For almost two decades, Southwest airlines has sat comfortably atop the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s annual survey of air carriers. But not only did Southwest’s numbers slip a bit in the new list, it also ceded the lead to JetBlue. [More]
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Do You Get More Satisfaction From Cheap Airlines Than Legacy Carriers Because You Expect Less?
By 6.13.12
When it comes to being satisfied with our flying experiences, it turns out we’d rather opt for low-cost carriers like JetBlue, over old legacy airlines like US Airways, according to a new study that rated customer satisfaction. [More]
Survey Finds Best & Worst Airlines For Redeeming Rewards Miles
By 5.17.12
It’s incredibly easy to pile up airline miles. I think I just earned 400 miles for merely mentioning this fact. But as you may have already discovered, it’s not always so simple to actually redeem those miles. A new survey looked at dozens of domestic and international carriers to find which ones were more likely to have seats available for rewards travel. [More]
Woman Sues Southwest To Clarify "Customers Of Size" Policy
By 5.4.12
You may remember the story from last year about a woman who was not allowed on a Southwest Airlines flight after allegedly being told she was “too fat to fly.” The airline apologized for the incident, but the woman is filing a lawsuit in an attempt to get Southwest to clearly define its “Customers of Size” policy. [More]
Southwest Confuses Rabbits With Rodents, Won't Let Passenger Board With Bunny
By 3.6.12
Southwest Airlines allows passengers to carry-on Emotional Support Animals, so long as the passenger provides the required documentation, the animal is trained to not freak out on a crowded plane and the passenger isn’t seated in an emergency exit seat. But at least one Southwest staffer not only decided this allowance does not extend to rodents — he also mistakenly believes that rabbits are rodents. [More]
Who Put This Stupid Light Pole In The Way Of My Southwest Flight?
By 1.30.12
Earlier this morning, a Southwest Airlines flight made it all the way from Los Angeles to Denver without any apparent incident. That is, until the huge Boeing 737 managed to clip a light pole. [More]
Southwest Passenger Uses Craigslist To Track Down Stolen Laptop
By 11.3.11
This story is useful in two ways. First, as an example of how you can utilize freely available online tools to help yourself when others won’t. And second, as yet another example of why you should never, ever check your laptop on a flight. [More]
Pushing Your Way Onto A Plane Without A Ticket Is A Good Way To Get Arrested
By 10.27.11
Usually when we write about the cops being called to an airplane, it involves a ticketed passenger being forcibly removed from the jet. But in a nice change of pace, here’s the story of a man who allegedly thought he could just push his way onto a Southwest flight sans ticket. [More]
Southwest Deletes Entire $140 Credit Because $10 Of It Was Too Old
By 9.9.11
Southwest Airlines has a policy where “unused, fully refundable tickets that do not carry restrictions may be applied toward future travel or refunded within one year from the date of issue.” Unfortunately, something this policy doesn’t state is that you apparently lose that entire credit if even a small portion of that original ticket was purchased using an old credit. [More]
Southwest Flight Attendants May Sue Over Pilot's "Gays, Grannies & Grandes" Rant
By 6.23.11
Yesterday, an unnamed Southwest Airlines pilot made headlines when it was discovered he’d accidentally broadcast his complaints about the lack of straight, slender, young hotties working as flight attendants for the airline to Houston air traffic control and anyone else listening in. Not surprisingly, the attendants — regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation or bangability — are not pleased. [More]
Get A Refund After An Airfare Pricedrop
By 6.3.11
It is possible to get a refund for the difference if the airfare drops after you buy your ticket, but you’ll usually have to fly one of these three airlines to make it worth your while. [More]
An Airline Actually Reduced A Fee
By 4.28.11
Airlines have tacked on more and more fees over the years as a way to recoup costs without having to raise their base fares as much, but Frontier has broke with these seemingly relentless upward tradition and actually reduced some fees this week. Thunderclap! [More]
Check Out Your Airline's Safety Records Online Before You Fly
By 4.6.11
Are you tired of waiting for those scary headlines to hit detailing safety failures to find out about an airline’s safety records? For those spooked by Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 forced to make an emergency landing when a hole torn open in its fuselage mid-flight, there are a few things you can do to check things out before booking and boarding. [More]
FAA Calls For Mandatory Inspection Of Older Boeing 737s
By 4.5.11
Following this past weekend’s incident in which a Southwest Airlines jet suddenly got a sunroof when a hole opened up in the plane’s fuselage and the subsequent finding of problematic cracking on at least three other Southwest jets, the FAA is set to require inspections of around 175 older Boeing 737s. [More]
Cracks Found In Three More Southwest Jets
By 4.4.11
It has not been a good weekend for Southwest Airlines. The carrier grounded dozens of planes and canceled hundreds of flights after a hole opened up in the fuselage of a plane in mid-flight on Friday. Investigators subsequently found widespread cracking in that plane. And now comes news that cracks have been found in at least three more Southwest jets. [More]
Southwest Pilot Holds Plane For Murdered Child's Family
By 1.12.11
Elliott.org has the incredible story of a grandfather who was trying to race through the airport to get to the hospital to say goodbye to his 3-year old grandson who being taken off life support after being body-slammed by his daughter’s live-in boyfriend. Despite getting to the airport early, long lines were going to make him late for the plane and all the TSA drones couldn’t give a damn. Finally through security, he ran through the airport in his socks, clutching his shoes, before arriving, gasping at the Southwest gate—12 minutes late. [More]
Southwest's New Frequent Flier Program Rewards Biz Travelers Over Hoi Polloi
By 1.10.11
If air travel was a multi-player video-game, you would call Southwest’s new “Rapid Rewards” frequent flier program “adjusting the game balance.” In this case, the “Pinstripe” class is getting favorably tweaked at “Joe Sixpack” class’s expense. [More]
