The Crazy Traveler

Southwest Airlines and the Comments

Since I posted my love for the Southwest Airlines Blog - Nuts About Southwest, I've gotten some great comments from some friends. Cindy wrote,

I, too love flying Southwest, and not because I lived only 5 minutes from the airport... but they sure have the most affordable prices!

The only downfall I have with southwest is that if you are flying out and back in on the same day. They put you on a Watch list!.... meaning you have to be checked in at the airport in person with proper documentations and identifications... and having to lose the A-List privilege for that day. But otherwise, I am very satisfy flying with Southwest!

This is true and it does happen. I'm not sure that it happens with other airlines but I know it does with Southwest? Why is that? Without actually asking them directly, let's just look at it from a common sense side. Southwest is a low budget airline, but a major player in the economy of flying. The tickets are very inexpensive and their on time arrival ranks highest among on other airline. No matter what, you can always count on them to get you there. Since Southwest doesn't have a status or elite program, they really have no immediate way of knowing who they are dealing with. For instance, when the ticket agent for American Airlines checks me in, it shows up on their screen that I'm executive platinum and they send me right through even if I'm flying to dallas and back in the same day. They have all my flight history logged for the last few years and can see...I'm a business traveler.

I will say this...I think what Cindy is talking about can be a hassle, no doubt about it. But I know she as well as I would rather have the extra safety measure in place.

A long time ago I played in a band. Way before 911. One weekend we happened to be playing in Cleveland, OH. Our bus had broken down and we all need to get home the next day to Nashville. So there we were, ten of us showing up to the airport. We went to the Southwest counter and paid for ten one way tickets home IN CASH. As we were getting our boarding passes, we got these new stickers we hadn't seen before. When we asked what they were for they just said something like, It's just a security measure. We didn't think about it and mind you, hardly anyone ever got pulled over from the security line to get searched...well...all ten of us got searched. Everything we had got searched. Why? We pulled up with no prior reservation and paid in cash...what would you think? I don't blame them for being safe. In fact, I'm glad they did it.

Even though these things can be a hassle, sometimes there's really good reason for it.

And as my friend Ken Davis commented I fly Southwest because it reminds me of standing in the lift lines back in Colorado. First, you need to know that Ken is a comedian. And second..think he is right. Is like the lift lines!

Another friend, Brody Harper, had this comment about the boarding process which i think is something to really pay attention too.

I love Southwest. Most people have a problem with the "no assigned seat" thing, but if you fly 16 or more round trips in a year, they make you a part of the "A-List" where they check in for you and you always get an "A" boarding pass.

Plus the staff seems to always be nicer.

I like that Southwest is getting into the mode of taking care of the business traveler. For people who travel, that's not a lot of flying.

Thanks Ken, Brody and Cindy for the great comments!

Southwest Airlines Blog - Nuts About Southwest

If you haven’t checked out Southwest Airlines Blog then you should today. They have the best blog of any airline and one of the few blogs put out there by an airline. I actually wrote about there blog on my personal site back in September which you could read here, but I will post a portion of it below.
                  
Here’s a disclaimer. I fly American Airlines 95% of the time. The reason is because I travel internationally and the have the best service for me when it comes to international travel. However, when I need to get some where really quick and affordably, I will fly Southwest. I flew them as a kid and when I traveled in a band.

Most musicians flying out of Nashville fly Southwest for  couple of reasons. Most of the time if you book in advance, the ticket costs are low. When it comes to being on time, they do it better than any other airline, and finally...they have a 3 bag allowance instead of the typical 2 bag allowance on other airlines like American.