So just how much cheaper is it, actually, to fly Southwest?

[NCMtnBoys]

From Portland Or .. we fly frequently to Sacramento for business and because family is there. Southwest is ALWAYS the cheapest way to get there and it is obviously non-stop. We rent cars from Alamo, usually the cheapest but certainly at Sacramento the easiest to deal with. That gives us Rapid Rewards credit. We both have SWA Visa cards.. that gives us Rapid Rewards credits. We end up with several RR tickets each year which we then use to get to farther flung domestic locations.

 

 

But more importantly .. I love not having an assigned seat!! When I get on the plane, I can look around for a seat NOT next to a baby or a group of small children. If we are flying with a stop to a more distant destination, we can move right up to the front of the plane before they board the next passengers.

 

We ALWAYS get on a computer 24 hours in advance and "print" boarding passes. If we are at home I literally print them. If I am away I pseudo print them and then punch the information in at a computer in the airport to re-print them It is always the exact same boarding pass and same number. We haven't had other than a A ticket in years.

 

They are almost always on time or within 15 minutes of on time.. unless weather is a factor. They have NEVER lost any luggage.

 

Even when we are flying to Europe, SWA helps because we save a RR ticket to fly to RI and then take the train to Boston to take advantage of the cheaper air fare to Europe from Logan.

 

No SWA is NOT always the cheapest fare .. except on the route we use about once ever 6wks to 2 months .. but I truly like the way they do business

 

Agree with all you say. I LOVE Southwest, always have. I used to live in Sacramento, just moved from there 2 years ago. And while living in Sacramento, I used ONLY Southwest, by choice, for all of my domestic travel. And some years there was a lot of it (18 pleasure trips one year!). Of course in Sacramento, Southwest alone literally hauls HALF of all passengers (the other half are hauled collectively by US Airways, American, United, Delta, Continental, Alaska, Northwest, Jet Blue, Frontier and Hawaiian, not to mention Air Canada, ExpressJet, Horizon and Mexicana. That speaks volumes!!).

 

Anyhoo, I love not having an assigned seat. I don't have to sit next to a crying, screaming brat. I don't care that they don't have first class...coach seats get to the destination at the exact same time! I love that in the last few years they've added more and more longer flights, meaning that for many flights there is just one connection, even coast to coast. And many long-haul non-stops (we flew RDU-PHX and LAS-RDU, both non-stop, in February). I love being able to re-book my reservation to a lower fare without paying a change fee. I love that they've made a profit every year since they began in 1971. I love that they have the best on-time performance. I love their fun-loving employees. I love the way they do business...the customer DOES NOT come first, their employees do! Makes for great employee morale which really shows with their service.

 

I love that they were just named the best airline, AGAIN, for 2007.

 

Yea, some people love 'em, some people hate 'em. I've never had a problem with them and now go out of my way to fly them (I live 2 hours from Charlotte airport, but 3.5 hours to Raleigh, where Southwest is. The last three flights we've taken we've gone to Raleigh specifically to use Southwest).

[Whimsy]

For flights to FLL from STL I have found SW to be the only one who has non stop the times we want to travel. They also are usually cheaper than the other airlines.

[SelectSys]

...

Where I’ve been able to, I’ve taken the figures for mainline operations, because regional operations tend to return much higher figures per passenger mile, and Southwest has no regional operations as such.

 

Many of WN's flights are similar to what other carriers utilize their regional partners for. Their yields in the California market are great as much of the travel is last minute appealing to business and discretionary travel.

 

...

For the first quarter of 2008, in ascending order of cents per passenger mile:

Northwest: 12.71

United: 13.13

Continental: 13.45

American: 13.48

Southwest: 13.72

Delta: 14.54

 

Good job by WN! I guess we know they won't be using chapter 11 bankruptcy to give their employees, creditors, and shareholders the shaft.

 

...

So I wonder: just how much cheaper is it, actually, to fly Southwest? Or is the perception of low fares simply the result of successful marketing gimmicks, as some have alleged?

 

SWA's marketing campaign is more than just cost. They market just as much based on frequency and quality of service. At my home airport in San Diego, SWA accounts for more than 50% of daily departures.

 

...Obviously, you haven't studied the system enough to get an award ticket without jumping through a lot of hoops. Some are better than others, I agree. But I deal with AA exclusively. I have very little trouble using my AA miles on a variety of airlines most anytime I want. And I sure wouldn't use my AA miles for a domestic ticket (average ticket price about $400). 25,000 miles is worth in airline speak about $500.00. Miles are MUCH more valuable for upgrades or international flights where the value approaches $1000's, which are not available on SW.

