Southwest Fans... are you reconsidering

[sheilafri]

SW seems to have set itself in a separate bubble as far as making reservations by not participating in Kayak, etc. The few times I’ve bothered to check their separate site, I would either not have any low fares available (I don’t plan super-far ahead) or they would be at horrible times.

 

[EACarlson]

You can easily turn off location sharing on your iPhone.

All cell phones have location service which tracks their users if not disabled. That isn't specific to iPhones.

What's specific to iphones is that other devices get to use your connection without your express consent. Same reason I won't use Amazon devices.

 

[jkelly86]

We are "stuck" with SWA (fly monthly between two small regional airports that SWA serves).
That said, I still find SWA's customer service to be exceptional when they are responding to issues for us. (We have had some doozies over the years!)
We have been credit card members since 1997 and I can't imagine flying with any other carrier on a regular basis.

 

[disneychick0412]

I've only ever flown Southwest (nashville to orlando). We use our reward points on the SW credit card to fly and that has been super convenient. We have had great experiences with SW except for October 2021 when a bunch of flights were cancelled and we ended up having to book a rental car and drive home.

I'm hopeful that this meltdown will create change/updates at SW. They are going to have to pay out so much money to reimburse people and will also lose money from people who will not fly with them anymore so hopefully that will force/encourage them to make the necessary changes.

Since all this has happened, I looked at United, Delta, and American to see if any of them offered direct flights from BNA to MCO and I didn't see where any of them do. Therefore, our usual 1.5 hr trip would end up being 4-5 hrs with one of those other carriers.

So I'm sticking with SW for now.

 

[Wiltony]

All cell phones track their users if not disabled. That isn't specific to iPhones.

You might re-read what we're talking about. I'm not talking about our phones tracking our location. I'm talking about how iphones track and report the location of other apple devices that they encounter out in the wild.

Only iPhones do that almost universally. Other phones *can* do that for some types of items (like Tile), but you have to install software, give explicit permission for both devices, etc. and since that's only occasionally set up, the lack of ubiquity makes the feature considerably less useful.

 

[sam_gordon]

Another thing I don't get is the dedication to NS flights. Do I PREFER a non-stop if it was available? Sure. Would I pay extra for it? Maybe a little, not a lot. Maybe that's because my "home" airport doesn't generally have NS to where I want to go.

I will say I have no problem with connecting in ATL. I also don't get why so many are intimidated by it.

 

[jkelly86]

I've only ever flown Southwest (nashville to orlando). We use our reward points on the SW credit card to fly and that has been super convenient. We have had great experiences with SW except for October 2021 when a bunch of flights were cancelled and we ended up having to book a rental car and drive home.

I'm hopeful that this meltdown will create change/updates at SW. They are going to have to pay out so much money to reimburse people and will also lose money from people who will not fly with them anymore so hopefully that will force/encourage them to make the necessary changes.

Since all this has happened, I looked at United, Delta, and American to see if any of them offered direct flights from BNA to MCO and I didn't see where any of them do. Therefore, our usual 1.5 hr trip would end up being 4-5 hrs with one of those other carriers.

So I'm sticking with SW for now.

Allegiant flies nonstop BNA to Sanford/Orlando (5 days per week), just in case you need a backup.

 

[NJlauren]

Another thing I don't get is the dedication to NS flights. Do I PREFER a non-stop if it was available? Sure. Would I pay extra for it? Maybe a little, not a lot. Maybe that's because my "home" airport doesn't generally have NS to where I want to go.

I will say I have no problem with connecting in ATL. I also don't get why so many are intimidated by it.

Oh I hate connections, especially with kids, I find it so much more difficult. I will pay more for non stop, not a ton more none the less.

 

[Wiltony]

Another thing I don't get is the dedication to NS flights. Do I PREFER a non-stop if it was available? Sure. Would I pay extra for it? Maybe a little, not a lot. Maybe that's because my "home" airport doesn't generally have NS to where I want to go.

I will say I have no problem with connecting in ATL. I also don't get why so many are intimidated by it.

Benefits of a non-stop flight compared to one with connections:

• Shorter overall travel time
• Don't have to worry about missed connections due to delays
• Don't have to worry about checked-luggage not making a connecting flight
• Don't have to switch planes/more convenient/fewer boarding passes
• Don't have to wait long layovers
• Are frequently less expensive
• Overall fewer variables that could contribute to your plans going awry

 

[FCDub]

Benefits of a non-stop flight compared to one with connections:

• Shorter overall travel time
• Don't have to worry about missed connections due to delays
• Don't have to worry about checked-luggage not making a connecting flight
• Don't have to switch planes/more convenient/fewer boarding passes
• Don't have to wait long layovers
• Are frequently less expensive
• Overall fewer variables that could contribute to your plans going awry

Well yes, I think everyone is able to understand the obvious advantages. But some people here will like, travel multiple hours to different airports instead of connecting.

