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Don't people already pay for priority boarding, (or is that just not United)? That would also imply they wouldn't do any kind of enforcement once on the plane, and that whoever gets on last would just be able to use what's left. That is something people who pay for it will complain about, and want a refund for REAL QUICK.
No, what you're paying for is a guaranteed place in a bin. You don't deserve a refund because someone else took a chance on something being left and got lucky. No different than if you buy a First Class seat but there are six empty FC seats so they hand them out as upgrades. Happens all the time.
Not to me. They fly direct, non-stop to everywhere I need to fly. Plan ahead and be a bit flexible with days and flight times I save hundreds.
Plus free bags.
The checked bags aren't free; the price is just rolled into the overall ticket price. And the days of Southwest always having the lowest price fare are long gone. That existed only because during its early days Southwest cleverly purchased fuel options locking in a low price for jet fuel right before oil prices spiked. Since Southwest had locked in low fuel prices, they could price their tickets lower than their competitors who hadn't locked in their fuel prices and still make money. But those fuel options ran out long ago, and of course the price of jet fuel has plummeted right alongside crude oil prices. These days Southwest's ticket prices are on par with the other major airlines (but since they don't sell tickets through online travel agencies like Expedia, which make price comparisons easy, a lot of people who reflexively fly Southwest don't know that).
Southwest does allow date changes on its tickets without charging a fee, which is one area where it still does hold a clear advantage over other domestic airlines. And it has a very fair Customer of Size policy. It's a very customer-friendly airline overall, there's no question of that. But it's no longer a true low-cost airline. These days, the low cost leaders are Spirit, Alligiant, and Frontier. And all of the major domestic US carriers are scrambling to find ways to lure business away from those low cost carriers.
Southwest is overrated. First of all, Southwest flies limited routes even within the US, so if they don't go where the passenger wants to go, we're out of luck. Secondly, they are not as competitive as their fans claim they are. At least, not when I'm looking for tickets from TX to the East Coast. When I want to fly somewhere they go, I'll hit the little FARE SPECIALS FROM $49! clickbait link. I follow the link, only to find out that my ticket on their airline would cost much more than UAL or Delta. Free bags aren't worth it if my ticket costs $100 more than flying with a competitor.
Southwest is no longer a regional airline and their coverage is extensive. If they don't go where you need to go then you can't use them. Duh. That's true for any airline. What does that have to do with whether you use them when they do go where you need to go?
You're right, in head to head, United fares are almost always the same or less. But the "Southwest effect" isn't about them having the lowest fare but that their low fare structure forces competitors in that route to also offer low fares. While United may be charging $250 on a route that SWA is charging $275, chances are they would be charging much more than $300 if SWA wasn't competing.
Factor in two free checked bags, and more importantly, no $250 change fee if you need to alter your itinerary by even a day. I can't count how many times I would have like to (or was forced to) change my departure or return date by a day or two.
The fun is really going to start when the Basic Economy person who paid for a bag in the overhead, gets on to the plane in boarding group 5 to find there is No Space left.
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