Southwest Airlines Community

Scott, I am not sure that paying attention to November Revenue passenger miles will tell you the whole story . A lot of people already got their tickets for November (and for the matter December) trips before this new policy was initiated and will fly because they don't want to hassle with refund requests or losing their money. My guess is that you will have to wait until early Spring to see any results from potential loss of customers. Casey ... View more

Brian, No we haven't tried it, my example was hypothetical. However, how would you try to explain to your kids "Daddy/Mommy's got to board the plane first in order to save you a seat and make sure we sit together"? and then at the same time agree with the SWA slogan "A Symbol of Freedom". Do you see the disconnect? Thanks, Casey ... View more

Brian, Thanks for the response. In the past, we all got A seats, even though we could and did pre-board. We did this so that for whatever reason in case we were late, we could at least board together in the A group and make sure we had 3 seats together. Now you are telling me that we can't do that with this new policy. I could go ahead and reserve 2 seats, but not all 3 seats (since we have a part of 4) without holding two rows of seats (and that won't make many friends!). So even though I keep hearing "you can get an A ticket if you want to make sure you are together" that's not really the case with these assigned numbers. That's too bad that SWA didn't think of these issues before you implemented them. I hope that you will see the problems with this system for these occasions. Thanks, Casey ... View more

Oh Chad, please explain how to handle when the families try to board the A group and get different numbers, (i.e I got A 24, my wife got A 31 and my kids got A 34 and 36?) Do we all go with the A 24 or have to board separately (including my 2 year old)? If it's the latter, then I hope you're ready for a slew of complaints! casey ... View more

Question: I just tried the new Business Select fares. One way from OAK-OKC fully refundable for today 11/8 leaving at 1015 am PST. When I went to check in I got A-01 seat. Does this mean that all the people that checked in in the last 16 hours start at a higher A number? Or is there more than on A-01 seat? ... View more

It's nice to see that some people like Kim are congratulating SW for their new policies, but I am in the negative camp on this new turn of events. To Kevin and Gary Kelly, I travel a lot on southwest for business and travel. With a family of 4, we don't like this new pre-board behind 60 A tickets idea as others have mentioned. As a business traveler, I could care less that I get a free drink or extra credits with your new Business Select fare. Southwest was formed with the idea of having a class-less, choose your own seat policy. How can you choose a seat anywhere in the front of the plane if getting an A seat is going to be like going to the Indy 500? FAST FAST FAST! No more cattle calls (Good idea!) But instead NOW you have to watch the clock and get ready to pounce the computer to check in (and hope to get an A seat!). It seems that the good old days of Southwest are gone (for good?) under new management. What a shame! Southwest, I hate to say it, but this loyal customer from the OKC market is going to start using Xjet, Delta, United or Northwest regional jet service to get from here to Cal or Michigan. At least when I book those flights, I know where I will sit, there's no "business-class treatment" and it's worth the $50 change fee! I hope you will change your mind on these recent decisions. If it's fuel costs and revenue are the issue, I know most people would be willing to pay an extra $5-10 a seat over your current one-way internet fares to secure the class-less boarding policies. Thanks for listening to my opinion. Casey C ... View more