Southwest Airlines Passenger Reviews and Southwest Airlines Customer Trip Reports

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  1 July 2011 by J Butler (USA)

I fly Southwest all the time, but this particular trip was not so great! I found a really cheap flight with a 1 hr layover, which turned into a 3 hr layover. Because my original flight destination time was so late, a 3 hr layer had me arriving at 2am, when all public transportation (which I use) has ended. I think I should have been compensated for my transportation to the city.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  29 June 2011 by S London (USA)

As a former Northwest/Delta Airlines customer (exclusively), I may be easier to impress. Southwest recently started direct flights between Phoenix and Minneapolis. We purchased tickets in May at what we considered to be very reasonable fare for a roundtrip to celebrate our grandson's second birthday in Minneapolis. My father passed away two weeks prior to our scheduled departure. I called SW seeking assistance. After a brief discussion regarding the circumstances and flight availability the associate announced a fee of $783.00. With the shortest of pauses (I was choosing an appropriate reaction) he asked me to hold while he consulted with a Customer Care agent. A few more questions resulted in a change in three of the four legs of our trip for a total cost of $10.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  26 June 2011 by M Cymbalak (Australia)

I flew SouthWest a number of times between US cities, and really like the product they offer. It is low cost and I didn't experience any hidden surprises. I also like the no fuss nature, the airplane comes in, people get off, the next lot get on, and it takes off again. It’s great if you just want to get from A to B. The two checked bag allowance is a win, as I arrived in the US on an international flight with 2 bags so it was helpful to have these included without additional cost (as many/all other US airlines charged). I will continue to fly SouthWest when I visit the US.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  24 June 2011 by E Phelps (USA)

I've been a Rapid Rewards member since 2000, and have spent time on the A-List (but not there currently.) SWA has consistently been above and beyond all other airlines I've flown (AMR, Delta, Continental) for customer service, and they are much more likely to be on-time and not pulling booking shenanigans. Transparency on the (minimal) fees is a giant plus.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  11 June 2011 by J Britt (USA)

I fly SouthWest constantly - they aren't perfect, but employees are cheerful, legroom and storage room at your feet is better than other airlines, bags are free, and there are no change fees if you need to change a flights.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  7 June 2011 by Bruce Woodward (USA)

I am done with Southwest. I just got screwed by the inability to change a passenger just like so many others recently. The agent said they have been telling people about this for some time. News to me. As soon as I can arrange it I'm paying off my Southwest credit card and sending it and my rapid rewards card to them in pieces.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  1 June 2011 by J Webber (USA)

Extremely disappointed in Southwest's recent changes to the policy on the inability to change a passenger name once the ticket has been purchased. I bought a ticket for an employee before this policy took effect who was not able to make the trip. Since then, SW started supposedly "enforcing a policy that has been in place" without any sort of notification. Now, I'm out almost $500 because they won't refund the ticket or allow me to use the credit for another passenger - even if it's just transferred to my name. Their reason when I filed a complaint? "a proactive step to align our business with the general practice of the airline industry" So it seems SW is, in fact, purposefully intending to become just another airline. The really upsetting part is that only a week or two earlier, another trip for an employee had to be cancelled and I was able to use the flight credit for someone else. Suddenly, I can't. No notification at all. I get emails just about every other day from SW advertising their "get- away" deals; couldn't they have simply sent out an email letting us know their policy was going to go into effect? I was an extremely loyal SW customer, but they've lost my business for good. I know I'm only one of many people this has affected - they told me as much when I called to complain.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  22 May 2011 by Kasi Franck (USA)

Terrible customer service. I purchased tickets for my employees to take a trip in October 2011 and one of the employees can no longer go. This trip has been planned 5 months in advance. Southwest will not let anyone else use the ticket even though we gave 5 months notice. They would not allow any name transfers. Only the named employee could use the ticket no else could go in her place. They would only refund if they were given a copy of a death certificate of the employee.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  20 May 2011 by D Fenske (USA)

