Southwest Airlines Community

Now that the train is up and running, for $79 I can go Orlando to Miami in nice comfortable leather seats.  Living in Florida is so nice.  No state taxes either! ... View more

We just had a rather lively debate after Southwest held a flight nearly an hour for a family of five.     ... View more

I believe Southwest used to have 4-5 gates at Minneapolis from my memory of flying in to MSP to see my grandparents, but has now been reduced to 3 gates as Sun Country reworked their model and has dramatically increased their service offerings and the airport  pushed/added airlines to the Humphrey terminal (Frontier, JetBlue, Icelandair, Condor, Allegiant). Because of this, I think Southwest has had to decrease their service and limit offerings to their more profitable routes out of MSP. I could be mistaken, but I think that's what happened.    Andrew E DEN (CLT) Based | Aviation Enthusiast | Full of Passion for Southwest ... View more

It was a BIG mistake perpetrated by the inability and inexperience of the previous CEO. They were doing a successful business at EWR. I live in New York City area and as a Customer I prefer to take my flight through EWR. It is extremely convenient. With the return of Southwest to EWR, CEO Bob Jordan will show his ability and qualifications to be in that position. Come back to business Southwest. Come back to EWR!!! ... View more

And people will still take out their anger at the employees. Sad times.   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

I would agree that a better airport code would be used for the Andromeda galaxy.   Thanks for clarifying. ... View more

I'll start with a very basic, non-sexy route... United is dropping Colorado Springs (COS) to Los Angeles (LAX) so it would be a great pick up for Southwest.   For a little more run Denver (DEN) to Honolulu (HNL) or any other Hawaii city would compete against United on the route. I think this is at the edge of a 737's range. I don't know how thrilled I would be about that long of a flight on a narrow-body, but I could probably tolerate it given my companion would be free.    On the wild side, any Canadian destinations would be fun to see. Watching Southwest spread LUV all over North America would be great.   I'm spoiled in Colorado with so many non-stops out of Denver that I can't speak to any 1+ stop routes other than Hawaii.    --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

There seems to be a at least one nonstop a day and they're generally $99 to $150 each way which is pretty good for a nonstop from Ohio to Fort Myers. The only high priced flights I saw were either this month of October because it's so close to the depart date and during the holidays (primarily Christmas) which makes sense.    Andrew E DEN (CLT atm) Based | Aviation Enthusiast | Full of Passion for Southwest ... View more

Services at BWI-SWA have been horrendous for more than a few years, although on a positive note, in a recent post I shared the baggage claim turn around time had improved on my last several trips back into town for me to what I will call to normal in comparison to other domestic airports, not fast just normal. I think it's a people problem, and not a shortage of personnel, either. It's an attitude problem. When I interact with SWA employees generally they are passionate and proud of their positions and have a smile when they interact with customers. At BWI, the attitude is often that's not my job and quite honestly this is just a "J O B" and the customer(me) is just another hassle or obstacle to getting home. Some retraining and coaching is in order at BWI. My 2 cents. Safe travels ... View more

Austin to Charleston (SC) nonstop is resuming March 9, 2023 as seasonal service. You can check on the Southwest route map via their website and look at nonstop options from Austin.  DEN Based | Aviation Enthusiast  ... View more

Thank you ... View more

@parpitt1 wrote: Unfortunately I do not believe there are any direct commercial flights on any airline between Phoenix and PBI. As far as the quickest path I would suggest flying through Atlanta on what ever airline you choose. As others have suggested Fort Lauderdale is a much bigger airport and does offer non-stops from Phoenix, but as a fairly frequent traveler to South Florida I understand there is a big difference between Fort Lauderdale and and PBI especially if "family" is picking you up at the airport, assuming they can pick you up at the Fort Lauderdale airport is just plain rude, (my 2 cents). Safe Travels       Maybe American since PHX is a hub for them  ... View more

@Quillen087 wrote: Why do planes take sudden right & left turns after take off. Sometimes the plane seems to be almost sideways. How is this safe? In addition to what others have said, it also helps for more congested airports to get planes to take off more quickly due to minimum separations. Airplane one will fly straight, next one will turn right and the next turn left. If they were to all fly the same direction after takeoff, fewer planes would be able to get in the air due to the minimum separation requirement.  Sometimes there's obstacles like mountains or buildings that need more altitude in order to clear them. More often than not it's because they might be taking off in the opposite direction of the destination airport because pilots don't choose their runway, they get assigned by air traffic control.  Another reason could be noise abatement regulations to avoid planes flying over certain areas. It's perfectly safe, generally the maximum bank angle is 30 degrees which can feel completely vertical, but it's not.   Andrew E DEN Based | Aviation Enthusiast ... View more

