Southwest airlines????

[ohioNCLcruiser]

greatam It's nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks they have a bad FF program.

 

And I have never had any issues not getting dates I need on Continental or upgrades.

 

 

and to the poster who said about flying SWA to Hawaii, since ATA shut down who does Southwest fly you on to get to Hawaii?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

:rolleyes: Oh my humble apologies, frankly I do not even consider flying to Hawaii any longer since I would much rather be on a ship cruising so I had forgotten about that. But again ALL airlines FF flyer programs have a down side some work for some and some work for others. I have had far more free travel from SW with no hassle no nickle and dimming me and a great big genuine smile, not the crap I have gotten from people at some of the above mentioned airlines. I will be trying Delta for the first time going to FLL in December and hope it works out. Frankly flying any where is a crap shoot. But coming on CC and bashing an airline just because you do not like it and and then attempting to bash those that do say they do is just a bit childish but thankfully I do not think that SW will go out of business because of lost revenue from you. ;)

[ohioNCLcruiser]

:rolleyes: Oh my humble apologies, frankly I do not even consider flying to Hawaii any longer since I would much rather be on a ship cruising so I had forgotten about that. But again ALL airlines FF flyer programs have a down side some work for some and some work for others. I have had far more free travel from SW with no hassle no nickle and dimming me and a great big genuine smile, not the crap I have gotten from people at some of the above mentioned airlines. I will be trying Delta for the first time going to FLL in December and hope it works out. Frankly flying any where is a crap shoot. But coming on CC and bashing an airline just because you do not like it and and then attempting to bash those that do say they do is just a bit childish but thankfully I do not think that SW will go out of business because of lost revenue from you. ;)

 

Easy now I think you are getting worked up over this more then anyone. I just pointed out you can't go to Hawaii on Southwest.

[parody]

The VALUE of RR is poor.

Southwest Airlines' Rapid Rewards Program Wins Three Freddie's at 20th Annual Frequent Flyer Awards Ceremony. "Airline Takes First Place For Best Award Redemption, Best Award, and Best Member Communications" (Source: Press Release for April 28, 2008)

[JLC@SD]

I have to laugh. Rapid Rewards is the biggest RIP in FF programs there is.

 

So spend $2,000 to get a free $250.00 ticket, limited to Continental USA flights. FF miles are valued at roughly $.02 per mile.

 

So spend $2,000 to get a free $250.00 ticket........seems to prove SWA is a good deal......show me another airline where you get a 12.5% return on investment.

 

I used plenty of SWA rapid rewards to fly to FLL to cruise to the Carribbean.....:)

[pcur]

So spend $2,000 to get a free $250.00 ticket........seems to prove SWA is a good deal......show me another airline where you get a 12.5% return on investment.

 

I used plenty of SWA rapid rewards to fly to FLL to cruise to the Carribbean.....:)

 

Me, too!:D

 

I just live my life and pay for it, using my SW Visa card. Grandma is coming to visit, and SW is the cheapest way to get her here.....double credit for the purchase. DS and I need to go see my Dad in Denver; again on SW.....double credit for purchase. Charge all my cruises on my SW Visa.

 

Just got my second roundtrip freebie, and DH and I are using them to fly free roundtrip from LAX next March for our cruise.

 

I figure I will have enough free roundtrips by 4/2010 that I can fly both sons and SO's roundtrip on the surprise Mexican cruise we are planning.......purchased on my SW Visa to help get those free roundtrips.

 

No muss, no fuss, live my life and pay for stuff; get free air from SW. Been doing it for years, and they are almost always the lowest fare anyway when I do buy one.

[KLLund]

How can you not say that SW is not like Greyhound???? Pick your own seat, stuff everything you own in the overheads. Switch seats at stops.

 

I think you may have misunderstood me .. what I believe is that YOU hate Southwest .. perhaps it is like greyhound .. although I will admit I have never been on greyhound..

[greatam]

Southwest Airlines' Rapid Rewards Program Wins Three Freddie's at 20th Annual Frequent Flyer Awards Ceremony. "Airline Takes First Place For Best Award Redemption, Best Award, and Best Member Communications" (Source: Press Release for April 28, 2008)

 

Happens almost every year. No other airline has every won the Best Award redemption for an American airline. RR rewards is simple. That I will grant you. But if you are making an effort to go on a special vacation, why limit yourself to a FF program that will only get you a ticket for a domestic flight??? Once you have cruised the Caribbean and Mexico, there is a whole lot of world (and cruising) out there. Can't use a RR ticket to get to those cruises.

