Southwest Airlines

eeyorefanuk · Oct 11, 2014

Hi

Being from the UK not really heard of them

Do many of you use them?

Do you get food included

Thinking of going vegas to orlando

Many thanks

rznhal · Oct 11, 2014

Never had any trouble with southwest...they are a budget airline, but they have some really great customer policies like they don't charge for
Bags, and my husband recently had to cancel a trip and they gave him full credit towards another flight!!!

I've never been on a flight long enough for a meal, they normally just serve pretzels.

HTH!!

AceDodger · Oct 11, 2014

Southwest is a great airline. I recommend you use them to get from Las Vegas to Orlando. They do not serve a meal, only small items like peanuts, pretzels, potato chips, etc. They also serve free non-alcoholic beverages and charge for beer and alcohol. During the flight, they do not take cash only credit cards for the drinks and snacks. They offer inflight wifi and sometimes it is free. Their customer service is one of the best in the industry. Like was previously said, 2 checked bags are free and you can take to small carry on's. Enjoy!

SMD · Oct 11, 2014

Southwest is similar to EasyJet. Open seating, no meals, free checked bag. Many of their flights are not direct, but broken up into segments. They used to give a snack box on flights over 2 hours, but I think that stopped. You can bring snacks with you, or buy something after you pass security to take with you.

bcla · Oct 12, 2014

They used to have an advantage when it came to fares, but that's mostly gone away over the years. However, they tend to provide a far more pleasant experience. They're also ubiquitous at several airports like Las Vegas, Oakland, or Los Angeles.

There are no assigned seats. One is assigned a boarding order and picks a seat at the time of boarding. It can be chaotic to some degree, but the crew usually knows what to do to help things along.

There is no longer any food service. It was mentioned that they used to sell "snack boxes". They may provide either complimentary peanuts or pretzels. They also have complimentary soft drinks and $5 alcoholic beverages (major US-recognized credit cards only).

http://www.southwestthemagazine.com/flightservices/flight-services2.pdf

mwmom · Nov 2, 2014

I live in Dallas and fly Southwest often on short trips. Love the airline-one of the best customer service experiences due to the way they treat employees. I am excited that the Wright Amendment lifted last month so I can now fly them non-stop around the U.S. It is open seating and snacks may be limited, but they don't charge a baggage fee which is huge!

Jdismom · Nov 4, 2014

We love Southwest and prefer to fly them whenever possible.

TheChapman6 · Nov 5, 2014

I love southwest free luggage, free soda and pretzels. Bring your own food in case I've never had a meal but I my short flights!

CowboyCO · Nov 18, 2014

We love Southwest. It is my favorite airline due to their liberal baggage policy, excellent customer service and generally competitive fares.

lost*in*cyberspace · Nov 23, 2014

eeyorefanuk said:
Hi

Being from the UK not really heard of them

Do many of you use them?

Do you get food included

Thinking of going vegas to orlando

Many thanks

No US airline provides a free meal on domestic flights unless you are flying in business or first class.

If you are thinking about flying Southwest, be sure to visit their website and read their policies regarding check-in, seat selection and EBCI first.

They currently have an abysmal on time record.

pmaurer74 · Jan 11, 2015

we usually fly Southwest. The no bag fees are great. We do pay extra for priority boring when we have the kids with us. The serve pretzels and peanuts and soft drinks.

canyoncam · Jan 11, 2015

Depends on what you really want out of a flight. I LOVE Southwest as they fly most places I go, I have the cc so get free drink coupons, using points I can change my flights as often as I want (did so three times last week) with no extra charges (only point difference), two free checked bags and free Carryon and personal bag (that's at least half my closet and probably most peoples entire closet!) Can see the cons with the open seating which does not usually work for a family unless you pay for the EBCI. Their customer service still is a cut above every other airline though I have noticed it going down from my first flight 6 years ago. Still I think they are an excellent choice if price and time work for you.

lost*in*cyberspace · Jan 15, 2015

pmaurer74 said:
we usually fly Southwest. The no bag fees are great. We do pay extra for priority boring [sic] when we have the kids with us. The serve pretzels and peanuts and soft drinks.

Please note that EBCI is not priority boarding. It is a paid service to check you in at 36 hours before flight, rather than 24 hours. You may or may not get a good boarding number.

bcla · Jan 15, 2015

lost*in*cyberspace said:
Please note that EBCI is not priority boarding. It is a paid service to check you in at 36 hours before flight, rather than 24 hours. You may or may not get a good boarding number.

