Syracuse

When I try to book a STL-PHL flight, it shows there is a 1 stop flight STL-PHL with a single flight number, but how can I find where it stops?

Southwest website is really

SWAInflt

Flt #1919...the only 1 stop STL-PHL stops in MDW.

Syracuse

But how can I find the stop city on their website?

gregorygrady

Go to "Flight Status" and input the Flight # and the departure city and it will tell you all the stops along the way (and then some).

Syracuse

Southwest definitely should put this information in booking section.

SWAInflt

Why? I'm not being facetious or argumentative, If no connection is involved and all that is involved is the typical 25-30 stopover, I honestly don't understand what difference it makes where the plane stops.

My guess is that the information does not appear on the schedule screen so as to differentiate between a direct flight with a stop and a connecting flight requiring a change of plane.

Common sense would suggest that a single flight number with a stopover city noted would indicate a direct flight and two flight numbers with the same stopover city would indicate a connection. Sadly, in many cases that common sense is in short supply as evidenced by the number of connecting Customers that override thru flights and thru Customers that deplane one city too soon.

More focused attention on Customer thru counts by Ground Ops personnel has cut down on occurences but, it still happens. For every savvy flier who would appreciate the extra information there would be at least two not-so-savvy fliers who would be totally confused by it.

Syracuse

Most direct filghts do need change plane or gate or both (at least for legacy airlines).

Also, to normal passanges, a stop over virtually IS a connection, or vice versa.

Dan Burgess

As you fly on Southwest, you will discover that this is not the case with this unique airline. It doesn't matter where the plane stops -- one-stop without a change is as close as you can get to a nonstop, and it's likely that very few passengers care much about where the plane actually puts down. Southwest doesn't bother passing along information that few people request.

SWAInflt

The problem is that the term "direct" is often used interchangeably with "non-stop". This is incorrect.

A direct flight is point "A" to point "B" with a stopover that does not require a change of planes. Once a passenger has to change planes by definition, the service ceases to be direct. I have not gone directly to work if I leave home, go to Starbucks get out of my car go in, sit down, have a cup of coffee and then climb into the carpool van to complete my trip.

A non-stop flight is pretty self-explanatory. You go from point "A" to point "B" with no intermediate stopovers or connections.

A connecting service requires at least two flights on seperate aircraft and requires the passenger to deplane at a layover city. The service is comprised of an originating flight, and a connecting flight.

Where is starts go get fuzzy is when you have a non-stop connecting service versus a direct connecting service. Some SWA connecting service simply involves two non-stop flights. However, other SWA connecting service is comprised of one non-stop flight followed by a connection to a direct flight.

Clear as mud right?

lvfs

I don't have the flights of many others at this forum, but every "1 stop" flight I've taken on WN required no change of aircraft or plane. I think this is part of their more point-to-point system, as opposed to a legacy's hub-and-spoke. I suspect that the only times a plane or gate change would be required would be for atypical circumstances.

SWAInflt

SWA is really a hybrid of point to point and hub and spoke....we just happen to call our hubs "focus cities" You could have a plane hop it's way across the country point to point and then deposit Customers in a SWA transfer station such as BWI, PHX, or MDW. The advantage is that even smaller stations can offer a variety of service without being beholden to a specific hub. For instance, a small station like Indianapolis might have a single non-stop flight to TPA or MCO but, they also offer connecting service by way of a focus city such as Chicago or Baltimore. Customers thereby have access the convenience of one non-stop per day to popular destinations but, they also have access to the market via connecting service if the non-stop fills up or the flight times do not suit. Another advantage of the hybrid system is that if weather takes a SWA focus city offline the entire system does not collapse.

Mr. July

Southwest has me spoiled there. The whole 'your flight number continues on another plane halfway across the terminal' thing they routinely pull on many legacy carriers is b.s.

With very few exceptions, the Southwest stop will be a 25-30 minute pit stop - enough time to unload, reload, get gas and directions, and go. (sometimes shorter - kudos to the RDU folks who turned around a late inbound from PHL that I was taking to BWI this past Tuesday in 15 minutes).

It's useful to know where the direct flights stop (so you know how far out of the way you're traveling - e.g. PDX-PHX-BWI - when choosing between flights, determine how long/short the individual flight segments will be (BWI-ORF-LAS vs. BWI-MCI-OAK), or factor for potential weather delays if you have a choice of cities (say PHX vs MDW)), but it's probably more confusing than helpful to the general public to give this level of detail. The method described above (you can also thumb thru the printed flight schedule, but that's a bit more cumbersome) works sufficiently well. The only change I could see is a notation on the confirmation screen/printout page telling you where your direct flight stops - especially since that's the city you're most likely to see listed or hear called when you arrive at the airport and/or gate for your flight.

cabinpressure

Agreed it would probably be helpful somewhere after selecting a flight (and definitely on the confirmation printout/email) to provide more detailed info, such as:

Flight xxx:
Depart Detroit 5p, Arrive Chicago 5p (1 hour flight)
(no change of planes; 25 minute ground time)
Depart Chicago 5:25p, Arrive Kansas City 7p (1:35 flight)
(change planes in MCI; 1 hour layover)
Flight yyy:
Depart MCI 8p, Arrive LAX 9p (3 hour flight)

A couple years ago I was on a MSY-BHM-MDW flight and when the announcement came that we were landing in BHM, several people around me started complaining, "They didn't say we were stopping in Birmingham; we thought we were only stopping in Chicago" (likely because their printout didn't mention BHM and only listed MDW). As it turned out, we were on the ground in BHM about 18 minutes, touchdown to takeoff.

vaikinas2

I don't know what the OP's reason for asking was, but here's some that come to mind:

1. Seeing where the plane stops in order to buy separate tickets and thereby get twice as many RR credits.

2. See if any segment is long enough for a snack pack.

3. Have alternate plans in case there might be weather delays in the 1-stop city on the day of the flight.

timmymsmith

Maybe the customer doesn't want to stop in MDW in Jan, or thinks that a stopover in some city is inconvenient from a routing perspective.