The airlines that don't serve peanuts also don't prevent people from bringing them on. Southwest does accommodate passengers with allergies, as does Delta, which is the other major airline that still offers peanuts.
That said, I'd like to offer a suggestion. Replace the peanuts with almonds or pecans. Both are healthier and there are far fewer allergies to true nuts like almonds than there are to peanuts (which aren't really nuts - they are in the same family as peas and beans). Particularly with honey roasting, I'm guessing lots of people wouldn't even notice the difference.
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I didn't win, but the site worked for me. Anyway, I know that the new program has gotten some bad press, but I will say that there are some positives. Drink coupons come after 10 one-way trips instead of 16, for instance. The lower threshold for A-List makes it more likely I'll qualify. I'm looking forward to your integration of Airtran. We need more flights out of LGA for me to earn points with.
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The site is MUCH faster today. Please remember whatever your system configuration is the next time you have a sale.
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I did manage to book some $80 fares between NYC and Chicago. The site was slow today and I see a lot of tweets to and from @SouthwestAir. It's too bad they had glitches on the very day they topped the customer satisfaction survey and rolled out the sale. 😞 I realize they can't go back to the days of Herb but I'm worried they are burning through some of their goodwill.
Anyway, I'm happy I got through since that route has gotten a lot more expensive this year. It was like old times today.
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01-20-2011
03:03 PM
6 Loves
Let me be the contrarian here. One of the things I always hated about American/United/Delta etc., in addition to the lousy service, was that I'd get exactly the same mileage credit for my last minute flight that cost $600 as the person who paid $179 next to me. I think a frequent flier program based on revenue is fairer. While I'm disappointed that it takes, on average, 10 round trips to get a free ticket as opposed to 8, the elimination of the blackout dates and expiration has a cost. I'm sure the new system can be tweaked over time (e.g. raising the number of points per dollar awarded on wanna get away fares, adding a pay with cash+points system) to make it better at little or no cost to the company. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people who swore off Southwest come back once they experience the other airlines again. There are plenty of reasons why I don't fly the "legacy" carriers except when I have to.
My only suggestion for tweaking it right now is to add a real cash+points system. IOW, if I need 12,000 points for my $200 round trip, or 15,000 for a $250 round trip, make an option where I can pay 12,000 points plus $50 for that $250 flight. I don't like the standard "buying points" system that New RR has adopted. They are usually a bad deal.
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Everyone needs to take a chill pill. Yes, the short-hop fliers will lose out a bit, but those who take a few more expensive flights a year (i.e. longer-haul trips) will benefit. The new system is a little bit like a combo of JetBlue's and the European airlines' programs, only better. Like JetBlue, you are rewarded based on revenue to the airline (which makes more sense to me), and like the European airlines, there is more flexibility to combine points and dollars. However, the no blackout dates is a nice perk in exchange for the loss of simplicity. I'm OK with the new program. I'm sure the folks at Corporate figured out it will save the airline money, but better this than switching to American, United, or Delta's approach.
Hopefully the rumor that Southwest will switch to assigned seating after they acquire AirTran isn't true, though. I understand Reagan Airport is different, but keep the current open seating everywhere else!
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