# Favorite Domestic Airline?



## deadheadskier (Feb 26, 2016)

In general, I absolutely hate flying. I view it as a necessary evil.  The hassle of getting to the airport, ridiculous security, F&B ripoffs, bad service etc. makes me hate the experience

Unfortunately, I've had to fly a bunch the past couple years. Almost once a month.  I've flown Delta, American, US Air, United, Alaska, Southwest, Jet Blue, Airtran and probably a few others.

Jet Blue is hands down my favorite.  Cleanest and newest planes, most roomy seats, best leg room, 40 channel TV at seat, free WiFi.


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## gmcunni (Feb 26, 2016)

jetblue too. i'm not a huge traveler for business or pleasure, don't have tons of miles for upgrades and stuff.   have jetblue AMEX since 2004 and  get a free family vacation (flights) each year out of it.


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## yeggous (Feb 26, 2016)

Jet Blue is my second favorite. Alaska Airlines for the win. Customer service is far and away the best.


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## jimk (Feb 27, 2016)

I also don't like flying and consider it a necessary evil.  In fact, I've driven to the Rockies to ski about six times in the last dozen years.  Early in Dec 2015 I flew with my wife on Norwegian Air from Baltimore to the Caribbean Island of Martinique.  This was a new route for Norwegian and they offered a cheap roundtrip, nonstop for $175.  It was a fun and cheap trip and timing was great because we had no local skiing at the time.  On the way down we flew on a brand new 737 that was 2/3 empty.  About as many on return trip and both airports were not crowded.  Those flights started and finished the trip on such a relaxing note that it contributed strongly to a successful overall vacation.
Nonstops are always a big plus if you can get them for decent price compared to dealing with connecting flights.


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## deadheadskier (Feb 27, 2016)

yeggous said:


> Jet Blue is my second favorite. Alaska Airlines for the win. Customer service is far and away the best.



My home office is in Seattle.  Both Alaska and Jet Blue fly directly from Logan and I've taken both a couple times.  The difference in cabin quality on a JetBlue plane is pretty significant and appreciated over a five hour flight.  

Can you give an example of where you've found the customer service great.  Is it for ticket changes? In flight crew?


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## skifree (Feb 27, 2016)

jet blue. i always upgrade to even more seats.


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## Edd (Feb 27, 2016)

I always go for the direct flight, regardless of carrier. Southwest gets my $ for ski trips due to the 2 free bag check.


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## Hawkshot99 (Feb 27, 2016)

I have only flown southwest. I have gone west to ski 3 times and always used them because of the ski bag fees.
I would jot call it a awesome expierence,  but u made it alive. ..


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## thetrailboss (Feb 27, 2016)

Southwest then Delta


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## Cannonball (Feb 27, 2016)

thetrailboss said:


> Southwest then Delta


Hahaha,  you have to be kidding. 

Alaska and Jet Blue are in a different league than the others.


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## Cannonball (Feb 27, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> My home office is in Seattle.  Both Alaska and Jet Blue fly directly from Logan and I've taken both a couple times.  The difference in cabin quality on a JetBlue plane is pretty significant and appreciated over a five hour flight.
> 
> Can you give an example of where you've found the customer service great.  Is it for ticket changes? In flight crew?



I fly through Seattle ~10+ times per year on the way to AK.  Jet Blue has the most comfortable seats.  But Alaska's aren't bad and I agree that their customer service is the best.  Some examples:
--I had a flight this year that was delayed ~40min. No big deal, just had another beer.  Before I even landed they had emailed me a $75 voucher for the inconvenience. 
--They don't charge for changes.  Many times I've booked 4-5 different flight options since my schedule was tentative.  I was able to hold them all and pick the one I wanted at the last minute.


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## Tin (Feb 27, 2016)

JetBlue. Cheap, TV, internet, etc.

My last trip on Southwest I was told I would be "fined" for bringing booze on the plane and the seats remind me of buckets with plywood on top.

