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Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

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Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#91

Post by skipkey »

cbhl wrote: post #38
fragmede wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the signal being derived never having declared bankruptcy? Doesn't that mean, comparatively, they're extracting more money from customers than the rest of the industry and spending less on things like maintenance? Both of those sound like bad things to me.

If you buy a plane ticket for the future, in a bankruptcy, you become an unsecured creditor of the airline. That means the airline could have taken your money, spent it, and the bankruptcy court can say that they don't actually have to honor your ticket because it falls below the line of the things the airline has money to actually pay people back for. And then you have to go buy another ticket on another airline. Be…

Even worse, you can get caught with no return flight. In late 2001, I was flying back home to Dallas from Prague, connecting in Brussels. And the airline I was on, Sabena, declared bankruptcy the very day of the flights.

I got lucky, if your flight left before 8am you were rebooked on a different airline. After 8? You were out of luck and on your own. My flight had been scheduled for 7:50.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#92

Post by Lendal »

vasco wrote: post #32
parl_match wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just can't put up with the unassigned seating zoo, lack of premium class options, and other niceties.

> unassigned seating zoo I never flew SW, can you or someone explain what the problem is with unassigned seats (what makes it a zoo)? I've used long distance trains and buses and it has been fine.

They don't charge extra for assigned seats. Instead, you pick your seat by sitting in it. Which means you need to board earlier. Boarding order is assigned by the order in which you check in. To do that, you get the Southwest app and check in the moment the notification pops up on your phone. If you do that, you board ahead of everyone else. Free of charge.

If you believe paying paying extra fees for every little thing constitutes order over chaos, well then maybe you should fly another airline and pay their fees. Personally I prefer Southwest's up-front pricing model. I just tap the check-in button when it pops up on my phone and board ahead of everyone else, thus avoiding the so-called zoo of people at the back who haven't figured it out yet.

The first time I flew Southwest I immediately saw that boarding first gets you a better seat. So I asked them, how do you board first? And they told me. I boarded first from then on.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#93

Post by mint2 »

parl_match wrote: post #29
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…

I just can't put up with the unassigned seating zoo, lack of premium class options, and other niceties.

Interesting, I find it refreshingly egalitarian and not classist and extractive.

It really bothers me how other airlines treat seating as a way to further bleed customers of money and create tiers.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#94

Post by [deleted] »

catapart wrote: post #56
fragmede wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The UI displaying the SW price for two checked bags next to the Delta price for zero checked bags is the issue. it's like comparing "the cheapest Mac laptop vs the cheapest windows laptop" vs "the cheapest Mac laptop vs equivalently spec'd windows laptop", and not trusting consumers or the price comparison UI to know the difference.

I certainly appreciate the effort as valiant, but the commenter responded to a generalized summary of the issue with anecdotal tunnel-vision about their pet issue, completely ignoring the context (an entire US law was passed - no small feat - to fix an issue ne is insisting doesn't actually exist) and the other types of issues that contribute to the misrepresentation of prices (checked bags aren't the only 'hidden fe…

[deleted]

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#95

Post by zarzavat »

Lendal wrote: post #92
vasco wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> unassigned seating zoo I never flew SW, can you or someone explain what the problem is with unassigned seats (what makes it a zoo)? I've used long distance trains and buses and it has been fine.

They don't charge extra for assigned seats. Instead, you pick your seat by sitting in it. Which means you need to board earlier. Boarding order is assigned by the order in which you check in. To do that, you get the Southwest app and check in the moment the notification pops up on your phone. If you do that, you board ahead of everyone else. Free of charge. If you believe paying paying extra fees for every little thi…

How does that work for people traveling in groups such as couples or families? The reason that airlines have assigned seating is that people want to know before they get on the plane that they’ll be seated together.

Especially for families you don’t want your kid sitting next to some random person because you missed a notification on an app and ended up boarding last when only middle seats are left

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#96

Post by alexsereno »

zarzavat wrote: post #95
Lendal wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't charge extra for assigned seats. Instead, you pick your seat by sitting in it. Which means you need to board earlier. Boarding order is assigned by the order in which you check in. To do that, you get the Southwest app and check in the moment the notification pops up on your phone. If you do that, you board ahead of everyone else. Free of charge. If you believe paying paying extra fees for every little thi…

How does that work for people traveling in groups such as couples or families? The reason that airlines have assigned seating is that people want to know before they get on the plane that they’ll be seated together. Especially for families you don’t want your kid sitting next to some random person because you missed a notification on an app and ended up boarding last when only middle seats are left

Pay a bit extra to board earlier.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#97

Post by svachalek »

zarzavat wrote: post #95
Lendal wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't charge extra for assigned seats. Instead, you pick your seat by sitting in it. Which means you need to board earlier. Boarding order is assigned by the order in which you check in. To do that, you get the Southwest app and check in the moment the notification pops up on your phone. If you do that, you board ahead of everyone else. Free of charge. If you believe paying paying extra fees for every little thi…

How does that work for people traveling in groups such as couples or families? The reason that airlines have assigned seating is that people want to know before they get on the plane that they’ll be seated together. Especially for families you don’t want your kid sitting next to some random person because you missed a notification on an app and ended up boarding last when only middle seats are left

For younger children (5 and under I think?) you can listen for "family boarding" between the A and B passes.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#98

Post by tssva »

ljsprague wrote: post #65
tssva wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“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?

No but one of the airports in my area is a Southwest hub.

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#99

Post by bombcar »

bbarn wrote: post #45
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…

I almost always fly SW, and it's my least favorite flying experience. Why do I fly it often then? It's not the cost, I am rarely paying out of pocket for the flights, as they're typically work related. It's just simple - they are my only option for direct flights for most of the travel I do that doesn't involve me driving 2 extra hours to go to the larger LAX airport.

As I get older the price difference for direct flights to the airports I want becomes more and more attractive

Re: Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

#100

Post by bombcar »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #87
hnburnsy wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, on SW you get unlimited companion flights for the term of the pass. Delta is a one use certificate.

> on SW you get unlimited companion flights for the term of the pass Oh wow, that is a great perk [1]. [1] https://www.southwest.com/rapid-rewards/tiers/companion-pass...

100 one way flights is a round trip a week, but I guess some hit it.
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