Southwest Airlines

I had a very positive experience my first time flying with Southwest Airlines, so my rating is based on this particular time.
My spouse and I flew from MSP (Terminal 2) to BWI over the Memorial Day weekend. Though I can walk short distances, I needed wheelchair assistance to and from the gate, so I made sure to add this when I was booking our flight online. Apparently, Southwest gave me TSA Pre-​Check status of which I was unaware, which made getting through the security process extremely easy! Our flight was on time, and there were no delays. Flight crew was great. I was not used to the open seating policy, which threw us for a loop, but husband and I were able to find two seats next to each other.
On our flight back from BWI to MSP, I went to the counter to see if I could upgrade my flight boarding status, and was informed because of my need for wheelchair assist, I was eligible for pre-​board status, which, again, made things much easier, and husband and I got to sit in front (I didn’t realize the pre-​board status when needing assistance was also a policy, but now I know for future reference). Our flight did not leave on time, as the plane coming into BWI was late due to weather; however, we ended up landing in MSP (Terminal 2) at our regularly scheduled time, so there was no delay.
The flight crew were very attentive and polite. The pilots were communicative and kept us informed of where we were, altitude, etc. The seats were fairly comfortable. Two bags free, one free drink, and light snacks – in my opinion, they’re offering more than what most of these other low-​cost/​no-​frills airlines offer. The only thing I would change is providing passengers with more food choices to order in-​flight. Otherwise, I am completely satisfied with Southwest and will definitely fly with this airline again!

It’s not that Southwest is any worse than any other airline — they just do things differently and it seems as those things they use to do differently are not so different! I mean the boarding and seat selection is original, but I’m not fond of it! They might start of cheaper, but by the time you pay for early bird check in and then a potential upgrade to business select — all to ensure a seat either in the aisle or by the window toward the front of the plan and all of a sudden the cheap air flight seems to fade — fade with the comical routine that they were once noted for, but seems like the flight attendants are not so funny anymore — almost a bit too much like American Airlines!
Maybe I just travel a bit too much or maybe I should give the other airlines a shake at it, because Southwest let me down!

southwest hands down 1000x over again. they are always so considerate if you arrive early, they can try to get you on a earlier flight, if you miss your flight by accident, they work with you to get the next flight out, 1 free carry on, 2 free check in, only 25.00 for extra bag, and you always get a snack whether your flight is 1 hr or 5 hours. five stars all the way. and once i told the flight attendant i didnt have enough time to get some food prior to take off and that I was hungry — can i get an extra bag of peanuts… she gave me a giant hand full!

We love Southwest Airlines! My brother who flies regularly recommended Southwest to us several years ago the first time we were to fly. We haven’t flown a different airline since that day. My other brother and sister also fly Southwest. Before I get into a my love fest, I feel I should put a few disclaimers out there. For one, we don’t really enjoy flying. Sitting in a small seat is not the most comfortable experience however if you enjoy traveling like we do, flying does provide a lot of conveniences. We have flown to TN, FL, PA, IL, VA, WA, TX, AZ and CO. Driving to these locations would take a lot of time and gas, so really flying is our choice. Of course there is some inherent risk then you fly. There can be delays for any number of reasons. You know if you were driving, there is as good of a chance of delays if not better. Weather and equipment can happen when you’re driving too. If your car made a funny noise or wasn’t running correctly, would you jump in a take a trip? How about if that happened with the plane you were to be boarding? Yeah, I’ll wait. I’m as impatient as anyone but lets be safe not sorry.
Southwest does do things differently than any other airline. When you fly Southwest you are not assigned a seat. I think this is a great policy. If you would like to sit next to someone, you can completely control that. You have to check in on line 24 hours before your flight to get your boarding group. The groups are A, B and C. Yes if you end up in the C group, there will probably be mostly middle seats left. If you would not like a middle seat, just remember to do your check in. If you would like further assurance, Southwest offers an automatic check in with their Early Bird option. For less than $ 15.00 you can have Southwest check you in. At the airport the agent at the gate calls up the groups by letter. You are assigned a number within that letter group. For example A 1 – 25. Simply line up when you are called, then choose your seat or seats on the plane. Its really that simple. If you snooze, you don’t lose your seat, you just might meet a couple of new friends.
Southwest is VERY AFFORDABLE. They offer 3 different levels of tickets with different options and benefits for each. There are no change fees with Southwest. If you have to change your flight, the only cost you pay if any is the flight difference. They are famous for their 2 bags fly free. If you consider your carry on and check a couple of bags, that’s a lot of stuff for one person. Add that up with a family and unless you are moving, you may not ever have to pay any bag fees. That’s a huge savings. Their affordable fares, even with paying Early Bird, then with their bags fly free, its the best deal in the air.
Their flight attendants are fun and friendly. Every once in a while we’ll have the pleasure of having one of their attendants joke or say something funny during their statements. I could give examples but this is really something you just need to experience. Could you have a not so great experience? Sure, they’re not immune to that. Could have a not so great experience anywhere.
There is a reason that Southwest is always one of the highest rated airlines. They do a lot of things very well and it shows. I enjoy getting my little snack and drink on board. On some longer flights the flight attendants have made multiple trips for snacks and drinks. Don’t forget you can always bring some of your own snacks. One last note. One of the factors in keeping their fares so low is having connecting flights. Southwest does have some direct flights however most have a connection. I don’t mind this at all. With all the positives about Southwest, connecting to another flight is a chance to experience a new airport for an hour or so. I’ll still get to my destination way earlier than if I was driving. Do yourself a favor and check out Southwest.

