DING! ROCKS! Southwest's new fare alert is Phenominal

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Sean Flaharty said: Besides the crews, I have never seen a difference in passengers no matter what airline I take. If an airline can get me from point A to point B safely and cheap, then I am all for it. I usually sleep on the flights anyway.

I just downloaded "Ding" and found some cool deals. Thanks for the info Sam.

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I think what people like most about SWA's Competition is exactly what keeps SWA in the black, and everyone else in the red ink.......a full or nearly full aircraft. FWIW you can now print your boarding pass from home just after midnight on the day of travel, most people don't, and have to suffer the cattle call. Printing it from home almost guarantees that you get on the plane in the first boarding group w/o having to squeeze between people.

I've also heard that they're also investigating assigned seating.

As some of you have indicated, southwest and be more expensive than others, however, for those who are capable of planning ahead, and searching for bargains, SWA can save you a bundle! Yesterday DING! offerred Baltimore to Oakland or San Diego for $164 RT! I seriously doubt you can beat that.....

SAM

Sam, it's not just planning ahead. In some markets, SWA isn't competitive, and DTW is one of them. I start pricing flights for vacation trips between 4 and 6 months in advance to get a sense of the market---that's usually *before* SWA has even opened their schedule for the period in question. In every case so far, Southwest has been more than Spirit *and* Northwest for flights out of DTW bought sufficiently in advance.

Then again, with young kids and an inflexible school schedule, I'm picky about what routes/times/days I fly.

And, I'll note that every flight I've taken in the last 6 months on NWA has been full or nearly so.

I can't stand Southwest. I don't fly a lot, but I stopped using Southwest a couple of years ago because I got tired of having to sit in the ass-end of the plane and never being able to find direct flights. Out of Cleveland, you're often better off spending an extra $30 on Continental and getting a direct flight (and an assigned seat with an extra inch or two of room).

Wow, is Southwest really such a bad airline? I'm flying to Orlando from Cleveland next WEdnesday on SW, and you've all got me really freaked out!

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Sam A. Marks said:
I average a free round trip every year, ( I use that one to go to CA or this year to seattle) one nice thing about SWA is that it doesn't matter how far or near you fly, you get the same credit. AND from BWI I get double credit which means I get my free flight with 4 round trips. My hartford trip will get me double credit, the alamo rental car i get from priceline for 13 a day gets me an additional credit (usually .5 credits but there's a sale!) and if I book into an econolodge I get a .5 credit too!

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Ah, you see, therein lies the rub.

I know USAirways' game. I've been Silver Preferred 6 years running. I've had more miles than I can shake a stick at. I've never actually used miles for a domestic reward, although I always make sure I keep enough miles on hand for an emergency unrestricted reward. What I HAVE used miles for were things like joining the USAirways Club for a year when I was flying often, I've upgraded myself to Business Class on a London roundtrip, I've booked a free First Class ticket to Japan. NONE of those are options on Southwest. (Plus I've been in First Class on pretty much every domestic flight I've taken in the past 6 years, since USAirways happily gives out upgrades. Currently, all Preferreds get unlimited space-available upgrades, with us lowly Silvers getting bumped up at 24 hours, in line behind Chairmans' Preferred (upgrade any time) and Gold Preferred (3 days).)

With Southwest it might be possible to work the system, but it's not as flexible a system for me, and it's a whole new set of rules that I don't feel like learning ;)

(That's also why I'll defend USAirways so vehemently -- I know their rules, and even if I went to another major like United, it's a new set of rules for me to abuse, er, figure out ;) )
*** Edited 3/4/2005 6:04:54 PM UTC by GregLeg***

SW isn't all that bad...especially their prices. But I'll admit that I like assigned seating and direct flights.

I also like how they put their employees first. Take note Mr. Smith. ;) *** Edited 3/4/2005 4:12:49 PM UTC by janfrederick***

Janet: SWA is perfectly fine. I don't fly them only because they always have at least one stop to anywhere interesting, and they are not cheap for me.

You can avoid the worst of the cattle-call boarding by printing your boarding pass in advance; you can do this starting at 12:01 AM on the day of your flight. This is easy to do at home. If you are staying in a hotel that is a step or two above rock-bottom-budget, the front desk staff can usually help you do this.

SWA has a great safety record for a reason; do one thing and do it right. Boeing 737's are the only type of aircraft SWA uses. This means their mechanics are fluent with 737's, and not having to remember particulars about numerous planes. It also means that parts are readily available at the terminals. It means their pilots can fly any of their craft. It means the on-board crew knows the ins and outs of the craft your riding in.

I know many people who have experienced delays because a pilot had to brought in from somewhere else, or a part was in transit. While I am sure there are SWA horror stories, I have never had a single bad trip with them, and always have fun.
Want that full can of coke instead of half of it? Pipe up and ASK. Their crews have always been accommodating with any request I've made, and it's always done with a smile.
As for the cattle call, I don't mind it a bit. When I get stuck in the back, I still de-board before my luggage is ready at baggage pick-up, so no biggie.

*applauds* SWA, and Robo...:)

I have been stranded by pilots out of hours (in the airlines' HUB no less, DFW), and by parts being needed, and that SUCKS! No real apology or compensation at all.

Having ONE type of plane DOES seem to make SWA infinitely more efficient, and I have YET to have a problem of any kind with SWA...*knock on wood*...;)

Of course, I try to never check luggage, I'm the guy who hits you in the head with the "barely carry-on-size suitcase"...:)

Oh, and I'll sign up ASAP once I find my stupid Rapid Rewards card....;)
*** Edited 3/4/2005 5:14:49 PM UTC by rollergator***

Not counting 9/11 (which was obviously not an accident), Southwest was the second to last major U.S. airline to have an accident. In 2000, they skipped a plane off a runway and hit a gas station. No fatalities, fortunately. The most recent was the AA flight in November 2001 that crashed in the harbor out of JFK.