I'm sorry for what you experienced, that is definitely a frustrating experience. First, safety first, if a pilot things the tire needs further examination, it should be done as that can lead to even worse problems.  I know this is definitely not helpful now, but in the future, sometimes if you pull aside a flight attendant and ask them about your tight connection, especially if you attach a truthful story of needing to make it otherwise you'll miss the "insert event here," they will contact the people on the ground, and they'll do everything they can for you to make the connection. It's not guaranteed because they want to affect the least amount of passengers, but sometimes asking them while in the air helps a lot (be sure to be friendly when doing so). I know it seems unnecessary because "customer service" but like I said, they try to affect the least number of passengers, so that often means not holding a flight for a singular passenger. Plus, you may have made the flight, but your checked bag wouldn't have and people would still be complaining. It's really a lose-lose for the airline, as they seem to not be able to do anything right in the eyes of some people.   -Andrew E DEN Based | Aviation Enthusiast ... View more

The only airlines I know that fly between LAX and SAN are Delta and United. I don't recall if Southwest ever did it. There's plenty of 1 stop itineraries between LAX and SAN, just doesn't seem logical. I don't know why you'd connect through Vegas, just seems quicker to drive, cost may be similar. Heck, I've flown into LAX and driven down to San Diego. We won't know if they'll offer a nonstop connection until they would announce it, so who knows. It can be requested through the Contact Us link below or by social media.   Andrew E DEN Based | Aviation Enthusiast ... View more

no for runway. Earth is not growing so every time more pavement put down animals lose ... View more

It seems rather small for Southwest, with limited leisure and business traffic. Southwest flies to some pretty small airports (Bellingham, Hayden/Steamboat Springs, Montrose, Fresno, Corpus Christi, Harlingen). All of these are still bigger than Fayetteville, NC because they have either decent leisure or business traffic. If Southwest were to serve Fayetteville, NC, it would likely be to one airport, likely Baltimore or Atlanta. However, I would think that Southwest would just serve these people through RDU.   Andrew E DEN Based | Aviation Enthusiast ... View more

@Will0329 wrote: I have always wondered why southwest never offered bur or lax non stop to sea??   The non-stop flights from sea to smf, oak and sjc are always full and southwest keeps adding more non stop seattle flights to these 3 cities.    Southwest flies non stop from sea to phx,las,oak,smf and sjc frequently.  I've always wondered that too and part of it is because of a lack of planes and crew. This fall Southwest is resuming flights between Portland, OR and both LAX and SAN. I wondered why they don't go further up to Seattle. For one, Seattle is a hub for both Alaska and Delta. Even Delta has struggled with Alaska being like 2.5x larger, it's so hard to compete with them. A lot of people in Seattle have the Alaska rewards program which makes it harder other airlines to "steal" those passengers.  Southwest flies frequently to PHX, LAS, OAK, SMF, and SJC because they are large airports for Southwest where they have the largest market share.    @Will0329 wrote: Southwest also needs more  Southwest also needs more what?   You can request the route through social media or through the Contact Us link below. If you're so keen on a nonstop to SoCal, you can fly Alaska, Delta, American, United, JetBlue (resuming in October). Otherwise if Southwest's connection through the Bay Area is the cheapest, I wouldn't complain and just take it.   Andrew E DEN Based | Aviation Enthusiast ... View more

Southwest is resuming nonstop service between LGA and MCO on November 12th, but it will be operating on Saturdays only. My guess is because of crew and aircraft shortages and not being able to compete as well with the airlines that have bases in the NY area. There's daily nonstop flights from Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) to MCO. It's likely further away from you though than LGA is.   Andrew E DEN based | Aviation Enthusiast   ... View more

FYI, you can request bags be checked through across multiple reservations so you don't have to claim and recheck. The downside of booking multiple trips to complete the trip is if you are delayed and miss the connection it's on you.    --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