Their timing is crazy good efficient. My layovers are just shy of 1 hour so I don’t feel like I’m wasting too my time just sitting around. Kudos to Southwest for keeping luggage free as well!

I give southwest no stars the Walmart of airliners riddled with delays I had to spend the night stuck in an airport twice because of there shinanicans and now I’m being delayed again

Very upset that when my flight was delayed I asked if my young child and I could go standby on other direct flights and was told no in two locations; Milwaukee and Minneapolis. I watched them allow others to go standby while they made my child and I waited five hours at the airport for a delayed flight that will arrive at our destination at 1 am! You would think they had a policy for handling people on connecting flights who can’t just go back home! Got the run around by everyone and was first told the flight was delayed due to equipment back in Milwaukee. No they won’t even pay for my extra day of parking fees i incurred! All the airlines have such poor customer service I don’t even know who to fly with anymore!

Hate being penalized for enjoying vacation and unplugging from the net by getting to be last to board the plane even though I was at the airport hour & half early. Andy from southwest gave me crap for not checking in 24hrs in advance and asked why I’m not always connected w the web.

decent flight. to many extra fees

How they choose to do boarding is odd, I will admit. But that is eclipsed by the awesome customer service I experience while flying with them. The people that took care of us really made it their mission to make sure we were well taken care of.
Another plus is that most of the flights are usually cheap and SW has a nice rewards program. Most cheaper airlines have bad service but I’m not paying the big airlines way over priced tickets. Delta. I will pay for quality but not just to get ripped off. Save your hard earned money and fly Southwest, they appreciate and work for your business!
A side note, Airtran is also operated by Southwest but you will pay for bags if you buy the tickets through Airtran! Buy your tickets through Sourhwest’s site!

I actually think MSP is a decent airport. The number one thing I like? They don’t play sad airport music.
The car rental site is onsite.
TSA is super friendly and actually seems like they take their jobs seriously, unlike countless other airports… don’t get me started on TSA.
Easy to get around… although I’ve never had to cross terminals so I don’t know how that works.
I like Barrio. Nice bartenders, decent food.
They have a Caribou Coffee.
Pretty small airport.
I like it. It’s a good thing because I travel here often.

Meah…

Basically free boarding means everyone who gets in a or b sits on the aisle or window while the c people get stuck in middle seats. This is really careless and crass. As if air travel wasn’t awful enough.

I will always love southwest. I have always gotten exceptional service from them, except I had one bad experience, which was promptly remedied with a $ 75 voucher when I called to complain. They are so customer friendly. I love the checking in online, I like their boarding group policy, and I really like the free checked bags.

