Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too many people taking advantage of their system with “family” boarding and “disabilities.” I’m sorry for the people who actually needed pre boarding.

It's always interesting to see how many people need wheelchairs at departure yet somehow they are able to walk off the plane and not need a wheelchair upon landing.

Why does anyone “need” preboarding? The flight leaves at the same time whether they board first or last. If you want to get on early, pay for it.

Some people truly do need more time. My parents are old and move at a glacial pace. They use wheelchairs both on and off the plane. You don’t want general boarding held up while it takes them 10 minutes to shuffle to their seats. Also disabled people who are in wheelchairs for life. It takes time for them to board.

While I agree the vast majority don’t need pre boarding there are cases where it’s needed. The rampant abuse of it is what caused this change.

They can just as easily board last once everyone else is seated. They don’t “need” to be first. Or they can just pay for it.

Which would hold up departure for the time it takes to get them on. I have no dog in this fight. I don’t fly Southwest ever but some people truly do need this. Have you ever seen a video of how wheelchair users have to get on the plane? Google it. You want the plane waiting for them to take off? Better to do it first then board and immediately leave.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Much more than not having assigned seats, what I hate about Southwest is that they don't have any outlets to charge electronics. So far I have stuck with them because I have a companion pass and love how easy it is to use their frequent flier miles.

I was on a Southwest flight last month that had USB and USC outlets at every seat

Yeah this is just an issue of how new the plane you are on is and can happen with any airline (especially on short regional flights that tend to use older planes).

A think that drives me crazy about Southwest criticism is how much of it comes from people who haven't flown the airline in 20 years or flew it once or even have never flown it. I feel like some of the changes being pushed by "investors" are being driven by misperceptions about the airline that are really more of a marketing problem than actual issues with how it's run.

I know so many people who were skeptical of Southwest initially (including me and my husband) but became loyal converts once we actually gave it a shot. It will be so dumb if investors in search of quick returns wind up ruining this airline that is a rare standout in domestic travel.

I will reserve judgment until I see what reserved seating looks like. What I like about Southwest is that (1) I don't feel nickel and dimed for pretty basic customer service and (2) they are efficient and on time. I do not care about having luxury amenities or special status. I don't care about being able to "pre-board" or having great entertainment options on the plane or having the most desirable seat or a special meal. I would like to arrive at my destination on time with my bags without a ton of stress and Southwest delivers that.

If they start charging me a premium to sit with my family (I'm okay paying but with Southwest you can just pay for early check-in to accomplish this and it's more economical) or charging for checked bags or the boarding process becomes the same drawn out process it is on other airlines or they start charging for flight changes -- I am going to start shopping around. If they are just like United or Delta then there's no reason for me to be loyal to Southwest. We do use the Southwest credit card and I like the points program but if the overall cost of flying them goes up it's far less useful to me. I used to have status on United because of work travel and it was hard to switch to Southwest because I liked being part of the Star Alliance. We travel abroad every 12-24 months so there would be advantages to switching to a Star Alliance card.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too many people taking advantage of their system with “family” boarding and “disabilities.” I’m sorry for the people who actually needed pre boarding.

It's always interesting to see how many people need wheelchairs at departure yet somehow they are able to walk off the plane and not need a wheelchair upon landing.

Why does anyone “need” preboarding? The flight leaves at the same time whether they board first or last. If you want to get on early, pay for it.

Some people truly do need more time. My parents are old and move at a glacial pace. They use wheelchairs both on and off the plane. You don’t want general boarding held up while it takes them 10 minutes to shuffle to their seats. Also disabled people who are in wheelchairs for life. It takes time for them to board.

While I agree the vast majority don’t need pre boarding there are cases where it’s needed. The rampant abuse of it is what caused this change.

They can just as easily board last once everyone else is seated. They don’t “need” to be first. Or they can just pay for it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too many people taking advantage of their system with “family” boarding and “disabilities.” I’m sorry for the people who actually needed pre boarding.

It's always interesting to see how many people need wheelchairs at departure yet somehow they are able to walk off the plane and not need a wheelchair upon landing.

Why does anyone “need” preboarding? The flight leaves at the same time whether they board first or last. If you want to get on early, pay for it.

Some people truly do need more time. My parents are old and move at a glacial pace. They use wheelchairs both on and off the plane. You don’t want general boarding held up while it takes them 10 minutes to shuffle to their seats. Also disabled people who are in wheelchairs for life. It takes time for them to board.

While I agree the vast majority don’t need pre boarding there are cases where it’s needed. The rampant abuse of it is what caused this change.

Anonymous wrote:Much more than not having assigned seats, what I hate about Southwest is that they don't have any outlets to charge electronics. So far I have stuck with them because I have a companion pass and love how easy it is to use their frequent flier miles.

I was on a Southwest flight last month that had USB and USC outlets at every seat

Much more than not having assigned seats, what I hate about Southwest is that they don't have any outlets to charge electronics. So far I have stuck with them because I have a companion pass and love how easy it is to use their frequent flier miles.

Anonymous wrote:Southwest sucks. Airline is stuck in the 70s. I've only flown on them once and everyone on the plane was unattractive.

I wasn’t around in the 70s, so I wouldn’t know.

Anonymous wrote:Southwest sucks. Airline is stuck in the 70s. I've only flown on them once and everyone on the plane was unattractive.

Sometimes being outdated pays off. My flights were on time with no delays last weekend while people flying Delta, American and United suffered.

Anonymous wrote:Southwest sucks. Airline is stuck in the 70s. I've only flown on them once and everyone on the plane was unattractive.

This is hilarious

They suck a little less now. I might actually consider flying SWA.

Southwest sucks. Airline is stuck in the 70s. I've only flown on them once and everyone on the plane was unattractive.

As a customer, I miss Herb Kelleher’s leadership.

I will continue to fly Southwest. They are the only nonstop carrier that goes where I want to go. The other major carriers in my area make stops. I’ve been paying for Business Select anyway and 1/3 of the plane was full by the “preboarders” taking advantage without paying. More people want to preselect seats than don’t, apparently.

As long as they keep free bags I’ll choose them. Also we have the credit card and have the companion pass, so they are always cheapest.