This is actually typical for Southwest. The NYT wrote about this a few months ago: [www.nytimes.com]

Out of all the airlines, I've heard nothing but good things about Southwest. The apology letter was good enough, but they throw in a voucher on top of it? All of the other jackasses should take note. This is how you treat your customers.

The same happened to Myself & Fiancee flying from Rhode Island to philly. We were delayed 4-6 hours, and within a week we had an apology letter and two flight vouchers good for a year. We didn't call to complain or anything.

I know who I'm booking a ticket with if at all possible when I fly again... Southwest seems to be the ONLY airline that doesn't pull crap to try to screw their customers out of money.

I have had good experiences with Southwest. I use their frequent flyer program and I've earned a couple of r/t tickets with it pretty quickly and painlessly. They've dropped the ball a couple of times, like when the FCC fined them about 6 months ago. However just about every airline has had massive f*-ups. I will continue to fly with them any chance I get.

US Airlines = sucks
Southwest = awesome

I've never flown Southwest. I will now.

Southwest is profitable because they only have one aircraft, the 737. This obviously keeps their overhead lower than competitors because they only have to stock parts for one aircraft, train their pilots on one type of aircraft, etc. They also have no assigned seating so it is a free-for-all at boarding time. They did have the foresight to buy some fuel futures 2 years ago, so while the other airlines were stuck paying higher prices for fuel, they were paying much lower prices. People fly them because they are usually cheaper, not for the service. People eat at McDonald's because it is cheap, not for the service. Just watch re-runs of the show Airline that was on A&E (I think). It was nothing but complaints about Southwest.

@seawolf2000: FCC or FAA?

I didn't hear about an FCC fine.

It's amusing that Southwest and JetBlue are considreed "discount" airlines, yet consistently provide the best service and reliability of all the major carriers.

Agreed with those here, I've had nothing but good experiences with Southwest. They're laidback employees, which I think counts for a lot. Sometimes they'll make jokes and such while we're boarding, and it takes off a bit of the ton of stress of flying. I've not had any major delays or issue with Southwest (also a good sign), so I always fly them.

Because of this, I just booked my upcoming trip to Las Vegas via Southwest. Take note, airlines, this is called "customer service". It would behoove you to practice it.

To be 100% fair, these are entirely different situations between US Air and Southwest. Southwest delayed those passengers because they didn't properly maintain their plane. If they had properly done their maintenance work the plane would never have been delayed. The US Air flight was delayed because weather made it unsafe to fly.

Bottom Line: Southwest is in control of their maintenance. US Air is not in control of the weather.

With that said I truly believe that Southwest does try way harder then any other airline to keep their customers happy. But I don't want to knock US Air for something that was outside of their control. I can't imagine how big a cost it would be to airlines if they had to give free flights every time the weather prevented them from flying safely.

Love Southwest. Its my favorite airline. The point of flying is to get from point A to point B. I could care less about amenities if it makes my ticket more expensive. Southwest is always on time. US Air blows. Continental is also pretty good.

Look at what this cost them: even if it was one of their 737s at full capacity, that's 327 passengers and about $57,000. That's the cheapest publicity (and bad publicity prevention) around. That's smart business, just basic not stupidness. Very nice, very smart, very profitable.

No doubt, Southwest is all that and more! I've always called them "America's Favorite Airline". My co-workers used to bellyache about SWA's (former) boarding process where they felt like they were herded onto the plane like cattle. I never had any qualms about it.

Melissa Chalupa?

If Southwest ever downsizes & she loses her job, at least she can work in customer fulfillment at Taco Bell.

(Was that too easy?)

Nice letter, but not a fan of Southwest - Even if you check in online, you still have to wait in the same long line everybody else waits in to just check your bags - Line at the airport took an hour to get through - ugh. Their explanation was "it's summer"....

The publicity is only temporary.

What happens when those 327 passengers are delayed and they don't get a letter?

Nice for Southwest and the good PR they get from this, but they open a can of worms when they do things like this.

Fortunately, they can afford to do the good faith gestures. USAir, on the other hand, cannot.

I recently was waiting at the airport for a coleague who was coming in from another city, and decided to wait for him at one of the southwest terminals. On this particular day, there was a large weather front that was delaying almost every flight into and out of the mid-west, and it had a trickle down effect, so almost every flight on every airline was delayed. The gate that I was waiting at, had a plane that also had a mechanical issue, and caused further delay, but I was very impressed with how everything was handled:
1) The PILOT got on the intercom for the gate and relayed what he knew about the problem, and advised pasengers that a mechanic was coming to assess the situation. He advised that he would come back in about 15 minutes and update the status.
2) 15 minutes later the Pilot was again back, and advised that the problem was severe, but that he had already contacted corporate and they were going to "steal" a plane destined for another flight (and corporate would get a replacement aircraft in ASAP so they would have the correct plane allocations) He thanked everyone for their patience, and then tried to lift everyone's spirits by saying that the pilot from the previous flight would be de-planing soon and he was the one that "broke" the plane, so everyone should "Boo" him when he gets off the plane. All of the passengers applauded him for his transparency in the issue, and the fact that he was taking a personal interest in the problem.
3) A few minutes later, the pilot from the previous flight deplanes, all of the passengers "boo" and then crack a smile, and the 2 pilots exchange a few (friendly) words..."Yeah, well at least I don't go around breaking someone else's plane..."
4) About 5 minutes later the pilot comes on the waiting area intercom again, and says that they have secured a new plane, and asked everyone to proceed to the new gate. Again everyone applauded and had a smile on their face, even though they were delayed by more than 2.5 hours because of weather and mechanical delays.