Southwest is at least marketing it as a chance to get a better boarding number. From the way they tell it, once should get a better boarding number than someone doing online check-in starting 24 hours before the departure.

https://www.southwest.com/flight/early-bird-retrieve-reservation.html

Better Boarding Position

We'll automatically check you in and assign your boarding position within 36 hours of your flight's departure - that's 12 hours before general boarding positions become available. While EarlyBird Check-In doesn't guarantee an A boarding position, it improves your seat selection options to help you get your favorite seat.

My understanding is that Business Select gets a guaranteed A1-A15 boarding number. EBCI would get the next. Then all other passengers get the number in order.

DaretoDis · Jan 15, 2015

bcla said:
Southwest is at least marketing it as a chance to get a better boarding number. From the way they tell it, once should get a better boarding number than someone doing online check-in starting 24 hours before the departure.

My understanding is that Business Select gets a guaranteed A1-A15 boarding number. EBCI would get the next. Then all other passengers get the number in order.

A-List comes after Business Select, then EBCI.

hpfan100 · May 29, 2015

eeyorefanuk said:
Hi

Being from the UK not really heard of them

Do many of you use them?

Do you get food included

Thinking of going vegas to orlando

Many thanks

We fly southwest almost exclusively and are very happy with them. As mentioned before good customer service, open seating and free checked bags are provided. On longer flights such as Vegas to Orlando southwest with come around with the standard peanuts and pretzels as well as a selection of other snack items usually crackers, cookies and such. You take as much as you like. Also free water, coffee, juices and coke products are given. Wifi is not free on the southwest planes unless you are a list preferred. However there is free tv and flight tracker available for free to all.

Boarding goes in this order typically...pre board for those needing assistance, a1-15 which are the business select tickets, then a list members, then early bird check in purchasers, then general boarding a,b and c groups. In between a and b groups us family boarding for groups with little ones.

I have found direct flights from Vegas and Phoenix to Orlando have many families so that can mean many people pre boarding and using family boarding. A few ways to insure the best boarding number include buying early bird check in for at least one flyer, paying 40 dollars to upgrade to business select at the airport fir at least one flyer, earn a list status for at least one flyer or just check in right at 24 hours before flight and hope for an a pass.

Wow that was a ton of info...sorry about that.

bcla · Jun 1, 2015

DaretoDis said:
A-List comes after Business Select, then EBCI.

Old thread revival, but that's not was Southwest says:

https://www.southwest.com/businessselect/

Priority Boarding
Be one of the first to board with a guaranteed A1-15 boarding position. Pick the seat you want and have room for your carryon bags.

DaretoDis · Jun 1, 2015

You are correct about Priority Boarding, but mistaken who comes next. It is always A-List, then EBCI. Your quote about Priority Boarding is correct as far as Business Select, but mentions nothing about A-List or EBCI.

bcla · Jun 2, 2015

DaretoDis said:
You are correct about Priority Boarding, but mistaken who comes next. It is always A-List, then EBCI. Your quote about Priority Boarding is correct as far as Business Select, but mentions nothing about A-List or EBCI.

But Business Select is guaranteed to be in A1 to A15. EBCI may result in A-list, but that's not guaranteed. It's actually Business Select, then EBCI, then the remainder in the order received. They use A/B/C to turn them into groups, but it's really 1 to 143. A isn't ahead of EBCI; it's likely to be part of the A group.

https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/faqs.html?topic=earlybird_checkin
Will EarlyBird Check-In Customers get an "A" Boarding Pass and be among the first to board?

More than likely you will receive an "A" Boarding Pass, but not always.

If it's 10 passengers with Business Select and 25 passengers pay for EBCI, then the first group gets A1 to A10, and the EBCI passengers get A11 to A36. They say it's likely but not guaranteed for EBCI to be A-list . I suppose it's possible for 15 Business Select and 50 EBCI, where the result would be A1 to A15 for Business Select, then A16 to A60, plus B1 to B5 for EBCI passengers.

drnp · Jun 14, 2015

Its also worth noting the seats are much more comfortable on Southwest than the other US legacy carriers. If you can get a non stop, I would choose Southwest.

Southwest Airlines

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

Earning My Ears

DIS Veteran

On our rugged Eastern foothills.....

5th Time Disney Visitor

Mouseketeer

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

DIS Veteran

original Bambi &Thumper

DIS Veteran

On our rugged Eastern foothills.....

Mouseketeer

Extendable Ears Anyone?

On our rugged Eastern foothills.....

Mouseketeer

On our rugged Eastern foothills.....

Mouseketeer

Share this page