Southwest
- December 06, 2006
- 6 comments
Remember when traveling by air was more relaxing? No security lines for domestic flights, no taking off your shoes, no liquid ban. Ah, those were the days: flying was simpler, gas was cheaper, and Michael Jordan kept coming back to the NBA. Not so anymore, after that one fateful day (OK, so Michael kept coming back). Now, on top of trying to decide how many shirts I can bring, I have to figure out how many 3 oz bottles I can pack in a 1 qt bag. Unfortunately, these are the regulations that are pretty much out of our control. But during two recent trips I’ve realized that I should probably change that which I can control, namely the airline I choose to fly with.
I’ve been a (perhaps by default) loyal Southwest customer for quite a few years now. Their cheap fares allowed me to overlook the hassle of their first-come, first-serve seating policies (though I must admit that such a policy encourages passengers to be on time, and hence the flight is on time). But now that the regulations have changed, I feel the need to salvage what little dignity I have left when I’m flying. On a trip in September, I flew out of the Southwest home base. On the airport bus, I watch in envy as passengers flying other airlines walked towards terminals with few people and short lines. “Man, we should’ve flown X airline. Oh well, at least our tickets were cheap,” I would comfort myself. Just as I would finish the thought, I am greeted by a Southwest terminal jam-packed with travelers, with check-in lines spilling all over the curb. The lines were so long, I thought I had to wait in line just to get in a line.
The idealist in me can’t seem to accept how flying has changed. No, when I go to the airport and wait for my flight, I don’t want to be confined in a line. I’d like to have a real seat in the waiting area. I want the freedom to wander around the terminal. I don’t want to feel like I’m boarding a bus, or worse yet, feel like an animal being herded along. And when I fly long distance on a direct flight, I want the flight to really be direct. So Chan and I have decided that, after Christmas, we will try flying other airlines. Maybe by doing so, we can reclaim a little bit of our sanity. The good ol’ days of flying may never return, but I certainly hope Michael doesn’t make another comeback.
Comments
batman
wrote this comment on December 06, 2006
I think Continental is ok. I dislike Alaska, Delta, and Virgin. I have mixed feelings about United.
David Sutoyo
wrote this comment on December 06, 2006
Doh, that doesn’t leave me with much choice. I was going to try Alaska. I flew America West once. It wasn’t that bad.
batman
wrote this comment on December 07, 2006
I haven’t personally had many bad experiences with Delta while I was actually on the plane. (There have been a few, but I’ve flown them A LOT over the years.) Its dealing with them on the phone, or after your baggage is lost or damaged that things turn sour. Delta bureaucracy combines lethal doses of incompetence and hatred for the customer. In one instance, they “lost” my mom’s flight reservations, yelled at her, and told her to buy a new ticket. We don’t fly delta much anymore.
Alaska used to have really good customer service, but has fallen from grace. Their planes have always been smaller and more cramped, but it was worth putting up with in return for somewhat cheaper fares and friendly service, etc. Now its just cramped with random fees and surly menopausal flight-attendants. Be sure to read all the fine print regarding what sort of damages are covered on checked luggage or you’ll get screwed. ASIDE: Thankfully, American Express will insure any baggage (carry-on or checked) for any flight you purchase with one of their cards. There is a basic level of coverage that comes with the card, and a higher level of optional coverage where you Can decide in advance to tack an additional $10 to the charge for each booking. Look into the details on this if you haven’t. Its already paid for itself for me, and they processed my claim in less than 2 weeks.)
United I’ve only flown a couple times in recent years. I didn’t have any bad experiences personally, but from what I’ve gathered, their financial mismanagement tends to make them less reliable. More cancelled/postponed/oversold flights, etc. Use at your own risk.
I don’t fly Southwest that often, because they don’t fly where I want to go most of the time, but I do fly them when I can. I try to get to the airport early anyway, since TSA hates me, so I can usually get a decent spot in line, and generally haven’t had problems with flight delays. More than anything, though, I feel like they are more laissez-faire about minor regulations than other airlines (e.g. allowing me to carry my fly-rod onboard even though it doesn’t conform to the specified dimensions for carry-on baggage). That counts for a lot with me. They aren’t as diplomatically gracious as some I’ve seen, but in my experience they are generally reasonable and try to respect the customer, which I can’t say for Alaska or Delta.
To be fair, I have mostly only flown Continental on international flights, so customer service standards might be higher there than on domestic flights. I’ve generally gotten good fares, and the customer service has been excellent. Example: I was bumped to fist class flying the leg from Houston to LAX, on the way back from London a couple years ago. They offered me some (australian) wine, which I didn’t like, so the attendant looked around, found a good Chilean wine that I thought was much better, and kept it separate for me while continuing to serve the australian wine to everyone else. When I got off, she wrapped it up and let me take what was left of the bottle with me. Also, my dad has been primarily flying Continental for his business trips for the past year or so, and hasn’t had any major complaints that I know of.
I’ve also only flown Virgin on transatlantic flights and only twice, so my experience might not be fully representative. I got bumped from my window seat into an aisle seat in the back of the plane for reasons not explained to me. My “new” seat was broken and wouldn’t recline, so I had to sit up from London non-stop to LAX. The attendant’s response was, “Hmm, thats too bad. We’re full, so you can’t move.” Also, their food and in-flight entertainment options were generally inferior to Continental.
Didn’t mention it before, since it doesn’t apply much toward domestic travel, but I loved flying Asiana. The various asian airlines I have flown (discounting domestic chinese airlines) have generally aimed to have a higher standard of customer satisfaction than western counterparts, but flying Asiana was a completely surreal experience. The flight attendants were all 6 ft supermodels fluent in 4, 5 or even 6 languages, and apparently trained in international diplomacy. I don’t remember specifics about the entertainment and food so much, but when I was flying back from China with some horrid virus they bumped me to business class, brought me hot water bottles, tea, aspirin, blankets, etc. Seriously, there was a flight attendant checking on me every 5 minutes as long as I was conscious. Thanks to the illness (the sickest I’ve ever been, short of appendicitis) I count it as probably the worst flight of my life, but they did everything they could have done to make it as painless as possible. HOWEVER, unless you speak korean, using their frequent flier program is fairly painful.
David Sutoyo
wrote this comment on December 07, 2006
Wow, thanks for the rundown. Indeed, I’ve never had regulation problems with Southwest. But then again, I usually try to take only carry-on luggage in suitcases I know to be the right size. And my interactions with the crew are usually minimal.
Thanks for the tip on Amex, I’ll definitely use the card from now on.
N
wrote this comment on December 07, 2006
Amy loves JetBlue. But they lack convenience.
David Sutoyo
wrote this comment on December 07, 2006
Hey! Late congrats! I’ll leave a comment on your LJ.
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