I ditto all the positive things already posted:

1. Excellent fares
2. Refund Policy -- so easy and flexible
3. A happy human voice at the 1800 number
4. reward ticket is easy easy easy to use!
5. sign in on your cell phone to get your que in line for boarding pass 24 hours before (that way you get your A pass). Then when you get home or wait until you get to the airport and they print your pass for you.

A,B,C line is no big deal. Gives you the opportunity to avoid babies, grumpy people and first shot at the exit row, too.

I fly SWA whenever I have the opportunity. Their Ding! program is great as well.

A Happy SWA customer

I, too, am a very happy SW customer. The thing only mentioned once here...they have so many flights, that when you miss one, there is bound to be another one quite soon. Only once in 100 trips were they late boarding us, but we didn't leave late!!! I was in Houston and we were supposed to depart 5pm, board at 4:30. Our plane was late coming in from somewhere else. It arrived at 4:40 at the gate. I tell you, that plane was emptied and we were all boarded (full flight, every seat) and backed out of the gate by 5pm!!! And took off "on time"!!! It amazed me how quickly the staff worked!!!

I love SW!!! (Parking at Love, though, does not compare to ease at DFW. Sorry folks. I do NOT like Love Field parking, other than the fact that I can use my toll tag.)

Those saying "never" because of the hated A-B-C seating -- I would much rather do that than spending the time and research to pick just the right seat on AA or UA only to arrive at check in and they have moved you anyway.

I fly WN a lot -- Short hauls on the west coast when I'm paying, and all across country whenever I earn a Rapid Rewards ticket.

I have never had reason to write a complaint letter to WN - which I can't say about AA, UA or Delta. I'm getting to the point of swearing off (and swearing at AA).

I fly SW a lot.

Considering that the "valued" seat assignment on DL/AA etc is subject to change every time they make a schedule change it's not worth paying extra for. (Not to mention SW seems to have more leg room then DL)

When SW releases a schedule they actually intend to FLY it, a novel concept for the legacy airlines who have changed the schedule on my March trip 8 times in 2 months LOL!

They ahve really nice FAs which unfortunately I cannot say for some of our legacy carriers.

I ditto all the positive things said about SW. I fly them to Florida from PHL all the time. If it were not for them and there reasonable air fare I would not be able to see my baby granddaughter as often as I do. They are a blessing, and the assigned seat is not a issue for most people. I would fly them without a doubt anytime, anywhere. They are the only airlines I see that lands, unloads a plane, reloads and takes off in say 20 minutes or so.

I've had fine experiences on Southwest. I wouldn't seek them out particularly but wouldn't avoid them either. They've had Alaska WAY beat recently about getting out on time (from Seattle).

sarge56,

Agree re:the official Love lots. The Parking Spot at the front of the airport however takes you from car to gate and actually saves a ton of time. Less walking and less lugging (basically same price though).

janisj... are you a travel agent or in the travel industry?
I have never heard anyone outside the industry refer to Southwest as WN. Not even once!
As for me, I am an AA girl. I must have a seat assignment and I HATE connections.
I generally get AA for the same fare.

I'm not a travel pro (attorney, actually!) but I always refer to Southwest as WN. It's an unfortunate IATA or airline industry code but it's better than jetblue's "B6"

TxTravelPro, unless you live in Chicago or Dallas, you're going to be connecting there if you need to fly AA. In fact, from here in Portland, Southwest is a better bet for me to go back east. I can get a direct (one stop in Chicago/Midway, no plane change) Southwest flight from Portland to Philadelphia on Southwest with excellent times, both directions. Far more convenient than AA for me.

DFW

NOPE - not in the travel industry -- just flown WN a lot and that is their code. Sometimes I do use SWA, but SW is the code for Air Namibia.

Gotta be careful when talking about airport and airline codes - or you could end up in Sidney Montana instead of Sydney Oz.

Quick questions: A member of a club I'm in mentioned just yesterday that she will NOT fly SW any more since they reconfigured their planes and now have very little room in the seats and aisles. Is that true? What site gives you a review of seating on the airlines?

Wasn't SW going to do a trial of assigning seats out of DFW?

Has anyone flown on those flights? Are they still testing it out?

SW is a major carrier out of ABQ with a number of non-stops to good locations. We fly with them and have had no problems.

Debi

I know they tested it out of San Diego - had not heard about a DFW test. It was just a limited test period which is now over and they are probably still analyzing the results. Haven't heard much lately - there is probably info on flyertalk.

Interestingly, first reports/polls of frequent southwest flyers showed a preference for the current open seating

Got the flu on Southwest too many times for it to be a coincidence, and so did my husband. So had to stop flying them. The 737s that they fly must recycle more air than other jets or something, or their disinfectant is weak.

I'd love to fly them, because I'd love to patronize what seems to be THE ONLY AIRLINE WHO HAS MASTERED THE ART OF ANSWERING THE PHONE.

WN did the test at SAN not for seat assignment, but for various methods of loading, in anticipation of giving out seat assignments in the future.

So, yes, it seems like they will indeed do that in the future.

I love SWA...I go on an average of 3 trips a year...
Usually can acculminate enough points (16) for a free RT. about once a year--mainly by using SWA-Visa and getting credit for staying at certain motels.
I have seen a LOT of changes over the years.. printing out a boarding pass 24 hrs. before flight is a real improvement.. they even sent me a %50 off coupon for a motel on my 10th anniv of being a Repid Rewards member...
My only wish is that they used a different airport than Islip for their NYC destination--Maybe someday...

SW is going to rescue me this weekend. Just booked a flight because I'm afraid Dallas will ice up and I can't get out of TX tomorrow!

Good thinking.

Southwest rescued us in Chicago when it snowed and AMERICAN AIRLINES LOST our reservation. That airport is pure chaos when there is bad weather. It was going to be three days before AA could/would get us out so we took a long cab ride to Midway and flew Southwest home.