Choices! They can be so hard to make, or perhaps just complicated and inexplicable. So much so that Southwest Airlines isn’t explaining why the crew of a flight from Chicago bound for one airport near Branson, Mo. airport decided to land at the other instead. [More]
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Delta & Southwest Don’t Want To Listen To Passengers Gabbing On Phones For The Whole Flight
By 12.18.13
Last week, the FCC said it was investigating whether to lift the ban on in-flight cellphone usage, which caused the Dept. of Transportation to effectively say, “Are you flippin’ crazy?” and announce that it would look into the need to set out its own guidelines to possibly stop planes from turning into flying tubes filled with obnoxious one-way conversations. In recent days, two of the nation’s largest carriers have joined their voices to the call for quiet on board. [More]
Bags Might Fly Free On Southwest, But Your Pet Will Cost You An Additional $20
By 11.26.13
For several years, Southwest has charged one of the lowest fees ($75) for passengers flying with a carry-on pet. But starting in January, that price will be going up to be more in line with the fees charged by Southwest’s competitors. [More]
Southwest Now Offering Gate-To-Gate WiFi Access
By 11.21.13
Until yesterday, Southwest had been the only major airline that hadn’t taken advantage of the FAA’s long-awaited approval for passengers to use portable electronic devices during takeoff and landing. But now Southwest has not only joined that group, but it says it will allow passengers to use the in-plane WiFi from the moment they sit down on a plane until the time they crowd into the aisle to deplane. [More]
Impact Of US Airways/American Airlines Merger Will Depend On Who Gets Leftovers From Wedding
By 11.14.13
The path for US Airways and American Airlines to merge their businesses has been cleared and several smaller airlines like JetBlue and Spirit will benefit from the sale of the merged carriers’ excess takeoff and landing slots at airports around the country. But will that be enough to balance out the fact that we are now down to a handful of major national airlines? [More]
Southwest Is Only Major Airline Still Barring Gate-To-Gate Use Of Electronic Devices
By 11.7.13
When the FAA announced last week that it would finally give airlines the authority to allow passengers the use of certain portable electronic devices during takeoff and landing, it said it could take several months for airlines to go through the process of vetting their planes to demonstrate the jets can safely handle radio interference. But in the short time since, every major airline except Southwest now has flights with gate-to-gate use of PEDs. [More]
Southwest Could Start Charging For Checked Bags, Says CEO
By 10.25.13
While its competitors have been nickle/diming travelers for years with checked-bag fees, Southwest has done its best to equate its brand with the slogan “bags fly free.” But the airline’s CEO now says that he’s not completely averse to the whole notion of making a mountain of cash off baggage fees. [More]
DOT Fines Southwest For Promoting Deals But Not Actually Making Seats Available At Sale Prices
By 8.2.13
Is a sale a sale when only a few people can actually take advantage of the deal, or if no one at all can get a piece of the advertised deal action? Nope, said the Department of Transportation, which has fined Southwest Airlines $200,000 for touting a sale that didn’t provide enough actual seats — or in one case, any at all — at the bargain price it advertised. [More]
Southwest Wins Customer Over With $75 Voucher She Didn’t Ask For
By 6.14.13
We’ve said it before and we’re about to say it again — Proactively reaching out to customers who’ve had a bad experience will (almost) always be more effective than trying to apologize and make good later. To illustrate that point, we bring you the short story of Alexandria and Southwest Airlines. [More]
Giving Up 1″ In Legroom Earns Southwest Up To $770 Million A Year
By 5.15.13
Not so long ago, Southwest began readjusting the seats on its fleet of Boeing 737 jets, getting rid of 1″ of legroom for each passenger in order to squeeze in an additional six seats. Your initial thoughts might be that this a lot of work for just a few more seats, but when you add it up, you’re talking nearly three quarters of a billion dollars a year. [More]
Southwest Airlines Mails Lost Phone, Provides Outstanding Service And Terrible Poetry
By 3.6.13
Jane’s husband left his mobile phone behind on a Southwest Airlines plane. Oh, no! How sad! He had every reason to expect not to see it again, but someone turned it in to Lost and Found. The kind souls at Southwest mailed it back to him, enclosing a poem. We’re not saying that it was a good poem, but it’s certainly a thoughtful one. [More]
Southwest Raising Bag Fees, Will Start Charging For No-Shows
By 12.14.12
Hours after announcing a $29 million settlement over its drink voucher program, Southwest Airlines revealed plans to add $300 million in new and increased fees, along with a policy change that will certainly irk some frequent Southwest travelers. [More]
Southwest Owes Passengers $29 Million In Free Drinks
By 12.14.12 — Updated: 1.21.13
August 1, 2010 is a day that many Southwest Airlines Business Select fliers know well. It’s the day on which the carrier stopped allowing these passengers to carry over their unused free drink vouchers to future flights. More than two years and one class-action settlement later, Southwest is having to buy a lot of rounds. [More]
‘Passenger Of Size’ Policies For The Largest Domestic Airlines
By 11.8.12 — Updated: 11.17.12
For passengers who don’t easily fit into the narrow seats on most commercial jets, it helps to know in advance what each carrier’s policies. [More]
Relief In Sight For Sandy’s Stranded Passengers As JFK & Newark Reopen For Some Flights
By 10.31.12
Call her a hurricane or call her a superstorm, but weather phenomenon Sandy is responsible for either stranding a lot of passengers away from home or keeping them from their destinations elsewhere. There’s some relief in sight after three days of flight cancellations, as two New York-area airports, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty, have reopened for some flights. [More]
Southwest Passenger Sues For $800,000 Over Spilled Tea
By 9.26.12
Tea, unless it’s of the “iced” variety, is generally considered a hot drink. Commercial jets, while smoother rides than some planes, are known to be occasionally bumpy. One Southwest Airlines passenger found out the hard way that these two facts could result in her being burned — and she’s suing the carrier for $800,000. [More]
Sorry Airlines, Court Says You Have To Tell The Truth About Airfares
By 7.24.12
In the last year or so, the U.S. Dept of Transportation has instituted a number of new rules — like requiring airlines to include all known taxes and fees in its advertised prices — aimed at adding more transparency to airfares. Some carriers, especially discount airlines that love to advertise a bottom-dollar price with oodles of fine print hiding the fact that it’s not such a good price, have challenged these changes. But today, a U.S. appeals court sided with federal regulators (and common sense). [More]
Southwest Doesn’t Approve Of Your Cleavage-Baring Outfit, Young Lady
By 6.19.12
Know how you can avoid situations you have to apologize for later, Southwest? Stop giving ridiculous reasons to passengers why they can’t fly. In this case, a woman claims an airline worker told her she’d have to cover up her cleavage before boarding the flight. Her response? Too bad. Not gonna do it. [More]
