01-07-2011
10:44 PM
2 Loves
Looking forward to when Southwest starts flying outside of the contiguous 48 states, this makes sense. I remember when Southwest code-shared w/ ATA and offered free flights to Hawaii for two RR award tickets. Living on the west coast, I felt like I was getting screwed. Compared to someone living on the east coast, I was already half-way to Hawaii, yet I had to use the same number of RR award tickets. Now, it's going to be a fair system.
One issue I do have is the conversion between the old and new programs. I wish there was an option to convert currently earned credits to points rather than having to earn 12000 points and then convert those to a single credit.
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04-23-2010
10:52 AM
3 Loves
Given Southwest's presence in the Sunshine State, this livery has been a long time coming. I'm glad to see it.
For those asking for a special livery for Texas, Nevada, and California, those already exist, the blog post lists all of the special livery aircraft currently in Southwest's fleet.
Florida One joins thirteen other 737s in Southwest’s fleet that carry a unique paint scheme: Arizona One,
California One,
Illinois One,
Lone Star One (Texas),
Nevada One,
New Mexico One,
Maryland One,
three Shamu aircraft (SeaWorld),
Silver One (celebrating Southwest’s 25th anniversary),
Triple Crown One (recognizing Southwest’s top rankings for ontime performance, baggage handling, and Customer satisfaction), and
Slam Dunk One (tribute to our NBA partnership).
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01-08-2010
02:32 PM
4 Loves
"Pacific Southwest Airlines--no relation to us" -- well, in the family sense, there's no relation. However, PSA's business model and practices were a model for Southwest.
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I know that with the A list check-in, the order is by how long each passenger has been on the A list (the more time on the A list, the higher your check-in priority). What ordering method will be used for early-bird?
As for the chances I'll use this? Well, when I'm on vacation, and may not have access to the internet at check-in time, I'll definitely use this so I don't need to worry about checking in early. On the other-hand, if I know I'll have access to the internet around check-in time, why bother?
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I'm divided at the result. I would have liked to have seen what Southwest would do at ATL, DCA or with more slots at LGA. Even more exciting was the possibilities of Southwest using Lynx to enter smaller markets. Still, I'm happy that my second favorite airline (next to Southwest) at least has some prospect at surviving (while Southwest was on record that Frontier would not have lasted longer than two more years)
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03-24-2009
12:36 PM
7 Loves
Would it be possible for @SouthwestAir to tweet each morning a list of flights that will be WiFi enabled? I've noticed that @AlaskaAir (which is also using row44) provides that info.
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02-20-2009
02:11 PM
2 Loves
These 4 were close --
Number 1 is the most eye grabbing, though, like others, I prefer the slogan "I'm going to jump on that plane" from number 3. I can easily see this one rolled out system wide touting the new service to MSP.
Number 6 is pretty eye grabbing too, but the giant "JUMP THAT PLANE" doesn't work for me. Again, I like the "JUMP ON THAT PLANE" from number 3.
Number 3 has a great concert poster feel to it, but all the words in blue just kinda get jumbled up and make it too busy.
Number 5 would make a terrific pin. The problem with it is that the "When" and "Comes To" gets lost in the state, such that at first glance, it reads "LUV Town" (but maybe that was intentional). If you actually were thinking of making this into a pin, I'd axe the slogan, and move the heart's position on the state to MSP's location.
These 2 just didn't do it for me.
When I first saw number 2, the first thought I had was that the trailer was dumping a load. Actually, I don't care for the trailer at all; I have enough time convincing folks that Southwest does not cater strictly to trailer trash, and this doesn't help.
Number 4 is just too generic.
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02-02-2009
02:00 PM
4 Loves
I was wondering about the new menu. It caught both mine and my wife's eyes yesterday. We even snapped some photos:
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Huge news! I recently had to fly to visit northeast New Jersey on business, but because Islip was not a practical choice, had to fly another airline. I've got my fingers crossed that the Feds and the court allow this. Of course, the next big speculation... which station (if any) besides MDW gets some flights?
