Sid369

Hi all,

I am trying to plan a trip with my wife and baby. Right now Philly is the closet airport where I am getting a non-stop to San Diego on US Airways 429 · Airbus A321.

Now I have never flown Southwest but for a little more I can fly Southwest but it will have to be from BWI for a non-stop flight which is 1.5 hrs away compared to Philly which is 45 min away.

I want to know if its worth to fly South west or this US Airways 429 · Airbus A321
is fine too.

This will be our first flight and over 5 hours so want to make sure we choose the right flight.

jafrelin

Depends what you care about. USdbaAA has assigned seats but bag fees SW has get in line boarding that some like and open seating which some people like (but I hate) but there are no checked baggage fees. The FA do a standup safety schtick. Choose your poison.

Menko

The advantage with US Air is being able to pick your seat assignment.
The disadvantages are baggage fees.
I just flew SWA fm STL>LAS>RNO and back, and I had absolutely no problems, even though I did NOT buy the pre check-in to get category "A" boarding. Finally being able to check in two suitcases for free is truly nice!
Menko

Eastbay1K

Southwest:

Do families get to preboard?

An adult traveling with a child four years old or younger may board during Family Boarding, which occurs after the “A” group has boarded and before the “B” group begins boarding. If the child and the adult are both holding an “A” boarding pass, they should both board with the “A” boarding group.

You will probably get 3 seats together on Southwest at the end of A, but it is no guarantee.

Southwest is a good option if (1) you will be subject to baggage fees otherwise, and (2) it is more convenient. I certainly wouldn't go out of my way or pay a premium to fly them.

mwk190

The only reason to pick Southwest is if you have to check a lot of bags. I would even pay for one or two bags to avoid the hassle of the extra drive, especially if you have to get through Baltimore anywhere near rush hour.

MaxBuck

Couldn't disagree more. I love flying SWA. Congenial employees, comfortable flights, reasonable fares, no hassles in bag check. Of course, since one of my bags is always a golf bag that flies free, that may affect my judgment here ...

fleedc

I would fly from the airport that's closest to you - in this case, PHL. I have no problems with Southwest and fly them on occasion from BWI, but from the sound of your post, you'd be paying a "little more", plus going out of your way an additional 45 minutes in order to fly with them. It's not worth it, particularly with a baby. Even if you have to pay luggage fees on US Air, you're saving money on gas by not driving to BWI, plus the additional cost of the flight (whatever it is) and the time wasted by driving further.

beachmouse

When there are very small human beings involved, keep it as simple as possible, so I'd also say to go out of Philly. You're also saving more money if a friend or family member can do airport drop off and pick up at the airport instead of getting hit with long term parking fees.

In terms of 737 vs. 32X planes, they're pretty similar at heart- the mid-sized jets that are the foundations and workhorses of a lot of modern airline medium haul routes because they're adequately comfortable, safe, and reliable through very heavy use.

mwk190

My comment is relevant to their specific situation, not a commentary on which airline is better. Given the options described by the OP, there is nothing about Southwest vs US that makes that drive worth it.

MaxBuck

Not unless he has to check any bags, I guess.

WillCAD

Ditto on all counts.

I'm an infrequent flier, only 2-4 segments per year, so I haven't flown an airline other than SWA in 13 years. I live close enough to BWI to make it convenient, and SWA is the cheapest and most flexible option to my few destinations. I also like SWA's boarding process.

Despite that, however, I think fleedc's points are all spot-on and more than enough reason to book US Air out of PHL.

pinniped

There's only one question that matters: Do you hold elite status with AA?

If yes, then it is a decision worth considering:
- Fly US from Philly because it's closer, you will likely receive confirmed seat assignments, you may receive semi-humane customer service (but don't count on it as PHL is notoriously bad), and you can check bags if needed.
- Fly WN from Baltimore because you'd get a better inflight experience in Y, you'd get better customer service, two checked bags per person, you'll definitely be seated together, and if the kid gets sick (as little ones are prone to do...) the night before the flight, you can just punt the whole trip until later.

Obviously a high status, one likely to put you in F, would change things in US's favor somewhat.

If no AA status, then it is also a no brainer: fly WN from BWI.

Flying US from Philly with no status isn't something I'd consider doing if any other viable option exists. In the "old" US, I'd say do it and buy Silver status for $230, just to provide the bag check, semi-humane customer service, and the potential (but not guarantee) to get decent IROPS support if needed. But that option is gone. I don't know of a gimmie way to AA Gold. (Credit cards can provide the feeling of quasi-status, but not really.)

burbuja0512

I'll pay for bags any day over having to deal with uncertainty over seating issues. Yes, you'll probably get to sit together where you want, but there is no guarantee.

I personally feel like SWA's boarding is a free-for-all, even though I know many people who love it. Maybe I'm just not used to standing at a numbered spot and then grabbing whatever seat I can on the plane?

They must be doing something right since they're so popular, but I'm too picky about seats to deal with their controlled chaos.

pinniped

This all depends on whether the passenger has elite status.

If no one in the party has elite status, the US gate agent could easily hand you two middle seats and tell you to find a switch on the plane, which is going to be tough to do. One of you could be holding a baby in a middle seat with the other parent a few rows away in another middle seat.

WN, boarding between the A's and B's, is almost certain to yield two seats together towards the back of the plane. I would say "certain", as in 100%, as I've never ever had this fail in many years of flying WN, either with kids or with a low B boarding pass. But someone might have a crazy story of 50 families boarding an ex-MCO flight that already had 50 thrus on it, but I wouldn't think this is likely on your transcon out of Baltimore.

The other risk of flying without status is IDB, but that's a rarer case and at least then you'd be getting paid for the inconvenience. With WN, the IDB risk falls on those who check in last. So as long as you aren't switching flights around inside 24 hours from departure, you should have boarding cards with confirmed numbers on them and be boarding - worst case - after the A's.

gobluetwo

I'd be biased toward PHL and US. Do the math. Does paying a premium on SW and doing the extra 80+ miles round trip save you time/money over paying less airfare but checked baggage? Not including carseat/stroller, of course. If you're able to get by with checking just 1 bag, that's $50 round trip. If you check 2 bags in each direction, have 1 checked bag per person making it $50 each way ($25 for the first bag) or $100 round trip.

From a strictly $ perspective, driving to BWI for SW will probably cost you in the neighborhood of $10 in gas and $49 in mileage (AAA estimates an average of about 61 cents per mile for a mid-size sedan). Parking in the economy lots costs $3/day more at PHL, so assuming 6 days, that's a potential $18 in savings at BWI. In addition, you're doubling your driving time. Unless the premium for SW is just no more than $25-30 per person, I don't see how the math works in favor of SW.