From now on I will be flying Southwest whenever possible. I flew twice with them earlier this year, and not only did I appreciate not having to pay for checked bags, which I did with Delta, who were also rude and incompetent), but the Southwest agents/crew have all been nice. I like the open seating thing, too. Encourages fliers to check in early online, so they can get in an earlier boarding group, which means there aren't a million people at the check-in counter before security, which means I don't have to stand in a long line to check my luggage.

Next they'll charge a $5 fee for the convenience of prepaying online.

It definitely puts Southwest higher up in my hierarchy of airlines. I don't know that it would necessarily be my deciding factor (I don't have a lot of experience with Southwest because they didn't fly the routes I flew a lot, back when I was flying a lot), but if I were looking at multiple airlines for the same flight, it would DEFINITELY count in Southwest's favor.

Always fly South West for my company. Everything was nice, speedy, and they seem to have good prices.

I try to fly Southwest whenever possible, but their business strategy can make it tough to get in/out of some of the major cities. When I choose an airline, I base my decision almost entirely on a complex equation involving convenience and price. I really don't care about the airlines reputation or service, etc. If any particular airline is the cheapest, or the most convenient, or an acceptable combination of the two, I go with them. Sometimes this is Southwest, usually because they are significantly cheaper than the others. I am glad they are taking affirmative steps to get themselves into larger markets, like NYC. When I lived in Chicago, we flew them almost exclusively because they were cheap and convenient out of Midway. Getting out of DC via Southwest is a little harder.

I definitely fly Southwest as a direct result of them not having the baggage fees. When you travel with a wife and kids, its perfectly plausible to have 5 or 6 suitcases. That's over $100 extra from most airlines!

If people are willing to fork over "fees" for things that were free before US Airways has no reason to stop finding new "fees".

@Possinator: LOL!

That was funny!

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

First, I love Southwest anyway. Always no frills, jokes over the loudspeaker, and (unlike some prissy airline travelers) I love the regulated seating. Hell, some of the planes have four/6 seats facing each other in the front.

The reason Southwest isn't charging more fees is that they were missed by the fuel hike last year. They contracted a set price for fuel for a length of time that escapes me right now. My worry is that when this runs out Southwest might be forced to raise prices/charge some fees.

The only complaints I've ever heard about Southwest is the minimal features/cattle car seating. Now, all the other airlines are barely (if even) giving us more then Southwest, so why wouldn't anyone like to fly them?

I will fly SWA if their fare is as much as $50 more expensive because companies that mislead the consumer (like every Airline but Jetblue and SWA) with nickel and dime add-on fees instead of being upfront about the price don't deserve my business. I wrote a blog about just this sort of thing - how executives of big companies don't have any sort of thought process of their own and simply do whatever the other guy is doing:

http://www.mrgregb.com/gb/2009/02/big-companies-are-run-by-morons-part-1.html

I fly Southwest for more than just the bag fee-most of my flights are "puddle-jumpers" between our offices in Southern California and Northern California, and they fly from LAX to both SFO and SJC for cheaper than any other airline. The bag fee helps, but there's more to it than that; I appreciate the overall cost of flying with them.

Southwest is not the most comfortable when traveling with a baby, but it sure as heck beats flying Virgin. Virgin is so cramped! At least they have black lights.

@Esquire99: They now fly some routes out of Dulles. BWI is just as convenient to me as Dulles and I've been flying SW whenever I can.

@Barrister76:
I live in Downtown DC and don't have a car. BWI is doable, but can be a PITA. Dulles is a real bitch to get to, leaving DCA as the only truly convenient option. Of course, flying out of DCA is also usually $$$$, resulting in a few trips out of BWI, via MARC or Amtrak.

Next they'll charge a fee to pay your fee. This is just sad.

I know I have a choice when I fly. When I fly for business, I avoid Delta and US Airways. I have even canceled trips to avoid flying those "Total Bastard Airlines"

We are being squeezed to death by companies who can't figure out how to properly price their products. When you fly, you're paying for your seat, the ability to take some of your stuff with you, and (hopefully) some decent service along the way. These days you pay for your seat, the fuel, any bags you take with you, the soda, water, crappy chips they try and hock your way, and next up: We'll charge you for AIR. That's right folks, you can bring your own (but we'll charge you to carry it on), or you can buy our overpriced AIR on board the plane.

GRR. When will High-Speed Rail get here?

Most airlines suck. Luckily, I have an uncle who has sworn by Southwest airlines, I've flown with them 4 times now and will definitely go back.

