Southwest Airlines Passenger Reviews and Southwest Airlines Customer Trip Reports

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  18 January 2011 by K Rogers (USA)

MDW-MCO-MDW. Traveled with the family for a quick Disney vacation. Flight out on time and even with kids had no problem sitting together. On return we took advantage of the Southwest off airport check-in location in Lake Buena Vista so got the bags checked and boarding pass and even though the flight was delayed on the return we only had to get to the airport 45 minutes before our flight and were able to go straight to the gate.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  18 January 2011 by J Sabaduquia (USA)

Southwest Airlines LGA-BWI-LGA, all flights on-time. FAs very friendly and talkative, free drinks is always appreciated. Free checked-in bags (2) compared to other airlines that will nickel and dime you for everything. Plane was clean, boarding was fast and efficient. Wonderful airline, excellent customer service from ground crew to flight crew.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  18 January 2011 by J Cole (USA)

PIT-LAX Was a little leery about flying across the country with Southwest (usually use it to fly across Pennsylvania), but decided to give it a try because I absolutely refuse to pay an airline to carry a bag. I was not at all disappointed. The good service I had received on short trips was even better on the longer flight. Snacks were fine, the personnel was kind (something it is difficult to say for the legacy carriers), and the seats were comfortable. I booked a flight recently to the West Coast and, once again, chose Southwest.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  17 January 2011 by Kelly Garcia (USA)

TUL-SAT-TUL Go this route often, mostly because of price, but will continue to use. Day before Christmas Eve, less than 48 hours after my mother passed away, 6:00am flight, mind in a fog, I left my cell phone at the baggage check in SAT. Went through long security line, sat down at the gate and realized it was missing. Told the gate agent who quickly phoned down to the baggage desk to ask if it was there - and it was! Flight boarding, time running out, and agent from the baggage desk RAN it down to the gate, as I would have never made it back through security again. Now that's customer service.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  17 January 2011 by Mike Green (USA)

SAN to ELP return (through PHX). Having flown SWA for years there is great comfort in understanding the boarding process and open seating. The flight crews are professional and engaging, service is well done with a selection of soft-drinks, wine, beer, and juices and sometimes a choice of peanuts or pretzels. There is one non-stop flight each day both ways on this route and choices of flights to SAN through LAS and occasionally ALB. SWA is reliable and accommodating with a simple and straightforward business model.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  9 January 2011 by S Neill Bell (USA)

DEN-LAS return. Bags do fly free. Online check in is fine. Bag drop at Denver fast enough for those checked-in. Swift flight down. Soft drinks & peanuts handed out. OK in flight magazine. Uneventful. Return journey was terrible. 6am flight. Checked in OK but no staff appeared until 4.45am, by which time a massive queue had formed. We hardly had time to get a snack before boarding but then had to wait on the plane for other late folk. Laughable. I can see where they save money: reduce staffing. Arrived in Denver OK but really, it is quite a flimsy airline as the service in Las Vegas shows.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  5 January 2011 by S Queirolo (USA)

San Jose (SJC) to Santa Ana (SNA) return. For both flights, checking in on-line 24 hours before each flight got me an "A25" or better boarding pass, and on both flights I was able to get a window seat on the over-wing emergency exit row, with lots of leg room. On the flight to SNA, the flight attendant spent quite a bit of time going over the emergency exit procedures, which I think was a great example of how this airline can be both professional (take care of serious business) and laid back (announcements are usually quite funny and entertaining!). Soft drinks and peanuts served on these 1-hour flights, and two suitcases checked in, free.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  3 January 2011 by Philip Ellis (UK)

My teenage daughters and I flew SouthWest San Diego - Vegas return. We found them to be brilliant, and far better than their European equivalents - easyjet and Ryanair. We checked in online as soon as the 24 hour window opened, boarded amongst the first passengers - thus avoiding the scramble, and able to sit together. The boarding process is far smoother than in Europe and although the flight was only an hour long, we were served complimentary soft drinks and peanuts/pretzels. The outward flight was on time, and return delayed 20 mins or so. The cabin crew were courteous and friendly, and safety announcements were light hearted and funny, but got the message across - we probably paid more attention to these humorous announcements than we would have to the regular dry offerings. The flights (pre booked in September) were good value and we would have no hesitation in flying SouthWest again.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  31 December 2010 by Ed Lebeau (USA)

