worldwidedreamer

I'm usually a UA Plat/Gold and also have a WN CP. Both airlines have their place. I've found that increasingly WN is less competitive for longer-distance domestic flights.

For example I want to visit Minneapolis the weekend of June 16th. Bought a $155 WN flight MSP-OAK, but have not the foggiest how I'll get to MSP. Want to fly from OAK/SFO on 6.15 to an airport within a six hour drive. The cheapest WN fares are still over $200. As someone who flies to Asia about once per quarter for <$800, it is hard to stomach paying $400 for a MSP RT. Similar flights are $50 to $100 less on other airlines, but I need to bring the Mrs.

For me it seems like WN usually is noncompetitive unless using the CP.

Peoriaman1

WN is expensive to MSP for some reason, as I found. But as seldom as I fly there, I don't care since I am flying on points every time (always a 50/50 chance I will cancel since those trips are very weather dependent!).

joshua362

That must be a hoot to enforce! I wonder if the bins are padlocked and the combination is given out only when you pay the fee...

rsteinmetz70112

Not sure if you were serious or not. They don't charge to use the bins. They do charge to bring a carry on bag on the plane.

LegalTender

But not a backpack you can wedge under the seat. Some agents quibble, most don't.

msglsmo

I have a love/hate relationship with WN. Based in the Kansas City area, they are the dominate carrier at MCI, so flights and frequencies to California and elsewhere are plentiful, so I love that part. The fares are competitive, so that is a bonus, too. I absolutely HATE the open seating. I want to pick my seat in advance. I despise open seating.

I travel to the Bay Area at least once a month. My preference is OAK, mainly because I can avoid the delays and cancellations that come with flying to/from SFO. I can fly non-stop on UA or AS to SFO and non-stop to OAK on WN. DL, UA, AA, AS and WN all offer connecting flights to SFO, while only UA doesn't serve OAK with connecting flights.

So for me, it comes down to frequency, non-stop availability and IRROPS potential. In those categories WN wins my travel.

joshua362

I was! Have no idea about them having never flown. I guess it applies to all carry ons and maybe backpacks... Crazy.

rsteinmetz70112

Frontier allows a "Personal Item" free. It must fit under the seat but doesn't have to be put there. It can be a bag or a backpack as long as it fits in the sizer, but in practice they don't check unless it looks suspicious. Many people find the "Personal Item" large enough for a short trip. They charge for larger "Carry-On Bags" like a roller bag. The "Carry-On" is free if you're Elite (20 revenue flights or 20,000 miles). Checked bags are cheaper than "Carry-Ons". As a result the bins are usually empty or nearly so.

nsx

I'm curious. Ordinarily people who fly Southwest a lot adapt to the open seating and no longer detest it. If you earn A-list status, you pretty much have your pick of seat types. If you have no status, checking in at T-24 will get you a good enough boarding number. Anyone willing to check in at T-24, which is admittedly a bother, should be able to outperform assigned seating in probability of obtaining the desired seat type. Premium seats, including exit rows, are pretty hard to score these days on assigned seating carriers. They charge for premium seat assignments, and often for any non-middle advance assignment. Assignment starting at T-24 is still free in my experience but your selection then may be virtually nonexistent.

In short, I believe that open seating plus T-24 check-in should on average far outperform no-charge assigned seating. The differential continues to grow as other carriers move to charging for assigning any seat that someone reasonable would want. Paid assigned seats will be better on average that open seating except for Business Select and A-listers.

The one unambiguously horrible aspect of open seating is connecting when your first arrival is delayed. Then you get a middle seat even if you paid for Business Select.

Please post your reasoning for preferring assigned seating in today's high-fee environment. I'm sure I will learn something. What works for me is clearly not working for you.

LegalTender

Not with any status. You pick premium/preferred seats at time of purchase. Given that the OP earlier revealed, "I only flew once with WN last year, travelling mostly on Delta," it's doubtful seat selection involves the costs or uncertainties you argued.

krazykanuck

I've been finding the same, especially on any route that requires a connection. Even out of HOU which is a relatively big WN airport, the fares just don't jive with fares I'm seeing from the other legacy carriers. I was pricing a trip to the Bay Area for the end of the month a couple days ago and the cheapest WN fare was a bit more than double the AA fare, and the AA fare wasn't even basic economy and was out of HOU, not even IAH. Go figure that one.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Southwest's marketing has done a great job at making people believe they're a low cost carrier when in reality, they're the same price if not more than the other non-LCC carriers much of the time. Obviously the math is dependent on how often you check bags that you otherwise would have to pay for, but on balance for me I'd say they've definitely become more expensive that UA/DL for me. Also since I travel alone the CP is irrelevant for me, but YMMV.

jeffandnicole

Southwest's marketing hasn't marketed them as a low-cost carrier for years. If you're still thinking they are, then that's because you're continuing to think it, not because they're marketing it. Plus, there's various awards that Southwest has received such as this one in 2015: https://www.southwestaircommunity.co...-in/ba-p/42999 . But again, that's not Southwest creating and giving themselves an award; that's some other who-knows-what group giving Southwest the award.

ursine1

Umm... what are you talking about?

jeffandnicole

I'm failing to see where they marketed themselves as a LOW COST CARRIER in that advertisement.I see "Low Prices/Fares/Rates" in many advertisements. In some cases, they will be the lowest. In some cases, they won't.

msglsmo

To each their own, for sure.

My preference is a for a front 1/3 of the plane window seat. I'm guaranteed to get that on a mainline carrier, because I'll pick my seat at the time of booking. On SWA, that window seat may be back towards the wing or even further, depending on my connection and when I get to the gate.

My experience without Early Bird Checkin has been extremely poor. Even with EBC, it isn't uncommon to get a B boarding pass. Make no mistake, Early Bird Check in is essentially a seat fee. The difference is you're not really guaranteed a seat where you want it.