Southwest Rapid Rewards - Service on Southwest

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Was surprised last time I flew Northwest to see how aggressively they were selling the nut mix tube (FA came down the aisle, hawking it as agressively as a ballpark vendor). Very tempted to take a bunch of WN peanuts on my next Northwest flight to pass out to seatmates and neighbors.

As the legacy experience has frayed, I think for some people one of the few things they have left to hang onto is a bundle of preconceived notions about flying Southwest (some true, many outdated exagerations), and the attitude that comes with that outlook.

Very tempted to take a bunch of WN peanuts on my next Northwest flight to pass out to seatmates and neighbors.
That's a great idea -- tell your seatmates how snacks and sodas are free on Southwest, and how one can ask for a second serving and not get glared at. We should all do this on our upcoming legacy carrier flights.

I had been pretty vocal, last summer, about the deterioration in service on Southwest. I had some really horrendous experiences, right up until Labor Day weekend which topped it all with the rudest ever CS rep at HOU.

Anyway, after a few months of taking my business elsewhere, I got in on a great couple of Ding fares ... and I have to say, I've been really pleased. Coming back to Southwest more frequently now, and their CS from check-in to gate to plane has been what I had come to expect. It must have just been a string of bad luck for me, I suppose, but still. I'm happy it's turned around.

Very tempted to take a bunch of WN peanuts on my next Northwest flight to pass out to seatmates and neighbors.

I usually have a few bags of WN peanuts in my laptop case. A few times I have shared them with seatmates on legacy carriers.

It would be great to see someone walk down the aisle and hand out WN peanuts on a legacy no snack flight. If WN supplied the peanuts and a few RR credits, I'd be inclined to do it on my next non-WN flight...

I have to agree that the Y service on WN is better than on many of the legacies. WN has more legroom, free snacks (albeit small), lower beer/wine prices ($3/drink certs vs. $5), and more frequent drink services.

I don't fly B6 or F9 much, but I could see how their Y products might surpass Southwest's. But still, I think Southwest's domestic Y product compares favorably to AA/DL/NW/US.

After having just given US another try after doing about a 6 months on WN between FLL and WAS I remembered why I enjoy flying WN. During boarding on both US flights the FAs hid in the galley and did not help passengers until the call button was hit, unlike WN where one is mid cabin; the turn at DCA took forever and they refused to police huge roll aboards while we were sitting in the terminal. I got less food on US (but I do love their butter pretzel things). At this point the only thing US has going for it is the fact that they fly out of DCA.

Oh and don't get me started on US phone agents.

they refused to police huge roll aboards while we were sitting in the terminal.

I've only flown WN a few times and one of the possibly out of date preconcieved notions about WN is that their flights are full of the
"carry on everything but the kitchen sink" types. Do WN FA's or GA's actually
police the carry on limits? The legacy carriers are weak on this to say the least. A little bit less carry on baggage makes the cabin more pleasant.

Carry-on space is tight on flights with mostly business travelers. It is ample on leisure-heavy flights. I don't think the number of items is over the limit; it's just a question of what percentage of passengers have large carry-ons.

Carry-on space is tight on flights with mostly business travelers. It is ample on leisure-heavy flights. I don't think the number of items is over the limit; it's just a question of what percentage of passengers have large carry-ons.Very true indeed. On evening MDW-LAS flights there are often completely empty overhead bins in the rear of the plane. On morning MDW-STL flights, there isn't an empty bin to be found.

I agree the pre-board policing of carry ons would help the loading process a great deal. I have seen bags too big to fit in overhead, and lot of time wasted as pax tries to squeeze it in. Also those with a rollar board, backpack, laptop case, and a plastic sack seem to take forever to get situated.

I think whenever the plane is 85% full or more, most of the time, the FAs in boarding area need to control obvious violations. I have seen this often in foreign airports where bags are checked by the FA and taken to the belly.

I agree the pre-board policing of carry ons would help the loading process a great deal.

Things do get lax over time - maybe time to renew the "Don't be a bin hog" campaign - or at least the active enforcement of the policies that came with that push. If I remember, there were even a couple of 'thank you' RR credits that was part of that promo, which I would also welcome back. My experience is that enforcement of the carryon rule does have a direct relation to keeping a full flight ontime.

Overhead space has gotten better as the fleet has been renewed, though - remember how cramped the overheads were in the older 200s when those flights were full?

Overhead space has gotten better as the fleet has been renewed, though - remember how cramped the overheads were in the older 200s when those flights were full?

Oh, man, those are so bad memories!

I flew on Southwest for the first time last Sunday when my UA flight from CLE to ORD was cancelled. With the next plane not leaving until 6am the next morning I walked down to the Southwest counter and bought a one way ticket to MDW for just over a hundred dollars. To my surprise the service was good, it was honestly better than the service on United TED flights. Only thing that I just don't understand is why they dont give you assigned seats. I didn't like the idea of having to stand in line in order to get a good seat.

I didn't like the idea of having to stand in line in order to get a good seat.

Please read the FAQ explaining how to get an A using online checkin. Of course people who buy tickets at the last minute get poor seats on Southwest or any other airline.