That is correct, but that's what you trade off for not paying a $150 change fee on Southwest. I'd much rather pay whatever the upgrade to full fare is on the day of departure if I'm traveling on a discounted ticket and want to go early rather than get rocked for the $150 change fee PLUS any difference in fare when I need to make a change to my ticket other than the day of departure.
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2009 WAS supposed to be our year! Now waiting until 2010 GO CUBS!
What did I miss, ...where Southwest is better than the legacy carriers...?
I think you didn't give the Companion Pass the emphasis it deserves.
Even though I don't travel for business, by putting all my rental cars/hotel stays/credit card points together each year, along with WN trips, I can reach CP status.
I'll let people on the legacies get their little upgrades and stuff and prebooked seats. I'll take the free WN trips for my son which saves my family $1500-2000 a year, tax-free.
WN also has always provided excellent service in all respects whenever I need something; I especially like talking to someone whose dialect I can understand.
I do wish they'd be a little more honest with details about delays.
If I think there's a good chance I can make it for an earlier flight, I just book a ticket on the earlier flight in the first place and cancel one of the tickets once I know which flight I will actually make.
Programs: UA 2MM, DL 500k, SW CP, GP 1M, HH Gold, Miracle Fruit-su Club
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beckles
If I think there's a good chance I can make it for an earlier flight, I just book a ticket on the earlier flight in the first place and cancel one of the tickets once I know which flight I will actually make.
Exactly. And I'll gladly concede to Southwest the float on the $50-$150 (if I've been careful in the first place). This needs to be in every discussion that debates the change fee vs. the buy-up for walk-up.
Programs: UA 2MM, DL 500k, SW CP, GP 1M, HH Gold, Miracle Fruit-su Club
Posts: 3,914
For the record: No more seat-blocking beside elites on UA. No more snack boxes on Southwest, though the box contents are now broken up. (On one of my flights yesterday, the FAs had passengers passing out the "buffet".) And as to great seat selection, it's still a coach seat on a full flight -- or it doesn't matter.
Thanks to all of the above for the corrections and comments. I figured I would miss a few.
And, it is not a "sin" to be 1P over at United, or PLAT over at AA or whatever. Certainly, if you have to go International, you have to go with a legacy carrier. I always say: Southwest, good to Manchester, NH, hard to use to Manchester, England.
If you are lucky enough to be able to get into Business Class on any of the carriers when going overseas (by miles, by somebody else paying or you are just rich!), it really is a very fun experience. Don't go coach if you don't have to, domestic or international. But, there are practical limits to how much you can be up in first class without it costing you a fortune. And, there are US domestic routes where you can't get a first class seat because no airline has first class.
A sad fact is that the overseas carriers make the domestic carrier's business class look just sad. I went to Hong Kong once by going on Cathay Pacific and returning on United. The contrast was huge. Cathay was so much better than United. Cathay's seat reclined to 171 degrees. United's was their typical business class seat. Cathay had video and audio on demand.
Domestically, if you can get up to first class for free, especially on CO or NW (I don't know what the NW-DL merger is going to do to that), go for it. But, its not worth flying hundreds of miles out of the way for it.
This is not correct, LUV's been profitable for about 70 quarters straight with a longer run of consecutively profitable years, though I didn't think it was quite that high. That being said, your point is still valid, WN is obviously a better managed company than any of the legacies.
You also forgot the gate areas, WN's new gate areas are far superior to those of legacy carriers in my opinion.
WOW FCFree thank you--and to everyone else, no money or favors changed hands here.
Beckles actually we have had 35 straight annual profits and 68 consecutive quarterly profits.
Firewind, those passengers handing out snacks were probably SWA Employees. It's not unusual for deadheading or nonreving Employees to help out with peanuts or snacks.
No more snack boxes on Southwest, though the box contents are now broken up.
I like the new service much better. I can take the item(s) that I like instead of getting what's in the box. Seems like there was always one thing in the box that I didn't want. Seems like this will also cut down on waste.
Strange to have an F/A offer the big basket and say, "Take as much as you want!" Obviously, she wasn't aware that she works for an airline!
If I think there's a good chance I can make it for an earlier flight, I just book a ticket on the earlier flight in the first place and cancel one of the tickets once I know which flight I will actually make.
Thats way too much work if you're doing it every week. I don't think I could operate that way. What happens if you forget to cancel?
The flight departs without you because you no-showed, and you use the funds from that flight for another flight with no BS (not Business Select ) penalties or fees.
Being a former 2P and 1P at United Airlines, I still read and post over on that FT Board. However, the more I read and post there, the more I realize how much better Southwest is than United.
This seems to be a repost of the following existing posts you've made:
This seems to be a repost of the following existing posts you've made: [...] I'm sensing a pattern...hmmm
It would be more helpful if you'd discuss the topic at hand rather than demonstrating your FT search skills. It's a signal versus noise thing, as I'm sure you understand.
Programs: Rapid Rewards, Skymiles, HHonors, Amex MR; Browns, Cavs, Indians, and Buckeyes Season Ticket Holder
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Quote:
Originally Posted by curbcrusher
It would be more helpful if you'd discuss the topic at hand rather than demonstrating your FT search skills. It's a signal versus noise thing, as I'm sure you understand.
well someone's gotta congratulate him. i can't even get the damn search to find threads i made yesterday.
It would be more helpful if you'd discuss the topic at hand rather than demonstrating your FT search skills. It's a signal versus noise thing, as I'm sure you understand.
Not FT search skills. More like topic fatigue. Summary of all posts: "No Change fees, hurray!"
Thats way too much work if you're doing it every week. I don't think I could operate that way. What happens if you forget to cancel?
There's no penalty if you don't cancel, but being a LUV shareholder as well as WN frequent flier, I do try and cancel just because I think it's the right thing to do.
Quite frankly, my trips are not so touch-and-go I usually have any need to do this. On my trips out there is usually little to no chance I would want to leave earlier. On trips where I'm not at home, I am often flying on the first or last flight out for various reasons that do not change. Then you run into situations where the flights are full/oversold anyway and you won't clear even if you had a full fare ...
GO CUBS!
) penalties or fees. 
