Southwest Airlines Community

@rtbarron wrote: Well, nobody reponded, so here's the answer. The ex-Frontier 737s had eight first class seats in the forward cabin. They were deep red velvet from what I recall. Awesome! Before my time, but this was a fun post. Please do another one if you have some more interesting history to share.   That's funny that people tended not to take them even though it was open seating.      ... View more

@OhOneMoreThing wrote: 5/24/18. Payless raised the price of my car rental to pay for the SWA miles... I won't be using SWA to book any more rental cars, and if this happens again, i won't be using SWA either. I expect a response from SWA. Oh, and i've sent this to Sharyl Attkisson, the investigate reporter as low haning fruit. The tolling practices annoy me at the rental car "leaders" as well. It's also normal for there to be some sort of fee pertaining to the miles, that's not only Payless. Booking rental cars through the Southwest website allows you to get the miles, and consolidate some of your booking information - I wouldn't use it expecting to find the lowest price compared to booking direct or through other discount methods.   Personally I try to stick to the main rental car agencies to avoid outlier events like that with the shady billing. Instead it is a predictable amount of attempts at extra billing.   But anyway - this is a customer-to-customer forum, I just wanted to make sure that if you were expecting a response from Southwest you'd need to have also called customer service or reached out via Twitter (@SouthwestAir) or Facebook, or sent a letter. ... View more

@bopsytwins wrote: I am trying to do what you said in your post but it is only allowing me to book A-B, B-C.  I can't find how to get the last leg of my trip in, the C-A.  How do I do that? Sounds like three one-way tickets. Or a one-way and a RT to alternate destination, but as mentioned by @chgoflyer we recommend to do the one-ways anyway.    Southwest doesn't discount RT flights compared to buying the same thing as one-way tickets.     ... View more

@ashleydphn wrote: Hi, if I check my stroller at the gate, when do I get it back? Is it as soon as the plane lands at the destination and we get off?  Thanks. Yes, you'll get off of the plane and immediately in the jet bridge the stroller should be brought up and left in the equivalent position where you dropped it at the destination. Don't go up the jet bridge without it, you are meant to pick it up right away and roll on out to the concourse.   We usually wait at least halfway through debording to get up or else we get there first, then you will be standing in the way of everyone else leaving the plane.   If you have a connecting flight you may gate check for the connection or all the way to the destination, make sure both you and Southwest are expecting the same thing to happen - verify the tag that they put on it.   Retrieving it at the connecting flight will mean you have to gate check it again before boarding the next leg. ... View more

Among the allowed connections there also seems to be a limitation on layover duration. I'm not sure if GSP only has a few flights per day if that would be a factor or not.   That's too bad though if you can easily get to ATL and then have to book a separate reservation, maybe it would be re-instated from at least one of the LA area airports. I see some from LAX as I poke around, and some one-ways from BUR.   One suggestion is that you may be able to book one-way trips each way. The return flight from GSP may be allowed even if traveling from west coast to east coast requires you to make two reservations.   Personally I usually book one-way trips as standard practice for ease of making changes, etc. As @chgoflyer points out there is one downside to this during times of irregular operations where the outbound flight could be affected and cause difficulty with the return flight.           ... View more

@Dp1988 wrote: I added (paid $15.00) for my reservation (flight tomorrow) and still got a B-23 assiginment.  I am not seeing the value in the purchase of this feature as the last time I flew SW I got B-16 checking in without Early Bird.  It appears from the web info I could find, if I paid $40 or $50 I would be assured an early A boarding position, but paying just $15 apparently is not sufficient.  I am feeling very misled about this supposed convenience option.     RR-xxxxxxxxx You may want to edit your post so that RR# isn't visible.    That's not a great result, but I'm not sure it isn't atypical with A-list and other factors. Hopefully it would tend to be a little better.   The question shouldn't be where did you land, but rather where would you have been without the EBCI - we can't answer that question unfortunately as we don't know if you would have checked in right at 24 hours, how many other passengers had this flight as a connection, and other reasons that it would vary from flight to flight. ... View more

@socajones wrote: Would there be any possibility that I can have this permanently on my Southwest account? You can now enter some information when you book each ticket with the new website upgrades.   I don't believe it can be pulled from your user profile - part of the reasoning being that some people have long-term needs and others have short-term, so the airlines would ask for this each time to confirm the status is still in effect. ... View more

