You expected something more than "zero," didn't get it, and that upset you. That you didn't bother to submit a written complaint about that service failure is immaterial. Clearly, even with you, WN's service expectations are greater than "zero."
You expected something more than "zero," didn't get it, and that upset you. That you didn't bother to submit a written complaint about that service failure is immaterial. Clearly, even with you, WN's service expectations are greater than "zero."
It's very material to the ranking quoted above. I repeat that this kind of treatment is par for the course on most airlines, and WN is no exception.
I repeat that this kind of treatment is par for the course on most airlines, and WN is no exception.
I don't doubt that you've had your fair share of bad flights on WN, which I'm not proud of, but I don't generally believe it's because we prepare you to expect NOTHING.
I work too hard giving out NOTHING and maintaining peoples' low expectations to think that, and I have too many passenger commendations which...just for the record, none of them are for "getting someone a pillow" or "serving them a can of coke". We're HARDLY the bus.
Our experiences are what WE make of them. Most of us have already decided, going into a situation, what we're going to think of it. We like what we want to and we don't like what we don't want to. It is what it is. BUT, having flown many carriers, and worked for a few myself, I can proudly say that the BEST care I see, and have received has been from those at WN. I didn't say the BIGGEST seat, the TASTIEST meal, or the FLUFFIEST pillow....just the best, most genuine care.
I can get nothing...and the smile makes all the difference, and I can get served a 3 course meal by someone surly and rude...and it will be horrible.
We've got the smiles...you bring the meal! Thanks for flying Southwest!
And where is United's stock compared to where it was 10 years ago?
Oh...wait...if you had stock in United 10 years ago, it would be worthless today because they filed for bankruptcy.
What does this have to do with points&miles or even in-flight service? I didn't look up Staples' stock price when choosing where to buy an ink cartridge either.
Gate checked strollers often show up at top of ramp before you are off the plane. UA and others are very slow, sometimes even send stroller to baggage claim.
This is an airport-specific thing not airline. Over 100,000 miles flown on UA with small children and never a stroller misdirected to baggage claim...always brought to the jetway.
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7. WN - No schedule changes once flight is booked (at least I've never seen any. UA - Frequent changes, which sometimes require re-ticketing due to inconvenience or cancellation of segments.
What about Hawaii?
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International award tix are not always difficult to obtain, in fact UA forum reports good availability for Europe right now. I would agree about Australia, but I could find similar peak dates/flights on WN where RR are not available.
I redeemed FOUR free tickets during Thanksgiving, FOUR free tickets during spring break, and just redeemed THREE free tickets to Asia for June. All saver award inventory (25K miles US, 60K Asia).
As Droneklax said these are two different programs with different points of emphasis. No change fees are a huge benefit in WN (in my opinion), but Mileage Plus and *Alliance wins in the end for me.
I like the friendly service on WN. However I don't appreciate when it's children handing out the snacks (I've had this happen a few times).
What does this have to do with points&miles or even in-flight service? I didn't look up Staples' stock price when choosing where to buy an ink cartridge either.
I'm curious why you didn't pose this question to Droneklax who first raised the issue of stock price, and to whom wnflyer's post was a response.
It's very material to the ranking quoted above. I repeat that this kind of treatment is par for the course on most airlines, and WN is no exception.
I'll agree that poor service occurs on all airlines, but, as the statistics consistently show, passengers are less likely to receive poor service (and conversely, more likely to receive good service) on WN. I'm sorry every WN experience of yours just happens to be bad...
Yeah, it's kind of like FF programs. If you just hold the line against devaluation, it's a win.
nsx,
it strikes me that with the increase in fares, and assuming one can get the flights one needs, then one's avoided costs are actually increasing! That is, with ticket prices going up, one's miles/credits are, for once, worth a bit more.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayden
nsx,
it strikes me that with the increase in fares, and assuming one can get the flights one needs, then one's avoided costs are actually increasing! That is, with ticket prices going up, one's miles/credits are, for once, worth a bit more.
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one thing that nobody's pointed out (at least that I saw) is that Droneklax pointed out all the "untrue" things of United. Well those are untrue to him/her...because they're a top level elite. For the rest of us peons, stuck in the back of the plane with change fees and one checked bag, it's all true. And, SWA doesn't require us to be a top level elite to get all the benefits mentioned before.
TalkBoard Member/Moderator: Southwest and JetBlue forums
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sammy0623
one thing that nobody's pointed out (at least that I saw) is that Droneklax pointed out all the "untrue" things of United. Well those are untrue to him/her...because they're a top level elite. For the rest of us peons, stuck in the back of the plane with change fees and one checked bag, it's all true. And, SWA doesn't require us to be a top level elite to get all the benefits mentioned before.
If you are a long-haul flyer and you can make it to the 1K level, UA wins. No question about it. If you fly short-haul, WN wins. In between it's case by case, depending on what you value.
I value reliability and speed above everything else, so WN wins for me. I even choose WN for long-haul flights when I can get a nonstop or when my travel plans are not rock solid.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nsx
If you are a long-haul flyer and you can make it to the 1K level, UA wins. No question about it. If you fly short-haul, WN wins. In between it's case by case, depending on what you value.
An old canard. WN has successfully reduced expectations to zero. When one expects nothing, one cannot complain when one gets it.
Funny, my reaction is exactly the opposite.
On WN I expect on-time performance, great customer service (i.e. no ICC), aisle seat every time, quick delivery of luggage (even more important when waiting with an impatient toddler), free vodka drinks (I seem to have an unlimited supply of coupons, which sometimes aren't even collected) and ease-of-use award travel.
On UA I expect nothing and keep my fingers crossed that nothing will go wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nsx
If you are a long-haul flyer and you can make it to the 1K level, UA wins. No question about it. If you fly short-haul, WN wins. In between it's case by case, depending on what you value.
I value reliability and speed above everything else, so WN wins for me. I even choose WN for long-haul flights when I can get a nonstop or when my travel plans are not rock solid.
Agree 100%, though I never have reason to choose WN for long haul.
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Advantage: Southwest...
No change fees
One-way tickets
ESPECIALLY one-way freebies
No advance requirements on freebies
Advantage: United...*
An assigned seat
E+
International freebies
A shot at First or Business, especially international
Beyond this, it's even: It's a coach seat on a full plane, or it doesn't matter.
Interestingly, as I fly UA transcon out of BOS very frequently, where there's a lot of competition for upgrades, I am looking at E+ seats a lot (particularly an exit row, as on Southwest). In my observation, it doesn't look like UA is selling the E+ any more than Southwest is selling BS -- e.g., "The Gap" for Southwest equals a lot of empty E+ seats for UA. Unfortunately for UA, per se, they don't get to fill those seats like Southwest does (backfilling). I still wonder if these programs will last in their current forms, and I'm not just stigmatizing Southwest.
By the way, I would move the bar that nsx sets to include 1P on UA, and maybe 2P (25K), except for the no-change-fee.
EDIT:
*Plus, not mentioned before, I don't think: On reaching 1P, three transcon, or East Coast-DEN, or West Coast-ORD roundtrips yield ~25K -- a freebie.
On WN I expect on-time performance, great customer service (i.e. no ICC), aisle seat every time, quick delivery of luggage (even more important when waiting with an impatient toddler), free vodka drinks (I seem to have an unlimited supply of coupons, which sometimes aren't even collected) and ease-of-use award travel.
When I used to fly PanAm from JFK to AUS, the door would close, and everyone would continue to do whatever. On SWA, if the door closed and it was time to leave, and the airplane didn't move, everyone started to look around to see what the problem was.