 

GreatAm, I am assuming that you are an Exec Platinum on AA. Perhaps based on your business they even give you additional status. This gives much more availability to award tickets, system and regular upgrades than the average person.

 

I certainly agree with you that regarding the extra value of FF applied to international travel. These international routes and partnerships are a key remaining advantage of the legacies.

 

When I get a SWA award ticket I typically use it for business travel to places like BWI. I have found the fewest restrictions overall with SWA award tickets.

 

From Portland Or .. we fly frequently to Sacramento for business and because family is there. Southwest is ALWAYS the cheapest way to get there and it is obviously non-stop.

 

We also travel to Sacremento due to family in the area. SWA is the only game going from San Diego. While the fare isn't all that cheap considering the distance, I never feel like I am getting ripped-off. I am sure having a lock on these markets helps their profitability.

 

No SWA is NOT always the cheapest ... but I truly like the way they do business

 

I also respect the way they do business. They provide a highly predictable, consistent level of service and onboard comfort.

[kelmac]

I fly AA, CO, Delta and SWA. Usually I avoid USAir, United and Northwest (another thread).

Southwest, with their point to point system works well for me because I can get many non-stop flights from ABQ. i.e. -- nonstop to Orlando, Tampa, Seattle, LAX. Las Vegas, Oakland, Chicago, Portland, Tucson, Phoenix..,

They are not always the cheapest, but they are very good at what they do. Their FF program works very well for me, as I do many short hop flights to Phoenix, Tucson and LAX (and now Denver). We use our free tickets for the longer flights. The "NEW" boarding system is wonderful!! I've always been able to come up with an "A" boarding pass and 90% of the time we get seats at the exit rows. Time waiting in line = 3--5 minutes max!:)

I do many east-bound flights on AA and I kind of like DFW now that Delta's gone. This past spring has been a bit of a challenge with weather problems.

CO is a great airline, but runs about 20% more expensive. Houston is not the best hub, but during the winter it's nice to keep connections as far south as possible.

Delta had some bad years, but is coming back with great fares (relative to this economy) to the east. Atlanta can be a challenge, but it also has many options.

In summary; I fly SWA about 50% of my flights; AA 25% of my flights;

Delta 15% of my flights; and Continental 10% of my flights. I'm sure this will change as Express Jet has nonstops to San Antonio and Sacramento. Frontier has(had) some nice nonstops to Mexico.

 

And yes, most of the time SWA has the best price. Through the years, like most people, I've had a Love/hate relationship with WN, but as of late, they stack up pretty well against the competition.

 

Enjoy!

Kel :)

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

Greatam your husband is a pilot for American Airlines right? ;)

 

Just so people know where you stand why.

[NCTribeFan]

Ah. I see the DING link now. I was at work yesterday can won't download things like this on my work computer anyway.

 

Now I'll have to see if I can figure out what y'all are talking about with the boarding passes. But as I said, I don't really care where I sit (except for those seat-kicking kids).

[greatam]

Greatam your husband is a pilot for American Airlines right? ;)

 

Just so people know where you stand why.

 

DH flying a plane would be VERY dangerous. His vision is about 20/100 uncorrected. He had lasik about 8 years ago, so now his vision is 20/10. Heaven help the passengers if he lost his reading glasses. He couldn't see the instruments. I now have to be the navigator for our race boat. I used to be throttles only. He can't see the instruments well enough without his reading glasses. And at 80MPH on the water, you really kind of need to see the instruments.

 

I stick with AA because even long before I started flying as much as I do for business, AA and United (and TWA, Pan Am and Eastern) were the carriers I consistently used. I used to live in Hawaii many moons ago. Large presence in HNL with both carriers. Even when things went very bad and I was flying on heavily discounted student fares, AA (TWA) and United always took care of me.

 

Student fares back in the late 60's/early 70's did not include food all the time. It was hit or miss depending on how many meals were actually loaded. I remember so well on one flight-AA. There were 8 student fares-all of us in the back of the plane. There were 7 meals. I was the last one in the plane. So instead of giving 7 a meal and leaving me out, she actually gave me her own meal. The kindness and brand loyalty just kind of stuck. And I still remember the slogan from long ago-"Fly the American way". Some things just stick forever.

 

Once I moved to the Midwest, United kind of fell by the wayside. I need to get to both coasts from Kansas City. United isn't big out of MCI and CO flies into Newark. So I have stuck with AA. And yes, I get treated VERY well.

 

Plus they get a large amount of my freight business, especially out of South America. AA very rarely lets me down-as either a passenger or a shipper.