Southwest is at best a fair weather friend. My latest trip has been an epic debacle with poor customer relations, shoddy baggage handling, and a consistent and frustrating choice by this airline to make no effort whatsoever to get me home. Flying Southwest is like driving a car without insurance - ok until something goes wrong. And when something does go wrong, Southwest will do nothing to make it right, unlike better airlines. Customer loyalty means nothing to this airline as well.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  19 December 2010 by John Clift (UK)

DEN-SLC, very late booking less than 12 hours before flight left a good fare and no hassle. Flight was full but crew provided service with a smile. If you follow their booking system, you cannot fault them at all. Compared to legacy carriers within the US, Southwest are the best.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  12 December 2010 by Kim Ash (USA)

My husband has been unemployed a while and we were wondering how we were going to get my daughter a plane ticket to come home for Christmas. Southwest Airlines have really fair prices, their website is customer friendly. When we found my daughter's situation had changed and she would be able to come home earlier, it was very easy to change her flight online - and Southwest didn't charge a big fee to change the ticket. Only a few dollars that was the higher price of the new ticket.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  25 November 2010 by C Smith (USA)

As a young inexperienced traveler, I relied on our travel agent to recommend the best airline for our honeymoon. She recommended Southwest as the best. We book at a reasonable rate for the holiday season as soon as tickets became available. Everything was good to go until we got our tickets with no seat number. We ended up being one of the last people on the plane with only a few middle seat left scattered across the plane when we got on. Then we saw an open pair together, only to be rudely told by a stewardess that they were reserved in case another family boarded. I politely said how about a new family, we just got married. She rudely said no, find a seat and turned around. Luckily a kind man gave us his seat so we could sit together but the rest of the trip we full of rude comments from the stewardess about how she couldn't believe he moved!

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  18 November 2010 by R Harrison (USA)

We were forced to change our scheduled departure from New Orleans because my partner became seriously ill. We departed New Orleans three days early. We paid $200.00 in additional fees for the flight rescheduling which to me was acceptable by today's rules. I asked Southwest for a refund of the Early Bird Seating fee ($20.00) sending them the hospital and rescheduling documentation. Southwest called and said they would refund $200.00 because of the medical emergency - said they did not believe in taking advantage of their customers. I have always found Southwest Airlines to be fair, honest, and customer friendly which is why I stay with them.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  11 November 2010 by B Rothblum (USA)

My original ticket from Palm Beach Florida to Denver Colorado was screwed up through American Airlines. They wanted to charge me $900 to fix it. I was trying to figure out something to do and ended up talked to agents at SWA and without a thought, they started working the problem for me. By the end of the it, I had a ticket for $400 and was set to go! They took care of everything and I was on my way before I knew what to do.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  29 October 2010 by J Foulk (USA)

More and more disenchanted with Southwest. Used them three times this summer and the experience got worse each time. Southwest check in and other representatives rude. No wonder the bags fly free, Southwest has no intention of taking reasonable care with them. Now we have discovered that they make you sign a waiver saying that they aren't responsible if your golf clubs don't arrive at your destination or if they are damaged in transit. Also on our last two flights the attendants made the safety briefing into a real joke and didn't even complete it properly. It is nice to try to make flying fun, but I think that they are crossing the line. Not all customers are frequent flyers who are familiar with the safety aspects of a plane. They used to be my favorite airline, but not anymore. They are not always the least expensive and definitely lack customer service.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES customer review :  12 October 2010 by Mary Thomm (Canada)

Phoenix to Detroit. Very good service. Had a toddler travelling with us and check-in was super efficient. It took less than five minutes and we were off with our boarding passes. I travel Southwest at least once a month and I will continue to travel with them, even if their prices increase.