 

On Flyertalk, there is a large percentage of travelers in the under 25 (college students, mostly) category that frequent the SW forum. They vote and vote heavily. Round up all their friends to sign up on FT so they can vote (only one vote per screen name per category). There are some VERY loyal SW fliers on FT. But if you read quite a few of the posts, quite a few have ONLY flown SW and really have little idea what else is out there.

 

RR most likely is moving towards the models of other FF programs. XXX dollars for YYY points. Business select (or whatever they call their high dollar seats) will get more points. So if RR was SOOOO great, why would they move to a model similar to AA, Delta, US Air, etc?

 

Here is a link to an interview of Gary Kelly by Randy Peterson, owner of FT.

 

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=840975

 

I don't like SW and I make no bones about it. The consolidation of flights is what REALLY po's me. Take the 2 and 3PM flights and put everyone on the 4:00PM. Stand in line in PHX or LAX for over an hour to get through security.

And I really hate the cutsey, upbeat singing/game playing I have seen on SW. Going on vacation-OK-sing and dance if you want. But flying for business purposes-act like a professional. Sit down, shut up and get the plane in the air.

[greatam]

So spend $2,000 to get a free $250.00 ticket........seems to prove SWA is a good deal......show me another airline where you get a 12.5% return on investment.

 

I used plenty of SWA rapid rewards to fly to FLL to cruise to the Carribbean.....:)

 

I can spend that same $2000.00 on another airline (AA specifically-others generally). Flying transcons, I can get AT LEAST 25,000 miles, which will get me a coach ticket to Alaska, Canada or Mexico.

 

That is a MUCH better value than a $250 domestic ticket.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I can spend that same $2000.00 on another airline (AA specifically-others generally). Flying transcons, I can get AT LEAST 25,000 miles, which will get me a coach ticket to Alaska, Canada or Mexico.

 

That is a MUCH better value than a $250 domestic ticket.

Yeah but try to book it for the time YOU want to travel and suddenly it cost you 50,000 miles then let's figure the value in it:rolleyes:

I have been there done that with AA & United so you are singing your praise to the wrong person.

Currently I am in a position that I am thankful I can even take 7 to 8 days off at one time for vacation so to travel anywhere outside the US is not going to happen for me. And frankly with how far the dollar goes right now I have no desire to go to Europe or Asia so I will not be looking for airfare to those destinations.

Frankly I would rather have the joke telling, singing and big smile than the crabby old lady yelling at me to sit down immediately. Or the nasty lady saying she will have me thrown off the plane if I don't turn over my carry on to check because there is no room when the guy sitting next to me took up all the space in the over head with 2 carry ons and coats and will not remove any to place under the seat in front of him. Some of the most unhappy employees out there are with AA mostly because they are tired of pay cuts and don't know if they will have a job come end of August when the next big round of lay offs are coming.

I find all most all passengers on SW to be friendly and courteous not so on many of the other carriers.

The only other airline that I think will start to be very close to SW will be Virgin America, they just need to get a few more routes on the map.

[vjmatty]

Hey... what is wrong with greyhounds? Can you really not like these cute faces?

 

;)

[pcur]

And I really hate the cutsey, upbeat singing/game playing I have seen on SW. Going on vacation-OK-sing and dance if you want. But flying for business purposes-act like a professional. Sit down, shut up and get the plane in the air.

 

I don't like it, either, and that's what my noise-cancelling headphones are for. Even turned off during take-off, they eliminate a lot of the chatter.

 

I don't want to join a FF program for international flights, because I don't fly often enough to gain anything. A majority of my flights are domestic, and if I do go overseas (3 times since 2003, another next year), then I look for the deals. Next year, I am HOPING SW goes back to Hawaii, because I need to get there and hook up with an international flight. I discussed this before about Jetstar's business class.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

The only other airline that I think will start to be very close to SW will be Virgin America, they just need to get a few more routes on the map.[/size]

 

Yeah but who would pick flying on Southwest over Virgin America..one clearly blows the other out of the water (once they get more routes.)

[parody]

RR most likely is moving towards the models of other FF programs. XXX dollars for YYY points.

 

Would you not agree then, that instead of "The VALUE of RR is poor", WN is now recognizing that it is too RICH and they must tone it down to match the legacy carriers?

 

The amount of "stuff" the SW passengers had was considerably more than the US passengers had.

 

I wonder how this has changed given that almost all legacy carriers charge for checking the first bag (never mind the second) and WN doesn't.

[greatam]

Would you not agree then, that instead of "The VALUE of RR is poor", WN is now recognizing that it is too RICH and they must tone it down to match the legacy carriers?

 

Too rich????? How about not rich enough???

