilot for American calls Southwest the Cattle Car airline (and it does kind of seem like that when people are all jockeying at the gate to get to board before others) but altogether Southwest is definitely our airline of choice. If we had unlimited money maybe we'd prefer a more "full-service" airline, but we stick to our travel buget and Southwest fits in nicely.

 

[Oliviaclare]

My family and I have flown SWA many times and we love it. Good service, on-time flights, and wonderful crews. My husband and I are off to Disney World with free tickets from their frequent Flier Program (Rapid Rewards). The airline is always our first choice!