[greatam]

GreatAm, I am assuming that you are an Exec Platinum on AA. Perhaps based on your business they even give you additional status. This gives much more availability to award tickets, system and regular upgrades than the average person.

 

I certainly agree with you that regarding the extra value of FF applied to international travel. These international routes and partnerships are a key remaining advantage of the legacies.

 

When I get a SWA award ticket I typically use it for business travel to places like BWI. I have found the fewest restrictions overall with SWA award tickets.

 

Even though I am EXP, that has very little to do with AA award tickets. I have only had to call the EXP desk twice in 5 years to get award tickets-once a VERY complicated Asian itinerary and once for last minute flight to London (New Years-2007 and there was a possibility of Heathrow being shut down due to labor action). Most of the time, I can use the online booking or a simple phone call to general reservations. Even my employees who have no status but a lot of AA miles (credit cards) have had very few problems using their AA miles.

 

And all the SW award tickets that my employees have accumulated when they book their own fights-I have been swapping AA miles for their Rapid Rewards tickets and then selling the Rapid Rewards. I know-against the rules, but my employees, who spend a lot of time driving all over the USA, don't generally want to fly from Kansas City to Orlando on an award ticket. They want to go on vacation to Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean or Europe. Just can't do it with SW.

[CruzinFamilyof5]

Not only is SWA sometimes less expensive, they give you the option of booking the flight, then re-booking if the fare decreases, giving you back the credits for future flights. We re-booked so many times without any change fees online that we were able to go to Hawaii twice when the flights were on sale last year :) This year, we did the same when the fares were on sale to Seattle, we have credits left over till 2009.

 

Perhaps other airlines let you re-book without change fees, but I'm not aware of them:)

 

...

[SelectSys]

Even though I am EXP, that has very little to do with AA award tickets. I have only had to call the EXP desk twice in 5 years to get award tickets-once a VERY complicated Asian itinerary and once for last minute flight to London (New Years-2007 and there was a possibility of Heathrow being shut down due to labor action). Most of the time, I can use the online booking or a simple phone call to general reservations..

 

I have also had great luck with AA award tickets. I have flown them for many years and have good service in booking award tickets. My best experience was getting two Qantas business class tickets on a "special" some time back. That was worth a couple of "something special" coupons to the reservation agaent.

 

My understanding is that they do in fact make more seats available to Exec Platinum flyers. This inventory is available whether you call the AA directly or access them via the web. I believe an agent has told me this in the past as well as what I have read on the web. Also, do you call the Exec Platinum phone number and/or enter your advantage number when calling AA? If so you get special handling.

 

See this link and the sample text below regarding special Exp Platinum service:

 

http://members.shaw.ca/fewmiles/AA/recht/exp.html

EXP benefits

Flight booking

• Priority phone line - Access to the Executive Platinum Service Desk - people call these agents "angels" for good reason
  
• Guaranteed seat - Guaranteed availability of economy class seats for member and up to one companion on any AA or Eagle flight even when flight is sold-out, so long as booking is made at least 24 hours in advance.
  
• Priority seating - On AA flights, elites have access to seats blocked off as "premium" seating (e.g. bulkhead, exit rows). On flights that are non-completely full, the middle seat next to your chosen aisle or window is also blocked off.
  
• Waitlisting - Top priority when waitlisting for purchased first or business class seats.
  
• Expanded award availability - EXPs have access to an expanded PlanAAhead award inventory for themselves and up to one companion.
  
• Waived blackout dates for PlanAAhead awards - Travel embargo dates are waived for EXP members booking award travel for themselves plus up to one companion.

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

DH flying a plane would be VERY dangerous. His vision is about 20/100 uncorrected. He had lasik about 8 years ago, so now his vision is 20/10. Heaven help the passengers if he lost his reading glasses. He couldn't see the instruments. I now have to be the navigator for our race boat. I used to be throttles only. He can't see the instruments well enough without his reading glasses. And at 80MPH on the water, you really kind of need to see the instruments.

 

Oh ok because in this post you say you are the wife of a AA pilot. I dont understand. :confused: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=753875&page=4

[greatam]

Oh ok because in this post you say you are the wife of a AA pilot. I dont understand. :confused: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=753875&page=4

 

I think you are referring to my post to My2tailwaggers (being the wife of an AA pilot). Sorry, the language was not clear and caused confusion. She, My2tailwaggers, is the wife of an AA pilot and was unhappy with the executive AA bonuses. My DH is a nuclear electrical engineer. And I own a global logistics company that proudly moves freight and people worldwide every day of the year.

[greatam]

I have also had great luck with AA award tickets. I have flown them for many years and have good service in booking award tickets. My best experience was getting two Qantas business class tickets on a "special" some time back. That was worth a couple of "something special" coupons to the reservation agaent.

