I travel for pleasure frequently and have good luck with Southwest. I don't see the big deal if I couldn't sit with my husband I like to but since we are usually flying to the same destination I figure I can make it a few hours without sitting next to him. He is just as happy not to have me blabbing at him anyways. Now air-tram gag, puke!

SWA is a flying bus, no more no less and as such it does a remarkably good job. Thirty years flying with no major accidents isn't too shabby a record either. My only beef is that, living in Dallas area, we suffer from the Wright Amendment(a gift from Washington Democrats) limiting our non-stop destinations.<BR>Their staff are generally helpful & pleasant & there's few surprises. <BR>I wish them the best, they deserve it.<BR>p.

As an ex-Dallasite, and with a son still in that area so Southwest would be nice alternative to Delta and AA when we visit, I've got to say I do not now, nor did I ever, understand the Wright Amendment! It seems like a legislated stiffling of competition and I can't understand how it can be legal.<BR><BR>For those not familiar with it, Southwest is only allowed to fly out of smaller Love Field, not DFW (quickly becoming a plus, actually), and you can only fly one state away without booking an entirely new trip, making flying from Dallas to Los Angeles, for instance, or Dallas to Florida in our case, out of the question. It would require booking two separate trips, two tickets, two baggage claims etc. You can only fly Southwest from Dallas to NM, OK, LA and I guess Arkansas.<BR><BR>What little understanding I have of it was that it was done to protect the other airlines (AA specifically?) at DFW. What it seems to do actually, is ensure that other airlines do not have to be competitive with Southwest's fares, making DFW one of the most expensive airports to fly into or out of. Wouldn't this make the Wright Amendment a form of price-fixing? I honestly don't understand how they got away with it, and why anyone, other than the other major airlines, would want it!

If it wern't for SW, about half their passengers would be on Greyhound. Frankly, these days, most of the coach section on any airline is not a pleasant place to spend an extended amount of time. <BR> <BR>I will admit that I usually take SW on shorter trips, like OKC-MCI and OKC-Dallas, primarily to avoid the commuter planes of the other majors, but prefer Delta when going to LA or NY, as I can usually get an upgrade to FC. <BR><BR>SW's lack of assigned seating is completetly out of touch with today's traveller. They say it would cost too much to implement and they would have to raise fares. BS. JetBlue has assigned seating, fares as low if not lower than SW, and they are quite profitable. SW was considered very innovative 30 years ago, but today they seem like just another airline, with too many dirty airplanes, and antiquated boarding and seating procedures. <BR><BR>But the fares can be quite attractive, and they are convenient on short hops. And I ususlly earn 5-6 free tickets per year - good, except SW doesn't fly to too many interesting destinations - none international, and don't have any airline partners in it's FF program. So, if you want to go to Detroit or Jacksonville, great. But nothing outside the continental US. <BR><BR> I do feel sorry for those who fly them coast-to-coast. I recently heard they started flying LAX-Baltimore nonstop. Getting there would NOT half the fun, in that route. Not on SW..

I would never consider flying Southwest crosscountry. For short hops they are tolerable, but for 4 or 5 hours, no thanks. I can only imagine how early people must line up to board to try to avoid getting stuck in the middle seats on a long flight.

You people who want to talk about the "yakkers" shouldn't be slamming the leisure traveler. I travel often for both business & leisure, and I don't consider travel time, ESPECIALLY after business hours, to be business time. I feel like screaming to groups of guys (it's ALWAYS men), "SHUT UP! IT'S AFTER WORKING HOURS, I PUNCHED OUT AT 5:30! TALK ABOUT SPORTS OR YOUR FAMILIES. STOP TALKING SHOP!"<BR><BR>For those of you who hate Southwest - well that's why there's competition. Fly other airlines and have a ball.

Oh please, what airlines are anything more than flying buses these days? Most American carriers treat the passengers like cattle anyway, you might as well go with the lowest price. The question for all of you bashing Southwest is, have YOU flown a major carrier recently? I doubt it, because if you have, you'd know how abyssmal that experience has been in the past year.<BR><BR>By the way, I'm planning on flying Southwest in the near future with my family. It's interesting to know, that with assets in excess of a million dollars, that I am a poor person.

Southwest's boarding procedures are a lot better than they were just a few months ago. Since now you can get your boarding pass at the ticket counter OR curbside check-in OR the gate, you don't have to stand in line so long (people are better dispersed at the various locations as opposed to one really long line). Also, if you're checking bags at the ticket counter you don't have to then stand in line AGAIN at the gate to get a boarding card -- you can get it at the same time you check your bags.<BR><BR>That said, I still hate having to stand in line, and I hate not having assigned seats, but SWA's fares are low, the employees are friendly, they have the only non-stops in certain markets, and the FF program is unbelievably generous. <BR><BR>For long hauls I would prefer another airline (esp. American, with the extra legroom), but if SWA has a non-stop and the others want to send me through Atlanta or O'Hare or DFW, I'm going to take SWA every time.

Rich, thank you for summing up the entire Southwest argument in one small post. There are pros and cons to travelling on SWA, but overall there is still a reason they are making money when many others are on the verge of bankruptcy. They realize that most people, especially on shorter flights, would rather take the cheapest, easiest option for flying. <BR><BR>I also love their website. It is by FAR the easiest to use airline website. And they don't try and hide the far calculations either, it's all there for you to see (so, you can see which individual flights cost certain prices and determine if moving your flight by an hour or so is worth saving the extra $$). <BR><BR>Yes, it may be flying for the "uninitiated", but they do make it so easy and friendly.