Moral to the story...keep the passengers informed and they will remain happy, keep them in the dark and they will turn into an angry mob.

Though I haven't flown SWA in 6 years, it's good to read its employees are still thinkin' positive.

This approach to Customer Service comes from the recently retired head of SWA, Herb Kelleher. The guy is insanely smart, a world-class wiseass, and one of the shrewdest businessmen to stride the planet in the 20th and 21st Centuries. He's known for boarding SWA flights on business in silly costumes. SWA's pilots once accepted a contract simply on the man's word.

He also came up with:
Standardizing fleet aircraft (Boeing 737s)
Flying Point A to B and back, eliminating hubs
Spiking reserved seats
Encouraging intelligence, fresh ideas, and a sense of humor in employees at all levels.

Granted, SWA runs 737 cattle cars. But as long as Herb Kelleher is alive, they'll be the most reliable cattle cars in the air. You might meet a (positive) smartass flight attendant, as well.

Okay, I'll stop now. Carry on.

A big well done to Southwest for good customer service and a big f**k you to everyone on board who 'groaned' that a pilot was returning to the airport for their own safety. Apparantly safety is now an inconvience to travellers.

@DrJimmy:

Speaking of (positive) smartass flight attendants, I flew SWA from Orange County to SJC last year. There's some sort of noise abatement ordinance in the OC that requires each plane departing from that airport to cut the engines mid-air once a certain altitude is reached, so as not to disturb the residents below any more than absolutely necessary.

The captain informed us that would be the case ahead of time so that none of the passengers freaked out if the engines shut off once we were miles above the ground. So we taxi to the runway, engines start roaring, we take off, reach a certain altitude, and the engines suddenly went silent. One of the FAs turned on the PA and said, in a loud mock-whisper, "SHHHH .... be very quiet ... we're flying over rich people."

The entire plane erupted in laughter.

@unnes: I almost expect it now. I think for many things, the days where you got a truly superior product for a higher price are long gone... now companies sell themselves on their brand names - the company your parents did all their business through, and you should too - while the "discount" brands quietly put out comparable offerings without the fanfare or the prestige.

I don't fly much, but if/when I have to do it again, Southwest will be my first choice.

@ocirats: I doubt the cut the engines entirely...but did reduce power, which would freak people out...strike one for Southwest humor too!

@shufflemoomin: I doubt it was a groan of "Oh God, can't we just fly on?" and more a groan of "Geez, we are going to ahve a hell of a time getting rebooked on already 100% full flights." Have some faith in the passengers.

I know when I fly if the pilot says "we're going to head back; there's something wrong with the plane" I want to be in the cockpit watching him and making sure we land. I'm a nervous flier and while I'd groan about the delay I'd be happy he was landing the plane.

@shufflemoomin: Perhaps it would help to think of it as groaning because the problem had occurred in the first place, not because the pilot had decided to return the plane to the airport. I'm sure everyone on board would have preferred a quick and safe journey; acknowledging the inconvenience of the situation doesn't necessarily mean placing blame on anyone.

@QrazyQat: A SWA Boeing 737 seats around 150 people. So it only cost $26,000 and that is if everyone uses the voucher before they expire in a year. While $175 is not an insignificant amount it would not likely cover the entire cost of a round trip ticket and could actually make money for Southwest.

I'm a 2 million mile flier on UA and 1 million on AA and have rarely used them over the past 6 years. I use SW whenever possible. No longer is it just because of their fair pricing. They treat their customers with respect, never take advantage of us with extra fees, and never is there a charge to change your reservation. They have the best website and best customer service representatives. And they have the best frequent flier program. I'm a huge fan.

The most profound part of this story is the fact that Southwest Airlines has a Proactive Customer Service Communications department. What an incredibly obvious innovation. I have yet to read any Consumerist post where correspondence has been received from a "proactive" anything! This is something all companies should be benchmarking. From personal experience, anything proactive in customer service usually results in a win-win situation. Southwest has clearly taken this to the next level.

I really wish Southwest flew to places I need to go. But adding overseas routes of their own would just kill them, and you won't get the same treatment from a codesharing partner. Sigh.

I am now a Southwest Customer.

my wife and i were stuck on a jet blue plane on the runway for 5 hours at jfk due to thunderstorms, they gave us 1200 in vouchers and were apologetic the whole time, the captain offered the use of his cell phone to call family members that were waiting in san diego to tell them we would be late. they even kept the ac on the whole time. wish the consumerist would tell this story...