 

My understanding is that they do in fact make more seats available to Exec Platinum flyers. This inventory is available whether you call the AA directly or access them via the web. I believe an agent has told me this in the past as well as what I have read on the web. Also, do you call the Exec Platinum phone number and/or enter your advantage number when calling AA? If so you get special handling.

 

See this link and the sample text below regarding special Exp Platinum service:

 

http://members.shaw.ca/fewmiles/AA/recht/exp.html

EXP benefits

Flight booking

• Priority phone line - Access to the Executive Platinum Service Desk - people call these agents "angels" for good reason
  
• Guaranteed seat - Guaranteed availability of economy class seats for member and up to one companion on any AA or Eagle flight even when flight is sold-out, so long as booking is made at least 24 hours in advance.
  
• Priority seating - On AA flights, elites have access to seats blocked off as "premium" seating (e.g. bulkhead, exit rows). On flights that are non-completely full, the middle seat next to your chosen aisle or window is also blocked off.
  
• Waitlisting - Top priority when waitlisting for purchased first or business class seats.
  
• Expanded award availability - EXPs have access to an expanded PlanAAhead award inventory for themselves and up to one companion.
  
• Waived blackout dates for PlanAAhead awards - Travel embargo dates are waived for EXP members booking award travel for themselves plus up to one companion.

 

Yes, if I was really in a bind, I could and would use the EXP desk. And I have used it for reroutes, cancellations, etc. But I much prefer having the "angels" in the AC solve my problems for reroutes, cancellations and mis-connects. The membership fees, with or without status, are more than worth it if you travel enough.

 

The availability of AA awards is good enough that as I posted previously, I have only called the EXP desk for award tickets twice. And yes, the New Year's Eve ticket into an airport OTHER than Heathrow did require AA to pull seats from yield management. Very rarely do I even use my AA number when I go online to purchase a ticket. I forgot to log out about 4 years ago at the AC in DFW. Someone started a thread on FT "people who forgot to log out of the computer". Taught me a BIG lesson to NOT log in. I VERY rarely put in either my AAdvantage number or username/password. AA sends me an email every month (they do to all AAdvantage members) with the miles I have accumulated. ONLY if there is a discrepancy do I log in. I get enough benefits from EXP without using their phone line UNLESS I am in a real bind. Just the freebie upgrades are worth the world to me and keep me flying AA.

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

I think you are referring to my post to My2tailwaggers (being the wife of an AA pilot). Sorry, the language was not clear and caused confusion. She, My2tailwaggers, is the wife of an AA pilot and was unhappy with the executive AA bonuses. My DH is a nuclear electrical engineer. And I own a global logistics company that proudly moves freight and people worldwide every day of the year.

 

Ok sorry for the confusion.I just wasnt clear. :p

 

My bad.

[chrisbd1]

Why I fly Southwest Airlines:

 

I prefer Southwest for their company culture. Flying out of DFW is something I avoid (I can use Love Field). I will fly domestically more that I will ever fly internationally, so airline miles won't really do me much good. I'm a whiz at printing A boarding passes. Re-booking doesn't cost on Southwest. We've flown round-trip to FLL for $300 and Seattle for $500 total. Dallas is the starting point for many flights, so we can get desirable seats easily. I'm short so the seats fit me just fine. The flight attendants have always been nice and cheerful, in my experience. The ticket agents have always been really, really nice to me-even overlooking a slightly overweight bag :) . 2 free checked bags. 50 lbs limit on checked bags. (both advantageous when returning from the Caribbean)

 

This is why I wait for Southwest to publish their fares. Not everyone lives where there are these advantages. I can see where Southwest doesn't fit others wants and need. So far, they fit mine, just fine.

[deepnite10]

airline tickets have gotten out of control..already i ve had to put off my vacation to hawaii this summer cuz ATA bellied up..and now airfare is getting as bad as our gas prices..

 

but, this is nt going to deteur our 09 cruise our of Miami..

 

im waiting on southwest pricing for west coast to miami schedule..so far continental will cost us just over $1000 for 2, round trip from Oakland..

[JJPNYC]

 

im waiting on southwest pricing for west coast to miami schedule..so far continental will cost us just over $1000 for 2, round trip from Oakland..

 

I would advise to also include SFO into your search parameters to increase the option of prices & flights you would have to choose from.

[greatam]

I would advise to also include SFO into your search parameters to increase the option of prices & flights you would have to choose from.

 

I asked the same question in the FLL thread. SFO is pricing out for the January dates at about $250.00 on AirTran. Sure would be worth it to me to get to SFO.

