Whenever I mention how much I love flying Southwest to an airline snob, I get pretty much the same answer: “They treat you like cattle.” This is in reference to the airline’s system of lining passengers up according to boarding group. Aside from that minor annoyance, I still prefer to fly Southwest during my short-haul flight to Los Angeles every 3-4 months. Here are 5 things I love about Southwest Airlines:
1. They take take your baggage. I’m one of those obnoxious passengers who overstuffs her carryon until it weights more than I do. Sometimes I want to avoid pulling a muscle by checking my bag. It’s nice to know if I want to check two, I won’t have to pay the cost of a round-trip flight to do so.
2. They make you laugh. I don’t know if being funny is a prerequisite for getting hired at Southwest, but everyone from the captain to the FA’s seems to have a great sense of humor. Maybe their employee handbook has a list of jokes they memorize. In any case, at a time when many airline employees have surly attitudes, it’s nice to come across a chipper crew, flight after flight.
3. They give you peanuts. Even on an hour-long flight, when most other airlines would rather throw a drink in your face than serve it to you, the Southwest crew hands out drinks along with pretzels and peanuts.
4. Free entertainment.At a time when airlines want to nickel-and-dime you for everything, including in-flight entertainment, it’s nice that Southwest lets you watch tv free of charge. Thank you Southwest, for giving me the option to watch a new episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta instead of contemplating buying a human slingshot from the Skymall catalog.
5. Rapid Rewards. You gotta love Southwest’s fixed-value redemption chart. With the major airlines, you need at least 12,500 miles for a one-way flight. How many miles do you have to travel as a non-elite to earn this many miles? 12,500.
Through a series of double points promotions, I have managed to turn a few short-haul flights into a free ticket. What’s even greater is the fact that points are easily redeemable. You can redeem on any flight, any time, and without those pesky $75 close-in fees that the major carriers charge.
Say what you want about their boarding system, but they get people on the plane fast. No frills, no nonsense, and a bit of quirkiness goes a long way. United could learn a thing or two from Southwest.
What are your thoughts on Southwest Airlines? Do you love it, hate it?
I disagree with number 5. Their recent updates to the Rapid Rewards program make it no longer an excellent value. It exposes how greedy they are and shows that they don’t care about their customers. It’s ridiculous that 3 of Chase’s Ultimate Rewards partners have changed their frequent flyer/hotel rewards programs (Southwest, United, and Hyatt) in the past couple months, and Chase doesn’t care.
However, on a positive note, one thing I would add to your list is no change fees.
It’s still a pretty good redemption value for short-haul flights. I’m with you on the UR mess, though. Hopefully Chase takes the hint and start partnering up with better programs. Maybe the new American?
Flying between cities in Texas for my job I’ve been a fan of Southwest for a long time.
Same here. Can’t be beat for short-haul flights!