Southwest Airlines Community

@hykos wrote: Quoted price per point of fixed 78 pts per $1 is NOT correct.    Southwest uses a sliding scale. You can only estimate a value of points but it is subject to change. A general principle is that it starts at about 1/60 and goes up from there, but the more expensive flights do assess a much higher ratio of points per dollar. In this way, Southwest does well to ensure that its more discretionary customers try to pay cash for seats on full flights, but save their points to use on cheaper flights with plenty of available seating. As such, Southwest was able to rid itself of the hefty blackouts of RR1.0, and develop a compromise that allows customers to redeem rewards at any time, but to pay a premium for that flexibility.   Unfortunately, there's some incorrect info and/or a bit of misunderstanding here.   78 points per $1 is the current redemption rate.   This is the exact formula by which Southwest prices points flights. Points fares are equal to the base fare (exclusive of taxes and fees) x 78.   When Southwest first shifted to "RR 2.0" in 2011, the redemption rate was initially set at 60/$1 (for WGA fares, BS and AT had their own, higher redemption rates). Then it was increased to 70/$1 in 2014. In 2016 it was announced that the rate would be variable, and fares were offered for between 72/$1 and 80/$1. There was some brief availability of 55/$1 fares, and occasionally some other random rates. Most currently, in 2018 we learned that all fares types (WGA, BS and AT) would be offered for the same points redemption value, which is currently 78/$1. This was another devaluation of the WGA fare, but represented a better redemption ratio for BS and AT, making using points to book those fares more attractive. (Which coincides with greater occasional unavailability of WGA fares in general.)   This value is the constant that Southwest uses to calculate points fares. We use it to check if there's been any program devaluation by Southwest.   It's important to understand that this value is different from the realized value of a Rapid Rewards point.   This can be confusing to understand for some, because the realized value of a Rapid Rewards point does vary.   Points fares do not trigger the collection of taxes, so lower priced flights are a "better value" than higher priced ones when you use points. The percentage of the total cash fare represented by taxes is greater on lower priced fares, so, by using points, your "savings" (when compared to the cash fare) is greater. Which makes the realized value of those points larger. This is why bloggers will often refer to the value of a Rapid Rewards points using a range -- for example, 1.4 to 1.9 cents.   Remember though, that the formula for pricing those points fares remains -- at least until the next devaluation is implemented -- at 78/$1. 😉   To check this for yourself, just look at the base fare of any cash flight and compare it to the points price.   Cash fare: $132 Points fare: 8539 Base fare: $109.47 x 78 = 8538.66 ( rounded to 8539)     With regards to some other points you've made: It is somewhat unique to Southwest that the best redemptions are often short-haul or inexpensive flights, vs longer / higher priced ones, as is the case with most frequent flyer programs.   The original Rapid Rewards program was simply not sustainable as the carrier grew, so the "compromise" necessary to eliminate the capacity controls (which were a symptom of the program's inability to scale appropriately) was made by the introduction of the cash-based program -- with earning and redemption directly linked to the cash fare.   Since that's directly scalable, that should have fixed things for a while. But unfortunately, the rapidly ensuing and repeating devaluations indicate that that program was still more expensive than Southwest would like. And I suspect another devaluation is somewhat inevitable.             ... View more

@byrdbrain591 wrote: So my underseat spinner suitcase at 17.25" x 13" x 9" won't fit under the seat? I can check the dimensions on mine, but it fits readily under the seat without issue.  It's a hardshell spinner from Costco. ... View more

Thanks for posting! ... View more

Thank you. Not sure that's the same thing but maybe and hope it/both are resumed at some point ... View more

@Weiss613 an updated list was posted today, here is the link:   https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/Blog/From-the-Box-Office-to-Your-Next-Flight-Enjoy-Free-Movies/ba-p/97998 ... View more

Also for reference the following link to the Knowledge Base includes this and several other topics:   https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/Knowledge-Base/tkb-p/southwest-knowledge-base ... View more

Customer Relation Department is the worst ! There is no people skills there. All they do is i do not have record of you calling so i cant help ! Customer service and customer relation comes in place when customer have issue. Otherwise they dont have job to do !   They not only fail to add points but they fail to record when i call with notes ! fail twice and turning the table as customer will have to keep checking if southwest did the job right?   failed on customer service. Big talk and zero result.  ... View more

Fortunately, it won't be a huge deal to check you both in.  I recommend check yourself in on the app while you check the other conf in on a computer at https://www.southwest.com/air/check-in/confirmation.html.   Of course, with SW, if you don't have status or Early Bird Check In, when you check in is important to get a good boarding position.  If you are ready to go at 24 hours out with both, you could reasonably hope to get similar boarding positions.   Hope that helps!   ... View more

Here are some resources with information on the Southwest careers site, the second one includes the following "Two years of experience on heavy jets of 12,500 pounds or more is required; recent experience preferred (within the past two years)." https://careers.southwestair.com/c/aircraft-maintenance-engineering-jobs https://assets.phenompeople.com/CareerConnectResources/SOUTUS/en_us/desktop/assets/images/Tech-Ops-v2.pdf Good luck! ... View more