Two trips on Delta in my life and never again. DELTA = Does Not Ever Leave the Airport. First trip we were on the runway for two hours with no explanation. The next my baggage got lost despite a two hour layover and it took two days for them to get it back to me.


This describes Southwest imo...


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## yeggous (Feb 27, 2016)

Every time I fly Alaska I am stunned at how accommodating they are. Ticket changes are seamless. Staff are friendly and apologetic. They'll bend over backwards to make things right.


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## thetrailboss (Feb 28, 2016)

yeggous said:


> Every time I fly Alaska I am stunned at how accommodating they are. Ticket changes are seamless. Staff are friendly and apologetic. They'll bend over backwards to make things right.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone mobile app



This is why I won't fly Alaska....




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## Scruffy (Feb 28, 2016)

Jet Blue has always been good to me, but Southwest has up'ed their game as of late and I've been impressed with them also, where I was not impressed with SW years ago. But truthfully, I fly whatever gets me there at the right price and schedule. I'll pay up for direct flights and companies with good safety records, but have bent that rule at times too. Bottom line, flying has gotten to be a huge pain. Before 911, I traveled for business worldwide and would arrive at the airport sometimes half hour before take off and get on enjoy a easy fast flight. Now, it seems it's an all day affair just to fly withing the eastern seaboard.


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## deadheadskier (Feb 28, 2016)

Good point on the all day affair.  My folks are retired in Florida.  It definitely seems like a full day commitment to get to and from there now.

Southwest is great for the free bags and excellent service.  I really don't like their boarding system though.  I like to be able to pick my seat when I buy the ticket.  Yes, you can check in early and get a more favorable position in line, but I really don't see a benefit to the process.


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## Edd (Feb 28, 2016)

Here's a routine Southwest experience for me: I order a drink or two, the attendant tells me that they'll charge me later, and they never come back so that I can settle the bill. That's happened probably 5 times. Anyone else?


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## Cannonball (Feb 28, 2016)

Edd said:


> Here's a routine Southwest experience for me: I order a drink or two, the attendant tells me that they'll charge me later, and they never come back so that I can settle the bill. That's happened probably 5 times. Anyone else?



On Alaska they usually just tell me "don't worry about it"


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## xwhaler (Feb 28, 2016)

Cannonball said:


> On Alaska they usually just tell me "don't worry about it"



My 1st flight on Alaska was in 09 on my way out to Whistler.  Their calling card was the free beer as I recall they were one of the last remaining domestics to offer it...that Alaskan Amber went down very nicely to start off our trip.


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## xwhaler (Feb 28, 2016)

Best domestic flight I ever had was on Continental on my honeymoon on way to Hawaii.  Full meals in coach and just a really nice experience. MHT-EWR-HNL.    I was disappointed when United absorbed Continental as I always had a positive opinion of that airline.


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## deadheadskier (Feb 28, 2016)

I have had some good experiences on Continental as well.

The two Us (United and US Scare) have always been my least favorite and they seem to be the ones dominating the industry and buying all the good carriers up.


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## xwhaler (Feb 28, 2016)

US Airways is one of the worst for sure.  Haven't done the Spirit Air experience tho so maybe that is worse


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## andrec10 (Feb 28, 2016)

JetBlue!


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## gmcunni (Feb 28, 2016)

On JetBlue as I type this.  No ABC and no AMC so can't watch the 2 shows I was hoping.  1st world probs.  Guess I just surf the free wifi


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## gmcunni (Feb 28, 2016)

xwhaler said:


> US Airways is one of the worst for sure.  Haven't done the Spirit Air experience tho so maybe that is worse



Won't ever fly spirit again.


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## dlague (Feb 28, 2016)

We flew Southwest to Colorado and we each got to check in two bags for free and each had two carry on pieces.  Our flights for all three of us from Boston was less than $800. I was happy with that and I was very satisfied.  


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## benski (Feb 28, 2016)

xwhaler said:


> My 1st flight on Alaska was in 09 on my way out to Whistler.  Their calling card was the free beer as I recall they were one of the last remaining domestics to offer it...that Alaskan Amber went down very nicely to start off our trip.



