Southwest--should I ever trust them again?

I used to use Southwest a lot b/c they often were the only airline with a direct flight to where I needed to go, plus were cost effective. But I know I’ve seen a lot of people upset with them since the pandemic (on this board) and now I’m pretty horrified that they have melted down so badly this holiday season while most other airlines are doing much better. Not sure if I’m going to trust them again. How do you feel about this? I still haven’t flown since the pandemic started but am intending to start again soon.

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I’ve got a trip in 30 days and am scheduled to fly with them. I’m going to keep an eye on them to see if I they have recovered and can move forward from this. If there is a snow storm on the horizon before my trip, we will cancel our flights and make a 14+ hour drive.

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I use SW as my main carrier… I have had a whole trip cancelled when they grounded all flights they day of. I hate the seating arrangements too. However, I have been to Orlando 5 times this year using SW and every flight has gone smoothly.

I’m going back in Feb. and using SW. I’ve had issues with Delta too… None of these are perfect. SW is my most affordable airline.

The holidays are always a mess every year. It’s been a busy travel year. I’ve seen the airports packed later in 2022. When I started going in Feb. 2022 I planes were about half full.

I will say that flight credits no longer expire with SW. So if the flight does get cancelled you don’t lose your money anymore. You don’t get a refund, but they’ll often add bonus miles as an apology

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I have flown other carriers a few times since the pandemic but it comes at a cost - monetary or time - so I keep coming back to southwest. It feels a bit like an abusive relationship that way sometimes. I much prefer JetBlue over anyone else lately but that means traveling to Boston and paying to park – and when I factor that in it negates the savings and I wind up traveling from the airport that is quite literally in my back yard.

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I will have to come back to this thread again once I finally get home and forget what they are putting us through.

For now, SWA is with United on my “I will never fly again” list.

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This is the thing, right? Except for me, Spirit is even more affordable but flies but twice a day to MCO at most. So that brings its own risk.

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No shot i would fly with SW right now. They’ve been tetering for a while, and seems they’ve gone off the deep end now.

I’d wait at least 6 months before considering them. Looking at the statistics this holiday weekend and seeing all the other airlines got their stuff together BUT SW is over there blaming the weather? Yikes.

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We rarely fly as a family for vacations. It just costs too much and driving works well. That said, my family does fly to/from NY one here or there, or have a family member or friend visit us.

SWA has been a PITB a LOT this year (not just this week). I’d be hard pressed to use them if the actual arrival needed to be specific. It seems like each case needs to be weighed.

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If a flight is $10 but never actually flies, does it make a sound or was truly ever $10? – er something like that? :smiley:

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Based on @JustKeepSmiling’s awfully timed cancellation this morning and the stress of that, I would completely avoid :frowning:

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TLDR: It feels a bit like gambling these days with air travel. It shouldn’t, but it does.

My options out of the MHT are fewer than in the past. But, when all goes well I am at the airport in 5 minutes, and I’m home from the airport in 5 minutes when I return. That’s not an exaggeration. I live 2.5 miles away, so that’s literally 5 minutes of travel.

If I travel to Boston, I’m out at least an hour each way depending on time of day and commuter traffic. If there’s bad weather, better double down on that. And when I get there I have to pay quite a sum to park. Use a car service instead? Cost is the same or nearly so in the end, so may as well park and be in full control of my own destiny, at least on the ground.

If I travel out of MHT and my flight is cancelled, I can go home and wait there comfortably for updates. If my flight out of BOS is cancelled or delayed, I’ve gotta just sit there because the travel time is too much to do anything else.

But, travel out of BOS on JetBlue seems to be the best option with the least disruption. Except for the day they weren’t and everyone was hating on them. Also the runway at MHT is heated so if there’s weather it’s less likely to be cancelled provided the aircraft is there; BOS doesn’t fare well in weather.

All this is just a glimpse inside of what goes on in my mind when it’s time to make air travel plans. It’s insane that it’s so bad!

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I saw the cancellation for JustKeepSmiling after I wrote this topic thread. Yikes. I argee to with the person who said they don’t like the seating. I am very particular and really can’t stand the idea of not knowing where I will sit. I agree to wait at least 6 months before considering them again.

Link?

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Her DD gets married in IL Saturday and flights canceled for the week …

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What happened with United? I ask b/c I have a flight credit with them that I have to use before end of April. I don’t think I’ve actually ever flown with them before. I’m sorry you’re currently having problems with Southwest too. I hope you get home soon.

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I generally avoid them like the plague because of the bad reviews. Frequent cancellations and bad customer service.

Then I took a chance earlier this year, and lo and behold, flight canceled in the last minute.

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Actually, the wedding is Friday. Rehearsal dinner Thursday. So they have even less time to get there and get things ready.

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I remember wondering if I should move my JetBlue flight due to their issues in April. Flight Cancellations: JetBlue Flights From Logan Continue to Be Canceled as Issues Persist – NBC Boston

It seems like the all have their turn and right now, it’s Southwest. We used to love when they and Orlando flights from Worcester because it’s 20 miles away instead of the hour to BOS, BDL or PVD. But we knew booking it we might have issues because tiny airport doesn’t have much wiggle room for error with 1 flight a day.

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Actually the thread I intended to cite was by RuizHome called “Thanks Southwest,” about a trip that had to be entirely cancelled due to SW cancelling the flights. I can’t figure out how to link a thread into another thread. So that’s another example of an entire trip cancelled due only to SW.

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Check this out. Make sure to look at the rank using number of complaints/enplanements. I’ve had good experience flying Delta.

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