I have gone all in with SW. They fly direct to the two places I go the most often – Chicago to see my DD and of course Orlando! I have the credit card and am deliberate each year in getting A list and the companion pass. I rarely even check prices with other airlines. For me, this is probably a bummer. The rare occasions I fly other airlines though, I have enjoyed knowing where I was going to sit ahead of time. The low age cut off for families on SW is problematic too. I will say there is value in getting to have a little more choice in who you sit next to and that will now be gone completely.
It will be interesting to see if there is any value in A list going forward. My family have a lot of points accrued from the great SW meltdown in Dec 2022 that we haven’t touched because I’d lose my A list benefits for them if they booked separately so at least we may finally use those!
One of the thing I love the most about SW is the refund policy. You always get a credit to use on future flights and there is no expiration on those funds. Do any other airlines do that on their basic fares?
Yes or just general area. When I travel with Ben and we are using my A list, we board early in the As. Generally, that will give him a buffer of having kids super close. Doesn’t always work but I can be more deliberate.
Yes, I like the Wanna Getta Away + fares for that. If I was booking and paying for someone other than myself and worried the trip may not happen, I could still get the funds to use for myself if canceled. I hope those aspects of the company don’t change. Now that they’ve opened the door to changes, it feels like anything could be up for grabs.
I know a lot of airlines up the prices based simply on you looking at prices. SW does not. Is there anyone else who doesn’t do that? Are there tricks to deal with those airlines that do?
That’s neat!
The open seating thing was one of the many reasons I never considered southwest.
They also never used to fly out of my main airport and it seems like they had a lot of delays and cancellations. I feel like I hear a lot of negative about them lately so hopefully that’s a step in the right direction
You can also get the regular fare and if you have to cancel it use those funds for that flyer and pay the difference with a credit card. That flight can be booked WGA+. Then you just cancel it and it makes those funds transferable.
