cyberdad

Latecomer to the thread. Here's the favorite IME....

Late Friday afternoon springtime STL. Storms causing major delays and cancellations all over the midwest. I'm in a long line trying to rebook STL-MDW with a lady kettle immediately in front of me....

Pax: I was on your 4:20pm flight, which you're showing as delayed.

GA: I'm sorry madam, but as you can see, we're experiencing some severe weather this afternoon.

Pax: Well what time would we get in?

GA: Well, right now, the flight is delayed by at least two hours....so if that holds, we can hopefully have you at MDW by perhaps 7 or 7:30.

Pax: Is there anything earlier?

GA: No maam...everything else is either cancelled or delayed as well. There's nothing leaving before your flight. It's all for your safety.

Pax (getting exasperated): But we have THEATRE TICKETS!

stdatwmu

Heeeeeeeeeeere's your sign...

leonidas

Here is one

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...liability.html

uoficowboy

In defense of WN - it is great for tall folks who don't fly enough to get status (like me!). I have never had a WN flight where I didn't get an exit row or bulkhead seat with plenty of leg room. The fact that there is always space for my carry on is doubly awesome.

Doesn't hurt that their FAs are typically young enough to be the children or grand children of the FAs on AA and have the energy/happiness to prove it.

I get the reasons people don't like them - but there are also some reasons to *love* WN.

djk7

+1.

I've had status on several airlines over the years, with my share of upgrades and award flights. With airline cutbacks at my home airport there is no dominant carrier, so trying to focus my flying on one airline means lots of lousy schedules. I've stopped chasing status and now I go with best schedule/price, and that often ends up being WN. Vs. coach on the major airlines, WN stacks up very well.

ung1

Don't want to go OT, but I found that as a non-status pax flying domestically in the US I much preferred the likes of AirTran or Southwest because I could pay a reasonable amount for things the legacy carriers would give away for free to their FF (such as exit row seating and priority boarding on an AirTran redeye for $20)

SKRan

I've done similar, proudly tossed in a BMI gold card to a Shanghai Airlines GA at SHA. She initially asked which airline it is from and I said 'BD'. Also commented 'so yuo've removed all star alliance signs even before leaving the alliance then?'.

5 seconds later she tosses the card back to counter with a smile: Sir, your flight leaves from PVG in next 25 minutes. And *G has a benefit of priority waitlisting in Y. Good luck.

brendog

Uncannily accurate. Fortunately, I did not need to resort to electric shock or Justin Bieber, as that would have been inhumane.

jamesteroh

Unless you are flying business select, how are you always able to get an exit row or bulk head???? Usually those get snatched up from the throughs. If you are lucky enough to be in the starting city of a flight, usualyl the people that pay for business select take those seats and if they don't the a-listers or people with EBCI take them.

Even if you pay for EBCI, you aren't guaranteed a good seat with the throughs having first access to them.

A person with gold status or higher on Delta gets more benefits from flying in Y on a L, U, or T fare than a person paying for business select does on WN.

benchardf

6am flight to ORD on Monday: GA calls Military/GS/1st and the guy walks up to the agent with a roller luggage and 2 other bags. GA tells him he can only carry on a total of 2 bags. Guy gets frustfrated, pulls his stuff aside sounding clearly annoyed and then turns to the GA and says "you know, i'm flying first class!"

Canarsie

I am glad to read that none of the survivors died.

Redhead

Generally that's how it works, survivors, by definition, don't die

But yes, glad no passengers died

uoficowboy

I've only recently started flying WN - so it's possible that my information is inaccurate. But I've had 6 legs (three one ways) - and on all 6 flights I had exit rows or bulkheads. Many of those have been middle seats - but a middle exit row or bulkhead is 10x better than an aisle anything else.

In fact, on the last flight I was on, I flew STL-MDW and got on nearly last and nabbed an exit row middle seat (the row that doesn't have a window seat). When everybody got off the plane, I nabbed a bulkhead window, and then the middle seat next to me was either among the last three seats to be taken.

pinworm

Overheard while boarding a CRJ at COS, standing behind this Hillbilly:

Shows BP to gate agent: "This is not a middle seat, is it?".
GA: "No sir, there are no middles on this plane"
Hillbilly: "But if you are wrong, who can I complain to?"


Also worth noting, this guy muttered "We could be walking to our deaths" to his wife/sister as he boarded.

Gamecock

My Father-in-law give my DW a $100 Southwest gift card. He is an AA PLT, my DW is an A GLD.

I just looked at it wondering what the heck he was thinking.