Southwest Airlines Increases Charge for Early-Boarding Fees

[Shanti]

Not sure why you would include Air Canada and Westjet in your statement, they use assigned seating on their flights. So does Delta that last time I checked.

I think that's the point. Everyone has an assigned seat & doesn't have to worry about this.

 

[declansdad]

I think that's the point. Everyone has an assigned seat & doesn't have to worry about this.

I think you are right, I missed the period after Southwest.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Now I know why I avoid SW at all costs.

 

[dish rag]

Now I know why I avoid SW at all costs.

I hear ya, but so many dis folk defend this company at all costs.

 

[bcla]

I hear ya, but so many dis folk defend this company at all costs.

The only consistent dislikes seems to be some who don’t care for the boarding process. Other than that, they have a lot of positives, including a points program that works, two check-in bags, and employees who don’t act as you’re imposing on them. Their fare structure also makes sense.

 

[mnrose]

Thought I would report back about my SWA experience this weekend flying to and from my niece's wedding in Atlanta (from MSP). Non-stop flight. Left on time outbound (actually early), and about on time on the return. I paid for EBCI both directions. Got A23 on the outbound and A33 on the inbound. Outbound got an exit row seat, on the aisle (as I prefer). Return, I got a bulk head seat on the aisle. It was awesome. Very smooth boarding process. With EBCI, I won't be afraid to use SWA again. I thought the flight attendants were charming. Service about what I would expect. Decent morning snack (BelVita) and some wheat thin chips on the return. I'm a Delta person through and through, but if I can fly SWA to my destination non-stop, I'd certainly consider them.

 

[EveDallas]

Thought I would report back about my SWA experience this weekend flying to and from my niece's wedding in Atlanta (from MSP). Non-stop flight. Left on time outbound (actually early), and about on time on the return. I paid for EBCI both directions. Got A23 on the outbound and A33 on the inbound. Outbound got an exit row seat, on the aisle (as I prefer). Return, I got a bulk head seat on the aisle. It was awesome. Very smooth boarding process. With EBCI, I won't be afraid to use SWA again. I thought the flight attendants were charming. Service about what I would expect. Decent morning snack (BelVita) and some wheat thin chips on the return. I'm a Delta person through and through, but if I can fly SWA to my destination non-stop, I'd certainly consider them.

SW is great! I've never had a bad experience with them. An added bonus is that where I live, SW flies out of a much smaller airport than the legacy airlines. Much less stressful for me.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I hear ya, but so many dis folk defend this company at all costs.

It's not "at all costs." When the cost saves us $$$ per flight and they have decent service, yeah, we're onboard. Since we have family on the east coast, those rapid rewards points add up in a hurry.

 

[bcla]

SW is great! I've never had a bad experience with them. An added bonus is that where I live, SW flies out of a much smaller airport than the legacy airlines. Much less stressful for me.

I’ve never had a bad experience, but I’ve had issues that every airline has such as maintenance or weather delays.

I prefer them since Oakland is their hub. It’s more convenient for me and a more manageable airport. However, I find that sometimes SFO has the cheaper fares for a specific timeframe.

 

[jo-jo]

I don't get boarding then useing the bathroom, it's something I see sometimes and it just doesn't make any sense.

Our flight was delayed a few hours due to ground stop but still had the usual but we can still leave at anytime so don't wander too far. Then suddenly we had the announcement that we would be boarding soon but not like in a few mins. I decided to go to the rest room(it was right across the way). I came back and the A group was lined up ready to go. Fastest "we'll be boarding soon to actually boarding" I've ever seen. We got on and 5 mins later, 6 year DGS said he has to go. We had the same situation of "is that seat taken, yes, they are in the rest room".

 

[msjprincess]

I still love SWA. Two free bags, I can change flights for free and get a credit. I can fly out of my closer, smaller airport. The only time I pay for EBCI is if we're flying home from a cruise. Even without EBCI the 5 of us have only had one time that we couldn't find seats together.

 

[js]

When we flew August 11 from EWR-FLL it was only my second time using SW. The first was when we were flying out from MCO-EWR from my ds college baseball Spring break trip where I found a flight for $60, which included two free bags (and I was on a cruise the week prior).

Anyway, for my August 11 flight legacy airlines were very high and I was able to get EWR-FLL for $118 including two free bags for my family of four, my mom and two friends for my adult kids. On August 11 there were storms and we were delayed for six hours (we were cruising the following day). JetBlue was next to us and their flights were canceled but eventually our plane arrived and off we went.
Communication was very good the full six hours and they gate agents were there the full time doing changes or answering questions.

Although my immediate family was 7, we were a family of 20 cruising. While onboard my cousin received an email from SW giving his family Luv Vouvher for $200 pp. I wasnt sure what he paid so figured I would look when I got home since I was disconnected for the cruise. Sure enough, my family of 7 all feceived $200 each to use within a year, although too bad for me since I purchased the tickets but whatever.

My dh just used the voucher to book RT from EWR-FLL for March for my ds baseball Spring break and my mom and I used half booking our return from my ds trip. My friend was coming back on United on August 11 to EWR from Aruba and had to call the airline when she got home and get reimbursed for a new flight and hotel since United left them on their own.

Given what I feel was very good customer service, I will fly SW again if the price is less than a legacy airline and I always have a checked bag.