I flew Southwest for the first time a couple months ago and everything went off without a hitch. We had a flight out of Fort Lauderdale that was late taking off, which worried us since we had about a 30 minute connection in Orlando to change planes to head home to St. Louis (yeah, stupid on our part, but our options were 30 minutes or several hours, so we took the risk). I guess we weren't the only ones on the FLL-MCO leg who had short layovers, because they said they'll try to make up time in the air, and if they couldn't, they'd hold connecting flights in MCO which reassured us. And sure enough, we landed at MCO right on time with just enough time to make a bathroom stop and get to the gate to the next flight. And the flight crew couldn't be friendlier. I got the feeling that they actually enjoy the job, and when your employees don't mind being at work, it's better for everyone else. I just wished Southwest flew internationally, then I'd have no reason to use the other airlines.

@QrazyQat: Uh, you might be thinking 747 there. A 737 doesn't hold anywhere near 300 passengers. I think it's around 130 passengers.

Although I wouldn't put it past AA, US Air, United, et al, to squeeze 300 people on a 737. 150 in the cabin, 150 in the cargo hold. And the cargo? Well, with all the checked bag fees, no one will be bringing any luggage with them.

Its nice that they admit to a mechanical error but do you really expect them to do this same song and dance when they overbook you, for instance? Or something else that they know is equally stupid? I think not.

After all what business would want to call extra attention to an embarrassing foul-up like a double booking or a Crew Roster/Management failure? They wouldn't. They'd keep their damn mouths shut and hope nobody involved is angry enough or savvy enough to make it a public issue.

This is definitely pro-active (as others have said) and is the way to go.
Had this been one of the other guys (USAir,AA,Delta), you'd have been lucky to get an informed response from anyone, and you'd have had to all but make a scene to get that. Mostly because their attitude is 'We already have your money. You don't need to know. Shut up.'

I always fly southwest when I can. unfortunately they don't come to the upper Midwest, but when I'm in the south its always southwest.

Man, I'm starving. Earl, we got any chalupas back there?

Southwest Seating Capacity:

B737-300 - 137 passengers
B737-500 - 122 passengers
B737-700 - 137 passengers

Via www.seatguru.com

Love Southwest. Used to fly them all the time when we lived in Dallas. Southwest is the same management that bought a fuel insurance plan a few years ago when the prices were merely creeping up slightly. Now every other airline's loss is their gain.

(BTW, I have images of some bitter middle-aged man screaming at a Starbucks barista or a rental car clerk: "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I AM THE ASSISTANT MANAGER OF PROACTIVE CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS FOR A MAJOR REGIONAL AIRLINE! I DO NOT HAVE TO TAKE THIS!")

I love Southwest. If I can get to my destination via Southwest - that is how I will go - always!

One of the most annoying things about where I live now is that Southwest doesn't fly anywhere near me, so I have to settle for the crappy airlines. SW has been excellent for decades, and should be an example to the rest of the airlines that you don't have to bilk and be rude to your passengers in order to make a buck.

her name was chalupa...just thought I'd mention it...

@usmcmoran: They can only run the stories of which someone makes them aware. ;)

I've had great service from JetBlue, too. There was a complete travel meltdown getting back from Thanksgiving last year (stupidly short flight, too, IAD to JFK) and even though it ended up taking me two days to make a 45 minute flight, they were informative, transparent, calm, polite, and professional. And I got vouchers that totaled to more than the cost of my flight.

@Overheal: Overbooked passengers happen on ALL AIRLINES. This is a fact of nature in the airline industry; statistically, a certain percentage of passengers will miss their flight. That's why the FAA has rules governing how to handle overbooked passengers. When this happens on Southwest, the agents are honest about the full flight and will always provide service and care BEYOND those governing rules. On your other note, crew roster problems rarely happen at Southwest due to their excellent relationship with management.

@humphrmi: They just need to find the right partners. Plenty of good airlines on either side of the Atlantic/Pacific to do long-haul with.

I'll have to try Southwest again after all the great stories about them. So far I've been avoiding them because the one time I flew Southwest it was a worse experience than I've had on other airlines. First, there's the ridiculous seating policy (not that bad, but it is annoying). Second, it was a pain to try and get any water during the flight. (I dehydrate easily on planes. I know I should bring my own water but I hadn't figured out the "bring an empty bottle past security" trick yet). The flight attendant kept saying the drink cart was coming soon and I should wait (yet it never did... they finally did end up getting me some water after a long time). And third, most disappointing of all, they wouldn't let passengers with tight connections deplane before everyone else when the flight was running late. Every other late flight I've been on has not only allowed that, but proactively offered it.

I hope southwest takes over the USAir gates.

Ok, this is going to make me sound like a jackass, but my recent Southwest flight was not only almost 2 hours late, but they lost my wife and I's luggage, along with a few other couples on the flight. We got nothing for our troubles.

I think these people in the article are entitled to an apology and compensation, but so were we. I think because lost luggage is so common, it's considered par for the course, but mechanical problems and plane swaps aren't, so these passengers got compensated.