Travelled SW for the first time because my son gave me and my husband SW giftcards so we booked a trip to Vegas. We paid the extra $10. each was for early bird seating, we got A section between 15 and 30, that was good. I think if you are flying as a couple it is worth the extra so you can sit together. I hear some people are saving seats for their partner, which I find to be cheap. Anyway, to and from Vegas we had good flights, I liked choosing my seat. I will fly SW again as long as SW stays with limited extra fees. I used to fly Continental only, but they have imposed more fees than I care to read about. Keep up the good work SW and we will stay loyal to you.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  19 May 2011 by Luke Smith (UK)

Boston to Norfolk, via Baltimore, early morning. Boston to Baltimore fine, but probably only because the flight was nearly empty, and I could sleep. Legroom better than on other legacy carriers. Baltimore to Norfolk a horror. A very loud stewardess with a grating Southern accent spent the whole flight on the PA, yelling about seatbelts, how no drinks would be served due to turbulence (there was no turbulence), how no one could get out of his seat due to turbulence (there was no turbulence), how cute all the screaming babies onboard were, and lastly, in signature creepy Americana, how there were soldiers or something onboard so to give them a loud round of applause for their service. So loud applause and the obnoxious, loud flight crew prevented me from getting any sleep on the flight. I understand Southwest has a particular style - a kitsch-laden, obnoxious style. It's not for me. At least the bags were free.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  18 May 2011 by A Morris (USA)

Service was good out of PBI, plane looked a little tired but seats comfortable. Upon arriving in BWI, connecting flight to LGA was delayed 2.5 hrs. They need to improve their LGA service. Got there, but late. Still a great airline.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  18 May 2011 by L Geri (UK)

A mixed-bag trip from Seattle to Washington Dulles . On the plus side, I had to change my itinerary at the last minute and was able to do so on Southwest at minimal cost. Flight out was uneventful. Flight back terrible, I was stuck in Midway after a Dulles delay the airline stated was a mechanical problem, but they refused to provide a hotel voucher. I had to find and pay for my own hotel. The gate agent was very rude.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  17 May 2011 by Alberto Robayo (USA)

Is Southwest becoming too big? It used to be one of the few airlines I could rely on for great customer service and quality. But it seems that with the acquisition of Airtran they also acquired the bad habits of big airlines. My last trip with them was a headache that cost me $500. I got stuck in Chicago for one night and received attitude from the crew when I tried to address the issue. It is great that they don't charge for luggage but I'm curious to see how long that is going to last.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  8 May 2011 by Patrick Lenahan (USA)

Beware, more and more Southwest is just another airline. Latest casualty is the previously elegant Rapid Rewards program, which used to be 16 credits=1 free flight virtually no restrictions. It has now devolved into just another points system with ever more restrictions. During the transition they are still using Awards which was the mechanism by which you reaped the reward of a free flight. But do not convert points into an award - if you do so mistakenly you will never get them converted back into points. Found this out trying to book a flight by converting to award first which was akin to the previous protocol, but the flight had "no" award seats available. You could buy a seat with your points, but after conversion to award I didn't have enough points available, and Southwest has made their system physically incapable of correcting the conversion, not even during this period of new learning for their customers. They make no statement that I could find that such conversions are irrevocable. In other words, if you make a mistake, too bad - you can pay for a ticket, but Southwest won't help you correct your points v. award error and you have to wait for another flight within the coming year to use it. Yes, the award expires, though the points do not while you continue to generate trip activity.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  30 April 2011 by D Smyth (New Zealand)

New Orleans to Las Vegas and Las Vegas to SFO. Excellent experience on both journeys, friendly staff, on time departures and bags free. I don't understand the benefit of open seating policy but that is the only thing I didn't like. I did however pay $10 extra for early bird-check in and got an "A" pass between 15-20 both times. Early-bird check in automatically checks you in 24 hours before the flight thus increasing your chances of an "A" boarding pass. In retrospect I would only do this for longer flights when it really does help if you can avoid that middle seat.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  28 April 2011 by B Atwood (USA)

