Preferred/Favorite Airline to fly out of WRWA

[Celebrator]

I'm not anti-Southwest but they just aren't the bargain that many people perceive them to be.

While I agree that their pricing is not always the best, their frequent flyer program is hard to beat--especially if you have their Southwest Visa Card. You can pile up points really fast, there are no blackout dates, and the points required to fly are pegged to the ticket price...so if you can plan early, you can get free flights for less points used. And almost every time we fly, someone in the family goes for free...many times all of us fly for free...we usually fly about 3 times per year. And, they fly nonstop or with convenient connections to all the cities I frequently fly to...DEN, PDX, MHT and MCO. So...that's why I love Southwest. But, no, you can't count on them to always be the lowest, for sure.

[venture]

I have definitely fallen out of love with Southwest. They really pump up "BAGS FLY FREE!", but if you compare them with other airlines, their prices are always higher. If you don't check in a bag, there are usually much better deals.

I always find them pretty competitive unless they are in markets with an airline like Spirit that trashes yields. I took your PNS example below and picked September 30th. Lowest airfare is on United at $208, DL and AA are $210, and WN is $214. So in that example you are paying $6 more one way for two checked bags.

I am really starting to like Delta. I didn't realize how nice it is to pick my own seat, vs the cattle call with Southwest. And while I am not expecting luxury, they do offer business class and economy comfort, which gives you some nice legroom. I detest flying through ATL though.

I always enjoyed Delta when I was able to use them, but they've cut back too much for me. As far as the "Cattle Call" moniker, that doesn't really apply to Southwest anymore. If you monitor boards like FlyerTalk and such, the other airlines are definitely much more chaotic and unorganized as you have all the gate flies rush the gate when boarding begins whereas WN keeps things pretty orderly. The boarding process on WN is also more efficient than the common zone boarding other airlines have right now. UA is trying a new boarding style to see how it helps, so that is something to look at. WN did try assigned seats in a few markets a couple years back but it did not provide positive results.

Seat assignments are nice though, I agree with you on that. However, every airline charges extra for them now for the most part. I have been B20-30 on WN and still managed to get a window seat. That saves spending $6 to 30 on the other airlines.

Different classes is just something I don't see WN switching to, but won't be shocked if it happens. They can look at what AirTran does now and evaluate if it something to add later...especially to increase value for their Business Select customers.

I am going to a wedding in Florida in September and am flying to Pensacola. Southwest is nearly $200 more, plus I have to stop twice (in HOU and MSY). Even if I check in one bag and get an economy comfort seat, Southwest is still more.

I'm guessing you aren't flying from OKC. When I did my fare comparison, I had to pick Sept 30th because connecting service wasn't available before Sept 29th. Right now the schedule on WN from OKC to PNS does require two stops, with a plane change in ATL. That gets better when PNS is taken over by Southwest and isn't an AirTran station anymore. Looking in November they go down to just a plane change in Houston and the fare is down to $209 because you lose a portion of the segment tax.

I'm not anti-Southwest but they just aren't the bargain that many people perceive them to be.

Fares are definitely higher than they use to be, but then it comes down to what people value more. Of course I use to fly from OKC back to Ohio on Delta for $258 round trip...about 10 years ago. That air fare was fully upgradable and since I held status with them, I was in first class every time. Good luck finding that now.

While I agree that their pricing is not always the best, their frequent flyer program is hard to beat--especially if you have their Southwest Visa Card. You can pile up points really fast, there are no blackout dates, and the points required to fly are pegged to the ticket price...so if you can plan early, you can get free flights for less points used. And almost every time we fly, someone in the family goes for free...many times all of us fly for free...we usually fly about 3 times per year. And, they fly nonstop or with convenient connections to all the cities I frequently fly to...DEN, PDX, MHT and MCO. So...that's why I love Southwest. But, no, you can't count on them to always be the lowest, for sure.

I will say the way they setup their new frequent flyer program is pretty darn good. Just as you pointed out, it is all pegged to the air fare and not the basic 25,000-35,000 miles/points = 1 round trip. Looking at things you earn 6 pts for every dollar of the airport, for their lowest nonrefundable fares. To redeem travel on those is 60 points per dollar.

Looking at their fare sale going on right now, Chicago, where I go several times a year, is $162 one way. Taking the taxes out that means it'll cost me about 9,000 points each way to fly...18,000 round trip. That definitely saves quite a bit over what Delta use to charge me. I do like how if I book on them and the price goes down before I travel, I can get the points difference refunded. I've done the same with the tickets I've purchased as well and got the air fare credit for my next trip. I don't think anyone else does that.

It's all about value I guess and what people are going for. I really use to like Frontier, but they don't really have the schedule for me to use anymore. American is good as well.