 

[disneychick0412]

Another thing I don't get is the dedication to NS flights. Do I PREFER a non-stop if it was available? Sure. Would I pay extra for it? Maybe a little, not a lot. Maybe that's because my "home" airport doesn't generally have NS to where I want to go.

I will say I have no problem with connecting in ATL. I also don't get why so many are intimidated by it.

I prefer my 1.5 hr flight to orlando vs a 4-5 hr overall trip with a layover. It's just easier. Less chance of things going wrong. That's why I'm "dedicated" to NS flights.

 

[EACarlson]

There is a difference between taking a NS vs a connection when they are at the same airport for similar prices and either paying twice the price or driving a distance that makes the trip the same length. I live 20 minutes from an airport that offers connections on all three legacy carriers. If I'm paying for the trip I usually drive 80 miles to the airport where SW offers NS flights for about half the price.

If I eliminated SW I'd have to drive another 150 miles to where I could get a NS on United for a similar price to what I get on SW. By the time I drive three hours to get to the NS I could have made my connection and it been faster.

 

[Magical2017]

Another thing I don't get is the dedication to NS flights. Do I PREFER a non-stop if it was available? Sure. Would I pay extra for it? Maybe a little, not a lot. Maybe that's because my "home" airport doesn't generally have NS to where I want to go.

I will say I have no problem with connecting in ATL. I also don't get why so many are intimidated by it.

It's not intimidation. We usually have to change planes if we fly international or for long distances. I am simply not interested in a connection for a place like Orlando, which is about a two hour, non-stop flight from BWI. A connection is generally a pain on SW because you can pay for early bird but it is not a guarantee that you will end up with the seat you want or the people you want to sit with. It's just easier to do non-stops.

 

[katallo]

We are waiting to see how this is handled in the next few weeks but thankfully we have options,

 

[TinkAgainU]

Why? If I had an AirTag in my bag, I still wouldn't know what city it's in.







I have an Android phone.

You can use a TILE with Android - works almost exactly the same - your bag is located by Android users instead of Apple users.

 

[bjscheel]

Since getting the SW cc's in 2013 we have flown our family of 4 somewhere almost every year for free. (Yes we pay an annual fee but it's much less than 4 round trip tickets would be.) I love the flexibility of booking with points and simply having them returned if canceling, changing, or prices decrease.

We have never had any issue with SW but we fly out in 9 days so we shall see what happens. Even if there is a problem, assuming they stay in business I will still try them again because I have over 200,000 points...

 

[EACarlson]

You can use a TILE with Android - works almost exactly the same - your bag is located by Android users instead of Apple users.

That's not true. It works with other Tile users only. What makes Airtags work so well is that 90+% of iphone users have the setting enabled that allows them to crowdsource the location. If the setting weren't tied to other things that users really want to use on the iphone they wouldn't work nearly as well as they do. That is why the Eufy tags are so interesting, they use both the Apple location services and anyone that has the Eufy app enabled.

 

[SkyGuy]

I've only ever flown Southwest (nashville to orlando). We use our reward points on the SW credit card to fly and that has been super convenient. We have had great experiences with SW except for October 2021 when a bunch of flights were cancelled and we ended up having to book a rental car and drive home.

I'm hopeful that this meltdown will create change/updates at SW. They are going to have to pay out so much money to reimburse people and will also lose money from people who will not fly with them anymore so hopefully that will force/encourage them to make the necessary changes.

Since all this has happened, I looked at United, Delta, and American to see if any of them offered direct flights from BNA to MCO and I didn't see where any of them do. Therefore, our usual 1.5 hr trip would end up being 4-5 hrs with one of those other carriers.

So I'm sticking with SW for now.

This is our exact situation. We fly direct with SW from either Nashville or St Louis. No other airlines offer direct to the places we fly regularly. We hate non-direct flights and avoid them as much as we can.

 

[TinkAgainU]

That's not true. It works with other Tile users only. What makes Airtags work so well is that 90+% of iphone users have the setting enabled that allows them to crowdsource the location. If the setting weren't tied to other things that users really want to use on the iphone they wouldn't work nearly as well as they do. That is why the Eufy tags are so interesting, they use both the Apple location services and anyone that has the Eufy app enabled.

Thanks, I didn't know that. I've used Tile to follow my bag at major airports - so I assume that must be because there are more Tile users at the airports... I have an iPad I travel with, but was never sure it would track an Airtag if it did not have internet access like a cell phone.

 

[_19disnA]

Well yes, I think everyone is able to understand the obvious advantages. But some people here will like, travel multiple hours to different airports instead of connecting.

I agree and a big variable is where you live and/or frequently travel to that determines the choice of airlines available. Someone living near a hub airport for the one of the major airlines will typically be able to make most trips non-stop. If you live someplace with only a smaller/regional airport within a reasonable distance, your choices will be limited.