 

As posted previously, even eliminating most international flights and first class from the equation, I can use the same $2000 spent on SW on another airline to acquire a ticket to Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean or Canada. MUCH more enticing than even a transcon from LAX to ISP (who wants to end up in Islip if you are going to NYC).

 

SW realizes their advantage with fuel hedges is diminishing/ending. And to command larger dollars overall per seat, they will have entice more and more business travelers, who will buy higher priced, last minute fares.

 

It has been proven time and time again that business travelers use their miles more times than not for international trips, trips to Hawaii in first class and upgrades on long haul flights. SW offers none of this.

 

To entice those very business travelers, who are used to lounges, first class, drinks for free, assigned seats and all the other goodies, they will have to make RR competitive. SW can no longer depend on the leisure/infrequent flier to fill their coffers. JMHO

[ohioNCLcruiser]

Because I mainly fly on Continental or a Sky Team airline I get free upgrades to first class, lounge access, free meals in first and coach and a very nice mile bonus % whenever I fly. Can't beat that!

[greatam]

Yeah but try to book it for the time YOU want to travel and suddenly it cost you 50,000 miles then let's figure the value in it:rolleyes:

 

As I posted previously, even a one or two month subscription to Expertflyer, a little flexibility, and thinking out of the box will usually produce an award ticket or an upgrade. I have seen some people post that they used 50,000 miles for an "anytime" coach ticket, when 45,000 would have gotten them a first class "saver" ticket. You really have to study and work the system.

 

I have NO problem booking my FF tickets. But I am also willing to take a one or two stopper, maybe even with an irregular routing, to get to my destination (and I don't use my miles very often for domestic, Continental USA tickets). NO ONE ever told you you would get PREMIUM nonstop flights for award tickets every time. But a little research instead of going to the online airline booking ONLY usually produces results.

[greatam]

 

I wonder how this has changed given that almost all legacy carriers charge for checking the first bag (never mind the second) and WN doesn't.

 

Evidently, the word is out at the legacy carriers. As much as I fly, I haven't seen too much extra stuff on AA. I have seen quite a bit of arguing about the extra bag charge regarding when the tickets were purchased. But last night, when both US and SW security lines are running side by side in PHX, there was a VISIBLE difference.

[parody]

trips to Hawaii in first class ... SW offers none of this.

 

While certainly true today given the demise of ATA, if WN ever does come through with a code share arrangement with WestJet (which they have recently announced), and they fly to Hawaii (Honolulu, Kona, and Maui), would some of these new-found business travelers give up first class if they got a free ticket (i.e., without the fuel surcharges and other fees that are now being lumped on by the legacy carriers)?

[heartofamerica]

I have a stack of SW vouchers sitting on my desk from canceled/delayed trips my employees have taken. I am hard pressed to use them. My employees look at FF miles as a bonus to go someplace they normally would not or could not go. None of them want to fly SW because a free trip to Memphis to see Grandma is NOT exactly a vacation.

 

Maybe you should pay your employees more instead of depending on an airlines FF program to provide a perk that you are not willing to provide. BTW...when did Southwest start flying to Memphis?

[KLLund]

This is making me reminesce about my one and only experience on Delta. We flew New York to Istanbul. They changed the times on us 4 times in 3 months. We checked at New York about the transfer time in Paris and it was fine. When we got to Paris it had been changed but they nicely made arrangements for us to actually get on the plane in time. They apparently felt that our luggage for a two week cruise was incidental. So we arrived in Istanbul and no luggage .. ok we are spending the night no problem.. next day no luggage but it should meet us in Kusadasi .. not being one to take chances . I headed for the bazaars in both Istanbul and Kusadsi and it is a good thing that I did .. although it was one of the most hilarious experiences in my life trying to buy underwear in Turkey.

 

No luggage in Kusadasi.. and ohhhh bad luck they can't fly the luggage to Cyprus and Egypt .. and of course in the middle of the med there is no way .. so a week into the trip it finally showed up in Greece. Whew.

 

Finished our trip in Barcelona and got on the Delta flight .. so far so good .. but somehow the plane that left on time arrived in New York an hour late .. and guess what .. our connecting flight was about to take off .. So sorry .. let up put you up in a horrible hotel in Queens. Thanks a bunch. We are calling home to rearrange everything and finally got out of New York the next day about 11 AM.

 

When I got home I worked for about 3 months to convince them I was on that flight and should get the FF miles. Finally I said .. heck with it I never intend to fly them again anyway.

[greatam]

Maybe you should pay your employees more instead of depending on an airlines FF program to provide a perk that you are not willing to provide. BTW...when did Southwest start flying to Memphis?

 

What kind of slap was that???? Rather uncalled for, don't you think???

