Southwest Airlines Community

I don’t think SWA has any control over the factory that makes the cookies. However, honey would be a fantastic addition.  ... View more

@ovocop8 wrote: I've been waiting for years for Southwest to look into flying to Canada, as SWA is my preferred airline (almost all flights I've ever taken have been with them). Been across the country, been international now by air. First country ever traveled to outside the US was Canada by car, but mostly in the East. There are many different places to see in Canada. For entertainment/leisure, I would visit the following: British Columbia: Vancouver Alberta: Edmonton, Calgary Saskatchewan: Regina Manitoba: Winnipeg Ontario: Toronto, Ottawa, London, Sault Ste. Marie Quebec: Montreal, Quebec (City) Nova Scotia: Halifax There are several others I would drive to for CHL games (including Hamilton, Kamloops, Saskatoon, etc.) but I would fly into these other cities. I'm sure for other people, there are probably some rural and rustic places to visit in the prairies out west and maybe some coastal areas, but these are the places I would like to see flights into from Southwest. One issue is that Southwest can only take bookings in USD while flying in Canada would require accepting CAD - it’s an IT issue, not any lack of interest.    ... View more

Maybe the points gods are watching out for you.  Buying points, especially on Southwest, rarely makes sense.  Southwest points are always worth less than what you pay for them.  Some other airlines occasionally have sales where you get a deal, but not Southwest.  The new booking option that allows you to book with points and cash is also a bad deal, but probably makes more sense than just buying the points so just use that if you are short on points.  I have not done the exact math to compare the two options since both are just bad options overall when compared to paying 100% with points earned and not purchased.   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

Southwest long ago figured out that open seating is the fastest way to get everyone on a plane. Fastest boarding means quicker plane turns - which allows more flights/gate/day and more flights/plane/day -- which in turns mean more profit and potential for lower fares for everyone. ... View more

We see people gaming most any system put in place. This is just one such example. I have been in line with a veteran of war that could easily legitimately qualify for pre board but he would not have it. He was pretty outraged at the people he saw clearly gaming the policy. This was going on with emotional support dogs as well. To the people that do this, shame on you. ... View more

@manilowmaniak wrote: Who is WGA? WGA on this forum is Wanna Get Away (fare). ... View more

@ffflyer wrote: Never book third party! Bood directly with the hotel and directly with the airline. Otherwise you are just asking for truoble. Not worth the few bucks you might save.   While I absolutely agree with this, booking Points Plus hotels through SW Hotels is one of the fastest ways to earn and keep your Companion Pass each year. For that reason I roll the dice on the third-party bookings, and once I have reached the required points for CP for the next year, I go back to booking direct. Luckily I have never had an issue with SW Hotels, but I willingly accept the risk in exchange for CP.  ... View more

It used to be easy to print a boarding pass from the phone but Southwest has made it much harder to find. Here what to do:   Do or redo check-in Tap check standard bags On the next screen, scroll down and look carefully. In small print it says “view full site.” Tap that. On the full site, check in again. You should get the screen that asks if you want to print your boarding pass. It used to be you could go directly to the full site to get a printable boarding pass, but now, trying to go to the full site automatically flips you back to the mobile site, from which you cannot print a boarding pass. Using the method above, you stay on the full site and can print the boarding pass from your phone. I did it from an iPhone, but it probably works from any phone. ... View more

Nice! What can I say, your welcome!  ... View more

@honduh8 wrote:   Well the rules have changed since 2020. ESA's a no longer allowed.   You certainly have the right to fly with your service dog, and by your description of your situation you do need a service dog.   I hope you find a way to control your seizures, but if not you do have your 130 pound friend there to help out. A very good friend indeed.   All the best to you...   ... View more

I also just attempted to log in again and for the first time in days it succeeded Not sure what changed but perhaps my email to customer relations finally made an impact Regards Goku to             ... View more

