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Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

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Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#61

Post by JumpCrisscross »

hnburnsy wrote: post #41
wil421 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except you have to deal with Southwest customers, no seating, and being charged for everything. I’ll gladly take Delta over SW or Spirit but I’m at a huge hub. Delta is about as cheap as SW if I account for my Amex discounts.

Balance that with no change fees, free bags, companion pass, and flight credits that do not expire. When I travelled a lot, I would fly Southwest the first part of the year to earn the companion pass. Once earned I would fly Delta or United, who ever was cheaper. As a consumer it is nice to have a choice and competition. Seems like the other large carriers raise fees and degrade the travel experience in tandem.

> Balance that with no change fees, free bags, companion pass, and flight credits that do not expire

Delta provides each of those at its higher frequent-flier levels. Plus free food and drink at the airport and in the air, premium seats, et cetera. If you're a very frequent flier, the majors have a better product. If you're a middlingly-frequent flier, or someone who flies a short, cheap route frequently, Southwest.

> it is nice to have a choice and competition

100% agree.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#62

Post by vikramkr »

Huh, I had no idea they weren't listed on these sites. I'd generally heard good things about them but they didn't really 'exist' as an option for me since I never saw a flight from them available. Wonder how many times I'd have chosen them if I knew/remembered they existed on a given route

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#63

Post by simonbw »

bobthepanda wrote: post #49
hnburnsy wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Best perk on SW is the companion pass. Some well timed credit card sign ups and a few flights and you can have a companion fly free with you for almost 2 years. Especially nice as SW flies to Hawaii.

Alaska also has a companion pass and also flies to Hawaii

They also fly to Belize. I used my companion fare for that earlier this year.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#64

Post by tssva »

CSSer wrote: post #27

This is going to sound like an ad, but I exclusively fly SW domestically. As noted, they used to look like a worse value but only because of the way competition handled fees. Couple this with the standard rewards program and I think SW is a steal. Did you know that SW is also the only domestic airline to have never filed bankruptcy? I’m glad to see the rest of the world being forced to compete more honestly. I’m sad…

“As noted, they used to look like a worse value but only because of the way competition handled fees.”

They have consistently been by far the worse value from either of the airports in my area even after paying additional fees on other airlines such as checked baggage fees.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#65

Post by ljsprague »

tssva wrote: post #64
CSSer wrote: post #27

This is going to sound like an ad, but I exclusively fly SW domestically. As noted, they used to look like a worse value but only because of the way competition handled fees. Couple this with the standard rewards program and I think SW is a steal. Did you know that SW is also the only domestic airline to have never filed bankruptcy? I’m glad to see the rest of the world being forced to compete more honestly. I’m sad…

“As noted, they used to look like a worse value but only because of the way competition handled fees.” They have consistently been by far the worse value from either of the airports in my area even after paying additional fees on other airlines such as checked baggage fees.

Are you in the Southwest?

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#66

Post by kstrauser »

KorematsuFredt wrote: post #59
CSSer wrote: post #27

This is going to sound like an ad, but I exclusively fly SW domestically. As noted, they used to look like a worse value but only because of the way competition handled fees. Couple this with the standard rewards program and I think SW is a steal. Did you know that SW is also the only domestic airline to have never filed bankruptcy? I’m glad to see the rest of the world being forced to compete more honestly. I’m sad…

Other than garbage airlines like Frontier, I have never had reasons to complain about any American airlines that much. Competition is so fierce that they all are pretty bad in my opinion.

My United Tariff is up to $400. That is, I add $400 to whatever their price is when I'm shopping for tickets. That's how much more I'm willing to pay anyone else to avoid flying United.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#67

Post by CSSer »

the_snooze wrote: post #52
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but only because of the way competition handled fees Southwest treats all its customers the way the big three treat their most frequent fliers. I am loyal to Delta and also never pay baggage fees or change fees or have miles expire. The lounges are free, which means free food and drink from one airport to the other. I can get a human on the phone within 60s, have had a car help with gate-to-gate transfers when a de…

Southwest has its faults, but they're far and away the most human-friendly and least-BS domestic airline in the US. The price is the price and you get reasonable accommodations even at the base fare. If your Southwest credits/vouchers expire, you can talk to an actual person who'll extend it by six months after expiration even if you don't have status. It doesn't feel bad giving Southwest your business. Maybe other c…

This 1000%. It’s even more true and viable in any industry saturated with competition that is married to the opposite standards. Yet here I am, simply baffled that someone else tried to argue that not having declared bankruptcy before could be a bad thing.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#68

Post by avelis »

Southwest Airlines (SW) has still not made an investment in their scheduling and operations software and infrastructure. They will have more operational failures in the future if say a huge store system forces to many flights to be rescheduled. For something so critical to business continuity I find it astounding how little SW has done in that regard. SW also has lobbied alot to derail high speed rail in Texas. Although I am sure all airlines have done that to some degree.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#69

Post by Nicholas_C »

hnburnsy wrote: post #36

What was interesting is that Southwest has been part of GDS allowing agents and corporate travel bookers to compare fares. Always seemed consumer unfriendly.

They would likely argue it’s more consumer friendly since they don’t have to pass the GDS fees onto non-business travelers via higher fares.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#70

Post by cljacoby »

CSSer wrote: post #27

This is going to sound like an ad, but I exclusively fly SW domestically. As noted, they used to look like a worse value but only because of the way competition handled fees. Couple this with the standard rewards program and I think SW is a steal. Did you know that SW is also the only domestic airline to have never filed bankruptcy? I’m glad to see the rest of the world being forced to compete more honestly. I’m sad…

Southwest is my favorite airline for domestic US travel. Two free checked bags by default is amazing. I also personally like the no assigned seats, and no first class.

I also had an experience with a delayed bag once, which took about an hour to come out on the carousel. It was long enough that I went to the help desk to get help and potentially report the bag as lost. I got a 300 dollar travel credit, and my bag turned up shortly after.

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