02-15-2013
06:11 PM
23 Loves
Being surprised that your company did something correctly speaks volumes about your faith in your own company. Failure should not be an expectation.
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Does *anyone* in your company realize how ridiculous it is to make a blog entry - ie, to communicate with your customers - saying how excited you are about a piece of paper that you admit means absolutely NOTHING to us? No further development in getting the two airlines actually integrated in any way that helps us, no work on combining the websites, no news on if/how the two rewards programs will interact, no word on if/when we'll be able to even code-share the two airlines. And we're supposed to be happy that you framed a piece of paper?
Not everything is for public consumption, Southwest. Just because your bean counters are happy, doesn't mean you should be telling us to be happy.
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Kudos to the government for forcing Southwest (and other airlines) to do the right thing, since they clearly weren't willing to themselves. It was beyond insane that Southwest had the audacity to refuse to refund the EBCI fee for a cancelled flight, or when a late originating flight caused a passenger to miss a connecting flight. I'm glad the government is forcing you to do so now. I only wish you'd had the ethical sense to do it on your own in the first place.
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08-01-2010
08:04 PM
8 Loves
How do you justify imposing an expiration date on a coupon that was issued WITHOUT AN EXPIRATION DATE? I'm not asking what's your business need. I'm asking how you think this is an acceptable - or even legal - thing to do. These coupons do not expire on August 31, 2011. They do not expire at all. Explain to me how you claim any right or ability to not accept them on September 1, 2011.
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02-02-2010
01:42 PM
1 Love
Add me to the "I'd rather pay for it when I need it" camp. On the vast majority of my flights, I'm more than content to read a book, watch a movie on my laptop, do the crosswords, or sleep. I don't need to be connected to the internet every moment of every day. It would rub me the wrong way if I suddenly had to start paying more for my tickets to subsidize those who do have that need. When I want to be connected while airborne, I'll gladly pay for it.
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Edward,
It is a fee. It is a fee if the experience you have had all along is now at extreme risk of being lessened unless you pay for the new "service".
Your analogy to the new car does not hold. If I have always got a car with power windows, and then they suddenly tell me on my next car that if I want power windows, I have to pay more, then the analogy would hold.
Previous to now, checking in at T-24 was nearly guaranteed to get you a low-to-mid A. Now, because other people are willing to pay the $10 fee, you have the option of either paying it too (and if you do, it's still a crap shoot what you'll get), or of accepting that you will no longer get a low-to-mid A by checking in at T-24.
Take a look at the threads I linked to on Flyertalk.com. Both people checking in at T-24 and using EBCI are getting B boarding passes. That did not happen before this "optional service" was introduced. Any time you have to pay a new amount to maintain the level of product/service you're accustomed to procuring, it's a fee.
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jkociemb,
"Are the boarding passes going to be granted on a first come first serve basis conditional on who pays the $10 first????"
No. People who buy Anytime fare are positioned before those who bought WGA or DING, regardless of when the fare was purchased or the EBCI fee was paid.
"Will one be able to find out before paying your funds whether all the "A" boarding passes are spoken for?"
Nope. You pay the fee blind, and could wind up with absolutely anything from A16-C17, with no way to recover that fee if you're not happy with what you just paid for.
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Anon of 9/8 @ 10:12,
Check out some of the recent threads on flyertalk.com for some actual real non-guessing experiences:
"Normal" online-checkins
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/southwest-rapid-rewards/759743-post-your-boarding-card-non-list-non-earlybird-checkin-15.html
"Heading to LAS at T-24 -- A47 and A50"
"MDW-OAK-RNO 9/5/09, leave at 10:00AM. Checked in at T-23:56 and got B13 & B14 for the first leg, A45/46 for second leg."
"For 9/09/09 flight: BWI - TPA (866) A-40 and A-43 @ T-24h and T-24h+10s"
"Checking in my wife on companion pass tickets, HOU - OAK - 3 hours late B-17, OAK - HOU - 2 hours late B-1"
Early Bird check-ins:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/southwest-rapid-rewards/991379-post-your-boarding-card-eb-checkin.html
"9/4/09, Flight 258, SLC-PHX-SNA, EB A-53"
"09/08/09, 3345 sna-oak, eb b02, 624 oak-slc, eb a28"
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/southwest-rapid-rewards/991886-earlybird-check-bunk-potentially.html
"I purchased a ticket for travel and paid for early bird check-in on 9/2 in the evening. For some reason when the check-in occurred, I received B-17"
I grant you that I have selectively pulled out the worst of the bunch. But the fact that *any* of these have happened, just days after EBCI was announced, speaks volumes to how terribly bad an idea this thing is.
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Bryan, yes, you have as you said answered the "How is check-in position ordered" question several times. Unfortunately, you've answered it incorrectly each time. It is NOT ordered by time of purchase. From Southwest's own FAQ page: ( http://www.southwest.com/flight/early-bird-faq.html#ebQuestion6 )
"Is there an order in which EarlyBird Check-in Boarding Passes are reserved?
Yes, Customers who have purchased Anytime Fares will receive priority over other fare types during the initial boarding position assignment. "
That is, someone who purchases a WGA or DING! fare the day the schedule is extended will still be placed behind someone who purchases an Anytime fare at T-37. Maybe *within* those categories it's ordered by time (but if so, we have only word to that, as it doesn't say so on the FAQ), but to say that is ordered by time as a blanket statement is simply not true.
BTW, that FAQ has some other great tidbits:
"Will EarlyBird Check-in Customers get an "A" Boarding Pass and be among the first to board?
Probably, but not always. It depends upon how many Business Select, Rapid Rewards A-List, and EarlyBird Check-in Customers are on a given flight"
"Will the number of EarlyBird Check-in Passengers be limited on each flight?
No. All eligible Customers can purchase EarlyBird Check-in. "
In other words, you could shell out your $20 round trip for this fee, and still get a C-17 boarding pass. With no way of knowing in advance what you're paying for, and no way to get a refund if you're not satisified with it.
As for those claiming "this is an option, not a fee", no, it's not. In order to have the same experience that I have come to enjoy on Southwest - being able to obtain a BP in the A15-A30 range 9 times out of 10, I now have to pay a $10 fee. If I don't pay that fee, I will be relegated to a lesser position. Depending on how many are willing to pay that fee, it may be a MUCH lesser position. Instituting a "service" that directly detracts from the experience of those who "choose" not to utilize the "service", is a fee.
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05-29-2009
06:48 AM
2 Loves
The Southwest Pet Policy says that pets must be (among other things) "odorless" to fly. I can't wait to hear the first news story about a Gate Agent or Flight Attendant telling a confirmed passenger they can't fly because their pet stinks....
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