Your problem is one of two things:   A) There are no valid connecting flights on the days you want to travel  .or. B) The connections involve more than one plane  change. Southwest does not allow 2 or more plane changes on a given routing.   I'd suggest   1) Use the reservation system  to find out the time the flight out of Houston is supposed to depart   .then.   2) Do the same to find out the time your flight to Houston is supposed to arrive  in Houston   If your arrival in Houston is  too close to the departure from Houston, then the problem is A above   If your flight to Houston requires  a plane change, then your problem is B above   ... View more

@Eaglelion wrote: It seemed like pre-Covid, Southwest had at least daily one direct flight from San Diego to Seattle and vice versa.  I go to San Diego 6+ times/year for work/family and I always have to have a pit stop in San Jose/Oakland typically.  I would believe there is enough business for a direct flight but does anyone have any idea if Southwest will ever resume direct flights to/fro San/Sea?  Tempted to move to Alaska Airlines for this route alone (once companion pass runs out). The problem is that Southwest is severely short of planes. Since the 737 fiasco started Southwest continued retiring planes that were at the end of their useful lives, and for most of that time Boeing delivered ZERO new planes and only now is delivering at about half the rate it was before the fiasco started. Further, SW added about 20 new cities to it's map.   Your route may come back as SW adds new planes to it's fleet. You can tell the airline you want the route back by clicking on ""contact us" below and proceeding.   In the mean time, don't turn yourself into a pretzel with your loyalty to Southwest. If another airline better serves your travel needs, then fly the other airline. ... View more

I definitely understand the frustration. My biggest issue would be that of price because it doesn't seem to reflect that of a low cost airline. Now a lot of that is due to higher fuel costs right now, so I can give a little slack. As far as the delays and cancelations, all airlines are being affected by weather, pilot/staff shortages, among other things. So, Southwest isn't the only one affected here. Don't forget we're still on our way out of a pandemic. People are still getting sick, so there's going to be callouts.    As far as "Other airlines offer a wider range of nonstop flights and red eye flights!" I will definitely agree with you on the redeye flights and hopefully they're in Southwest's future. As for the nonstop flights, that is true to a degree, but really only if you include long-haul and the regionals (SkyWest, Envoy Air, ExpressJet, etc). Comparing just the domestic mainline networks, Southwest has more airports with more service than most of the legacy carriers. American has the most number of hubs at 10, which means for the most part, on a legacy carrier, you're not going to have service to more than 10 airports unless it's from their hub (American - 10 hubs; Delta - 9 hubs; United - 7 hubs). On Southwest, you can get service to at least 10 airports from a whopping 50 airports! Now some of these are on a more seasonal basis, but that's still a lot of airports with at least 10 nonstop destinations on Southwest. And there's even a lot with service to 8 or 9 airports, not to mention, Southwest has the most nonstop service to Cancun and San Jose del Cabo in Mexico. ... View more

Be careful with Flightaware, it a great tool, but you have to make sure you're looking at the whole itinerary of a flight #. SWA flies multiple legs on the same flight number often so you have to drill down sometimes to find exactly what's what.  Today as I sit in DAL Flightaware is changing as I write this, Flight 51 is a hot mess that was flying me to Hobby and coming from Lubbock under the same #,  but now due to thunder storms appears to be morphing into another plane that may be coming from Long beach or Tampa Don't lose faith, my fingers are crossed Safe travels   ... View more

Tweeting or Dming works too! ... View more

Thank you, this is just what I was looking for. ... View more

Southwest offers service from Nassau to Baltimore (BWI) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL).  NAS-FLL is daily; arriving in FLL at 3:30 pm NAS-BWI is seasonal and only on Saturdays; arriving in BWI at 4:05 pm Unfortunately the nonstop Saturday flight from BWI to LAX is at 4:05pm There is no nonstop from FLL to LAX, but there are some connections in both FLL and BWI, which probably all involve a plane change, and with a plane change in FLL/BWI, Southwest won't book a flight with more than one plane change. You can still do a manual multi-city reservation, but make sure you have enough time for every connection. ... View more

Sorry Andrew, your answer just doesn’t cut it. I have companion status and a list for 9 years since we moved from Long Island to South Florida. It is an insult that Southwest has taken down daily nonstops to PBI/FLL. Not even during high season! I have to conclude that they no longer value my business.  ... View more