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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Klassyhk
That was an anamoly, although it weirdly happened twice closely timed together. Even so, SW Airlines is actually the best but I didn't rate them as such because of the open seating, first-come first-serve approach which creates a cattle run during boarding. It works well if you luck upand get a seat in an area that you wanted but doesn't when you don't.
$15 (up from $12.50) buys you "Early Bird" (if that is important to you) $30 buys you A;1-15 (I am usually A 16 - 18 (for free... frequent flier), but due to many changes, I have NO problem boarding AFTER A: 1-60 (very orderly on 4,000+ flights / day)
CHEAP in comparison to
(2) 50# bags on a legacy carrier ($60+)
+ $20 - $40 for a Seat selection
($300 to $400 EXTRA for family of 4) (Free on SWA)
SWA Never felt like a cattle run, as "Line up in numerical order" beats anything I experience in Europe or Asia. (Budget carriers) and I timed my last Legacy Boarding (Delta and UA) EACH were over 2x as long process as SWA (There were 5 boarding groups on my UA flight last week!!!) People 'hunting' for specific seats and jamming far too much JUNK in their carry-ons, due to PAID luggage
I find my 'Risk' of getting a BAD seat partner FAR worse on legacy carriers / assigned seats (tho I ALWAYS check for vacant rows a few hours before boarding.).
SWA, you find a HUGE person in a row by themselves and take the empty seat (Aisle or window). and HOPE (trust / accurately predict based on passenger load (which I always check)) that the middle seat will stay vacant.
If hunting for a middle (C / late boarding)... you find the FIRST middle between (2) skinny minnie's
USA flights are SO SHORT, a middle seat is NOT death. I get stuck in Middles on many 10+ hour International flights (due to last minute changes).
United had a late arrival that caused me to miss the connecting flight which was the last one scheduled that night. They were rude and did not offer any compensation for hotel/meals, etc. Worse, the airport I was at stopped cab service/shuttle service at 10PM so yup, I got to spend the night in the terminal.
Southwest because of their cattle-call boarding process and poor maintenance on their planes.
Spirit has been the ONLY carrier I have been rudely responded from. And that filters from their CEO who has that same attitude.
Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza responding internally via email about a complaint from an unhappy Spirit customer who wanted a refund. Baldanza’s thoughts on his customer:
"We owe him nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny."
Terrible attitude! Not surprised that these words are from the mouth of the CEO of Spirit Airlines. Flew Spirit once for a round-trip half way across the country, NEVER AGAIN. They nickel and dime you to death. They are the fastfood of airlines. In my experience, their employees appear to have been formerly working for fastfood restaurants that went out of business due to poor customer service. No pride in doing their job nor attempt to conduct themselves professionally. I've seen some of their ticket agents while on the clock huddled around the ticket counter laughing and talking about their personal life and gossipping about their coworkers: totally oblivious to the fact they're at work and customers are all around them. I wouldn't be surprised if Spirit's CEO was hired due to some type of work-release program or got the job through mob ties or some such.
Terrible attitude! Not surprised that these words are from the mouth of the CEO of Spirit Airlines. Flew Spirit once for a round-trip half way across the country, NEVER AGAIN. They nickel and dime you to death. They are the fastfood of airlines. In my experience, their employees appear to have been formerly working for fastfood restaurants that went out of business due to poor customer service. No pride in doing their job nor attempt to conduct themselves professionally. I've seen some of their ticket agents while on the clock huddled around the ticket counter laughing and talking about their personal life and gossipping about their coworkers: totally oblivious to the fact they're at work and customers are all around them. I wouldn't be surprised if Spirit's CEO was hired due to some type of work-release program or got the job through mob ties or some such.
Well what do you expect for the price they charge? You pay rock-bottom prices, it would be ignorant not to expect bottom-barrel service. You don't go into McDonalds expecting grade A service and high quality food. You go simply because of the price and put up with the crap they put you through because it doesn't hurt your wallet as much.
To me, saving money to fly ULCCs just isn't worth it so I fork over the extra money to fly a legacy or foreign carrier.
I prefer American and have not encountered any problems. Living in Charlotte, though, I am partial and did fly USAir before the merger. Their hub is here and offers a lot of direct flights. I would rather pay more to get somewhere in a few hours than takes me a day with layovers. You cannot get time back.
Also Delta is good for international flights. Cannot beat the complimentary wine. lol.
I prefer American and have not encountered any problems. Living in Charlotte, though, I am partial and did fly USAir before the merger. Their hub is here and offers a lot of direct flights. I would rather pay more to get somewhere in a few hours than takes me a day with layovers. You cannot get time back.
Also Delta is good for international flights. Cannot beat the complimentary wine. lol.
That was an anamoly, although it weirdly happened twice closely timed together.
When you get right down to it, everything discussed in this thread is an anomaly. As such, random people on the Internet aren't going to ever be a reliable source of the answer to this question. You like Southwest enough to run to their defense; there are others who revile them. Even trends among respondents are irrelevant because the things that differentiate airlines from each other include things that make their fans more or less technologically-inclined, and things that make their fans more or less driven to push their opinion as fact.
I'm not saying that this forum is useless, just useless with regard to this question, because this specific question hits all the high points of what makes random people on the Internet a horrible source of information.
All are good as they brought myself and family home safe every single time
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and get a seat in an area that you wanted but doesn't when you don't.
(I am usually A 16 - 18 (for free... frequent flier), but due to many changes, I have NO problem boarding AFTER A: 1-60 (very orderly on 4,000+ flights / day)
What a shame
