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.
I used to think it was mostly about the price, and, no doubt, Southwest blows United away. I priced one flight June 15-20, LAS-DEN-LAS on Southwest at $198. For comparable flight times, United was $272. But, honestly, that is only the beginning of how Southwest is better. I thought it would be fun to list all the ways that Southwest is better. And, if there is a way that some legacy has some minor advantage, its ok to list that too. For example:
Change fees. None at Southwest. Just raised to $150 at United. Lack of change fees means you can book early and cancel if you need to -- a hidden cost savings at Southwest. United, you play the "wait-and-see" game until you are pretty sure you really need to go from A-to-B. By then, you are paying closer to the middle or upper end of the equivilent of the "wanna-get-away" fare.
Ticketless Travel Funds: Southwest invented it. United rarely needs it, the change fees cause almost no remaining value. You can't look it up on the Internet, but keep your ticket number (the long one) and you can access it on the phone with an agent.
Phone booking: Southwest: Free. United $15. This helped me out a lot one time when I couldn't get to a computer and I wanted to make a change.
Baggage: Southwest, two bags free, third bag $25. United, first bag free, second bag $25, third bag $100 (different rates apply if you have status, second bag is free, not sure on the third bag).
Call Centers: Southwest -- based in the USA. United -- based in India. Constant complaints on the United FT Board about the India call center that the customer service over there can't understand all of the complex rules. United's customers understand the rules better than the call center employees. If United's rules weren't so complex, maybe the call center employees could understand them?
Web site. Southwest's works great. Posters on United's FT Board call United's web site ".bomb" instead of ".com". I've had all kinds of weird things happen when I'm on there. On United's FT Board, they have a "sticky" listing all the problems.
One-way bookings. Southwest: No extra charge. No change fee means no penalty for using one-ways. Makes life simple. Helps to make the web site easier to use too. United: Book a one way and change your mind? If the fare was less than $150, just throw the ticket (and your money) away. Book a round trip and double your chances that you have to change one flight or the other.
In-flight snacks. On a 629-mile flight from DEN to LAS, Southwest gives both a bag of peanuts and a larger bag of crackers, such as Cheez-its. United gives one bag of pretzels or a pretzel mix.
In-flight snacks, part 2. On a longer flight, DEN-MCO, Southwest in April 2007 gave a snack box. I haven't made that trip since then. United: DEN-PHL in May 2007 was pretzels only.
Drinks. Southwest: On a 629-mile flight, one drink plus a pass-through by the flight attendents asking for refills. Alteratively, ask for a full can of soda and you get it without the dirty look from the flight attendents. United: Ask for a full can of soda and the FA gives you the feeling that you alone are causing United to lose money.
Drinks, part 2. Southwest: More alcoholic drink coupons than I can use. United: Coupons? What are those?
In-flight entertainment: Southwest: Bring your own iPod or DVD player. Coming soon, in-flight wireless Internet. United: In-flight video, Jay Leno, sometimes a decent comedy re-run. Several channels of audio, probably only one or two that appeal to you. The Channel 9 (Air Traffic Control Audio) thing is fun, I do miss that. If Southwest could figure out how to link that in to in-flight wireless, that would be really cool! I always like to hear "United flight xxx, you are number 2 behind a Southwest 737!" (But then, I always know that United is behind Southwest!
)
Live in-flight entertainment: Southwest: You might get a flight attendent that sings, tells jokes, makes the safety announcement more interesting. My favorite: At the beginning of the announcement a male flight attendant said, "My ex-wife and her lawyer are standing in the aisles to give you this important safety briefing..." United: Humor? We are a serious airline. Humor is not allowed in our union contract.
Seating: Southwest: One seat (12F) with the most legroom of any coach seat on any US (maybe worldwide) carrier. The legroom may even exceed International Business class on legacy carriers (if you have never experienced this, please do sometime!) One more seat (11E) with amazing shoulder room as there is no 11F. Three more seats (11A-B-C) with more legroom than United's Economy Plus. Open seating gives everyone a chance at the comfortable open middle seat on less than full flights (whereas, open middles are reserved for the 100,000 mile flyers on United, then to the 50k flyers and then to the 25k flyers). United: Economy plus on 40% of the cabin on TED flights. Upgrades to first class on non-TED flights will cost you serious money. Occasional free upgrades if you are Premier or better.
Frequent Flyer Program: Southwest: Fly four round trips and rent from Hertz each time with Quad credit, get a free domestic ticket. My experience, they are pretty easy to use. When the Quad credit runs out, triple credit will be good with five round trips. For me, four round trips is about 5,000 BIS (butt-in-seat) miles (an important measurement over at United). United: Depending on your status and use of other mileage sources, I don't see how to get it below 10,000 BIS miles, generally more like 15,000, to earn 25,000 miles for a free domestic ticket. Granted, if you save more miles, you might get to go to far away lands, such as Europe or Australia. Check United's web site and try to find such a trip for at their SAVER rates (90k miles to Europe in Business, 110K to Australia). If you find one to Australia, let me know, I haven't found it. Otherwise, its 180k to Europe and 220k to Australia.
Non-stop service: Southwest: Many point-to-point non-stops. United: I hope one end or the other of your A-to-B is one of their hubs. Otherwise, you are going to be visiting one of their hubs. Add 2 hours to your travel time and hope for no weather delays at the hub that day.
Frequent Flyer Status: Southwest: A-list for 32 flights in a 12 month period. Result: Great seat selection. Companion pass for 100 flight credits. United: 25k miles Premier, 50k miles Premier Exec, 100k miles Premier Exec 1K. Varying levels of improved seating, Economy Plus, free or reduced cost upgrades to first, if the flight isn't a TED flight. Bonus miles. If Southwest doesn't go from your A-to-B but United does, study this frequent flyer system and work it to your advantage.
Frequent Flyer Non-Status: Southwest: Still a great A boarding pass if you are organized and do check-in 24 hours before the flight. United: Economy Plus will cost you. Otherwise, its the back of the plane for you! I had the situation where United promised me a seat but wouldn't tell me which one until I got to the airport. I was pretty concerned it was going to be a middle seat. Turned out it wasn't. But, I'd rather have the mystery of which window seat I'm going to get with my A boarding pass than the mystery of "I'm I going to be in the middle seat for over 3 hours?"
Long-term viability: Southwest: Profitable every quarter for the last 34 years. United: Lost $500 million last quarter.
What did I miss, both where Southwest is better than the legacy carriers and where the legacy carriers still have an edge?