Why all the SWA Hatin'?

[CarolA]

Agreed, some of the posters are slaming SW for "ruining" their famlies vacation. Disney hotel rooms and park passes have gone up a lot more then airline fares over the last 10-20 years.

People have a right to hope for getting a great deal but I don't understand how people were basing their vacation plans on getting R/T air fare for about what a O/W ticket should cost getting a reasonable price.

Just one question? How did you respond to me before I posted?

(I think Lewis has a timeturner!)

 

[C.Ann]

I'll still choose SW over any other due to their non-stop flights to Orlando, their change/credit policies, their on-time or early arrivals, their open seating, their great FA's, and their excellent safety record..

No hatin' going on here..

 

[bavaria]

Just one question? How did you respond to me before I posted?

(I think Lewis has a timeturner!)

We have collectively broken the space/time continuum apparently on this website today. Much as I credit Lewisc with certain powers, I doubt that they extend quite so far!

Edited to add: I see that DVC Sadie somehow managed to stick her response between mine and jlewis' - it wasn't there a few minutes ago....

 

[Lewisc]

I'm practicing my mind reading skills. First step is anticipating a post minutes before the poster finishing composing the message.

 

[2infinityandbeyond]

I recall a BOGOF sale years ago where we paid $29 for two of us to fly on SWA from Phoenix to Oakland. Since they've been flying out of PHL, we've paid anywhere from $49-$70 to/from MCO. For our next trip we're paying $64 to MCO and $179 back to PHL. No complaints. It is what it is. After years of cheap flights on SWA, I figure I'm still way ahead of the game.

I think the complaining all goes back to the same sense of entitlement that we see in complaints about no free room upgrades, not getting to "wake Tink" and all of those other "pixie dust" WDW moments which happen at random.

 

[CarolA]

I'm practicing my mind reading skills. First step is anticipating a post minutes before the poster finishing composing the message.

You are GOOD! You have done it to me twice now..

I think I have entered..


THE TWILIGHT ZONE!!!!

 

[bavaria]

I think I have entered..


THE TWILIGHT ZONE!!!!

No, you have entered the Transportation Board. Normal need not apply...

By the way, you quoted Lewisc and I can't even see where he posted that!

 

[Anjelica]

I've not done alot of research so I have no idea if this is true or not....But didn't someone/folks write that SW had prepurchased their oil at xx amount - is that true and does anyone know the specifics of that?

 

[Cruz91]

When I started the thread, I fully expected to get flamed by angry folks paying what they think is too much for airfare. Glad to see there are plenty of realists hanging around.

I, personally, am hoping SW is helping me SAVE money for an upcoming trip. My strategy is to buy the slightly higher fares now in the hope they will offer a $99 DING! closer to my trip. If they do that, I'll end up with ~$400 in credits towards another trip back to Disney!

Speaking of Disney - and airlines... It reminds me of a Reece's P.B. cup candy bar... Disney is great. Airlines are great. Why doesn't Disney just start an airline and have flight packages to/from the 15 or 20 largest airports in the country?!

Anyway - thanks for all the great conversations in this thread! It was great reading back through!!!

 

[bavaria]

I've not done alot of research so I have no idea if this is true or not....But didn't someone/folks write that SW had prepurchased their oil at xx amount - is that true and does anyone know the specifics of that?

SW did more fuel hedging than other US carriers. Hedging is common in the airline industry; sometimes it pays off, other times not.

But lack of hedging is also one reason why other US carriers are suffering more than SW and suffering more than international carriers.

But SW's advantage will come to an end soon as their hedged percentages drop.

 

[CarolA]

No, you have entered the Transportation Board. Normal need not apply...

By the way, you quoted Lewisc and I can't even see where he posted that!

It's above the post where I ask how he responded before I posted...

(Yes this is sad, I have no life and find this highly entertaining!)

 

[MrMarv]

For 2008, SWA has purchased 70% of the fuel they expect to use this year for $51.00 a barrel.

I also agree that folks who blame SWA for destroying their vacation plans are out of line; SWA is in business to make a profit, and their business model is an excellent one.

All things considered, $350.00 R/T to fly coast-to-coast is a very good airfare.

 

[jenelope]

I'm not hating SWA, but I've never put them on a pedestal, either. I've found SWA's past fares to be comparable with other discount airlines, but not better. And there have been times in the past where I could get much cheaper flights from Northwest. Even this year, if I had purchased the ticket for my October trip back in February, I would have gotten a $200 n/s flight on Northwest (DTW->MCO, I live near a hub). The best I've seen on SWA was about $280. And while the Ding fares are great, they never seem to work out for me.

I've had excellent service from Southwest, but I don't consider them anything more than "just another airline." They've cut back their flights from Detroit a bit, and airfares have gone up. That just seems like typical airline stuff.

 

[Ashley Kees]

I don't think SW is allowed to fly N/S from Love Field to MCO.

Yes, I realize that. That's why I said you can't get a NS flight. But I didn't think it was necessary to post a long tirade about the Wright Amendment nonsense, which non-Dallasites really wouldn't care about...

Lewisc, among the very sharpest posters on this board, is indeed correct; thanks to the idiotic-and-then-some 'Wright Amendment' rule, Southwest is only allowed to fly nonstop to only a handful of cities from Love Field, a despicable rule implemented to 'protect' American Airlines in 1979.

Consequently, residents of 'Big D' pay some of the very highest airfares of any major airport in the USA; this restriction only applies to Southwest out of Love Field, since they can fly nonstops to anywhere they choose from their four other major Texas cities---Austin, San Antonio, Houston Hobby & El Paso.

Consequently, airfares on Southwest from those other four Texas cities tend to be substantially cheaper to anywhere Southwest flies than from either Love Field or DFW.

Suffice it to say, that also means substantially more and lengthier nonstops, as evidenced by the fact that you can fly nonstop on SWA to Nashville, Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Tampa and Orlando from any of those other four cities, but not from Love Field.

Like this one.

 

[scammermom]

I'll still choose SW over any other due to their non-stop flights to Orlando, their change/credit policies, their on-time or early arrivals, their open seating, their great FA's, and their excellent safety record..

No hatin' going on here..

AMEN!!
And don't forget how they don't CHANGE THEIR SCHEDULES!!

 

[bavaria]

Yes, I realize that. That's why I said you can't get a NS flight. But I didn't think it was necessary to post a long tirade about the Wright Amendment nonsense, which non-Dallasites really wouldn't care about...



Like this one.

Ouch. I for one care and don't live in Dallas nor have any plans to live in Dallas. I enjoy learning new information, even if others may not. I never knew the details of this agreement.

Thanks Mr Marv for posting that. I appreciated your post.

 

[scammermom]

Ouch. I for one care and don't live in Dallas nor have any plans to live in Dallas. I enjoy learning new information, even if others may not. I never knew the details of this agreement.

Thanks Mr Marv for posting that. I appreciated your post.

AMEN!! AMEN!!

I'm just so agreeable these days.

 

[MrMarv]

You're very welcome folks; there's a nice history/breakdown regarding the 'Wright Amendment' at Wikipedia, although it does get quite convoluted at times.

 

[Doug7856]

Deleted post. Reconsidered what I said. Sorry!