joshua362

They all suck, Southwest had a great competitive & operational edge but choose to join everyone else...

I'm writing this severely delayed, as usual, in BWI, cause they took our sold out connection to ISP (only 5 per day now but this is were ALL traffic has to connect) and gave it to MDW instead. So inconveniencing the least amount of passengers is utter BS....

joshua362

If you check a bag, at most airports, there is a priority lane for A Listers. Not at my home airport of course but convenient on the return.

SAPMAN

Obviously, everyone has different priorities and resources. If my clients paid for my flights, I would fly First Class and accrue big miles on American.

But really, my biggest pro for WN are the CP, ability to change or cancel, and free bags. I will not pay for BS as often there are no "preferred" seats anyway. And the rest are all the same. Of course, if clients paid, ......

I agree WN needs to get scheduling better. Add 5 min to turnaround. Get people on board (and off) faster. Start boarding earlier. And for some reason, plane sits 10 min after boarding complete? Used to be a rush, not now. With short turnarounds, they just keep falling further behind all day.

kennycrudup

WN could fix turnaround issues completely, but it would never work: just board the plane in reverse order with C-17 first, and force compliance to board rear-first. Most of the time I see spent boarding (I usually get < A30 but go to the rear anyway and get to watch this first-hand) is folks waiting for the people in front of them to get out of their way (which is why the legacies board non-status rear-first, IIRC).

rsteinmetz70112

That is more or less what Airtran does, except they have assigned seating.

With assigned seating Airtran boards Elite and Business class first then from back to front by seat number.

hiker72

Agree completely as I am in the same situation, however, your third reason is my first.

I avoid ORD like the plague. I can get in and out of MDW in literally half the time (lot to gate, and back). Flying just about weekly, that quickly amounts to a whole time of time saved navigating an airport.

With the exception of international travel, Southwest takes me just about anywhere I need to go... direct.

ILovetheReds

I thought every airport had a priority check in lane. That is a benefit you should receive with status with ANY airline.

I rarely check a bag, but for people that do check a bag regularly, another benefit the legacies provide Southwest doesn't is priority baggage handling. It's a great benefit if the baggage handlers do their job correctly when you have to check a bag and are on a long flight. And for the people that travel heavy, the legacies give their frequent flyers three 70-lb checked bags for free as opposed to two 50-lb on Southwest. This is another nice benefit if I have to travel heavy, I would rather pack one 70-lb bag than 2 smaller bags

NauticalWheeler

Might be the best point of the thread. The majors all rely on RJs.

Southwest only flies full sized jets AND has a much better safety record (you don't have to be elite to get it.)

The best elite benefit is the companion pass.

Bonehead

I would have agreed before they put the slimline seats in. Now you could end up in a middle seat, squished both from the sides and the front/back. At least there are no middles on RJs.

ILovetheReds

Not sure why all these posters have a problem with RJ's? They are usually only used on short haul and on a short haul I prefer it a lot of times over a full size jet if it's a plane with extended bins where you don't have to gate check or a flight where plane side bags get pulled a right away. The ones I am on are usually turns and I can just monitor the incoming flight and enjoy my adult beverage or do work on the internet in the club and not have to rush to the gate. And if it's an embaer or RJ, your upgrade chances are really good since it's a high ratio of First to economy seats. And the service is great on a short haul and I love getting an A seat on the smaller planes with 1-2 seating. I'll take an A seat on a Barbie plane with 1-2 seating in first class on a short haul flight anyday over a coach seat on a jet.

Companion pass you can get without flying much anyway and it wasn't a useful benefit for me when I had it, but I know for some it is. It was very easy to get a companion pass in the past by just using a southwest credit card and staying at Hilton's in the days of RR1

Bonehead

I'll take an A seat on an ERJ-145 (coach only) any day over the devolve seat that I sat in last week. I flew DEN--PIT (3+ hours) in such a seat and had no issues. Just because it's a "large" plane clearly does not guarantee comfort, as WN (and others) are demonstrating by installing the awful slimline seats.

MrMan

Not on AA or UA. Many +1.5 hour flights

ILovetheReds

Even on a 2 hour flight, I would rather be in a first class seat (or even economy comfort seat) on an RJ than in the Y cabin of Southwest or any Legacy full size jet.

ILovetheReds

At least on an ERJ or RJ you never have to worry about a middle seat and you are on and off the plane fast. And with a legacy you have a premium economy comfort section even on a ERJ or RJ. I'll take an economy seat on an RJ or EJ over a middle seat on any airlines full jet anyday.

diver858

Care to share data to support the safety claim? Be sure to include the increasing level of FAA fines for improper maintenance, pilot landing at the wrong airport.