I can see that ending very badly.


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## SkiFanE (Mar 2, 2016)

I've had spurts in my career of serious travel (AA platinum in the glory days of pre 9/11).  Can't say I have a favorite though - they all have something that bugs me. Took a JetBlue flight once and loved it - but for business it never seemed to work. SW is okay - boarding sucks and really not much cheaper.  Just booked AA flight to Bogota last night. Best choices of times/flights, no baggage fees for international and Term B at Logsn is best. 

Went to Vegas with girlfriends last fall. Friend found the flight and just told us which to book. Should have paid closer attention - best deal was Spirit Airline. Fine, whatever. Not until day before did I wake up to what we got into lmao. I'm a great light packer (4 days of business trip and I still use half size carry-on wheely bag) - but charged for a carryon. I think I paid to use the bathroom lmao. BUT - as much as I felt like cattle (in those tiny seats I had the 6-4" Amazonian 300pd guy in middle seat) - all 4 arrival/departures were TO THE MINUTE!  Never experienced that before in the U.S.  Not sure if it was my lucky day or the fact Spirit has special clout with air traffic.  They are such penny-pinchers, sitting in runways is huge waste of $. So for that reason - I kinda changed my tune - since I'm usually an efficient traveler.


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## ctenidae (Mar 3, 2016)

I usually take whichever flight gets me to where I need to be at the time I need to be there. Since I travel as much as once a week, I have a lot of miles scattered a lot of different places, and none concentrated enough to be helpful at all. 

In the past month, I've flown American, United, Delta, British and EasyJet. British and American were business class, so hard to compare (did like the British arrangement slightly better) but in general, I only know what airline I'm on by the ticket. It's a crap shoot who your seat mates are, you can't control the weather, and air traffic control is its own animal. I pack light, bring a bottle of water and a snack, have a couple of videos and a stack of work to do, so I just hunker down and do it. 

American out of Westchester sucks- they always overbook, they never assign seats until the end, so I'm always on the verge of getting bumped, and the airport is horrendous. Except that it's 20 minutes away, so that's a plus. Beyond that, it's 5 to 4 and pick'em.


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## Funky_Catskills (Mar 3, 2016)

Yup can't let travel problems get to you..  Just gotta hunker down.
Spend a flight to Korea in a middle seat sometime... resets all your pain points..

For international
So far Emirates is my favorite hands down..  JAL is pretty good too..
I also flew KingFisher domestic Air in India and that was amazing..     Food was great - the filght attendants were some of the most gorgeous women I've seen..  I was shocked..   My buddy who's Indian said it's because in India you can advertise for a flight attendant between the ages of 21 and 28 - thin build - pretty features...


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## gmcunni (Mar 4, 2016)

Flying JetBlue back to NYC.  Captain just had us sing happy birthday to one of the flight attendants.


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## LonghornSkier (Mar 6, 2016)

I used to fly JetBlue a lot back and forth from Houston to Boston.. Once every month or two on average. Always had a good experience, the TV's, the snacks, etc.. They also have pretty good seat pitch which this 6'7" guy appreciates. The plane is also always empty, as its a business route and the ties between the two cities aren't great.

My travel habits have changed significantly, and I now am forced to fly around the country quite often to various locations. Southwest is the best combo in terms of variety of destinations, price, and schedule for me out of Houston. Their rewards program also far exceeds Jet Blue..

I have flown American a fair bit in the past, and they're fine I guess. Honestly, with consolidation in the industry, it's tough to tell the difference between Delta, United, and American.

I've flown Alaska, Hawaiian, and WestJet also. All fine.


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## skifree (Mar 10, 2016)

can a 6'7" person fit in a southwest seat?


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## thetrailboss (Mar 10, 2016)

So I said that my favorite domestic airline was Southwest and got some laughs.  Let me explain.  