[NCTribeFan]

... I'm a whiz at printing A boarding passes...

 

OK, what does that mean?

 

When it's time for me to checkin online, will I then be able to print a boarding pass? I thought there was no assigned seating.

 

Sorry I'm so dense about this. I've never flown them and just don't see anything explaining this on their website. If it's there and I've missed it (like I missed the DING link), please just tell me where to look and I'll leave ya'll alone!

[kelmac]

OK, what does that mean?

 

When it's time for me to checkin online, will I then be able to print a boarding pass? I thought there was no assigned seating.

 

Sorry I'm so dense about this. I've never flown them and just don't see anything explaining this on their website. If it's there and I've missed it (like I missed the DING link), please just tell me where to look and I'll leave ya'll alone!

 

At exactly 24 hours before your flight leaves you can go online and "check in" and print out a boarding group letter and number. I try to time it to the exact second!!:rolleyes: :) You will then be given a boarding group; either "A", "B", or "C". You will also be given a boarding number 1 -- 45. They will board group A -- 1 - 5 first; A -- 6 - 10 second..., The first A-1 through A-15 are usually saved for last minute full fare business types, or people who fly southwest very frequently. I've noticed this group averages about four to eight people depending on the flight and day of the week.

Bottom line -- If you go online when the window opens you will usually get an "A" boarding group letter and have many options for seats when boarding the airplane. Example: let's say a family of four gets online right at the 24 hour time period and is awarded A 23, A 24, A 25, and A 26; when they arrive at the gate the agent will call for all group "A"s -- people will leave their seats and walk over to a poll with the number on it that matches their boarding numbers. They will then file in to the airplane in that order. That family will have no problems getting seats next to each other, even in the front area of the airplane.

Very simple, and much better than their old system.

 

Good luck!

Kel:)

[fbgd]

Very simple, and much better than their old system.

 

*****? (at the system, not your comment!) Sounds unnecessarily complicated if you ask me! Three boarding groups split up into further subgroups!

 

Can't get any simpler than boarding groups 1-6 if you ask me...that's unless groups 2-6 rush the gate when group 1 is announced :rolleyes: :mad:

[NCMtnBoys]

*****? (at the system, not your comment!) Sounds unnecessarily complicated if you ask me! Three boarding groups split up into further subgroups!

 

It's actually very simple. The closer to the 24-hour mark you check-in, the closer to the "A" boarding group you get. After pre-boards, "A" boards first, then "B", then "C". Within those groups, numbers 1-45 board (supposedly) consecutively. First 1-30, then 31-45 (I think...been a couple months since I flew SW).

 

I've been flying SW for 17 years. I don't necessarily like their new system, I preferred the old system which had just boarding groups "A", "B" and "C" (no numbers within the boarding groups). I didn't mind arriving at the airport 1 hour or more before flight time and get in line then. This new system seems too congested with everyone trying to get in line numerically.

 

My memory is fuzzy, but I think before they had "A", "B" and "C" lines at the boarding gates, they just called for groups "A", "B" and "C" and you approached the jetway at that time. Can't remember, though.

[kenish]

kelman and NC Mtn- I haven't flown WN since the change, so thank you for explaining how it works. Years ago when I first flew them, the genius behind their boarding struck me...it was incentive to check in and be ready to board as early as possible. The new system still maintains that, while taking some pressure away from the checkin and gate agents.

[fbgd]

It's actually very simple

 

But not simple enough. Why the need to board those who within the group in consecutive order?

 

I think the simpler things are at the airport the better. IME the travelling public seem to have enough problem with listening to a gate agent say a group number and then approaching the podium when the the number the GA says matches their boarding pass! :rolleyes:

 

As for getting to the gate an hour before boarding to stand in line. Forget that! I'm glad Southwest works for you but it seems a daft process if you ask me.

[Globaliser]

Many of WN's flights are similar to what other carriers utilize their regional partners for. Their yields in the California market are great as much of the travel is last minute appealing to business and discretionary travel.

That could explain a lot of it then. The consolidated (mainline and regional figures) are:-

 

2008 Q1

WN: 13.72

NW: 13.90

UA: 14.29

AA: 14.32

CO: 14.47

DL: 14.54

 

2008 Q2

UA: 12.80

WN: 13.11

NW: 13.39

CO: 13.50

AA: 13.59

DL: 13.71

 

But the difference still isn't particularly big - less than 1.5% between WN and NW, the next cheapest, and less than 6% to DL, the most expensive. And, of course, all of the others have premium cabins - though I suppose domestically the others probably sell relatively few premium fares.