12-17-2023
09:17 PM
12-17-2023
09:17 PM
Thanks for the heads up. If we take a future flight on an upgraded fare, I’ll certainly give that a try!
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11-01-2023
08:40 PM
11-01-2023
08:40 PM
I should have said "I WISH I still had my A-List Preferred status..."
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This is a great perk except that it's not working - at least not for me. I was on four flights a few weeks ago. Even though I had purchased Business Select fares for both my wife and me, we were not able to get free w-fi on any of the flights, no matter which of five different devices we tried to log in with and regardless whether we used our RR numbers or confirmation numbers as credentials. All we got was a recurring message EVERY TIME saying it looks like you are not eligible for free Internet. I ended up having to pay $8.00 per segment for each of us to get wi-fi. I've contacted SW customer service three separate times about the issues and asked WHY this happened. I have been given LUV vouchers and RR points with a form-letter apology about our not being satisfied with service. I'm grateful for the financial offset but what I really wanted was an answer as to WHY I was promised something that the airline did not deliver on. Anyone have an idea as to how widespread this problem of non-free internet might be and/or why it's happening? Can't get an answer from the airline no mater how I try. It's times like this I still had my A-List Preferred status.
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06-09-2021
07:50 AM
06-09-2021
07:50 AM
Learned something new yesterday. I’m A-List Preferred and my wife flies with me on Companion Pass periodically. For several years, I’ve bought Early Bird Check-In when she’s been traveling with me on CP. i canceled some tix yesterday with refund to my CC of the airport fees. Called SWA customer service on another question and asked if EBCI was still non-refundable if canceling a ticket. Yes, it’s non-refundable, but I was told I don’t need it. If my wife is traveling with me on CP, she now automatically gets early check-in since I’m premium status. This is evidently a new policy within the past few months from what I was told. That’s great! It made me think of the test period a few years back at a couple airports including DAL) where Southwest allowed companions to board with their A1-15 flying partners no matter their own assigned position. Maybe that has a chance of resurrection once we get past COVID.
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11-11-2019
08:47 PM
11-11-2019
08:47 PM
Sent this note to SWA this evening... I was A16 boarding my flight from MCO to ATL tonight. Only A1 and A2 ahead of me in the queue at the gate. A late-arriving commuting FA from Spirit was given an A3 boarding pass and she took exit row aisle seat 11D on a 700 which, for me, is the most premium seat on the plane because of the legroom and aisle proximity. (A1 and A2 sat way up front. I was the fourth person to board.) I’ll assume there is no formal policy against cooperating airline staff who are commuting taking the most premium seats to the exclusion of your best ALPs. Still, the optics are really bad. If somebody buys up a better ticket, so be it. It’s part of the draw. But airline employees? On a commute? Perhaps I should just give her my free drink coupons. I’m disappointed. WN 3057 MCO-ATL
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10-09-2019
10:45 PM
Cable-TV-Guy, We have a similar corporate policy that limits the number of employees on a single flight (currently 😎 and the CEO and COO can’t be on the same plane ever. I think other execs are limited to no more than two. Not allowing more than one employee on a flight seems way too restrictive, and not good stewardship of time and money, but I’m sure there are reasons. Well, maybe... And no DCA? Hmmmm. On my original flight, there were perhaps six or seven from the same company.
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Just fly more often and you won't have to worry about it. Get A-List with 25 segments and your EB fee days are gone!
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"...abused by your flight attendants?" "...needless and senseless pain and frustration?" "...expect to lose a whole lot of Southwest Customers?" "...copy of these demands?" Sheesh, Bill. I thought hyperbolic outrage was something most Trump supporters eschew and often chide the other party for displaying. And isn't there an uproar when someone from that same other party seeks to hold a company hostage through some list of petty demands in response to the words of the company or one of its employees? I voted for Trump in the last election but can't picture myself being so rabid and thin-skinned that a single random social media post by an off-the-clock detractor is going to trigger in me a cataclysmic meltdown. And it's certainly not going to cause me to walk away from SWA, especially when I suffered absolutely no personal harm or inconvenience. I'm confident I'll sleep just fine tonight and that I will enjoy each one of my 22 SWA flights scheduled between now and mid-December. I do thank you, though, for posting the story link. I obviously missed it on all the major news outlets this week because of the really important matters of life, family and work that call for my time and attention on a daily basis. Have a pleasant weekend.