As for having one kind of plane, most airlines in recent history have tried to do the same. Look at Jet Blue, for example. *** Edited 3/4/2005 5:30:03 PM UTC by Jeff***

I've never flown SW, but I watched that "Airline" show on A&E a lot. :)

Airlines are the one place I have no loyalty. Whoever can get me there in the best combo of convenience and cost gets my money.

For me, the free tickets are not the big reason to fly with one airline---few domestic leisure trips ever cost more than about $250-$300 per ticket if you plan in advance and are a bit flexible, and that's not going to break the bank.

It's the upgrades and other perks (early boarding, first class check in, etc.) that make a difference to me. And, to get those, you have to fly quite a bit; probably 8-10 trips per year, depending on how far your trips are. *** Edited 3/4/2005 5:41:35 PM UTC by Brian Noble***

I'll have to back up Gonch here, too. Get me there cheap and fast, and I'm your customer.

I have frequent flyer cards with Delta and USAir, but I've flown Air France, British Airways, American, TWA, Eastern, Piedmont, America West, and a host of others.

On a side note, in LA I saw a slew of flight attendants from Cathay Pacific, and I must say they were the cutest, friendliest bunch of early-twenties women I've ever met. Emphasis on cutest. Especially in groups. Next time I fly to Florida, maybe I'll end up with a layover in Hong Kong.

*** Edited 3/4/2005 6:03:21 PM UTC by kpjb***

I'll take convenience first, perks second, making cost a close third (perks are nice, but I won't pay $500 extra for them either).

Living in a "focus city" for USAirways gets me the first two easily, and with proper planning the third is generally not a problem either. Majors also have partnerships and reticketing agreements, which means I can (for example), park myself in a United or Air Canada plane and still earn US miles if that somehow suits me better. If a US flight is cancelled, I can take the next Delta flight and still get the US miles (although I can't prebook the Delta flight for those miles, since they're not partners, merely have an interline agreement).

Southwest only recently added such an arrangement with ATA, so historically IF your WN flight was cancelled, you were stuck with WN's arrangements.

Good lord, I spend WAY too much time over on the frequent traveller forums... *** Edited 3/4/2005 6:12:54 PM UTC by GregLeg***

I'll take Continental any day of the week. The OnePass program is good and their web site makes it easy to get the seat I want, check-in online, etc.

I also like the cheap prices, I got a round trip ticket from Omaha to Philly for CoasterbuzzCon with NWA for 40 bucks cheaper than flying with SW, I also like watching that show on A & E that they have with SW, they have some interesting people on there.

I have flown Southwest many times and gotten many direct flights. It all depends on cost. If I pay $800 for a flight and it has multiple stops, then I wouldn't be happy. If I can find a flight for $250 and it has a layover, then I don't mind.

Janet,

Don't be freaked out. It all depends on your view of things. Try printing off your boarding pass before you leave as it will make things easier for you. I have only had one bad thing happen during a Southwest flight the entire time I have flown them (over 10 years now). The rest has been great.

Now, if you want to avoid REALLY bad service, don't even try flying Spit, whoops,I mean Spirit Air. I have only flown them one time, and I am still kicking myself for that. Back in 2000, they didn't use computers when checking in and hand wrote everything down. Because of this, they forgot to book me on a flight back home. I couldn't pass up the $90 RT fare from Detroit to Los Angeles.

Now I know better.

-Sean

I have no loyalties when it comes to airlines. Just get me where I need to go in the most direct way possible for the lowest fare.

I don't mind layovers, but only if they are somewhat on the way to my destination. I once booked a flight based on price and ended up on a 2 hour layover in Las Vegas on my trip from Denver to Columbus. Never again will I go backward in order to go forward. Now if that layover would have been in St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas or Minneapolis then I'd be fine with it.

One airline I do like since I live in Colorado is Frontier. Basically a direct flight from Denver to anywhere I need to go (except Ohio) and they have DirecTV on the flight. Sure it costs a little bit ($5) but it's the best thing at making long flights go by quick if I can't get to sleep. But I'd still take a cheaper flight over Frontier if it was direct.

Flying out of Baltimore, Southwest is great. Helps that Baltimore is one of their hubs. I can fly to numreous locations non-stop on SWA that not other airline flys to non-stop. In my case this is particularly true for Jacksonville and Buffalo. Out of Baltimore, the best that other airlines do is match Southwest's fares.

I'm commuting regularly to Chicago on Southwest. With double credits, 4 round trips gets me a free ticket. That's only 6000 miles or so of flying for a free round trip. They also have 9 non-stops per day each way. Flying into Midway is also a great time saver compared to O'Hare. (It took me and hour and twenty minutes from when my plane landed to when I was out of the lot last time I flew into O'Hare.)

While it takes 16 credits in a year to get a free trip on Southwest, once they send you the reward, you still have another year to use it.

As Sam mentioned, printing out your boarding pass at home always gets you in the first boarding group. Seems like whenever I fly one of the older airlines I get stuck with a middle seat even if I make my reservation a month in advance.

As for Southwest's safety record, I believe they are the only major airline that has never lost a passenger in a crash.

I recently had to rebook a flight on US Air. They charged me $100 for the rebooking. Southwest charges nothing rebooking on line.

Swoosh they do have none-stop flights to Orlando from KC. Southwest has several every day.