If Southwest has any 'flaw' at all, this may be it. It's unfortunate that unauthorized access to your account resulted in points being used without your knowledge.    I've been reading several of these threads, and ironically, I received an e-mail from Southwest just a few days ago titled: "Action needed - unauthorized account access." Southwest deactivated my password due to my account potentially being accessed without my consent. The day before, a Southwest rep helped me book a flight with points - so could these actions have been related? Or was someone else trying to access my account? Unknown, but I had 2 things in my favor: my account has less than 2,000 points currently, and I don't store any payment information on Southwest.com. If someone *did* try to hack my account with the intention to steal points, I bet they were pretty disappointed 😉    But if I was in a scenario where thousands of points *were* stolen, I'd try everything possible to get them back. It would be pretty obvious to prove that the flights were not booked by me if the flights left anywhere other than PHL since PHL is my primary airport,  and I don't fly out of any other location. If they tried to redeem points for *stuff* (RR Shopping), I could make the argument that I have never once used RR Shopping (although I should probably take advantage), but that would obviously be more difficult to prove. Good luck, and I hope you get a satisfactory resolution to this if you haven't already.    --Jessica ... View more

@alafiyah52 you may want to see if this thread helps you: https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/Southwest-Careers/Missing-Application-Notice-on-Dashboard/m-p/85174 ... View more

 What do you have to say now??  Its clear sw is only concerned with its profits-greed rules this ever increasing disheartening earth we live on.  Wonder if Boeing ceos put their family on one?  ... View more

They didn't take enuf time to hire quality in the 2 pilots (still flying)they are being sued over for secretly watching other crew in the cree restroom by hidden camera or perhaps that is what quality hires they are seeking!   ... View more

See my reply to your other post, I don't know how much traction you'll get here. You may want to leverage your personal, LinkedIn, and others networks. ... View more

You may want to check with folks on one of the third-party pilot boards. Occasionally pilot candidates post questions here but there isn't much discussion and I don't know that you'll get much of a response here. ... View more

@lestepamel43825  I agree with @bec102896.  I found the following on SWA FAQ on the career site:   For technical issues related to the online application process, send a brief description and screenshot of the error message to swapeople@wnco.com.  This account is monitored Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. CT. We do our best to reply within two business days.   ... View more

In a word: nope.   --Jessica ... View more

@TheMiddleSeat wrote: @@ You're still describing a situation that requires earning either 100% of the points required OR 100% of the flights required. How you earn the points is irrelevant. In my opinion a combination option that allowed for something such as only 50 flights AND 70,000 points earned would be a nice alternative.   --TheMiddleSeat   ... View more

@peggywharton wrote: I am traveling next week on a 4 hour roundtrip flight with a 15 month old.  I am thinking she will need at least 1 bottle of whole milk each way.  I know that one can bring breast milk through TSA, but what about whole milk in a bottle?  And what about bringing it in an aseptic package to avoid cooling it?   I know that I might be able to buy a small carton of whole milk post TSA check-in, but I don't want to be running around to restaurants trying to find this, or worse, not finding it at all.  I can't be the only one with this issue.  Help! I know this was solved already with the link to the policy. I'd like to elaborate that we did bring whole milk, formula, and breast milk through security and it required some additional screening for my wife but as long as you allow a little extra time it wasn't a big deal. We found it difficult to purchase whole milk at most terminals which seem to sell a lot more low-fat milk.      ... View more

@James94525  some applicants have waited for a year or more. It's a timely process. You will hear back when there is a need.  ... View more

Hello Nicholas,   Glad to see a fellow TSTC graduate! I’m a current dispatcher with Southwest Airlines. I think the best way to improve your chances is to get some Part 121 dispatch experience under your belt. It could be at a regional, cargo carrier, or a 121 supplemental operation of some type. In the past two classes, all the externals that were hired have had at least two years of Part 121 experience, and it seems about half of them have held either manager positions or training positions at their respective operations. I myself had 4 1/2 years of both passenger and cargo dispatch experience before I was given a chance.   Have you considered going the internal route? It’s definitely a good way in and I think your 135 experience would help you out there. But also keep in mind that the internal pathway is extremely competitive...I’ve met quite a few employees who have their licenses.    Sorry for the somewhat late response, and if you have any questions feel free to send them my way. Also good luck on the current round of hiring!   - 747Spatcher ... View more

Woo hoo!! Awesome!!    --Jessica ... View more

I had a bad experience with seat saving on a recent trip back from Hawaii.  The human tendency to cheat and take advantage, in this case cost avoidance of an early bird fare that others pay, will always have those who abuse the system at the exspense of others, and some, as was our recent experience, will take it to an extreme to "reserve" mutiple seats.  While I have been a devoted SW customer for many years and very much enjoy the companion travel feature, we have noted his trend increasing.  It will be the reason we switch to another carrier that is less likely to turn a blind eye and is essentially complicit in the inequites associated with its obbiously less than fully "open" [for all] seating policy.  In all fairness, if you wish to secure your seat for your family members or whatever, then pay the extra amount as the rest of us do.  I don't see the big deal in this as a policy.  It would appear that SW doesn't really care about this enough to change.  Sad.   ... View more

  @SWDigits wrote: @jksobonya wrote: Cancel the flight and use the travel funds to rebook with the correct name.    --Jessica I don't think that will work because "Travel funds from unused or canceled flight reservations have to be used by the originally ticketed passenger."  In this case that would be a non-existent passenger with the wrong last name.   Source page: https://www.southwest.com/flight/travel-funds-search.html You're right! I didn't think that the travel funds were still in the original passenger's name. That's a no-go.   --Jessica ... View more

@DfDrPepper_23 wrote: @ok529  Believe me, I have wasted my money a few times when the wifi didn't work.  You do know that when that happens that you can request a refund from customer relations - don't you??? ... View more