That it is "all the TSAs fault" seems to be the well rehearsed response by all Southwest phone support, check in personnel and gate agents, for the multiple impacts getting selected for a secondary security screening causes. It's TSA, not Southwest, so you get nothing from them to help rectify the situation of getting a late C group number when you went to all the trouble to checkin and your spouse on the same reservation gets A group.  It is true that it is TSA for being selected for the secondary security screening for the one flight with the extra screening, but all the issues on subsequent connecting fights are caused by Southwest's reservation system and boarding process. There is no reason not to get assigned your legitimate place in line on the rest of your connecting flights as the TSA screening has nothing to do with them. Even worse then not being able to board with the rest of your party on the reservation on subsequent flights is losing your TSA Pre Check from paying for Global Entry on the rest of your connecting flights. On international flights you usually need to go through security again after clearing customs. On my recent trip back from Mexico, the rest of my party with TSA Pre Check cleared security in 5 minutes and then waited another 50 minutes for me to finally show up. This is very much Southwest's issue. Other airlines with different reservation systems have none of these issues. There are things that Southwest could have and should have done on my connecting flight. I clearly should have had an A group number as all other folks on the reservation with me did. All the numbers are gone since the Southwest system would not assign my connecting flight boarding position since it wouldn’t assign the 1 st flight. However, Southwest lets "special circumstance" folks board after the A group, before the B group. When I asked the gate agent in Miami, Monica V., if there was anything I could do to board at least close to the rest of my party, she parroted the party line that is was TSA’s fault and that there was nothing she could do. When I mentioned boarding after the A’s, she got that hostile look like I was just another low life trouble maker trying to cheat my way onto the plane before my turn. She stated that was ONLY for disabled passengers and my issue was not a Southwest problem. An even better solution is for Southwest to still issue you your boarding position number for your connecting flights and not remove TSA PRE from your connecting flight boarding pass. This is Southwest's problem, they just don't care as it will cost them money to fix their reservation system. ... View more

I agree.  The complaints are starting up again at MCO regarding family boarding, excessive number of carry on items and size of carry on items.     ... View more

This situation says it was solved. If you read the solution it wasn’t solved at all ... View more

If you require crutches to be mobile, you will need to "stow these medical devices" in the overhead when you board. This would be a legit reason to pre-board. Safe Travels  ... View more

Typically, points earned through hotel stays don't count towards the Companion Pass, but there might be some promotions or exceptions. If you're aiming to rack up points quickly, why not mix it up a bit? Consider exploring different avenues for earning points. Maybe look into credit card sign-up bonuses or airline promotions. And hey, if you're planning any trips soon, why not head over to Thailand? Check out this link for some inspiration: https://thaitriplover.com/nightlife-entertainment. I've heard the nightlife and entertainment there are absolutely incredible! ... View more

@bballflyer wrote: I would add that having pre-boarders also have to wait to get off the plane until last would curb those that take advantage of the rules and policies.  If they need special assistance to board then it makes sense to me to wait until everyone is off to get that same special assistance to de-board off.  I have seen this at other airlines and it seems fair. They don't all need assistance to board, some need a specific seat.   But I see what you are saying, when traveling with my mom we will wait until it is confirmed that there is a pusher there with a wheelchair.    But that goes both ways, with the wheelchair crew there in the way the preboarders that are using them should go. If there isn't one ready, then wait.     ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: Agree with you Jexxica. If I have A22, I don;t particularly care if I get on at A20 or A30. I'm still going to get a good seat. Agreed except not if I'm A16, there can be no confusion about who is the first of that boarding group.   Also I'm going for that exit row aisle then A16 is better than A17.   20's or more then often I actually just wait at the back of A30 and board the last of that group so I'm not crowded.     ... View more

https://support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/article/carryon-baggage-policy ... View more

Non-issue for me.  I have an AA credit card and am status with them.  AA and SWA are my top two go-to airlines.  Basically I earn a ton of miles with AA that I use for free international flights.  And I earn a respectable number of miles with my SWA credit card; and use them for free domestic flights.  And free checked bags on both. ... View more

