the end of an era at Southwest Airlines

[Retroit]

Oh yeah, well I’m allergic to pretzels.

[photoman_6]

i heard Mr. Peanut was taken away by ICE. He looks foreign to me, especially with the hat.

[DMChicago]

I'm not a fan of the no assigned seats but I agree they board faster than any other airline. Last week I paid extra and wound up with the coveted A-1 assignment. Then my connecting flight was delayed and I had to board after the A group and families with kiddos. I was crushed...when will I ever get that again?

I do think they are generally cheaper, destination depending.

My biggest reason to like them is their seats give me more room than any other carrier's coach product.

Oh, and my flight fro St Louis to Austin last week they announced they would not be serving peanuts because a passenger had a peanut allergy.

And they didn't have pretzels!

[ddm2k]

I have never traveled Southwest because some of the same things that make it popular with its customers make it unpopular with me.

The travel itself is part of the vacation, too. I like the ability to upgrade my seat and know I'll have more room, board first, not have to bother with a transaction for my drinks, etc. People are generally very quiet in the front of the plane. I never have to worry about not getting overhead storage space because of a "full flight" from ATL to CLT on a Sunday evening. Nonstop flights are nice when I can find them.

[StealthRabbit]

PEANUTS
I LUV the cinnamon dipped Plane Crackers anyway! (Dislike the garlic and onion 'Ranch style' wheat thins)
//www.city-data.com/forum/membe...-cracker-c.jpg

Originally Posted by Soccernerd

I’m really surprised it took them this long.

Now if only they could ban pets on flights...

I like pets, but hate FLEAS (Which I have got several times on SWA flights)

personally...(Pet owner for 60 yrs...) BUT... I would never risk my pet's life by taking them on a dangerous FLIGHT!!! (They like to stay home and 'run-the-show' (farm) while I am GONE! They are a LOT happier being BOSS at home. I would say they (pets) are Well Adjusted!

Originally Posted by NW4me

The primary remaining differences from this traveler's perspective are:

-- no assigned seats (minor negative; I always manage to get a window anyway)

-- no change fees (HUGE plus!)

Had 8 changes last week NICE they were free
LUV being able to change flights within the day FREE (A-List perk)

Originally Posted by BoSox 15

-- 2 free bags

Free Coolers too!!! 2x / month 50# of PNW Salmon flies to TX and gets traded for Brisket / Lamb

Originally Posted by JONOV

I never thought I'd see the day I carry SWA's water, but anyhow...
They are quick to board. No assigned Seats. No baggage fees. Very little overbooking nonsense.

I don't care for the no assigned seats, mostly because it turns checkin into a 'everyone wait a minute, I have to check in in 48 seconds so I'm no sitting next to the latrine."

1) You can buy an 'early boarding position' for $12-$15 IIRC, no need to race the clock @ 24 hrs... or just have a friend check you in, probably there is an E-service like ezsnipe that will do it for you for $0.25 (Been using that for eBay for 20 yrs, since I have 'dial-up', no way to instant bid)
2) If you are A -list or A list preferred they keep "A" spots open for you
3) LUV the no assigned seats , as I can CHOOSE the behemoth / smelly passenger I am next to. If one arrives, I can CHANGE (not possible with 'assigned' seats)
4) If I have a tight connection I can board early (or take a middle seat) and get a front region seat.

Originally Posted by latetotheparty

Both of these^^^


I don't fly as much as I used to, but over the 30 years or so, SWA has ALWAYS been my first choice......

In USA I prefer SWA, wish I had similar choices on 'discount' carriers overseas. RYANAIR has a 'Business-class' econo seat that allows free changes and bags and early boarding for a slight upcharge (~2x their budget (12 Euro) fares). I find myself changing a LOT!!! so FREE is a great thing for flexibility / quality of traveling. Find a free concert in Venice (Italy or CA)... or... weather turns rotten or nice somewhere else... enjoy the concert and rebook your flight! FREE!

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by Soccernerd

I’m really surprised it took them this long.

Now if only they could ban pets on flights...

You're not kidding. On my flight yesterday from Baltimore to Tampa, five dogs were on the flight. None were service animals.

When you realize that one person out of seven is allergic to dogs, some virulently so such as my daughter, this should be unacceptable.

[C24L]

Oh man that was one of my favorite things bout Southwest.

[Paka]

Flew SW frm CO to TX less than 24 hours ago and they still handed out little peanut bags.....so maybe in the future, but not as of yet.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Paka

Flew SW frm CO to TX less than 24 hours ago and they still handed out little peanut bags.....so maybe in the future, but not as of yet.

Article say Peanuts to depart in Aug, so I will be saving my July Peanuts (for a few yrs) I have a whole drawer full of them, to use on NON-SWA flights.

I imagine their Peanut supply chain is not impressed.
4,000 flts / day, x 150 seats / flight x2 bags / seat = 1,200,000 / bags / day x 30.3 (days / month) x 12 months / yr = ~450m bags / yr @ $.30 = ~$130m / yr (ouch) = Bad day for the peanut salesman and his farmer friend.