They are number 1 because they don't take their customer's for granted. I find it pathetic that other airliner's take it for granted that Southwest is going to make more money than them, then use that as excuses as to why they are more expensive than southwest!

Ever since United screwed my family and I over, I only fly Southwest, because they saved the day.

We were going to Vegas, and my brother bought the tickets for 9:00 PM instead of AM. Of course they wouldn't let us change it without paying $350 dollars per person. So, we bought Southwest tickets to fly out, and would just use the return flight we booked, as that was fine. But no! United was going to charge us a re-booking fee AGAIN to use our return flight, because we weren't using our original flight. Does that make any sense to absolutely anybody? The return flight had not changed at all! So, we booked through Southwest on the way back. Eventually United was "kind enough" to allow us to use the seats we had already purchased in full without paying an extra fee. We called Southwest, and no questions asked, they gave us vouchers for the amount we payed for the return flight we no longer needed, good to fly anywhere a year from that date.

Southwest is the only way to fly.

I do love Southwest Airlines. Mom and I flew them to Florida ages ago from Manchester, NH when they had one of their "friends fly free" deal.
Sure the boarding class is a little weird, but no different from the Bolt Bus.
The flight crew made our 4th of July flight very entertaining, having a trivia contest and playing other games. This was amazing considering the tarmac had been red flagged due to thunderstorm activity and we departed late.
I wish they still did the MHT-Islip route...alas Jetblue's NY to Boston service eliminated that.

I would fly Southwest since:
1. They don't fly dangerous Airbus aircraft.
2. They are not USAir.
3. They are not USAir.
4. They seem to be one of the few sensible airlines.

Remember when these fees were initially allowed because gas prices were incredibly high?

Gas prices have since dropped and remained low for the last 6 or so months, so why are the fees still here? Is this because they tried to hedge against rising oil prices and fucked up completely or are they just ripping us off?

@jennieguzman: Ever get tickets from ticketmaster?

@Frank Murphy: Citation (not conjecture) that Airbus is historically more dangerous than Boeing, please.

Southwest can suck it.

I don't understand why people praise them for treating their customers like cattle.

If by clever you mean "s!tty," then yes, very clever.

I always fly southwest. Not only do they not charge all those extra baggage fees, they also offer pretty good reward program, book 4 round trips online and u get 1 free.

@dohtem:
"Is this because they tried to hedge against rising oil prices and fucked up completely..."

Yes.

Dear US Airways: I will be buying a couple of plane tickets this week. I will buy them from Southwest, and I will probably not even bother to comparison shop, because I like knowing upfront what my trip will actually cost. Since you effectively refuse to give me that information by charging so many fees in addition to the price of the tickets, I simply will not do business with you. No, my two measly plane tickets are not going to make or break your business, but then again, I'm not the only person who feels this way.

I'm taking southwest all summer because of it, let the best fare win.

@vliam: All airlines treat customers like cattle. Some charge you over and over and over for the privilege of being treated that way.
So, why not pay less to be lined up and shoved into a pen for a few hours?

Not quite that easy... it's 8 rt flights for a free one.

I don't understand how these baggage fees are still in place. They were instituted because of circumstances that are no longer present, and they make the already non-customer friendly skies that much worse.

The fact that some airlines are, in essence, bragging about how much money they are making from these ludicrous fees just makes it that much worse. I'm willing to pay for multiple checked bags, but I really think the first one should be covered in the cost of my ticket.

I absolutely LOVE Southwest. They are my top choice when planning a route that they fly. They've also been the most consistent of any airline that I've flown, consistently on time that is. I enjoy the fact that I get to choose my seat away from little kids that like to kick the seat or pull the back down. It's great getting the chance to sit next to a hottie as well. They don't have the stock symbol LUV for nothing. I like knowing that if I get in the A group I will have a window seat no problem. And of course they don't charge a baggage fee. My only complaint with them now is the amount of credits needed to get a free round trip flight. The Rapid Rewards program was kick ass about 3-4 years ago. Not so much now. It beats having to spend a kajillion dollars on a high interest rate credit card for mileage.

Oh! I forgot to mention DING! What an awesome application. I got a round trip flight from MCI to SAN for $181 about 2 years back. Much better than the $300 that was being offered elsewhere.