 

Pray tell, what perk am I not willing to provide???? IF my employees have to do a lot of traveling via air (for trade shows and the like), they PREFER an airline that can get them to someplace "fun" with their FF miles and that they don't normally go to. I own an international logistics company. 43 of my 68 employees are long haul, over the road truck drivers. They travel the continental USA all the time. How much fun you think it is for them to go to NYC, Miami, Los Angeles or points in between on vacation? They have all been there, done that more times than they can count (and most of the wives and kids, too). They PREFER to go someplace that they wouldn't normally get to go.

 

Four of them that are on their way to the East Coast just called from Indianapolis. They all attended the NASCAR race today. They will now get in their trucks, take a 10 hour break, and drive on to the East coast for their deliveries starting Tuesday night at midnight. My employees go to pro football games, college bowl games, NASCAR races, Disneyland and DisneyWorld, etc. etc. and just about any place else they choose WHILE they are working. Two drivers spent a couple of days in Cheyenne for Cheyenne Frontier Days this last week. Got to see the PBR and Rascal Flatts. I make the transportation available and work their schedules so they can have fun while they are working. No transportation costs/no lodging costs. Pretty good perk, don't you think???

 

I just looked at payroll records for 2007. Our lowest paid employee grossed $20,460.78. She is 19 years old, was hired in November 2006 and files papers and answers the phone (has to keep the coffee maker full and the TP in the bathroom). She is just learning the business. My average driver made over $57,000 in 2007.

 

I really don't need to give my employees many other perks. But I do try to fly them on an airline where they get miles usable places other than the Continental US. They like going to Alaska and Hawaii.

[greatam]

While certainly true today given the demise of ATA, if WN ever does come through with a code share arrangement with WestJet (which they have recently announced), and they fly to Hawaii (Honolulu, Kona, and Maui), would some of these new-found business travelers give up first class if they got a free ticket (i.e., without the fuel surcharges and other fees that are now being lumped on by the legacy carriers)?

 

Could be-only time will tell how the new RR materializes.

[SelectSys]

I don't like SW and I make no bones about it. The consolidation of flights is what REALLY po's me. Take the 2 and 3PM flights and put everyone on the 4:00PM.

 

Doesn't this leave aircraft and crews out of position? It seems that consolidation of flights might cause downstream issues in their operations.

 

Sit down, shut up and get the plane in the air.

 

By this measure you should love WN, they turn aircraft as fast as anyone in the business!

 

Also a question, why don't you think WN attracts business travellers? They own the business market in CA - no one else comes close. I would expect in many other parts of the country as well. I guess that's why one reason why the lines are so long at their LAX and PHX terminals.

 

Again, WN isn't the answer for every flight but they are a well run company and provide a good, consistent product.

[Sparkylok6]

Greatam I have to say that I am sorry, but I absolutely disagree with you regarding Southwest. I book alot of flights for alot of people and we use 4 different FF programs, and by far Southwest has been the best to me.

 

Using the analogy of how you described it, I will do so in reverse. I can fly from Long Island to Baltimore for $69 each way = $138 RT. If I do that 8 times the total is just over $1100. Now that would earn me a free reward to anywhere I want to fly in the US. So I take that "free" reward and book a flight to California. That flight right now could be anywhere from $600 - $800 these days. I don't think that the free ticket was a bad return on my money. Do this 8 times in a year and then you get a companion pass. Assign 1 person as your companion and wherever you fly for the next year that person flies free...no questions asked and it is not capacity controlled. By using Amex rewards each ticket is 24,000 points...no matter where in the US you go. You are allowed to check in 2 pieces of luggage at no charge and you can carry one small bag and a "personal" (handbag) bag at no charge.

 

Delta is another FF program my boss belongs to. Amex offers incentives for its members to transfer rewards to the Delta acct. Last year someone needed a Delta ticket to fly from Long Island to Lexington, KY. The ticket cost 50,000 points + $50.00. Plus they capacity control the flights for people using the miles so most flights are not always available.

 

I don't need to go to Europe. The first line of my original post should say it all. I have to get the nerve up to fly. I have twice gotten off airplanes before they have taken off because I had anxiety attacks over flying. So unless a cruise ship is going to drive me across the pond, I won't be there.

 

Bottom line is you like what you like, and I like what I like...that is what makes the world go round. However I can think of worse things than flying on Southwest that you consider Greyhound. I have flown on AA, Continental, USAir, United and a few others that are no longer in business. None of them ever really impressed me. Maybe I am just easy to please and don't need all of the perks that first class and business class offer. Please don't tell my husband though...LOL - YES HONEY I LOVE DIAMONDS!!!!!

 

Have a good day and safe travels whatever mode you chose to get there.