Southwest Airlines

I recently took a trip from Albany to Orlando and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although the boarding process is a little strange as long as you check in on time there is a very good chance that you will find good seats even if you are traveling with family members. I got B27 because I checked in a little late but I was still able to get a window seat over the wing like I wanted. And since I only brought a suitcase and a small duffel bag I didn't have to check any luggage which is free for two bags anyway. I am 5' 3" and small but I imagine that someone much taller and larger would still be as comfortable as I was in the seats. The planes were very clean and the staff were very welcoming and enthusiastic especially on the way down to Orlando. The flight attendants are quite funny during the safety briefing and manage to make you feel as if you are listening to a human being instead of a monotonous robot. They were also sympathetic when our flight back to Albany from Baltimore was delayed about an hour and our gate was switched twice and the captain addressed us personally to apologize. As all three of my flights were less than 3 hours each I didn't order anything but the complimentary snacks were a nice touch. Although each plane I flew on was wifi-equipped I did not purchase it but I did use the free flight tracker. Overall Southwest offered outstanding service and comfort at a lower price than most other airlines that I have flown on. Southwest has given me an experience that I would gladly repeat many times.

First I don't know how anyone that left a review here can honestly say they had plenty of room you all must be very small people. This plane ride from John Wayne Airport to Houston was miserable the free seating is probably the worst idea ever. To make it worse they don't care about your boarding pass order I got on the same as a C31 when I was a B1. The plane is so cramped I could not even put my tray down without it being on my knees. The flight had no delays although for comfort I would take a delay. The "free" wifi is a marketing scheme they actually charge you 8 dollars and you are extremely limited on what you can do. This was a round-trip both times family and friends were trying to save seats. This is supposed to be first come first serve - I did not get to sit with the person I traveled with. Instead both times I sat in the middle seat with people about as big as I am.

My only complaint is that individuals and families were trying to "save" seats for other people on a full flight. Seating is a first come first served basis. That's the reason for the line up when boarding the plane. If you can't get your boarding passes together then don't expect to sit together. Southwest needs to make an announcement at the beginning of the boarding session to ensure that people know this.

Recently my wife and I had a round-trip to Jamaica. Our flight 1042 from Chicago on Dec 26 was delayed 1.5 hrs because one of the lavatories was found non-operational. However the crew learned about it after all passengers had boarded the plane. Boarding started on time on the way back from Montego Bay however after a third of all passengers had boarded the crew found out that 3 seats were non-operational. The flight (Jan 2nd #1043) was oversold. It took a while to find 3 passengers who agreed to take another flight by delaying their return to Chicago. Could the problem with 3 seats identified before starting the boarding? I think Southwest has some opportunities for improving operations.

SAN-LAS. Dec 31st. B737-700. Crowds and crowds. But everything went Ok with SW. Lines to drop off were quick. Boarding was quick. Flight was quick. Even luggage delivery in LAS was quick. The quicker the better. And 2 suitcases for free is fantastic. LAS-BUR. Jan 2nd. B737-700. Same thing. In both cases they said free wi-fi but try to charge. I did not understand.

We flew round trip from Baltimore Washington International to Aruba on December 22 2014. We arrived at 6am for our 8.45 am flight and the lines were long for check in. Curbside check in was not any better. The International line was shorter so we were able to process through in a reasonable amount of time. It was a nice flight with no problems. For our return trip the hotel staff recommended that we get to the airport three hours early. The check in process was very well handled and we even went through the United States Customs before boarding the plane. This made it very easy when we arrived in Baltimore to grab our luggage and go. The return flight had the best flight crew I have ever flown with. The attitude and customer service skills made this flight very enjoyable. Our only complaint was there was no inflight movies available for a 4.5 hour flight.

My wife and I experienced Southwest at it's worst on a flight from Montego Bay Jamaica - you just can't make this up. Flight Delay in MBJ - 3pm flight left MBJ AT 9:30pm told that the plane was originally diverted due to Southwest forgetting to renew its license to fly over Cuba. Complete lack of communication by Southwest staff during 6 hour delay. Once on the plane at MBJ the cabin crew promptly told us that the delay "was not their fault so don't take it out on us". No apology - just that statement. Deplaning delayed 15 minutes at MCO due to incorrect gate height. 1+ hour wait after customs at Southwest counter for new flight and hotel/flight voucher - there were only 2 agents. Couldn't get a flight voucher as Southwest took all computers down for their own overnight daily maintenance. Had to go back and stand in line again in the morning to receive flight vouchers. Rebooked flight of course had C boarding group - had to beg for the "heart" stamp by agents to allow us to board as B1. Flight to MHT on the 14th was delayed 30 minutes making us have to run to make our connection in BWI.

Flew SWA in the last week from BWI-RSW-BWI. First plane was older (737-300) had no WIFI. Seats in the older plane seemed larger/more comfortable than the newer one. Bathroom wasn't cleaned very well (if at all). Second plane was newer (737-700) and had WIFI but it was $8 for a 2 hour flight so I didn't buy it. Other than that they got us to each location on time.

SFO-LAS flight delayed 20 minutes which is fine considering its a budget airline I didn't expect much on the service complimentary 2 pieces check-in baggage is very delightful spacious legroom friendly cabin crew free soft drinks served very enjoyable experience with SouthWest.

My family my husband and I and our two children ages 11 and 14 are well seasoned travelers. We live in the NY area and fly out of LaGuardia several times a year. We know LaGuardia is a busy and cramped airport and deal with it. This weekend was the first time we've ever flown Southwest. Southwest is the worst airline we have been on. Who came up with no assigned seating? We were traveling with my 88 year old mother in law who had to stand in "line B" while we were in "line a". We had to take her luggage because she was not in our seating group and she isn't strong enough to get her suitcase in the overhead bin or savvy enough to pull a suitcase down a cramped aisle. There were no guarantees that my family of five that spend well over $1000 for our flights (in total) were even going to be seated together. Our 11 year old son has anxiety issues and likes to sit by a window when we fly. I never book a flight unless I can see the seating chart and pick our seats before I pay for the flight. This wasn't even an option for us. So I was anxious because I was afraid we would be stuck in separate seats. I had to set my alarm on my phone so I remembered to check in exactly 24 hours in advance so we could secure a good seating assignment. Our flight out of LaGuardia was a nightmare! There's nowhere to sit in the terminal by the gate. So my 88 year old mother in law had to stand until we boarded. There were no TV monitors on telling us when we were going to board. We had been standing in line for about twenty minutes before we realized there wasn't even a plane at the gate. And they had customers singing over the loud speakers as entertainment. They never announced when we were going to start boarding. And once on the plane we sat on the ground for an hour and a half and the pilot never came on and told us we had a delay and how long it was going to be. I do know that I will never fly Southwest again.