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10-28-2008
07:36 PM
12 Loves
I wonder when it will be at the same place as Alaska's N719AS.
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10-19-2008
12:53 PM
274 Loves
It would be interesting to see that livery on a modern turboprop such as a Q400.
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This is fantastic news, but calling WestJet your first international partner ignores that short-lived (and limited) agreement with Icelandair through BWI back in the mid 90's.
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05-08-2008
10:50 AM
14 Loves
All I hope is that they preserve the old map that's part of the lobby floor.
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One of my favorite Christmas traditions is to watch the movie A Christmas Story. Well, imagine my surprise, when, last week I found that folks at the Burbank station (BUR) put up their tribute to the film. Fortunately, I had a camera with me and was able to snap a few photos. These aren't the greatest shots, but hopefully they'll give you some idea of the holiday display:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sean_yoda_rouse/sets/72157603503145029/
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11-15-2007
03:19 AM
1 Love
If, like me, you find that the embedded video is not showing up, the direct link to the video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUYpfJR4KEI
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11-12-2007
11:09 PM
6 Loves
I was able to experience the new boarding procedures twice on Friday. I was flying PVD-PHX-LAX. I checked in almost 24 hours in advance and ended up with A-46 for the PVD-PHX leg and A-19 for the PHX-LAX leg. I was kind of concerned as I found out that my flight to PHX was arriving at gate C-17 at 8:05 PM and my flight to LAX was departing from D-1 at 8:50 PM. Under the old process, I would have gotten to PVD early to ensure a seat near the front (in case the flight arrived PHX behind schedule.)
In PVD, they called for A 1-30 and A 31-60 to line up a bit early (our plane had yet to arrive). The early line-up made sense when one of the gate agents started checking to see that everyone was in the right spot. I was a bit surprised that almost none of the A 1-30s had lined up; either they missed the announcement, or they didn't understand how it worked. When they called A 1-30 to board, 17 folks boarded before they called B 1-30 to line up and A 31-60 to board. (I later found out that most of them didn't line up.) I ended up with a seat near the front.
When I got off of the plane (which arrived early) in PHX, I found that my connecting flight was delayed, and as such, I didn't need to dash. It was here that the new procedures shined. I already had my place in line, so I settled in at the Starbucks near the D pier, got some coffee and a snack, and fired up my laptop to check my e-mail and check the flight's progress on FlightAware. When my flight was in range, I shut down my laptop and walked over to the gate. When the call to line up was made, it was bizarre to see one person in the A 1-5 spot and nobody in A 6-10 or 11-15. I found out that the guy holding card A-1 had purchased a business select fare. I asked the gate agent about the absence of folks in line and he explained that A 1-15 were reserved for business select passengers. I also found that some folks didn't understand that they were supposed to stand in the section corresponding to their numbers. It would have been nice if a gate agent had checked passengers' boarding passes like they had done in PVD. Still, the process was pretty smooth, and i had no problems getting the seat I wanted.
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I've read comments elsewhere that were very positive about the boarding procedures at SAT. I only wish that I could get to experience this when my wife and I travel to MCO next month.
As for the change in family boardings, I understand BOTH sides of the argument. Allowing families with children in strollers to board early guarantees that they sit together and have enough time to remove the children (and allows those who want to sit as far away as possible from the families with small children to do so). On the other hand, if catching a connecting flight, it's nice to grab the bulkhead seats up front.
As for the person who asks "what if we're split between numbered groups?", well, you have two options. 1. The person with the lower number boards first and saves seats. 2. The person with the lower number stands with the person with the higher number.
As for tall people, talk to the gate agent. I once saw a very tall (7' 6") man be allowed to board early so that he could get the long legroom seat.
All this talk about numbers makes me wonder what was done with the old plastic boarding cards. I'd have loved to have kept one (especially one of the California shaped ones) as a souvenir.
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08-23-2007
09:21 PM
1 Love
Susie, how exactly do people line up in order? Are there numbered dots on the floor or something? I'd love to hear how the other experiments with seating families and early boarders are going.