First, as someone just said, their rewards program is great.  I have already gotten two free flights in the last year just by flying them when I can and earning miles that way.  I had never gotten a free flight before....let alone two.  Now if I had the credit card, I'd be getting more miles.  From what I have seen so far, the miles don't expire.  Now I had a good experience in 2012 with JetBlue and signed up for their rewards program.  I flew them a few times in 2011 and 2012 but the miles expired in one year so I could not use them.  Worthless to me.  Delta has a decent program too and we have the SkyMiles Credit Card that gets us Zone 1 Boarding and good benefits.  We have used miles on them to get free flights, but it has not been the same value as SW.  

Second, the schedule works pretty well for us and we can get to where we need to go from SLC on SW with at most one stop.  They have a perfect flight to MHT from SLC that gets me in at 4:30pm in MHT so that I can drive to VT and get there at a reasonable hour.  The reverse trip leaves MHT at 4:30--I'd like it earlier, but it works.  All of JetBlue's eastbound options for me involve either an overnight flight getting me into JFK at the crack of dawn or require me to backtrack to CA before flying back east.  

Third, the bags flying free is huge.  That knocks off about $50-85 each way per person in fees.  I hate Delta's system...although our first bags fly free the second one gets hit at the higher rate.  

Fourth, their planes are CLEAN and NEW.  I know what I am getting on almost every flight.  I want to like Delta more, but their planes are usually older and quite shopworn and dirty.  Granted I have been on some newer 737-900's lately and their 717's are pretty nice with power in every seat.  JetBlue's are nice.  

Fifth, the service is hands down the best.  Delta is average in my mind.  JetBlue's, in my experience, was just OK.  Southwest's folks have been great to my daughter and us.  Two good anecdotes come to mind--last year we were flying back from Tampa to SLC and somehow our itineraries got changed such that my wife and daughter were flying on a different flight (they booked separately from me).  We showed up at the airport and soon learned that my wife and daughter's flight had already left.  The gate agent said, "no problem, what flight can we get you on next?"  It was not their fault, but they switched us for free and apologized.  Second, on my last trip east the weather in MDW was crap.  They cancelled the leg from SLC to MDW but diverted the plane DIRECTLY to MHT.  So the 45 of us who were going to MHT that day got a direct flight and a VIP experience.  The plane had only 45 passengers on it....translating into a huge $$$ loss for SWA.  We got in over two hours earlier than planned.  Now I know that they were "deadheading" to get the plane to MHT to continue on its rotation that day, but other airlines would have simply axed the plane and left us at SLC with a "sorry, the weather sucks" to save coin and just shuffled planes around to fill the route.  Instead, they smiled and flew us to MHT to get the job done.  Made me pretty happy.  

Yes, I hate how the "People of WalMart" sometimes fly Southwest, and yes I do hate the boarding process, especially if you have kids or just buy the regular ticket, but their service, free bag program, and clean planes make up for it.  Call me crazy.

You'll notice that I don't mention American or United.  SLC is a major Delta hub and has a lot of Southwest flights.  My first, and last, experience on American left much to be desired--very dirty plane, meh service, and dumb connections.  United used to be great, but it too has gotten worse.


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## Hawkshot99 (Mar 10, 2016)

thetrailboss said:


> So I said that my favorite domestic airline was Southwest and got some laughs.  Let me explain.
> 
> First, as someone just said, their rewards program is great.  I have already gotten two free flights in the last year just by flying them when I can and earning miles that way.  I had never gotten a free flight before....let alone two.  Now if I had the credit card, I'd be getting more miles.  From what I have seen so far, the miles don't expire.  Now I had a good experience in 2012 with JetBlue and signed up for their rewards program.  I flew them a few times in 2011 and 2012 but the miles expired in one year so I could not use them.  Worthless to me.  Delta has a decent program too and we have the SkyMiles Credit Card that gets us Zone 1 Boarding and good benefits.  We have used miles on them to get free flights, but it has not been the same value as SW.



SW does have a pretty good rewards program.  The company I work for has a SW credit card that we use for any expenses we can.  Every year we build up enough points to fly 8-9 people to a convention in Denver, then also 8-9 of us fly out west somewhere for a ski vacation as well.  All of that is on points.


