I don't know about the rest of the military, but I do know that my office discourages the use of Southwest for official travel. I also do not think Southwest is military friendly. Maybe this is a rage post because today Southwest has once again disgusted me with their inadequate customer service. I personally do not have a problem with their boarding rule of in uniform, although I agree for security reasons my unit is not authorized to fly in uniform. My problem is with the inconsistent use of their policy and their discrimination against military personnel especially when traveling on orders. Often for travel, I do not have a known return date for my travel, so when I have to switch last minute and southwest is the only available option, I am forced to check in hours before a flight, which means I am normally the last to board. I do not have this issue with other airlines as they do not place military in the last boarding group just because. However, my major problem with this airline is their discrimination against military. When I do check in to get a decent boarding group, I end up having to go back to the counter as they can never seem to properly verify me as military (even though I show my idea multiple times prior to boarding). And no they can't verify you at the gate. So I am the last person on the plane just because I am traveling on military orders. Military should fly Southwest as a last resort in my opinion. I recommend it for families with children under 6 though.
... View more
