Southwest Airlines Community

It has been publicly stated in multiple articles and online forums that Southwest is currently facing a shortage of aircraft due to production issues at Boeing. As a result, Southwest has had to prioritize its more profitable routes and eliminate the poorer performing routes and, in some cases, destinations. Just because aircraft are full does not mean a route is profitable - especially if the majority of passengers are paying deeply reduced fares. Additionally, your own statement that "they were packed solid and had plenty of standbys" indicate that the flights had plenty of empty, unsold seats at departure time to accommodate standby passengers. Southwest has said that as soon as it can get the aircraft delivery issues with Boeing resolved, it wants to restore its route system to its pre-pandemic state. ... View more

dfwskier.... Is it just me or does there seem to be significantly less thru flights these days? I rarely hear the gate agents announce multiple cities on a flight anymore or the "If you are continuing on..." announcement from flight attendants these days I always listen because sometimes those routings can be humorous.... but it seems like far fewer these days. ... View more

Just a few days ago on an Orlando-Houston flight....  I was in the A group.... I boarded to find one of the pre-boarders has managed to find enough hats, food bags, jackets, etc. to save EIGHT additional seats for his party boarding later... NINE seats total (including his)... an entire row and a half saved...  NINE SEATS... I wanted to look at him and say, "You, SIR, are the exact reason Southwest is going to begin assigning seats." Unbelievable. ... View more

I encourage you to look up the policy regarding transferring tickets and/or funds to people OTHER than those originally ticketed on ANY U.S. airline... Unfortunately for you, you will find that all major U.S. carriers have a non-transferrable policy.... therefore, if you choose to write off Southwest simply because of THAT policy.... I doubt you will ever find another airline to fly.   If you do... please let us know.   ... View more

I have always been curious about this...   Why do people do this on an airplanes? ... View more

From southwest.com: You may bring one carryon bag and one personal item without charge (subject to the limitations below). The bag should be stowed in the overhead compartment, and your small personal item should be stowed under your seat. Sizing up your carryon and personal item: One carryon bag Goes in overhead bin Size limits: 24” (L) + 16” (W) + 10” (H) Examples: roller bag, small suitcase One personal item Goes under your seat Examples: purse (including crossbody bags), briefcase, laptop computer case, backpack, pillow (neck pillows do not count toward the carryon limit), blanket, small camera If you're traveling with a pet, the pet carrier is counted as either your personal item or carryon. The agent, is appears, was rightfully considering you crossover bag to be a third carry on item per Southwest's published rules. ... View more

First.... this is a customer to customer forum.  It is not monitored by Southwest Airlines employees so do not expect a response from Southwest by posting here. Second... it is never wise to post your confirmation number and entire name in a post.  I would highly suggest you edit that information.   Finally, it sounds as though you were seated in the front row.  There is actually a placard on the wall that states that no carry on items may be stowed in front of those seats.  If the overhead bins near your seat were already full when you boarded, the ONLY place your carry on bags could have gone is in an overhead bin further back. I cannot imagine a scenario where any flight attendant would prevent multiple rows of passengers from deplaning so that you could make your way back and retrieve your bag before anyone else deplaned.  If you bag is behind you... you need to wait until you have a chance to get it.  You should not expect everyone else to wait for you.   ... View more

"Require that 6 and under passengers have an indication on their ticket that they are eligible for family boarding.  You require an indication on preboarding passenger’s ticket." That is one of the best suggestions I have heard in a long time.  The age of the passenger should be in the reservation.   It should be easy enough for the boarding pass to print with something indicting the child is under 6 on it. I would definitely suggest you recommend this to Southwest. ... View more

The one comment I would like to say is that the decision on where to divert to is a decision made by the Captain of an aircraft in coordination with an airline's flight dispatch center based on multiple factors.   I do not think it was appropriate for anyone outside of the pilots and the flight dispatchers to say that your flight never should have diverted to Pueblo because no one, besides them, knows that factors that went into making that decision. ... View more

Just a quick question because I am curious.... How many (if any) other passengers had you already dissuaded from sitting next to you by that point and had such action been witnessed by the flight attendants? ... View more

