SW with 1 stop?

[aljer]

Has anyone flown a SW flight that has just the numerial 1 in the stops column? My mother is going to be on a flight like this and i just want to be able to tell her what to expect. I know that she will not have to get off of teh plane but can you find out where the planes stop is? Any info would be appreciated.
Thank you

 

[slruud]

Easiest thing is to just call SWA and ask. I have had success going through their schedule online, but a call is a lot easier.

 

[DVC-Don]

That means the plane stops along the way, but you don't have to get off.

 

[tkoran]

Ok, I'm confused. (Sorry if I'm highjacking the thread) I'm sorry if I seem dense, but I haven't flown since 1989 so I'm pretty clueless.

When it says there is 1 stop, how do you know you don't have to get off? Some of the layovers are quite lengthy so I can't imagine sitting on a plane for sometimes 3 hours waiting for it to take off again. I am looking mainly at AirTran flights though since SW doesn't have their schedule out for December yet. Maybe there's a difference in airlines?

 

[slruud]

In the Southwest world the stopover/connecting flight scenario is planned well in advance. The flight with just the 1 next to it is scheduled to drop passengers off and board new passengers with a minimum amount of time on the ground. In some cases where you have to change planes, you may have to wait maybe an hour, sometimes more, and sometimes as little as 25 minutes. It's how Southwest has done things for quite some time, and seems to work quite well.

 

[Telcogirl]

I have never flown Southwest and had a stop with more than a half hour on the ground. Southwest does not have the typical three hour layovers that other airlines do. They really do a good job getting their planes turned around and back in the air.

 

[msmayor]

I have the same situation on my flight to Vegas in a few months.

One quick call to Southwest confirmed that we were stopping in Phoenix for no more than 30 minutes for passengers ending their trip there and/or starting their trip there. I was told that since we were ticketed through to Vegas, we would simply remain on the plane while on the ground.

Taking this 1-stop flight saved us $40 each over the cost of a non-stop, and we get into Vegas only one hour later than the non-stop would have, so it seemed like a good deal to us.

 

[Rpsemont]

You can either call them or also "research" it yourself. For instance, we fly SWA from BDL (Hartford) to MCO. There are nonstop, BWI/1 (change planes in Baltimore) and just "1" flights listed. The "1" - (one stop no change of plane) is flight #223 this sunday. A quick search of BDL to BWI showed flight 223. BWI to MCO also showed flight 223. If I combine these, I can determine the exact timetable that they allow for the stopover. Generally, your stopover is going to be in a city that they probably connect through during other flights of the day.

Of course, you can also call.

 

[DVC-Don]

Last time we did one of these flights we stopped in Phoenix and we were only at the gate for 30 minutes while passengers got off and new ones got on.

 

[MrMarv]

Their entire system is built on very quick stops (25 minutes or less) to allow passengers to depart and board the plane before it takes off for its next destination.