@sicknick:

I've found that the Southwest seating is no different from any other carrier. In fact, last time I flew non-Southwest was United, and the seats had noticeably less legroom in the average seat. With Southwest, if I am lucky I can at least get the exit aisle. With the others, you have to pay extra for the chance at one of those. Oh, what I have to do to not end up with back and leg problems due to the tall-ist thinking by the short people that run the airlines...

@magic8ball:
Seconded... That makes two of us who will not buy from US Airways because of this very issue.

@ugadawg: DING! rocks. But I lost out big when I impulse bought tickets to San Diego that I couldn't use :(

Never flown on Southwest, but I'm a big fan of Jetblue! Both domestic airlines seem to care about their customers the most. I hope they continue to succeed.

I fly either Southwest or US Airways. There is a pretty simple formula I use to decide which one I will fly, and it includes if I need to check luggage or not, what time I need to leave/come back and the most important thing is price. Sometimes, Southwest is more than US Air even with a checked baggage fee. It just depends on where I'm going.

I will say I had a great experience on Southwest recently, as usual, Philadelphia Intl was under a thunderstorm and was issuing ground delays (I was heading TO Philly). The flight was supposed to leave at like 5pm, we didn't get in the air until 9:30pm. By 5:15pm, they had boxes of snacks and drinks in the concourse for us. The staff and flight crew was candid and very honest with us, which I think kind of cooled off the situation with being stuck in an airport for 4 extra hours. :)

The flight itself was great, too.

My favorite thing about the old Southwest boarding process: those big, ominous A,B or C boarding cards. The people in the "C" group would always be looking at the "A" group with envy, wishing that they had worked a little harder in school...

@itsgene: Hmmm, so do other airlines give you the tag in the ear to keep you sorted?

Does that mean that Southwest is more like free range?

@Possinator: Truth may be stranger than fiction. US Airways announced last week that if you pre-pay for your checked bags (they charge for 1st and 2nd bags always) you will save $5 as opposed to if you pay at the gate.

Long live Southwest. I most definitely fly them not only to avoid all the fees, but because their workers and friendly and nice (which makes my travel experience much more pleasant).

If the "other" carriers don't realize it yet, they soon should understand that consumers won't be taken advantage of (and will take their business elsewhere).

I don't understand how companies think they can get away with hiding costs just so they can advertise lower ticket prices. It would be comparable to the grocery store charging extra for cooling costs every time you bought milk from their fridge, then adding an additional charge for the gas costs of the shipping prices at the register just so they can advertise one dollar a gallon milk on TV.

Thing is, the grocery stores do get these expenses paid for by the consumer, but they get it honestly by adding it all up into the total price of the goods. Why don't they do the same thing for tickets for goodness sakes? I don't need to see their company's cost of operation every time i buy a ticket from an airline!

I really do love Southwest, but it's really hard to fly out of Chicago / Midway if you're from the north side. I'm 20 minutes from O'Hare and 85 minutes from Midway. Ugh. But, hey, I'll do what I can, next time I fly...

I will actually fly Southwest even if their flight costs a little more (which it rarely does). No kidding, I hate United and US Airways (my 2 hub airlines) that much.

I do a lot of traveling, and find the experience (even the boarding process once you get used to it) much more pleasant.

The odd thing about these baggage fees is that they affect the most price sensitive customers. Non-elite, vacation (need baggage) folks. If I am going somewhere and need to bring two pieces of baggage I just factor 40 additional dollars per ticket for the legacy airlines. Normally that means they're not the cheapest option so you're better off with Southwest.

If you fly enough on most airlines to become an elite member, you won't pay checked bag fees. So they are just dinging the casual travellers. Some people just cannot fly SW because they do non-stop long haul flights

@Christy Casper: I try to fly southwest exclusivly and i almost demand it when i go out west to ski. It sucks they dont have service to all the places i like to go. But i'll literally drive 2 hours from an airport to my destination, even if there is a closer airport that another airline flys to. Southwest has always been great to me. Never rude, never a lost bag.

You know, basic customer service that the other airlines dont offer.. Kinda wish the recession would hit delta, AA, and the like.. maybe we'll have better rates and service overall.

I've lived in Dallas and Chicago lately, both two major SWA hubs, and for that I am thankful. There are very few places I can't go on Southwest. One was New York (now solved with NS service to LaGuardia) and the other Atlanta. I've rarely been delayed, never been hassled, never been canceled and I've always enjoyed my flight. All that and I've got the sappy love story that's a success due in large part to Southwest helping me catch a last minute flight and make a connection in a monsoon out of Dallas some years ago.

@magic8ball: 3rded