Maybe it's just me.... But I never considered most of Texas, where Southwest flew exclusively for its first eight years of its existence, to be in the desert. ... View more

"After viewing this" After viewing WHAT?   After viewing the aftermath of a previous interaction that is not shown? My guess is that this passenger was repeatedly told, prior to departure, that the animal had to remain completely inside of its carrier per Southwest's policies.... yet the passenger refused to do so. Can I be sure that is what happened?  No.  Because I do not see what happened prior to this video.... The same way YOU cannot know what happened prior to this video. Southwest policy:  A paid pet MUST remain inside the carrier at all times.... that means no unzipped cover... no head sticking out..... I am guessing this passenger had a problem with that policy. But again..... we don't see the whole video.... so you can jump to your conclusions and I will jump to mine. Once  you take everything into context.... you may want to change your thread title to:  "Wow!  Southwest just can't ask its passengers to follow the rules!" By the way.... this episode happened MONTHS ago and has already been discussed in length. ... View more

I have posted before that I have a family friend who applied when the position was posted in January 2023.   He heard nothing until September 2023 when he was offered an interview.   From his experience... it can take a while. ... View more

I posted elsewhere....   A family friend got his application in during the previous window (I believe it was January 2023) and he finally was offered an interview last month - September. It seems it can take a while.  Don't be discouraged. ... View more

I can tell you that a family friend got his application in during the PRIOR application window (I believe it was in January 2023) and he FINALLY had an interview LAST month. So it was around ten months before he heard anything.   So no.... I don't think you should be saddened.  It seems to take a while. ... View more

Definitely my pleasure.  She actually sent me a screen shot of the entire list of rules: A trained service animal:   - May preboard. - Must not obstruct an aisle or access to an aisle. - May not sit in an emergency exit row. - Must not occupy a seat. - May be placed against the fuselage wall. - Must remain with its handler throughout the flight. - If small enough, may be held in the passenger's lap for all phases of flight.   I hope this helps. ... View more

I asked a friend who is a flight attendant for Southwest about this.   She specifically showed me in her flight attendant manual where it says: "A trained service animal must not obstruct an aisle or access to an aisle." ... View more

I would suggest that you take a few minutes and search "Why do airlines charge pet fees?" on the internet. I am not sure if posting links to external sites are permitted...  but here is an excellent article from just a few months ago explaining why airlines charge pet fees: https://www.signaturepettransport.com/blog/airline-pet-fees ... View more

"My wife used to be a flight attendant and said they were clearly being lazy." Your wife has no idea what reports the captain may have received prior to the flight.   ... View more

My initial thought would be, based on what I have witnessed, is that maybe she was keeping the front lavatory clear because the agent who comes on to restock supplied is also the one who should clean up, mop and restock the lavatory.   Maybe she was trying to keep it clear because that agent was about to or in the process of servicing the lavatory.       ... View more

In my experiences traveling on many airlines - the decision to hold a flight is not made by the pilot or anyone at the local level.  The decision to hold a flight is usually made by someone in a department at the airline's main offices.     That person or department has access to ALL of the data in regards to holding a flight... How late will the flight now arrive?  Can the flight make up any time en route? How late will that make the aircraft's next departure?   Is this the last connection of the night? How many people are they waiting for? If it is not the last flight... can the passengers who miss the connection be accommodated on the next flight or is it full? Will holding this flight cause passengers on the next flight operated by this aircraft to miss their connections later in the day? Will holding the flight make the flight crew go over their duty hours? What is this crew scheduled to do later in the day and how will a delay impact that? There are numerous factors to take into account when an airline decides to hold a flight - many of which the pilot and/or local airport staff do not have the ability to thoroughly analyze on their own. This is why the decision to hold a flight is often made by someone not even in the same same city where the flight is being held at and why a flight may be held in one instance but not another. I hope this provides some insight. ... View more

I always get a little chuckle out of it when I read comments like: "unless you're lucky enough to be on one of the very rare non stop flights" I believe all Southwest flights are nonstop.... they just may not be nonstop between the cities you prefer.   😉 ... View more