Southwest Airlines

As promised, here is my review/opinions on Southwest Airlines. First, let me tell you what routes I flew so you can properly judge on what I base my opinions. None of the flights I took were longer then 1 hour 45 minutes. The longest route I flew was from Chicago Midland to Baltimore Washington International (BWI). Second, all the flights I flew were during the Christmas holiday season i.e. it may have been busier than usual. Third, the routes I flew were Baltimore Washington International to Indianapolis International, Indianapolis International to Chicago Midland, Chicago Midland to Detroit Metropolitan (and back), and Chicago Midland to Baltimore Washington International.

I got to fly on Southwest Airlines for the first time on December 20th. I was to find it a nice experience barring my initial confusion on how they work. When I first printed out my boarding pass, I wondered what the "A" stood for. I found out when I got to BWI airport. It turns out Southwest boards people by group. There are preboarders such as handicapped people and people with children under 5 years old (I fully support them allowing these people to board first as I feel they deserve it.) then, there are groups "A," "B," and "C." As far as I know, you get into groups A, B, and C depending on when you check-in. I found that if I checked-in as soon as possible (24 hours before my flight left), I could get into group "A." I quickly discovered the advantages of being in group "A." Group "A" gets first pick at the seats on the plane barring the pre-boarders. It also makes it easier for you to find an overhead bin to put your stuff in. The biggest advantage I saw of this was it enabled me to sit at the front of the plane. That meant I was able to get on and off the plane quickly which can be pretty nice. Another advantage of this is it virtually guarantees you should be able to sit with someone you're travelling with.

If you're in group "B," you're going to sit further back in the plane but you should still be able to get an aisle seat if you want one as well as find plenty of bin space. I got placed in group "B" on my way back to BWI and, I had no problems getting an aisle seat or bin space.

Group "C" in my opinion gets the dregs. You have to sit where ever there is a seat and you may have to hunt for space in the bins to store your stuff.

In terms of service at the check-in counters, I found the people there nice. I did take one issue with a lady at one of the gates. On my BWI to Indianapolis flight, it was known the flight was going to be late. The lady at the gate had to have known. She didn't bother to inform the waiting passengers as far as I know until it was almost time for the flight to arrive and, she didn't update the flight information on the board behind her till then. I also heard that the BWI to Indianapolis flight is routinely late leaving from BWI because it is regularly late arriving. Southwest might want to try to fix that if possible.

I found the stewardesses consistently kind and efficient. They were very quick in handing out the complimentary drinks and snacks. I found if your flight is under 1 hour, you'll get a complimentary drink (soda, water, juice) and a couple small bags of peanuts. If the flight is under 2 hours, you'll also get a bag of stuff similar to Chex Mix (it contained stick pretzels, small Ritz crackers, cheese flavored sticks). I found the stewardesses had no problem if you ate food you brought with you on board. I ate some of White Castle hamburgers I bought in Ann Arbor on the Chicago Midland to BWI flight and, they didn't say anything.

Seat wise, I feel the seats were a little small. I found myself repeatedly slightly scrunched in my seat. On two flights, I did have the bad luck of sitting next to very heavy lady and in the other flight to a very muscular gentleman. I feel the seats weren't terribly roomy or comfortable.

Baggage wise, I found Southwest's skycaps polite and helpful. I also found they were prompt on getting the bags out to the baggage carousels. I did feel I waited a bit at the Detroit Metropolitan airport but, they may have been due to the construction going on there. I found they were prompt at Indianapolis and BWI.

Price wise, Southwest can be a real bargain. Southwest doesn't penalize you if you go only one-way like other airlines do. They also offer some great prices on short flights. My step-mom checked into airfares and found Southwest charged $150 round-trip from Detroit to Indianapolis. All the other airlines wanted $300 plus.

Overall, I'd say Southwest is a very good airline and one worth considering. Because of the size of their seats, I wouldn't want to fly them on a long flight. I would absolutely check them out if you are planning on taking a short flight as you might be able to save some serious money flying them on short flights. A word of warning, you may have to change planes at Chicago Midland. It appears that is one of their major hubs and a lot of their flights go there. I've also heard a lot of their flights go through Dallas Love Field too.