Time Warner Cable and merger-partner Comcast have very little company among the lowest-scoring companies on the American Customer Satisfaction Index, but now that ACSI has added Spirit and Frontier to its airline rankings, TWC can no longer claim the honor of having the lowest survey score of all U.S. companies in the Index. [More]
southwest
Southwest Airlines Surprises Bride-To-Be With Airport Wedding Shower
By 4.2.15
Last November, Southwest Airlines played host to a wedding on a flight from Nashville to Dallas. The company continued its foray into all things matrimonial this week when it surprised one passenger with a wedding shower. [More]
Southwest Gets OK To Continue Flying 128 Planes That Missed Inspections
By 2.25.15
Yesterday afternoon, Southwest Airlines had to cancel dozens of flights after learning that one-fifth of its entire fleet was overdue for a necessary maintenance check. The airline was to have grounded 128 planes pending inspection, but has reached a deal with the Federal Aviation Administration that will allow those jets to continue flying. [More]
Southwest Frequent Flyer Earned Enough Points For Free Companion Ticket; Or So He Thought
By 2.9.15
With only a few weeks to go in the year, one Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards member says he was right on the cusp of earning a free companion pass. After allegedly being told that any points accrued before the end of the year would count toward that goal, he spent more on his Rapid Rewards credit card to rack up those points — only to later be told the deadline for earning points via the credit card was not Dec. 31. [More]
Southwest Fined $1.6M For Lengthy Tarmac Delays
By 1.15.15
Southwest Airlines is once again feeling the ire of federal regulators, as the Department of Transportation on Thursday imposed a $1.6 million fine against the airline for forcing passengers to stay on planes for hours at Chicago’s Midway airport in January 2014. [More]
Southwest Baggage Handlers Say Too Many Flights + More Passengers + Not Enough Planes = Delays
By 12.16.14
At more than a dozen airports around the country today, baggage handlers and other ground crew workers for Southwest Airlines are protesting their employer, claiming that the carrier is too focused on cramming as many people into the fewest planes possible. [More]
Southwest Airlines Sued Over “Early Bird” Fees That Don’t Guarantee Priority Boarding
By 11.21.14
When you pay a $25 fee to board a flight — especially one without assigned seats — ahead of other passengers, you might be ticked off to arrive at the gate and find out that not only aren’t you in the highest-priority boarding group, but that some of the people in front of you didn’t pay any additional money for their place in line. This is why a pair of Southwest passengers have filed a class-action suit against the airline, claiming the airline’s Early Bird Check-In program is “deceptive, fraudulent, and misleading.” [More]
Which Airlines Have The Most Comfortable Coach Seats?
By 10.3.14
“Oh, goodie! I get to sit in coach for X amount of hours! I can’t wait to stretch out and relax,” said no one ever before flying, because in economy class, luxurious leg room and a sweet ratio of cushion to rump comfort is not what you’re paying for. That being said, some airlines are better at pleasing our behinds than others, according to a new poll released this week. [More]
Southwest To Start Flying Some Planes With Biofuels Made From Forest Waste As Early As 2016
By 9.24.14
Over the years there have been a number of fuel alternatives proven to power vehicles: from cooking oil to solar panels. Still we weren’t exactly prepared for planes that fly on forest remnants. But apparently it’s possible and Southwest plans to implement the use of those biofuels in at least some flights as soon as 2016. [More]
Southwest Passenger Detained After Creating WiFi Hotspot Names Like “Bomb On Board”
By 9.12.14
Authorities detained a passenger aboard a Southwest flight that landed at Seattle-Tacoma Airport yesterday on its way to Denver, after reports that he created a bunch of creepy names for his in-flight WiFi hotspot, naming it “Southwest – Bomb on Board” and making comments about the attractiveness of flight attendants, among other things. [More]
Southwest Airlines Hopes Consumers “Heart” Its New Look
By 9.8.14
Over the past few years, Southwest Airlines has undergone quite a corporate metamorphosis: completing the purchase of AirTran and beginning operation of its first international flights. But no transformation is complete without the big makeover reveal scene (at least that’s the formula in every teenage chick-flick I ever saw). Southwest’s time on the runway came today as the company debuted a new look. [More]
Serial Stowaway Arrested After Flying From San Jose To Los Angeles Without A Ticket
By 8.6.14
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Unless of course what you’re trying to do is sneak past airport security to board a flight for which you don’t have a valid ticket, because that will get you arrested. [More]
Family Kicked Off Southwest Flight Because Of Dad’s Tweet
By 7.23.14
It’s pretty great when your customer complaint over social media receives a swift, decisive response from the target company. What is not so great is when that response is to boot you and your elementary-school-age children off a plane before takeoff because you complained about a specific employee’s actions over Twitter. [More]
Survey Says: People Still Hate The Airlines… Especially United
By 4.22.14
The folks at the American Customer Satisfaction Index have released their annual report on the airline industry, once again confirming that it’s awfully hard to please consumers when you treat them like cattle and charge a premium for the privilege. [More]
Which Airlines Are The Fastest & Slowest At Responding To Customers On Twitter?
By 3.19.14
Complaining on Twitter can often feel like trying to shout to someone across the street with a noisy parade going down the middle. And that disconnect can often get worse when trying to get the attention of a big company with hundreds or thousands of people vying for attention. Some companies now go to great lengths to make sure that customers get some sort of response within minutes, but is that response of any value? [More]
3,250 Flights Canceled Today, Another 4,000 Delayed
By 2.12.14
As ice and snow once again socks the Southeast and makes its way northward, thousands of flights are being canceled or delayed, leaving travelers around the country stranded and unsure of when they will be able to fly again. [More]
Bill To Ban In-Flight Wireless Voice Calls Moves Forward
By 2.11.14
The battle for a maintaining relative amount peace and quiet on commercial airlines moved on to the next stage this afternoon after a Congressional committee voted to advance a piece of legislation that would ban the in-flight use of the “phone” part of your cellphones. [More]
Southwest, JetBlue End Up Big Winners In US Airways/American Merger
By 1.30.14
When US Airways and American Airlines finally got the go-ahead from federal regulators to get hitched, one of the conditions was that the merged company divest itself of takeoff and landing slots at airports around the country, especially at Reagan National Airport outside of Washington, D.C., Southwest Airlines announced today it will be taking over half of the newly available slots. [More]