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## thetrailboss (Mar 10, 2016)

Hawkshot99 said:


> SW does have a pretty good rewards program.  The company I work for has a SW credit card that we use for any expenses we can.  Every year we build up enough points to fly 8-9 people to a convention in Denver, then also 8-9 of us fly out west somewhere for a ski vacation as well.  All of that is on points.



Exactly.  It is easy to earn and easy to use.


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## gmcunni (Mar 10, 2016)

i've not looked at SW's program but do like the current jetblue one.  we use the jetblue credit card for most purchases.  3 of us flying to denver next month on points.  wife flying to FL in june on points and still a lot left over.


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## deadheadskier (Mar 10, 2016)

Just booked flights to San Diego.  Jet Blue out, Delta back.  Riding bitch both ways.  :-x


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## thetrailboss (Mar 10, 2016)

And why fly commercial when you can fly private?  Jokes aside, this is an interesting documentary about Trump's plane:


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## Hawkshot99 (Mar 10, 2016)

thetrailboss said:


> And why fly commercial when you can fly private?  Jokes aside, this is an interesting documentary about Trump's plane:



My friend used to own a Nursery/Landscaping company with his father (he now owns it by himself).  His father was a member of Trump National Golf course and had done several landscape jobs around the coarse, and so he wanted him to come look at a new coarse he had just bought down in NC.  Trump flew him down to NC for the day in his private plane.  The plane is kept at Laguardia.  My friends dad showed up a bit early, and got a full tour of the plane from the pilot, and he snapped a pic of him laying on Trumps bed.

When his father passed away a few years ago, Trump sent him a huge flower bouquet, and a nice letter to the kids.


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## yeggous (Mar 11, 2016)

For those who doubt my statement that Alaska Airlines is the best, here is the proof:
http://blog.alaskaair.com/alaska-airlines/news/eclipse-flight/


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## Edd (Mar 20, 2016)

Flying out of Reno this afternoon on Southwest. Our connecting flight from Denver to Boston was cancelled due to weather tonight. The flight was going to arrive in Boston at around 12:45am. 

My cynical side thinks that the flight wasn't fully booked so they went ahead and cancelled it. I'm under the impression that the weather wouldn't arrive until after the flight landed. 

So right now we're planning to crash in Denver. We have new flight booked that gets us in Boston 24 hrs later than originally planned.


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## deadheadskier (Mar 20, 2016)

ski Loveland tomorrow


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## Edd (Mar 20, 2016)

Not in the cards for me, I'm afraid.


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## hammer (Mar 20, 2016)

Edd said:


> Flying out of Reno this afternoon on Southwest. Our connecting flight from Denver to Boston was cancelled due to weather tonight. The flight was going to arrive in Boston at around 12:45am.
> 
> My cynical side thinks that the flight wasn't fully booked so they went ahead and cancelled it. I'm under the impression that the weather wouldn't arrive until after the flight landed.
> 
> So right now we're planning to crash in Denver. We have new flight booked that gets us in Boston 24 hrs later than originally planned.


It could have been that they didn't want the plane to be stuck in Boston in the morning.


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## thetrailboss (Mar 20, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> ski Loveland tomorrow



+1


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## Edd (Mar 20, 2016)

hammer said:


> It could have been that they didn't want the plane to be stuck in Boston in the morning.



What's interesting is that, on the arrivals screen in Denver, there's only one scheduled flight to Boston: mine, and it's canceled. I would think I'd see 4 or so departing flights for today and there are none. This goes for all airlines.

Edit: and now, two other flights on other airlines have popped up. Both much later but not canceled yet.


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## Edd (Mar 21, 2016)

For reasons too boring to explain, we jumped on a United flight out of Denver and arrived way too late for our connection in Newark. Reason: unknown. 

They automatically bumped us to the next flight 90 minutes later. These issues are minor in the scheme of things but I've had such good luck over the years; I'm spoiled. It's just that two different airlines let us down two days in a row. We sense that the issues are completely different. Don't want to travel for awhile.