@AvKrayez wrote: I took a round trip day trip yesterday, DAL-BWI (first time there and even to that area of the country for that matter.) When I returned to the airport I was mortified to see a notification that my return flight (still several hours out at the time) was cancelled and was not able to reschedule from my device or the kiosks as every other flight showed not available or sold out. This was the first time I’ve ever had a cancellation and I initially dreaded the thought of having to argue and deal with someone at the counter but in actuality it couldn’t have been a more pleasurable experience and we got me back home, albeit earlier than I originally wanted and had planned for. The customer advocate took her time to sort it out and make sure I was happy with the rebooking before sending me on my way. What/where is the official avenue for leaving feedback about a situation such as this? I want to make my best effort to insure that my praise and feedback reaches the right hands. I went searching on the website but kept going in circles.  @If you have their name you can send a twitter message to @SouthwestAir and let them know the staff first name, date, and airport that you had good service.   I'm not sure how the program works exactly, but with my A-list or with drink tickets I got a stack of "Kick Tail" coupons to give out for excellent service as well, I understand the staff can enter these coupons in prize drawings for swag. (Although one gate agent in Vegas that was extra helpful to us said she collects them as trophies and doesn't submit to the drawing.) ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: You need to remember that A-list holders and people that buy upgraded boarding will always get better boarding positions than other people(unless the people in that second category wait til less than 24 hours to buy it). Likewise Business Select buyers will get A1-A15.   Also remember that lots of people try to check in EXACTLY 24 hors before flight time. If you check in 23.5 hours before your flight, it is entirely possible that dozens of others checked in before you.   My experience is that people who check in themselves get boarding positions from best to wrost depending on when they check in.   You said someone who checked in after you got a better boarding position. Here's how that could have happened. After you checked in, but before your friend checked in, some people who had already already been assigned better boarding spots than you canceled their flights. That reopened thier boarding spots for others. Then your friend checked in and got one of the better spots. One other reason might be if it was a popular connection (LAS is very active for connecting flights, as well as MDW, DEN, BWI, etc.) the people who started their journey a few hours earlier than you did got to check in for all of their flights 24 hours prior to their first flight, so there would be some people that got to check in a few hours early.   Overall that wouldn't have affected you - if you are 30 minutes after the check-in time that is like an eternity in "Southwest Check-In Time" compared to what I believe to be a majority of people on the flight that check in right at 24 hours (especially for an evening flight). ... View more

Also this one implies that a "regular" sized golf bag would be free.   https://www.southwest.com/html/air/bags-fly-free.html ... View more

@lakerat789 wrote: Actually the reason that I posted this question on the discussion group was because I had spoken to customer service this morning regarding this issue and the person I spoke to was adamant that's the 62 linear inch requirement was the standard and anything over that I would be charged. I have flown other Airlines and paid for my bag in the past, so I was quite hopeful that's the golf bag fly free would apply, but it really is not that clear on the website and obviously not to customer service either.   I must have missed something on the website if it states that the 62 linear inch requirement does not pertain to golf bags   Thank you for the reply though 🙂 There are some other golf bag write-ups where since the golf bag section specifically refers to the weight allowance, but not the size it had been stated that there really aren't any golf bags that would be under the limit, and other flyers hadn't been charge for size.   Maybe someone who had flown with their clubs more recently can weigh in though.   You might also try to confirm officially by Twitter (@SouthwestAir) or Facebook.   Excerpt from https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/baggage/special-luggage-pol.html#baggage_special_luggage_pol_tab_list_tab_16 for those that didn't already look this up and find this post later.   Sports Equipment - Baggage Allowance Any of the items listed below may be checked in substitution of one piece of the free Checked Baggage allowance for each Passenger at no charge on a one-item-for-one-bag basis. If the item of sporting equipment exceeds 50 pounds in weight or 62 inches in size (outside length plus height plus width), excess weight and size charges may apply.   Golf bag in hard-sided golf bag carrying case provided by Passenger, including clubs, balls, and shoes. Hooded golf bags or golf bags in a soft-sided carrying case provided by the Passenger will be subject to limited release. Note: Overweight charges will apply to golf bags exceeding 50 pounds. ... View more

@Jmravcak wrote: SW is out of control with allowing dogs & cats on planes. I thought I had seen everything until flight 1916 Denver to PHL. SW now allows 20 yr old passengers w/ no apparent disabilities who bring Pit Bulls on plane w/ Fake service jackets to Pre board before Handicap Passengers in wheelchairs. I am embarrassed that I fly on this airline today! Shame on you! gate agent Dominic has his hands tied because you are afraid to tell someone no but he still handled it poorly & allowing it. many passerengers made comments & were appalled. Southwest, or airlines in general? ... View more

@chgoflyer wrote: Personally, I never recline in coach (or on Southwest) unless there's no one behind me. Even then, I don't find the reclined position to be much more comfortable than non-reclined. I have my laptop crunched (luckily not permanently damaged -- yet) multiple times by people who slam their seatback back with no warning. As much as I hate the latest Southwest seats (slimline, in Max and some 800s) at least they've limited the range of recline. (One silver lining at least.)  😉 I don't prefer reclining most times either, and happy to let the person behind me keep their airspace/trayspace.     ... View more

