Southwest Airlines Community

Y'all keep talking about lost bags. I've had a few (3, 4?) times where Southwest lost some of my bags, and they always showed up within a few hours. The only hassle was waiting in line with the kids, who desperately wanted to get to their cousins' house or home (depending on which way we were headed). Usually we have a different experience - by the time we get out with the boys (currently 8, 4, & 2 yrs. old) and our carryons, bathroom breaks/diaper changes, and get down to baggage claim the bags have been taken off the conveyor and are sitting at the baggage office waiting for us because we took so long! The funniest was when we lost one suitcase and a booster seat. My oldest was so concerned about the booster (maybe he thought we would leave him at the airport if we didn't have the booster seat for the rental car), and when we got to the counter and made the report they produced a loaner - same model as our seat! We had to show our son where it said "Southwest" on the bottom to convince him that it wasn't our seat. And of course the suitcase and booster showed up in a couple of hours and everyone lived happily ever after. So, yeah, SW does lose bags just like every airline does from time to time, but (at least for us) they've always shown up a few hours later and the staff in the baggage office has always been as nice as everyone else. Seth ... View more

I travel once a year on business (Southwest whenever possible), and several times a year with the family (always Southwest - BWI - FLL). For business I usually get my A group by arriving early or checking in online. So I always get my window. For pleasure we have little ones so we preboard. And since we're five I let my oldest pick the rows and we leave one aisle seat open for a stranger. The person who sits there is either someone who can deal with kids or the poor soul who boarded last, but I've never had anyone complain. One time on another airline (I can't remember why were unfaithful - probably a very last minute trip) we asked about preboarding with the kids and were told they don't do that because it disrupts their boarding order with assigned seats. Hello!!! Putting in those car seats and getting the kids settled takes a few minutes. We need to be on first so your plane takes off on time! Then there was the time I had to take a redeye (ugh!) home on (obviously) another airline, and switch in Atlanta (can you guess the airline?). Their stupid system had me getting off the plane, sitting for two hours in the terminal, and then getting back on the same plane at the same gate (different flight number) to a different seat to get home. I KNOW Southwest would never have such a thing - it would have been one flight and if I wanted a different seat for the second leg it would have been my choice. I wanted to just take a nap on the plane - but no! I was talking to my dental hygienist the other day - she went with her son to Minneapolis - his first flight. Aside from hating the fare (but when can you do when Southwest doesn't fly there and bring down the fares?), she was obsessed with making sure they had seats together. Now, besides the fact that nobody wants to sit next to someone else's kid, and of course people would switch, because of the crazy assigned seating mess she couldn't get two seats together when she booked. Or when she talked to customer service an hour later. She was only able to get it resolved about 24 hours before the flight. If she was on Southwest she would have had NO worries - just show up and preboard. Related to that story, because of fares and rapid rewards I sometimes use two or three or four different reservations for my family (1 full, 1 rr, 2 youth and a baby - that type of thing). I can only imagine the horror of trying to get those five seats together. To sum it up: JUST KEEP OPEN SEATING (and preboarding). IT WORKS BETTER THAN ANY ASSIGNED SYSTEM ON ANY OTHER AIRLINE. ... View more