Southwest Airlines Community

(Loved your response)   I will take the heat for buying a seat on Southwest, without doing some online reasearch. Had I known what I know now, I would have NEVER considered Southwest as a viable option. I rank the idiocracy of their policies, in line with, (wait for it) Spirit Airlines.    First off, PAY A FEE TO CHECK IN EARLY? That doesn't guarantee a single thing. Secondly, no guarantee that you will sit with your travel partners. From the looks of the plane set ups, there are no 'classes', so, essentially, you pay for the opportunity to board in the first group. Which seems like it would be a no-brainer, but in actuality, is a complete waste of money.   Thirdly, as a career service-member with a 50% disablity rating from the V.A. you would think Southwest could make some concessions. Again, you would THINK that is common sense; apparently not. ( I confirmed this with a rep from the company, before posting this review).    Here is the beauty of this lesson. I travel with a club sports programs, 400 passengers every 4-6 weeks, all going to Destinations that SW flies. If the average ticket costs $350 per seat (non business class fare), and we travel to 4-5 fly-in destinations during the season, that is a revenue stream of 700k. We have done this every year for the past decade....   I can guarantee that SW will be fortunate to see even 5% of that total revenue going forward, due to their ridiculous operational procedures.    The tone of this message may sound sarcastic, or even bitter. But truth be told, I enjoy learning solid life-lessons and this experience will be just that. I will be traveling with a smile, knowing that I will never drop another dime into Southwest Airlines. ... View more

I disagree. It's an honest opinion about a very real problem. Look deeper into the context. If Airlines weren't so greedy, they wouldn't be revamping planes with smaller seats/rows. While obese passengers will always be a concern, Airlines are partially to blame for lack of standards.   My boss is 6-5 and 400#. He always travels first class, not because he is the boss, but because he knows he would make others uncomfortable... If he can't afford the cost difference, he doesn't fly.    Adding more seats isn't a solution. Enforcement of passenger restrictions is. Don't like it? Don't fly. ... View more

But Southwest needs to understand what 'THREATCON LEVEL' means and how it affects Military Personnel.    Archaic, arbitrary policies. Can't trust a company that doesn't consider the current state of affairs in the U.S.  ... View more

I will take the heat for buying a seat on Southwest, without doing some online reasearch. Had I known what I know now, I would have NEVER considered Southwest as a viable option. I rank the idiocracy of their policies, in line with, (wait for it) Spirit Airlines.    First off, PAY A FEE TO CHECK IN EARLY? That doesn't guarantee a single thing. Secondly, no guarantee that you will sit with your travel partners. From the looks of the plane set ups, there are no 'classes', so, essentially, you pay for the opportunity to board in the first group. Which seems like it would be a no-brainer, but in actuality, is a complete waste of money.   Thirdly, as a career service-member with a 50% disablity rating from the V.A. you would think Southwest could make some concessions. Again, you would THINK that is common sense; apparently not. ( I confirmed this with a rep from the company, before posting this review).    Here is the beauty of this lesson. I travel with a club sports programs, 400 passengers every 4-6 weeks, all going to Destinations that SW flies. If the average ticket costs $350 per seat (non business class fare), and we travel to 4-5 fly-in destinations during the season, that is a revenue stream of 700k. We have done this every year for the past decade....   I can guarantee that SW will be fortunate to see even 5% of that total revenue going forward, due to their ridiculous operational procedures.    The tone of this message may sound sarcastic, or even bitter. But truth be told, I enjoy learning solid life-lessons and this experience will be just that. I will be traveling with a smile, knowing that I will never drop another dime into Southwest Airlines. ... View more