For flights less than 3-4 hours, I won't fly anything but SWA. The staff sense of humor is great, I understand also that they have one of the safest records. No fatalities in over 20 years. As stated in other messages, get there early and get in line early. Personally, my husband and I try and get seats at the emergency exit...2 seats and plenty of leg room. Good luck, happy flying. Plus their ffm add up quickly to free flights.....

Just flew SWA again on Friday. Clean, completely on time. And the best landing I've ever had in 35 years of flying. Flight attendants were friendly and competent. For the price, couldn't have asked for better.

We love southwest. For anyone that ever has to fly a child unaccompanied Southwest is the very very best. They take the child on first and place them with other unaccompanied and treat them wonderfully. I am a single mom who has to fly my daughter a very short distance to visit her dad and if not for southwest it would not be possible. other options - American West, etc. charge extra and loose the kids. My daugher has flown unaccompanied on Southwest at least 50 times and never ever a problem. plus she gets a free round trip every 5th flight.

Amy, that's great to hear.

Only thing I didn't like was: when you get on the plane, the first several rows have people stretched across and feigning sleep, so they can get the best row all to themselves. Yuck!

Gee Amy ever think about moving closer to your kid's dad so your kid can spend more time with him??? You single/divorced mothers are all alike depriving a kid of his father just so you can have your damn career or boyfriend!!!!!

Deb, thanks for the tip about the Emergency Exit, have flown SWA several years ago but did not notice that. my hubby needs leg room and i need hip room, are the seats still 18" across? are the arms between seats moveable? (meanies, no comments about lose weight, i will just skip them so hold your breath. friendlies, please reply).

If you like to be on time and want to make sure you get there safely, SWA is the airline to take. However, be sure and get to the gate (not the ticket counter) 1 hr. before so you get a low number and can pick your seat (pun intended). I travel quite a bit and while not thrilled w/ the cattle call boarding, I always try and fly them first.

Can anyone give more information on SWA seat width, set up of seating, how to deal with that?

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Gee, x, why can't Amy's child's father move closer to her? Those single/divorced fathers are all alike, depriving a kid of his [or her] mother just so you can have your damn career or girlfriend [or boyfriend].

Besides, what really is wrong with having a child who is old enough fly to see his/her father?

Something tells me mummy never loved you...

For those of you complaining about SWA, don't ever take Ryanair in Europe

On longer flights (i.e. Baltimore to Las Vegas) do they show any movies or is it recommended to bring a book or discman. Sounds like they get you there cheap and on time and that's about it.

It does not always help to get to the gate an hour early for first group of boarding. Why? Because so many family's with children show up late, get second or even third group boarding passes, BUT, since they have children, they still get to board first. I don't know why they can't get to the airport in time for the first boarding group...but I bet they just don't care! They KNOW they're going to board in the first group anyway, and they take advantage of that! That's just WRONG!

Margot,

We're one of those families that fly with children on SW. We do get there on time, and frankly, we're grateful to have the opportunity to board first in order to get the kids settled and get them out of the way of passengers hustling to get a good seat. We are a family of five and we like to be lucky enough to get the salon-style seating. Believe me, that's what SW had in mind when they started letting families board first. That way I don't have to worry about my 8-year old kicking the seat of the person in front of him and I can keep my eyes and ears on all of them at the same time. Thank goodness for a family-friendly airline. If children bother you (in the collective sense) SW is not the airline to take!

Sal,
Please don't misunderstand me. Family's don't bother me at all. And with a family of five, I understand why you'd all want to sit close together, and that does not bother me either. What DOES bother me are the family's that arrive late, get a boarding pass of 50 or higher and still get on the plane before I do with my boarding pass of 23.

My 18 years old son just flew back on Southwest from New York to Houston. he told me it was a like a bus in the sky. He called it a flying bus.

I am a HUGE Southwest fan!!!
I was in the travel business for 20 years
and flew a lot. I fly Southwest from
the Bay Area to Southern California about every 6 weeks. Flights are always on time. Luggage never gets lost. Frequent
flyer program is THE BEST. I have earned countless free tickets for my family. Have flown several times across the country. They advertise "no food" but they actually give you a decent little "snack" package. They also provide lots of beverage service throughout the flights. They send free drink coupons to
frequent flyers and even birthday cards.
Yes, get in the first 30 to board.
Flight attendants as a whole are nice and have a sense of humor. These days I cannot expect more from the airlines.

Just flew SWA round trip SJC to Chicago Midway last week. All takeoffs were on time--leaving Chicago last Saturday was 10 minutes early. Since Chicago to Las Vegas is 4 hours, they serve little snack boxes and two drink runs. All flight attendants were very courteous and maintained a sense of humor. All four legs of the trip were fully booked, requiring lap children to be on laps. It went exactly as advertised and I read a good book! Now, let me tell you what a mess Midway airport is.......