Originally Posted by
palmetto86
I can't believe how many 3+ connection flights there still are.
We appear to have a terminology issue; "stops" are not the same as "connections." I dare you to find a single published flight with even two connections. SWA does not allow itineraries with more than a single connection, unless there is no published service between the origin and destination. Again, "stops" are not the same as "connections."
Originally Posted by
palmetto86
I would have thought Southwest would have better optimized schedules by this point.
What are you trying to say? IMO, SWA is not and never has been a customer-centric business. "Better optimized schedules" to SWA means "more revenue" or "more gross margin." It has nothing to do with "maximizing reasonable itinerary options for the average sane travel customer."
Originally Posted by
palmetto86
There weren't options like this before the system cutover, so I don't understand why these are still so prevalent.
Assuming you are referring to the most recent reservation/ticketing system change...AFAIK that has nothing to do with schedule creation. Do some reading about the amazing
SWA Garage-O-Mizer for some info about how schedule planning happens. AFAIK, Garage-O-Mizer
still
Originally Posted by
ftnoob
does not yet have a "schedule reasonableness" constraint.
It's Garage-O-Mizer, not Cust-O-Merizer.
Originally Posted by
palmetto86
Looking at Dec 15 flights and 4/7 options that day have FOUR flights. Ridiculous.
The DCA-TUS schedule for 12/15 is
even worse than your OP suggests (apart from confusing "stops" and "connections"), as two of the other 3/7 options are three-leggers, and the only two-legger leaves at 6:00 AM. That said, however...
Originally Posted by
palmetto86
There is no reason whatsoever I need to take four flights to get from DCA to TUS.
It's not my field of expertise, but indeed there may be a reason, and that is the flight restrictions that apply to DCA. Hub-and-spoke airlines can offer more options without resorting to three- and four- legged flights, but SWA isn't a true hub-and-spoke airline.
By all means, come back with a better example to complain about, because there are, no doubt, plenty of opportunities to do so.