As for the mad line-up, I've never understood that. Unless I have a tight connection, there's no need for me to have my "pick of the litter". Normally, as long as I can get a window, I'm happy. In that case it wouldn't matter if I had A1 or A45 as I know I'll be able to get what I want. It's only if I get a C card (which would mean I had to change flights at the last minute) that I will look to line up early.
Oh, to answer John's question, the "turn time" is the amount of time it takes to turn a plane that has just arrived at the gate to one that has just departed the gate (i.e the time it takes to open the doors, get the arriving passengers off, take care of any cleaning, get the departing passengers on, and then close the doors).
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07-13-2007
12:36 AM
2 Loves
Enough info has passed along that all the questions are answered. This is just clarification:
1. American flew 707s, 727s, and 747s (even the 747SP) They still fly 737s, 757s, 767s, and 777s. When they acquired TWA, they ended up with 717s, but dumped them as they were new and were redundant in size with their Fokker F-100s.
2. Continental also flew 707s, 727s, and 747s. They still fly 737s, 757s, 767s, and 777s.
3. United flew 727s. They still fly 737s, 747s, 757s, 767s, and 777s. While they flew DC-8s instead of 707s, they also flew the 720, which was a variant of the 707, but renamed for marketing purposes, so they could be a second answer to question 2.
Delta flew 727s and 747s. They still fly 737s, 757s, 767s, and 777s. (Like United, Delta flew DC-8s.)
TWA flew 707s, 717s, 727s, 747s, 757s, and 767s.
Bonus: TWA was the only major carrier to fly the 717.
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07-03-2007
03:21 AM
18 Loves
I flew Southwest today, from LAX to BWI and then from BWI to BDL. Of those three stations, BWI had the best decorations by far. Maybe LAX wasn't quite ready as my flight left at 7:15 AM. As for the flight from LAX to BWI, while the crew handed out heart shaped flag decorations to the kids, the flight had no decorations. On the other-hand, flight 76, my connection in BWI to BDL had those heart shaped flag decorations on every overhead bin and all along the insides of the plane. Kudos to the folks in Vegas (where the flight originated) for decking out the aircraft so patriotically. The decorations made the flight live up to the spirit of its number.
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12-07-2006
03:55 AM
12 Loves
As opposed to the 737 here -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/43323231@N00/312725773/ -- which appears to be slowly getting its new paint job.
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The lack of assigned seating *IS* the major factor that makes Southwest stand out from the rest of the major airlines. One time, some friends and I indepently booked flights to Phoenix. None of us knew we all were on the same flight until we were at the airport. With Southwest's open seating, we were able to sit together. On more than one occaision, I've had to book travel the night before a meeting. When flying Southwest, I will, at worst, get a "C" card; Even if I was the 137th person to check-in, I still can arrive early enough at the airport to get near the front of the "C" line and still end up with a decent seat. The bonus is that if I'm not on a non-stop flight, I can change seats at the first stop before other passengers board. Or, consider flights out of MCO, which tend to have a higher number of early boarding passengers with small children. Currently my wife and I can choose seats that are some distance from fussier passengers.
With assigned seating, all of those options go away.
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Some flights did have names. PSA's late night flight between SFO and LAX was called "The Night Owl". TWA used to have a flight from New York to Los Angeles called "The Sun Chaser". In Arthur Hailey's novel (and later film) "Airport", the flight to Rome was "The Golden Argosy".
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04-27-2006
10:40 PM
4 Loves
I've been flying Southwest Airlines for many years, and have been a fan since my first flight. I'm looking forward to reading about the "inside" of Southwest. What I've read so far has whetted my appetite for more.
Beyond the blog, I like a few of the links included on the side. Sadly, one of them is no longer valid. On April 21, The Schnurmanator posted "This will be my last blog posting, because the Schnurmanator is moving on to other forums at star-telegram.com."
May I suggest a new link. Add one to FlightAware http://www.flightaware.com/ (my wife uses it to follow my flights when I'm out of town).
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