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Kudos to Rebecca, one of our FAs on DAL-ATL #495 this morning! I was A22 boarding. When I reached the exit rows on this 800, a woman was sitting in 14E with a purse on D and a jacket draped across F by the window. I asked if the two seats were taken as I like sitting on 14 (particularly the aisle) since it has lots of legroom. She said several of her co-workers were coming. Rebecca asked where the other passengers were and the gal responded they were well back of her in the boarding queue. I mentioned, “So much for A-list,” and sauntered to my alternate seat preference toward the back. Rebecca wasn’t going to let that stand. She told the gal she can’t save seats as others have paid premium pricing or have frequent flyer status that enables preferred seating, especially in the larger exit rows. In just a moment, Rebecca came back and said she had an exit row spot for me and indicated the gal in 14E changed seats. I gladly took her up on the offer. i don’t mind people saving a single seat for a spouse or family member, but a whole row? And especially the larger exit rows? And for business co-workers? Either buy a better ticket or upgrade at the gate, but don’t purchase one upgrade for the group and then expect to camp out and lock down multiple premium seats. Grateful again for at least one FA who had some moxie and stepped in on behalf of a premium customer.
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While this is a worthwhile suggestion, I think there are two types of people who fly: 1. Those who are germophobes who pretty much sanitize every square inch of their seating area including the seats, armrests, tray tables, etc. 2. Those who don’t give a rip. The first group of folks typically board already armed with bleach wipes, masks, latex gloves and assorted other amenities. The second group of folks, well, nope. Hang out in an airport bathroom for ten minutes and watch how many people “pee and flee” without washing their hands and it’s pretty apparent that general concern for the health of others, or themselves, is not a priority. i doubt SWA is going to invest the dollars to add wipes to all aircraft to supply what amounts to a minuscule percentage of passengers who ardently care about the issue. Further, while contact points are certainly places for germs/bacteria to reside (and even multiply), the airborne contaminants on a plane are likely more problematic, particularly for those with weaker immune systems. Short of asking passengers to avoid coughing or breathing, the cooties in the air won’t be going away anytime soon. I completely understand the value of personal responsibility for hygiene and cleanliness in regard to healthy travel and I affirm those who seek to create better environments. However, most decisions are profit-driven these days. Good luck as you pitch this to SWA management.
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DAL-BHM today. The bad news? No WiFi. The good news? Relatively short flight. As someone noted, keeping low expectations is helpful. <sigh>
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Still patiently (sort of) waiting for WiFi issues to be resolved systemwide so there is a measure of consistency with WiFi availability. Flying ATL-DAL on an 800 this afternoon and no WiFi working. Batting average so far this year is maybe 50%. Maybe. Have voiced my concerns to customer care. 🤔
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DD, Welcome to SWAC. Sorry you had a less-than-favorable experience. I certainly can't speak for the flight attendant, but perhaps she was thinking more for your safety, and even for the safety of other passengers, than your convenience. A large dog, even a well-trained one, would probably be more comfortable with familiar persons and you, as a total stranger, could place yourself (and others) in a potentially harmful situation due to proximity in the row. It wouldn't be the first time a dog nipped or bit someone new to them. We, as passengers, have a right to expect good conduct and reasonable treatment from the airplane crew and that happens day after day with overwhelming regularity. Being human, stuff happens in their lives, too, and what's percolating on the inside sometimes comes to the surface--especially when they are dealing with hundreds of passengers in the course of a day. But with that said, there are FAA regulations that require passengers like you and me not to interfere with the duties of a flight crew. Some of those forms of interference, like assaulting a crew member, can be criminal acts with some very severe punishment. Others that don't rise to the level of criminality can, indeed, be civil violations with substantial penalties. The courts have upheld the importance of the non-interference regulations. From what you wrote, your refusal to be responsive to what, in the F/A's estimation, was a reasonable request, escalated this toward becoming an interference situation. For what it's worth, here's just one example of the application of the Interference Rule: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=119c6499-257f-4bb6-a5aa-d81ccb20b595 As a very frequent flyer, I've found most F/As to be reasonable and accommodating. If you travel with any regularity, the same is probably true for you. If you feel you've been improperly treated in any way, you can speak with the senior F/A on the flight or, if that doesn't satisfy, take a name and contact SWA customer care to plead your case. Just one other thing not related to the dog incident but, rather, about your back. You indicated you purchased early bird (automatic) check in and you also were okayed for preboarding. That was hedging your bets and assuring the best possible seating opportunity. However, if you knew you were going to use the preboard option at the time of ticketing, you could have saved the $25 or so EBCI fee and just boarded early with a preboard authorization. I trust your back heals soon and you have a much more comfortable experience on your future flights. Have a restful weekend!
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Yeah, David. All the account info was there. I talked with four or five others who boarded right next to me at A61 as we were hanging out in the jetway. Most were ALP and had the same issues. It sounded like everyone on the flight, except maybe the BS group, got positioned based on their ticket purchases and not on status levels. It was all over the map. Strangely, the automatic 36-hour check-in was at least working because boarding passes were issued at the 24-hour mark. They were just not where expected. We are empty-nesters so we don't have to worry about family boarding. I'm used to being in A16-19 about 90% of the time, and maybe in the 20s on occasion unless I make a last-minute change to a ticket and get put in B/C because that's the only available slots. Even then, it's A61 time! We've been spoiled on the 800s our last few trips together since there are two more exit rows (a three and a two) and more leg room, and we will often be able to catch 15 B/C or D/E with just the two seats. (I still like 14 C or D when flying solo since that row has the best leg room all the way across--with the exception of 16 A or F, of course.) It's all good. So many of the perks offset the occasional inconveniences.
