superunknown said:
At the very minimum, an airline that codeshares/has interline agreements with other airlines will always have more flexibility than one who doesn't. Guess which airline doesn't codeshare or interline? Probably not a big deal for Grampa and Gam Gam who are willing to drive to an airport 2 hours away so they can save $14 and don't have to be anywhere on time, but my experience with them has always been awful. The last time I flew with them they had a gate full of passengers that they refused to acknowledge even existed, just straight up ignored as people were asking why we weren't getting any info at all and the app was useless. I gave up and went to grab something to eat and sat at a gate that was clearing off....they announced last chance to board, and it was where I was going. Told the gate agent I'd been waiting at the other gate and had no idea this flight was even an option and asked if i could switch. They had something like 60 seats open on this plane, and it was headed to the same place an entire gate full of irate and delayed passengers was headed to...and nobody told a soul at that other gate. I just got lucky.
If thats not dysfunctional, I don't need to know what dysfunctional is. Contrast that scenario with Delta or United sending people through the terminal or gate to redirect people to other gates or flights. If you fly more than once every few years, you know how erratic air travel can be. Southwest just goes "aww shucks but golly yall we sure do heart you, LUV!" And people keep taking it. No idea why.
Wow. That's terrible and so far removed from any experience I've ever had with SW!
My son has flown SW from HOU every single Thanksgiving and Christmas since 2010. Sometimes with me and sometimes as an UM.
I swear we have never experienced anything like that. Like I said, we had one delay one time that was 3-4 hours, and we both received vouchers for that. Another flight last year was cancelled, but it was weeks before the flight was scheduled to depart, so we just rebooked on a different flight.
Everyone's horror stories seem to be post-Covid. It sounds like SW just hasn't recovered. I have noticed that their schedule is still significantly reduced, so that gives them even less wiggle room when something like this happens.
United still has my ire from problems I had with them during Covid. But I will still go with them, if it's the better option.
We flew SW to LGA this trip because we couldn't get a decent rental car at Newark. Even extending the rental and turning it in at HOU instead of LGA, the total rental bill will still be cheaper than if we had rented from a company at Newark. United flights were also more expensive, and the flight times on SW were better. On paper, SW was def the better option for this trip.