Travelled Southwest for the first time round trip Manchester Phoenix. Cannot understand the open seating "gimmick" this airline uses. On the return trip we were not able to participate in the competition to call within 24 hours and get an "earlier" boarding assignment as we were travelling in a remote area with no cell coverage. Therefore as we were among the last to board we (and many other couples) were not able to sit together. The flight attendants "helped" by continuing to instruct us to just "find a seat, single seats only available". We ended up separated by 20 rows. The reason for this practice must have something to do with saving the airline money because there is no apparent benefit for passengers. But the on line seat selection process that all the other airlines use is obviously computerized and can't cost much if anything to oversee, so why does Southwest do this?? Certainly feels like one of those brilliant ideas the management team comes up with that blindly ignores the needs of some passengers. Won't fly Southwest again.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  27 March 2011 by N Shyshkin (Canada)

TPA-MSY. I love the fact how the first and second bag are free - and they gave us our boarding passes and took our luggage away when we were still outside. The boarding and seating was a bit crazy but managed well. The small snacks were nice and great service.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  23 March 2011 by F Bowden (USA)

The service is about the same you would get at a decent restaurant, seats are soft, snacks are tasty, no entertainment, but no big deal. The flight was smooth and enjoyable. When we were in Baltimore, our plane got delayed by a storm in Panama city Florida. At least our bags were free!

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  14 March 2011 by Margaret Wertz (USA)

Baltimore to Buffalo. We were very concerned about being able to deal with my mothers handicaps. From entering the airport in Baltimore to meeting our pick up in Buffalo Southwest was extremely helpful throughout the entire trip and made us very comfortable in our travel. I was very anxious about taking my mother on this trip and they truly came through for us. Thank you Southwest.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  1 March 2011 by J Nicklasson (USA)

After flying several other airlines to/from locations Southwest does not serve, I am reminded how great Southwest's business model truly is. They are reliable, honest, easy to work with, friendly and make travel less stressful. I try to fly Southwest to ensure I don't battle the stress of other airlines.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  25 February 2011 by T Erickson (USA)

Manchester (MHT) to Norfolk (ORF) Business select. Multiple children and elderly on the flight, but it was vacation week. Flight took off late, landed on time. I would not pay the 225% extra for the BS fare versus the wanna get away fare due to what you receive for that increase, but work takes care of it as it is for business. The free drinks are nice, even on short hops form BWI to ORF in BS. Only major complaint to Southwest Airlines, do not board anyone ahead of Business select class unless they pay the same fare or please place them in rows 4 and up. When you pay $230 for Business select, you should board the plane before anyone else, especially if they only paid ~$89 for their ticket.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  30 January 2011 by J Brownjohn (UK)

Midway to Washington on very full and very cramped aircraft in cramped seats. I would not care to sit like that for more than a couple of hours. It's efficient, cheap and easy to use and fine if you are of slim build.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  28 January 2011 by L Smith (USA)

Baltimore to Boston. As soon as my flight was cancelled during the recent blizzard, the agent confirmed me on a flight leaving in 5 minutes to Providence RI, while the gate agents for the Providence flight held the flight for me. The flight to Providence RI still arrived pretty much on time, despite the blizzard. Southwest delivered my bags to my door the next day. Everyone was courteous, from check-in to arrival. I thought this was excellent service, and much better than service I have gotten on the major airlines when things go wrong. Also, no fees for bags, no fees for drinks and pretzels onboard, and I hear there are no change fees on this airline, either.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  28 January 2011 by B Hryn (Poland)

MDW-BDL-MDW. Checkin was fast and so was boarding, nice B737. FA's talkative, nice low cost airline where bags fly free. Seats comfortable, typical American snacks served.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  24 January 2011 by Glenda Bellio (USA)

Denver to San Jose and back. Did not mind grabbing whatever seat as I felt it brought out the best in most people. The staff was friendly, seats were for the most part comfortable. All but the back row as those seats do not recline. The only real issue I had was that when we checked in to leave San Jose our tickets, Picked up at terminal, read gate 22 as well as the board. Yet some time between then and the flight the gate had changed to 23. If I had not struck up a conversation with the gentleman setting near me I would have not know until I had missed my flight. My suggestion is with your computer system you should know if a passenger has checked in before a gate change. Please make an announcement at the old gate of the change.