Actually, Southwest has three BWI-SAN one-stops daily (through ABQ,HOU, and BNA). And their short turnarounds mean that you'd get there sooner than on a UA one-stop through DEN. But I understand your point, although I think your idea of being treated like a "kid getting on a school bus" is overstating things just a bit.

Point is (getting sort of back on-topic), those very measures that you (and I) despise about flying Southwest are part of their business model. We may not buy into it, and that's fine. But plenty of others do--and it's that very model, and, of course, the management and employees that implement it, that has put them in the (relatively) good financial position they're in now, compared to the other airlines.

We can b**ch and moan all we want about WN. But we can't argue with the results.

(disclaimer: I own WN stock, but don't plan on selling it for at least 29 1/2 years)