Southwest Airlines

[ooulio]

Southwest Airlines just opened up thru Feb 14 2013

[Putterdude]

Thank you, I needed that information.:)

[Keith1010]

Thank you.

 

Keith

[eandj]

We have never flown S West and might use them for our next cruise. I hear good things...Other than no charge luggage fees, what's the draw? They don't appear any less costly than AirTran or Delt for our needs.

[E&B]

We have never flown S West and might use them for our next cruise. I hear good things...Other than no charge luggage fees, what's the draw? They don't appear any less costly than AirTran or Delt for our needs.

 

We find that if we book our flights as soon as they open their schedules, we can usually get them a little cheaper than other airlines. But, it depends on where you are. Also, if the fare ever drops, they will give you a credit toward any future flight up to one year from the date of the original booking. They have free luggage, and they fly out of TF Green in Providence, which is so much easier to get to and navigate than Logan Airport in Boston. Many will say the downside is not getting to choose your seat, but I find that if I'm online exactly at that 24 hour mark (which I always make a point to be) I get that A boarding pass and can pick any seat I want.

[steve20832]

You need to look at the flight in several ways

1) Most airlines have luggage fees so look at the total cost (Southwest allows 2 checked bags for free and JetBlue allows one for free. Most other airlines charge around $25 per checked bag each way)

2) How many stops. Your luggage is more likely to get lost if you have to connect flights. If a non-stop flight is a few extra bucks, it's worth the hassle.

3) On-Time performance for that flight and that airline

4) Highly suggested! Fly in at least one before your cruise and spend the night in a hotel. The cruise lines will not reimburse you if your flight is delayed.

5) How often does that airline fly from A to B. If it's once a day, I would avoid that airline.

6) Don't fly Spirit Airlines, they suck!

[lcmslady]

I had today's schedule release on my calendar so we could book our flight to FLL for January.

 

I'm not a big Southwest fan but here's why we did this:

 

1. no luggage fees

2. only airline with a direct flight from STL to FLL.

 

We paid the extra $10 to automatically be put in group A.

We're not flying back on SWA because they didn't have a direct flight from LAX. AA does, so AA gets the business.

 

In January, we flew into Miami and then took a van service to FLL but that's an additional expense.

 

It's been years since I flew SWA, so I'm willing to give it a try in order to get a direct flight.

[Lois R]

I had today's schedule release on my calendar so we could book our flight to FLL for January.

 

I'm not a big Southwest fan but here's why we did this:

 

1. no luggage fees

2. only airline with a direct flight from STL to FLL.

 

We paid the extra $10 to automatically be put in group A.

We're not flying back on SWA because they didn't have a direct flight from LAX. AA does, so AA gets the business.

 

In January, we flew into Miami and then took a van service to FLL but that's an additional expense.

 

It's been years since I flew SWA, so I'm willing to give it a try in order to get a direct flight.

 

Hi Cindy:) I fly from here to South Florida whenever I am cruising

out of FLL or Miami......most recently back in January. I love them:D

[PurpleHays]

SW is my first choice for my main travel--FLL for cruising, STL for family. Both non stop. Two bags free (which leaves tons of overhead bin space) I usually pull my/our boarding passes 24 hours out so we can get in late Group A/early Group B boarding.

 

Our last flight to STL continued on to KC. The flight attendant told 49 of us to "Get Off" in STL. I love the casual crews--makes travel much less stressful.

 

Next flight will be in April to FLL. Can't book until October when I can officially ask for the vacation. Stupid work rules.

[Putterdude]

We have used SWA for the past 4 or 5 years for flying from LAS to LAS. For us they have the best fares we can find, the two free bags is huge and they usually have a non-stop in either direction each day. The only negative in my mind is the cramped 737 for up to 5 hours.

[tip]

We fly Southwest for a number of reasons:

 

• They fly out of Manchester, NH which is about a ten minute drive from our home
  
• They fly into FLL which is where we take many of our cruises
  
• We can get a non-stop flight in the winter which is important to us as weather can cause major headaches with changing planes or stopping in other east coast airports in the winter
  
• And oh yes, their webfares and first two bags fly free policy are cheap like me!:D
  

[parrotfeathers]

For Januarym SW took away all the nonstop flights from JAN to FLL and somehow managed to drag the flights to 8 hours each. Only $60 cheaper than Delta so it's not worth it.

[eandj]

Thanks for the pep talks. We ended up seeing a drop this morning on S.W. non stop to N.Y. and booked..saving us another $100 off the fare they had posted two days ago.:) I always check flight pricing on Tues-Weds morning as many times they drop on that day, later going up a bit again.

[Putterdude]

Thank you for that insight, I will have to check from time to time.:)

[nhraformula00]

The seats on SW have more leg room than Spirit.

[Coolmama_1]

Still waiting for April.....................

[markadele]

Just booked our flights for our Jan. cruise yesterday and got earlybird. so when you book earlybird does it go by when you bought it? If so we should be way up in line I hope.

[pms4104]

Just booked our flights for our Jan. cruise yesterday and got earlybird. so when you book earlybird does it go by when you bought it? If so we should be way up in line I hope.

From WN's website: "Customers who have purchased Anytime Fares will receive priority over other fare types that are assigned their position based on the time stamp of the EarlyBird Check-In purchase"

 

So, it seems that the type of fare purchased and the date you buy EBCI determines boarding number.

[Keith1010]

Just booked our flights for our Jan. cruise yesterday and got earlybird. so when you book earlybird does it go by when you bought it? If so we should be way up in line I hope.

 

Yes, it does other than the first 20 or 30 people will be their business clients but after that it is based on when you bought it. We've used it before and it is terrific.

 

Keith

[WendyVF]

A trick I use to save money, I pay the fee for only 1 of us to get in the first boarding group on the return flight. That person boards first and saves a seat for the other 2 of us. On the outgoing flight, I set a calendar alarm to remind 5 minutes before the online check in starts and I can do it from my phone. Almost always get A.

[ragtiki2004]

Great idea Wendy! Thanks for sharing. Bob:)

[Bob and Linda]

We booked our flights yesterday on SW. Milwaukee to FLL and back. Both flights are non stop and the flight times were great. We also like the fact that first 2 bags fly free. We checked other airlines and no one had non stop flights that were close to SW prices.

[pms4104]

A trick I use to save money, I pay the fee for only 1 of us to get in the first boarding group on the return flight. That person boards first and saves a seat for the other 2 of us. On the outgoing flight, I set a calendar alarm to remind 5 minutes before the online check in starts and I can do it from my phone. Almost always get A.

Some while ago there had been quite a heated discussion on the Cruise Air board about saving seats, so I emailed Southwest for their take on it. The pertinent part of the email from Southwest: "... we've never outlined a policy for or against the saving of seats. That said, we generally discourage the saving of seats unless special circumstances exist, for instance, parents traveling with small children."