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Southwest Airlines, The Business Airline Of Choice?

Posted by Noid on December 19, 2007 in Travel

I will be the first to admit it…I used to be a pawn in United Airlines game. I just grew so sick of it. The employees are miserable, they never smile, it takes them forever to turn around an airplane, they consistently put me in the back with no leg room, 80% of the fliers of status (and are quite rude as well), they do not enforce their boarding rules, and on and on…

I could dedicated a series of posts on what United does wrong. Instead, I have found a new love affair. Enter Southwest. At first the snooty business travellers snickered at me and said “But they don’t have priority boarding” or asked “Aren’t they a discount airline?”. I know what they are getting at, but there is one thing Southwest is and that is that they appreciate my business.

This is why I am sold on Southwest

1. The smile, they joke, they keep things light hearted (something that is often needed with common travel delays)
2. The leg room is constant from row 1 to row 60, if I buy a ticket last minute, I know what kind of leg room I am getting. Other carriers reduce leg room as you go back and that is no good.
3. Their refunadble fares are tolerable. Recently they now added double rewards credit to those fares. I can fly half way accross the country, refundable for $500, can United do that?
4. Their website is usable and easy. Everything from rewards tickets to refundable fares.
5. They can turn around a plane in about 20 minutes. Deplane, clean, safety check and board in a blink of an eye.
6. All Southwest planes are identical. This means all pilots are trained on all planes in the fleet. That means if they have to change crews, they have a ton of options, unlike United who may only have a 727 crew and a 777 full of angry passengers.
7. I can always board early. All I have to do it check in 24 hours early and as a business traveller I am usually much more on top of my game then the vacationer.
8. Their rewards program is easy. Each leg is a credit. Business-refundable fares count for two. You get a free ticket after 16 credits. That is one free ticket each month on business fares. No more counting miles, I have more free tickets then I know what to do with.

Finally, Southwest is hungry. They are hungry for your business. They do not take it for granted. They are trying to expand and the only way is through great service. The other carriers peaked and lack that hunger. So for me, I fly SWA every chance I get. If you haven’t checked it out, I really do suggest it.