I had an early morning from CLT this week, and we hit some of that clear sky turbulence - it was interesting as the pilot came on and filled us in that since there weren't too many flights out there earlier than ours, there wasn't a lot of feedback from other pilots about where the good air was.   It turns out he found it a little lower altitude almost right away, but didn't know ahead of time what would work.   I could see the converse as well - flights all day may have been getting bumped around and the pilot didn't expect to be clear but it turns out they were able to find smooth air after all. ... View more

Do you have a picture or link to the bag online? Otherwise it would be difficult for us to weigh in with any specific advice, or comment why bags that appeared similar would be allowed. Did you have other carry-ons as well? ... View more

@Jikker wrote: I should start trying this.  I lost a laptop due to a recliner crunching it unexpectedly, but since my parents both enjoy reclining their seats, I understand people wanting to recline.   Nice suggestion. It doesn't seem unreasonable for someone to turn around and look behind them while providing a slight warning of the impending recline. ... View more

If you go back to the website, there is an additional section on "sporting equippment" that describes golf clubs having their own requirements separate of the size and weight for general luggage.   In a nutshell golf bags are obviously very common, and allowed, but check the specific requirements...most likely you will be fine after reading that section, especially if you have ever checked them on other airlines. ... View more

@mmaffei16 wrote: I am an A-List member and I purchased a ticket for another individual, using my own RR number. Will this individual get an A group ticket with me automatically? Or will I need to check in to receive their boarding position? Thanks,   Did you purchase two tickets, one for you and one for the other person? Or just paying cash for another individual's ticket?   The software will know that they are not you if the name was entered correctly. You'll need to correct the RR# for them in order to see the ticket in their own account or on the app.       ... View more

@ichase97 wrote: Does anyone know what factors are considered in determining whether to issue a voucher for expired travel funds?  Our funds will not expire until March 2019 but it makes me nervous to wait for them to expire and then just hope that I can get a voucher to extend them.  I called in but the woman wouldn't give me any indication on what factors they would consider.  She said that she would have to transfer me to a different department who could tell me but that she would not transfer me until my funds were expired.  (At which point, it is too late if they decide to deny me the voucher).  My concern is that they look to see how much you fly on Southwest to determine whether to issue you a voucher.  We almost never fly on Southwest and only bought these tickets because of the seemingly favorable no change fee which now I am regretting.  I want the voucher because someone else can use it and the money will not go to waste.  Thanks for any advice! As far as I've heard on this community, the main variable seems to be that you called and asked for a conversion to a voucher, I didn't hear of anyone denied that was willing to pay the current fee. If anyone is in that situation, please let us know on this thread.   If you don't fly Southwest, then I don't think it matters - you'll find out when the funds expire and make the call, there's not much use for Southwest to spend time on it when you may fly or may not fly, and the (unwritten) policy may change by next year, etc.   I've never heard on this community that the conversion to voucher (for a fee) was denied someone because they don't fly much on Southwest. From a statistical point of view, I find it likely that most of the travel fund exprirations are for people that fly less, people that fly more end up using their travel funds at a higher rate.    Anyway to make a long story short, I think you should just call when the funds expire, if you end up not using them, Southwest customer service agents won't necessarily even know what they would do in March 2019 today since the policy is not documented and could change. ... View more

@nikkibelle wrote: I bought a round trip ticket for me and friend to go out to Los Angeles on a Wanna Get Away fare. We can no longer take the trip. If I cancel the flight, will Southwest hold my travel funds (which totaled almost $900) to apply to a whole new trip and will my friend (whose name is on the ticket) be able to come too?    Travel funds will be in the name of the passenger, so you each will have funds assigned to you, and usable by the individual.   @nikkibelle wrote:   Also, if our new trip doesn't cost as much as the total travel funds being held, will Southwest save the difference to use for possibly another trip in the future?    Yes, the travel funds will be in each person's name for one year from the original purchase date for use on other flights.   @nikkibelle wrote: Is it better to cancel a ticket or modify it for a new destination? What happens to the remaining balance if I do it this way? Remaining balance is the same either way. A few thoughts:   Canceling and re-booking is recommended for refundable fares to maintain refundability, which goes away if you make changes. For non-refundable fares you would want to change the ticket if you have Early Bird Check In, the EBCI fee would be forfeited if you cancel. If you have a refundable fare and EBCI - whoops! you should buy BS instead of Anytime to maximize points, get better boarding position, and a beverage ticket, and the boarding position benefit would be refundable while EBCI is not. ... View more

I saw this in action at Burbank, and heard about it for FLL - I don't think there are too many other airports that do this?   It wouldn't be appropriate for the FA to restrict seat selection from the open seats other than the bulkhead and exit rows where there are specific requirements/needs.   But given the rules, you should take action for yourself as you do on every other flight. For those in the know you should gauge which entry looks to be moving slower and head for the other one. (Hint: the front moves slower)         ... View more