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## 4aprice (Mar 23, 2016)

Agree with some of the good comments about JetBlue.  They're good particularly if you can fly out of JFK.  Couple of years ago we took a Virgin America round trip from Newark to San Francisco.  I was very impressed with them but they don't seem to fly too many places.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## hammer (May 13, 2016)

Just wondering if anyone has been affected by Southwest's "policy" on saving seats...

Have plans on traveling and we paid for the early bird fees for the whole family.  Guess the tactic is to pay for one early bird fee and then "save" seats for the others.  Flight attendants and the airline don't do anything to stop this. :angry:


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## Hawkshot99 (May 13, 2016)

hammer said:


> Just wondering if anyone has been affected by Southwest's "policy" on saving seats...
> 
> Have plans on traveling and we paid for the early bird fees for the whole family.  Guess the tactic is to pay for one early bird fee and then "save" seats for the others.  Flight attendants and the airline don't do anything to stop this. :angry:



Yea, I'm a asshole and just sit down. Its priority seating if I'm there first, my seat...


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## thetrailboss (May 13, 2016)

hammer said:


> Just wondering if anyone has been affected by Southwest's "policy" on saving seats...
> 
> Have plans on traveling and we paid for the early bird fees for the whole family.  Guess the tactic is to pay for one early bird fee and then "save" seats for the others.  Flight attendants and the airline don't do anything to stop this. :angry:



I've seen them discourage it on my flights.


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## hammer (May 14, 2016)

We have been loyal SWA customers but we just had an issue with Early Bird reservations.

We paid $50 for the family to get priority seating numbers, and what did we get?  B48 through B51...really?

Already sent an e-mail, will see if they are at least willing to refund the early-bird fee.  Unacceptable... :angry:


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## thetrailboss (May 14, 2016)

hammer said:


> We have been loyal SWA customers but we just had an issue with Early Bird reservations.
> 
> We paid $50 for the family to get priority seating numbers, and what did we get?  B48 through B51...really?
> 
> Already sent an e-mail, will see if they are at least willing to refund the early-bird fee.  Unacceptable... :angry:



That seems crazy. 


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## hammer (May 14, 2016)

SWA is going to refund the early bird check in fees.  While I knew we would not be guaranteed an A pass, I had assumed that the B number would have been better than what we got...



> I’m sorry that you were disappointed with the EarlyBird boarding position you received during your trip between xxx and yyy.  Customers who take advantage of our EarlyBird option will automatically be assigned a boarding position beginning 36 hours prior to their flight's scheduled departure time.  We will reserve the best boarding pass numbers available after our Business Select Customers' and Rapid Rewards A-List Members' boarding passes are assigned.  Since the number of these types of Customers will vary on each flight, the boarding group number of Customers with the EarlyBird option will also vary.  Therefore, EarlyBird Customers are not guaranteed to receive an "A" boarding pass.
> With that said, we regret you were displeased with the boarding position you received.  A refund of the EarlyBird Check-In charge for your one-way flight has been processed, and the refund will post to the credit card account ending in xxxx within 30 days.


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## xwhaler (May 15, 2016)

Been travelling on American lately for work.  Went to China last summer on Cathay Pacific so tied in to the OneWorld program to try and accumulate miles.  American last week Manchester to Philadelphia went off without a hitch.

Used to fly US Airways out of Manchester but now it's AA.   I'm hopeful they keep their routes intact there as SWA has really scaled back their MHT operations....funnelling everything from MHT/PVD to Logan I've noticed.


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## thetrailboss (May 15, 2016)

xwhaler said:


> Been travelling on American lately for work.  Went to China last summer on Cathay Pacific so tied in to the OneWorld program to try and accumulate miles.  American last week Manchester to Philadelphia went off without a hitch.
> 
> Used to fly US Airways out of Manchester but now it's AA.   I'm hopeful they keep their routes intact there as SWA has really scaled back their MHT operations....funnelling everything from MHT/PVD to Logan I've noticed.



I've noticed that flight options to MHT on SWA have been limited.


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