I use PayPal to pay for my flights 99.9% of the time and never have issues. Could be an internet connection or other issue causing your payment not to go through.   --Jessica ... View more

This is a simple misunderstanding of the Southwest boarding policy. You are not assigned seats. It is first come, first serve. A group boards first, B group boards second, C group boards third and last, and by that time, most aisle/window seats are taken. Now you know for the future. You could have gotten around this by purchasing early bird, which gives you a better boarding position (but even then it is not guaranteed, if many others also purchase early bird).    --Jessica ... View more

The issue is not preboarding, the issue is the OPEN SEATING policy. ... View more

 Yes, we can all read the policy, but when an agent on the phone tells you that they are going to make an exception and  issue a refund the customer should be able to trust that.  Southwest Vacations is the most dishonest and incompetent company I have ever worked with.   ... View more

If you announce a full flight at the gate, you will encourage a rush of everyone wanting to preboard.   Best to figure it out after preboarding. ... View more

Traveling with a wedding dress is a whole new level of adventure, right? I also had to travel with my dress and men's wedding suits once. I remember securing that extra seat for these, too – I had a mini celebration with the flight attendants. Safe travels on your dress escapades! ... View more

SoCalFlyer97 can't speak for the entire year, but later this winter, the destination I'm looking forward to the most will be a combined Business Trip and Personal Trip to LAS with a stay at one of Vegas' historic landmarks.   Usually my trips to LAS are day-trippers purchased during a sale; I fly in early in the morning from SAN, take care of my business, check out some sights if time permits, and return home in the late afternoon or evening. However this time I will be staying in LAS with a three-night stay at an inn that many people including the hotel's website itself say is "haunted"--The old and original Hotel Apache in Downtown Las Vegas that once catered to the builders of the Hover Dam.     Looking at the pictures, Apache resembles a depression-era interior design. Built in the early 1930's, the rooms are small and chances are I'm going to need to use either the room's HVAC system or my phone as white-noise to muffle out all the late-night partygoing down on Fremont Street. However, Apache's low prices combined with its rich history showed me that this place was a great deal.   During my hotel shopping, I learned that Apache proudly boasts that the place is "haunted" with anonymous quotes describing various noises and things magically getting moved. I don't believe that haunted spirits are going to move my things from one corner of the room to the other, nor are they the source of when the building creeks or groans due to settling. I often find my things in odd places simply because I was tired and forgot that I left them there.   The business portion of the trip involves a two-day, dual-convention at the LV Convention Center. That meant all of the big hotels in the area were charging huge room rates. Westgate for example is located next door to the convention center; a few weeks ago, it posted a $1,420 price tag for the three nights on Southwest Hotels which excluded taxes and $119.97 in resort fees for the stay (although those 19,000 CP-Eligible points looked very tempting). At the time of the post, Westgate was sold out.     Both at the time of reservation and at the time of this post, the "haunted" Apache hotel is still priced at $133 for all three nights with no resort fee ($150 total after taxes) with 1,000 points with a short RTC bus ride to the convention center area; 3-day bus pass is only $20 which also covers travel to/from LAS airport. Looking at the pictures and reviews, this little inn above the old Binion's has my name on their reservation list through Southwest Hotels.     For the record, I also reviewed the nearby Downtowner Boutique Hotel with similar base pricing and a modest $22.60 resort fee. That too looked like a nice little place to stay; however its location was a few blocks east of the Fremont Experience and little too far of a walk from the RTC bus route that would have fed me into the convention center. The Four Queens was my second choice at $236 total after taxes for the stay with no resort fee.     I booked the SW flight a few weeks ago during an "As low as $44" Fare Sale and locked in a $59 SAN-LAS flight each way. Amazingly enough, the fares from last week's WOW40 sale were actually priced higher than the $44 sale.   Looking forward to to this trip. ... View more