WHere is your origination airport? Orlando gets busy with tourists so I tend to expect it not to drop other than maybe a sale or for odd times.   Who knows though, Southwest can change the fares depending on many factors.    If you fly very frequently with Southwest then I'd buy it and then re-price if it drops taking a travel fund credit for use on a different flight, within a year of the original purchase.   If you don't fly very often and wouldn't use the travel funds, then if the fare looks good at $95 I'd buy it and not look back.   Remember there isn't a change fee, so I tend to lock it in now, and change dates later which will be the current price, but worse case I'm not out any more than if I waited to buy the tickets and the price went up either way, and there's a chance that I get a deal and keep the dates as-is. ... View more

@Shoffman wrote: I want to bring a 65 Litre size camping backpack and I am concerned about damage.   What does Southwest recomend for checking-in packpacks?   Are there any shipping provisions that Southwest offers for packpacks, like shrink-rap or a reqcomended box or container?     I don't know that Southwest provides the packing material, but I've heard some airports have material available or else a shipping store could sell you the items to pack it.   I think you are headed in the right direction though, if the backpack has any straps or cords that could become caught in the baggage handling apparatus then you would definitely want to secure it.   If the structure of the backpack was subject to damage then you'd consider boxing it in some way or getting one of the Southwest $15 blue bags. (IIRC @chgoflyer said these were now $17?).  ... View more

Can you elaborate on what kind of feedback you wanted to provide? ... View more

@chgoflyer wrote: PIT is basically a shopping mall, they needed a way for customers who want to visit a store but aren't flying out could do so. I could see this happening at some other airports that have similar large retail sections. Interesting! I haven't been through PIT. I was going to say MCO but their retail section is actually outside of security, so this wouldn't be needed for that purpose here.   Maybe MSP T1.       ... View more

@mhunter wrote: Yeah, I'm happy they deleted the link - it was damaging the reputation of the website IMHO.  The vast majority of comments there were outraged that someone would try to game the system in that way.  It's just selfish and was a classic example of one bad apple spoiling the whole barrel.   The reason the OP gave was he wanted to walk a loved one to the gate - which I can surely appreciate - but you should have a better reason than just wanting to do a last minute PDA.      There is one airport offering this to everyone now, subject to application in advance of course.   http://www.flypittsburgh.com/mypitpass   Maybe this will catch on.       ... View more

You aren't bothering them, this is a great reason to call. If your change isn't urgent, then you can be strategic about calling - don't bother during a snow storm, and maybe in the morning would be better. ... View more

@mhunter wrote: I saw this post yesterday and wanted to make everyone aware of it before it gets out of hand.   https://millionmilesecrets.com/guides/how-to-easily-pass-through-airport-security-to-walk-your-loved-ones-to-their-gate/   Basically, this person is making a reservation at the last minute then obtaining the boarding pass for the sole purpose of walking through the TSA checkpoint.  After he does this, he cancels his flight  and obtains a refund.    Another example of some people trying to game the system.    I believe Southwest has done a good thing with their trying to be helpful to people who have last minute change in plans and can't fly.  What I would suggest is that the policy be changed so that once you check-in and obtain your boarding pass, no refunds or credits.    It's a shame but you always need to stay ahead of the scammers. I wanted to add a clarificataion to this - the guy scamming the lounge had another actual ticket that he kept, so he was within his rights to be behind security.   Someone refunding their ticket should only do so after leaving the secure area or maybe on the way out of the airport, or else I'm not sure that  you have the right to be in the secure area without a valid boarding pass.   Anyway, it sure doesn't seem like a great idea, if it is even allowable at all, and if Southwest deteremined that you were buying tickets without intention to fly they could cancel your bookings.     ... View more

@cspinelli wrote: @DancingDavidE - It is funny to think I reached A-list preferred without ever purchasing wifi, but yes that is the case. I usually prep work so I can complete it without internet connectivity, but I was looking forward to not worrying about that. Little did you know that you were already doing it the most likely way to be successful.   @cspinelli wrote:   Just flew to Cabo this weekend. It is awesome I was able fly to Cabo direct from Oakland via SW, but again battled the wifi connection. Spent 30 minutes trying to connect my iphone X before giving up. The usual process goes something like this: restart phone, turn off/on wifi, renew wifi lease, rinse and repeat 5 times, give up. I think I read somewhere this is the definition of insanity. Just glad there was tequila waiting for me when I landed. Extra obstacle here that when the plane crosses the border the wifi internet connectivity would be inactive, or at least this was the case when I flew to Cancun on Southwest...something with their satellite signal wasn't licensed outside of the domestic USA footprint. The onboard flight tracker, etc. still worked. ... View more