Southwest Airlines

I have been a Southwest customer for years and have rarely had problems. Today I was trying to get home for Thanksgiving. I have signed up to get text messages about the status of my flights and until today this has worked out fine. Until today I have received text messages informing me of flight delays which turned out to be accurate. Today I received 2 successive texts telling me that my flight was being delayed first from the original departure time of 5.25pm until 6.00pm and then of a further delay until 6.20pm. When I arrived at my gate about one hour before the scheduled departure time there was no seating available in the area of the gate from which my flight was leaving. I moved to an area of the concourse where the gates are not currently being used so I could sit and elevate my feet. I was actually sitting there when the second text came telling me of the delay until 6.20pm. At 6.10 I got up and walked down to my gate. When I arrived I discovered that the plane had actually departed at 5.50 before I received the second text. When I spoke with the person at the Customer Service desk I was told that I should not have left the gate and that the announcement that the plane was actually leaving at the originally scheduled time could not be heard in the area where I had been sitting. When I asked why I had received a second text message telling me of a further delay after the flight had actually left I was told that the texts are computer generated and are for my convenience only. I was aware that the plane might actually depart later than the time given in the text message but it had never occurred to me that it might depart earlier than the time predicted by the texts. I was told that my options were to wait for ten next flight which was due in about two hours fly to Baltimore for a layover then fly to Nashville and arrive at my destination a little before mid-night or pay for a hotel room and take a flight in the morning. I could not face several more hours of great discomfort so I am spending tonight in the Microtel without luggage or medication.

Great customer service! After being messed around by United once again where they left me stranded in St Louis I booked a flight at the airport to Philly (though I really wanted to go to Newark where United was supposed to take me). As I went to the gate for my flight leaving 45 minutes after I booked it I saw the flight to Newark that was supposed to depart 10 minutes before I arrived at the airport had been delayed and was now leaving in 5 minutes. Went to gate agent explained I was screwed by United and really wanted to go to Newark he said "No problem" switched me to the Newark flight and handed me the ticket. When I asked how much he said "No charge have a nice flight".

Delayed 4 hours each way from Philadelphia to California. No explanation whatsoever. They put me on a different flight and my luggage on the original flight and then lost my luggage! I would rather walk than take Southwest.

I fly with Southwest Airlines frequently. In fact I hardly ever fly with any other US carrier. This does not mean that I love the airline merely that by US standards it is not bad. Some flights go well and the crew are a lot of fun. This was especially the case on both flights I took on 28 October from San Francisco to Phoenix and from Phoenix to Minneapolis. The crew were friendly told jokes and made me feel almost refreshed despite having a long Osaka-Hong Kong-San Francisco flight the day before. At times the flights either leave much to be desired or can be almost horrific as was the case on both flights I took with them on the 7th of October -- Minneapolis to Phoenix Phoenix to San Francisco. Surly crews with terrible service. Those two flights drained me more than the flight to Hong Kong despite having less than half the travelling time combined. Most flights are fairly pleasant if unremarkable. Despite the hits and misses I will likely continue flying with Southwest Airlines because they do not charge as many fees and generally speaking do their job with greater efficiency than any other domestic US carrier.

Flight 3246 from Chicago Midway to Columbus Ohio on 11/4/13. They used to be the cheapest: no longer. They used to have the best service: now they are going to start charging for bags. They used to be on time: I'm sitting 3 hours late in an airport for the 6th time in 4 months!

I flew 10/24 flt 440 FLL to PVD. We actually arrived early! Everyone from baggage check to flight attendants to flight crew were extremely nice. Same way on the trip home on 10/28 flight 3761. Both planes were full but it was organized and ran smoothly. Excellent value (free baggage etc). I would take Southwest again just based on the employee attitudes.

I am so disappointed. I used to rave about Southwest but things have taken a turn for the worse! First flight out at 7am and the plane had 'mechanical issues' so we were delayed. We missed our connecting flight. As we were deplaning the flight staff informed us that they held the Southwest connection for those 31 passengers going to Las Vegas however since there were only 19 of us headed to LAX we had to be rebooked. They proceeded to take us to Fort Lauderdale with an ensuing 7 hour layover and then a delay on the tarmac for another hour! I think the worst part was not once did any Southwest employee acknowledge our inconvenience.

Took flight 2009 from Las Vegas 10/33/2013. Told flight was delayed 30 minutes ended up being over an hour and a half. We were waiting on luggage to arrive from another flight. There were approx. 15-20 people trying to make connections in Austin and they were holding the plane for luggage. Usually great flights not this one. Will have to think twice before flying SW again.

My husband for the first time booked three flights with Southwest. We flew from Orlando to New Orleans from New Orleans to Dallas then from Dallas back to Orlando. We were very pleased with the service and we agreed that every seat on a Southwest flight IS compatible to flying first class with any other carrier. They all should take note IJS. You must remember to print your boarding pass 24 hours prior to your flight departure this will determine your boarding zone. The check in was so smooth! No need to fly with any other carrier.

Yesterday 10/6/2013 my husband and I traveled on flight #320 from Phoenix to SF and although the trip was smooth and uneventful we were disappointed that throughout the entire flight (except the last few minutes for landing) the lights in the cabin were dimmed a bit but were never turned completely off. I can only speak for the two of us but I found it very annoying and not relaxing at all. It turned our two hour flight (that I was looking forward to closing my eyes and relaxing) to one in which I was looking at my watch frequently anxious for the flight to end. Disappointing for sure!