I’d give them less than 1 star if I could!
When will I learn? I keep giving Southwest a chance, and they keep screwing me over. The last time they did it was May 8^th. After numerous problems with past connecting flights, I thought it would be «safe» to take the Southwest direct flight from Minneapolis to Denver. I was wrong. Our short flight was delayed 7.5 hours — due to «weather.» But that same «weather» didn’t stop every other airline from keeping their MSP-​DEN flights on time — or 55 minutes late, at the most.
They strung us along all day… First, the flight was «on time.» Then, 5 minutes before our scheduled departure, it was «55 minutes late,» then «2 hours late,» then 3″ and finally 7 hours delayed! By the time they told us about the last delay, we didn’t know if we should trust them to stay at the airport — or start driving to Denver to make our friends’ wedding rehearsal the following afternoon!
In the past few weeks, they also stranded my husband in Denver when their connecting planes weren’t timed correctly. I was forced to buy a $ 200 ticket on Frontier to get him to California in time for our Hawaii flight — because Southwest couldn’t get him there without an additional 24-​hour wait. They make flight schedules they can’t keep!
My husband hates Southwest even more than me. The previous time he flew Southworst, they lost his carry-​on backpack. (Which he never should have had to give up in the first place — but the two slobs in the surrounding seats stole his under-​seat storage space, and the flight attendant demanded he check his small backpack.) All because they can’t seem to get their planes where they say they’re going to be in a decent amount of time to connect.
As an A+ Preferred member, you’d think they’d try to provide better service in an effort to keep my loyalty. They don’t care. All I hear from gate agents and customer service employees is excuses. Best airline, my butt!
And don’t even get me started on the cattle-​call that is Southwest’s boarding process. No seat assignments? What a joke. This causes more delays than any other boarding method I’ve seen. «Can you switch seats with me, so I can sit next to my [insert wife/​son/​daughter/​aunt/​etc.]?» No, I won’t give up my aisle seat for a middle seat. Now sit down so we can take off!

I got caught in the Snowpocylpse this past week, and was in tears because of the utter lack of customer service I received from Southwest. Southwest claims to have great customer service, but I have received no notifications of when my flights were cancelled, no phone calls offering to help me rebook my flight, no offers to put me on other airlines because I have tried to leave MN 4 times, and misinformation that caused me to miss a viable flight.
Thursday ½: Flight cancelled, but I received no warning from southwest. Customer service phone # so busy that it didn’t even ring. Agents assured me that Midway would be cleared by Friday morning. Flight booked.
Friday ¹⁄₃: Flight cancelled. No notification from southwest. Stood in two hour line to be rebooked for Monday. All other airlines operated on time through Midway, so it was not a weather issue.
Friday afternoon: Spend all day refreshing the flight page to find a flight on Sunday morning. Found out that tickets changed in the airport can’t be changed online. Had to spend an hour trying to get someone on the phone. Got the last ticket.
Sunday morning: Went to airport. Flight from Midway to my destination cancelled two minutes before boarding. Scared of getting stuck in Midway, I rescheduled my flight for Tuesday morning. Once again, I received no warning from SW, and the flight attendants didn’t announce my destination as one of the connections that was cancelled.
Sunday evening: Flight on Monday evening cancelled. Midway will be clear, so there is no explanation of why. NO notification from SW.
Here’s the BEST part: Saw there was one flight leaving at 6:40. Went to airport to wait in line and called SW. Got someone on the phone who said that that flight had been cancelled, so I left the airport.
Found out 4 hours later that the flight took off at 7:10 and arrived in my destination later.
Now I have to wait and see if my flight will be cancelled on Tuesday.
DON’T EVER TAKE SOUTHWEST. I never will again.

Insane, slow-​moving check-​in lines… I’m a frequent traveler and have never seen anything quite like the Southwest check-​in lines at MSP. I arrived 90 minutes early for a flight and waited 45+ minutes in line trying to check my bag, before finally having to be escorted to the front of the line as I became at risk of missing my flight.
Fares are sometimes cheaper than Delta, so two stars for that. Also, no on-​board food available for purchase on a 3-​hour flight at dinner time :(

Best airline option in/​out of MSP. Using Terminal 2 makes for a quick and easy getaway.
Friendly staff, simple model. SW never let’s me down.

I like Southwest, a lot. The prices are great; although I never check a bag, I love having the option; most of the time the staff are friendly and geniune (most); I love their rewards system!
I appreciate the efficiency of the cattle call boarding system… when I get to sit first. I always feel empathetic to those that jump on the plane and end up doing the awkward «up and down aisle shuffle» because they don’t know which middle seat they want to pick.
For me one time, it was to choose between a lady wearing a hospital mask (which she took off immediate after deplaning) or a lady who was substantially overweight. I chose to be squished in the latter option. Although in retrospect, it would have been cruelly entertaining to fake cough up a storm for the 45 minute flight. tee hee…

Another early morning flight with Southwest. Not as depressing as NOLA Southwest terminal. Still not sold on seating process, but I do like it when you have time to prep for it 24h out. Just dread the time I will not be able to.
Southwest, keep offering lower fares and free bags and I’ll keep flying. New planes are a bonus. ;)