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05-03-2019
12:49 PM
05-03-2019
12:49 PM
Flying home to Dallas this morning. I'm A-List Preferred and my wife is flying on companion pass with me. Her ticket also had early bird added. When we got notified of our boarding passes yesterday morning, we were both in the single-digit B positions even though our reservatins were made nine weeks ago. I chalked it up to some blip related to my ticket or the odd chance a lot of conventioneers or golfers had bought expensive tickets back to Dallas after a week of work or play. I knew I could board slightly earlier at the end of the A group. Even though I had EBCI for my wife, I went ahead and bought her up to A13 in the BS group (yeah, I know) with the hope of our getting exit row seating together (preferably on the two-seat row on the 700). When I followed A60 up to the gate scanner to board, there were 15-20 other A-Listers waiting over to the side to do the same. Somehow, all of us had lost our check-in status and were buried in the B and C groups on a completely full flight. One gal was A+ and her husband was on her companion pass. He was well up in the A group and she was at the end of B. Go figure. A-Listers are usually called up as the first to board after the A group, then military, families with kids, etc. Today, the gate agent announced military, then families, then extra-time passengers, and maybe a few other classifications before saying A-Listers could board. Well, we didn't get our exit row as there weren't two seats together that included an aisle by the time my wife got on what began as a completely empty airplane from the hangar. As I walked past the exit rows to join her, I couldn't help but notice several preboarders camped out in those rows including two very large individuals in the two-seat row. Obviously, the FAs weren't all that concerned although one in the back called me out for putting my computer bag in the overhead versus under my seat. We still got an aisle and center seat on the plane, which is what we would have gotten for our B positions, anyhow. Oh well. When you fly every week, you shrug it off and let it go becuase you have the chance to go home and flying with SWA is still a great airline experience. Still, I wonder how often the computers are having brain freeze and are totally disregarding the usual A/A+ check-in privilege. Seems there ought to be some safety nets in place to avoid that but who knows. Have a great weekend, y'all!
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05-03-2019
11:47 AM
3 Loves
There is also a green indicator light on the right side of the exit sign in the front galley (sometimes over top of the cockpit door). When that is lit, Internet service is supposedly operational. If it's not lit, there's a slight chance the bulb is burned out and you still have Internet. Of course, it's $8 for a 24-hour period or free for A-List Preferred (yes, I'm thankful). During the first quarter, about half my flights had no Internet service but that's gotten a little better the last few weeks as they iron out some vendor issues. The greater challenge has been connecting initially via our iPhones. We can set to airplane mode, turn on WiFi and select SouthwestWiFi as the network. It shows active but then will not allow access without going back to settings multiple times, renewing the lease on the network, or just forgetting and reconnecting to the network two or three times. Someday, this will all get resolved but will just need some patience until then.
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02-07-2019
06:31 PM
6 Loves
I was talking with a few FAs on my flight back to Dallas this evening and one of them asked if I used Kick Tail coupons. Frankly, I hadn't even thought about them for quite a while since it's been ages (maybe years?) since I've had any mailed to me. I'll remedy that by a call to customer care. However, it occurred to me that an easier/alternate way to administer these, rather than have to tote paper coupons in your pocket or travel bag, would be to have them as part of the phone app. You get an allocation of a certain amount loaded to your RR account at various intervals and you can "share" them right from your phone with an FA or other employee who "kicks tail." To do it, you could simply launch that section of the app, scan an employee's badge similar to a QR code, and the KT credit would be transferred from your RR account to the employee's "bank." If it would be better security and prevent employee data from being potentially stored on a customer's device, maybe a unique code could be generated on the phone app and the emploiyee could initiate the scan to facilitate the transfer. Yes, I know this would be extra programming and probably not a high enough priority to get much traction, but it could certainly be a win for the employees who would be in a position to get a lot more KTs - especially from those of us who are air warriors throughout the year. I'd be much more inclined to do a few clicks than try to find a coupon buried in my travel bag...that is, if i were even sent any KT coupons. 🙂 Just a suggestion. (As is adding an easy way to find unused travel funds via the app!) ...
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01-05-2019
08:31 PM
2 Loves
As one other option for tracking unused travel funds, for the past couple of years, I have done all my cancellations via the phone app. When the cancellation is complete and the notification appears on the screen with the record locator number and amount, I take a screen shot then save that photo as a "Favorite." I can easily look back through my Favorites album and find the unused funds as those screenshots all have green banners on them. Once I use the funds completely, I delete the photo. If there is still a partial balance remaining, I leave the photo until I use it up. Another option is to do the screenshot and simply save it in a "SWA Travel Funds" album within my photos. I may do that sometime but just flagging as a Favorite works for now. Absent an easy way to display UTFs on the website or app, this has been an alternative for me.
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