Who wants to complain about airfare tickets?

[presidio]

The people who stood at the gate for 2 hours, generally speaking, were idiots.  As long as you were in A or B group you were guaranteed a good seat.  The only time I even thought about lining up early was if I was in C group.  The new system is alright I guess but over regulated compared to SW's image.

Al

Maybe so. And if so, there were a lot of idiots. I never saw a SW gate that wasn't queued up way earlier than it needed to be, in all 3 lines, before they instituted such a simple change for the better. Everybody is way more relaxed about the whole thing now.

If they'd also institute a policy of 'if you expect to eat or drink you better bring it with you' they could end the snack division and could shave off a few more dollars or hold the line longer on fare increases.

[Al]

Back in the good old days no one lined up early or lined up at all. We would all jump up when called and funnel into our group.  It was every man for himself with little old ladies elbowing their way to the front.  I don't know when the stupid lining up crap started but it was never SW policy.  Oh well.

Al

[Al]

The people who stood at the gate for 2 hours, generally speaking, were idiots.  As long as you were in A or B group you were guaranteed a good seat.  The only time I even thought about lining up early was if I was in C group.  The new system is alright I guess but over regulated compared to SW's image.

Al

Maybe so. And if so, there were a lot of idiots. I never saw a SW gate that wasn't queued up way earlier than it needed to be, in all 3 lines, before they instituted such a simple change for the better. Everybody is way more relaxed about the whole thing now.

If they'd also institute a policy of 'if you expect to eat or drink you better bring it with you' they could end the snack division and could shave off a few more dollars or hold the line longer on fare increases.

I've been a frequent SW flier since 1986.  The times they have a changed.  Back in those days if you flew during the day they gave you free drinks.  What has made SW successful is keeping their planes in the air by quick 20-minute turnarounds at the gate.  When I fly other airlines it's obvious their loading procedures and gate times are what kills them compared to SW.  A plane on the ground still costs money and is not making money. 

To the side, the last time I flew on Continental was out of Houston last summer.  The plane was hotter than the hinges of the gates to hell.  I told the flight attendant they needed to turn on the AC.  She said it wouldn't work until the plane was moving.  It was a 737 just like SW flies WITH the AC on at the gate.  She lied.  Bet the fuel costs more than a couple of snacks if it sits at the gate for an hour.

Al

[presidio]

It was a 737 just like SW flies WITH the AC on at the gate.  She lied. 
Al

Not exactly. The aircraft air conditioner is dependent upon the engines turning. They are not going to idle them at the gate to cool the plane. At SW you'll notice they hook up a large yellow duct to the plane. That's the ground ventilation/cooling system. I really doubt any airline is without this capability, but that doesn't mean they use it, though not doing so in Houston defies logic. Maybe that's how Continental manages to shave 3 seconds off their pathetic 'on-time' departure stats.

[badknees]

It was a 737 just like SW flies WITH the AC on at the gate.  She lied. 
Al

Not exactly. The aircraft air conditioner is dependent upon the engines turning. They are not going to idle them at the gate to cool the plane. At SW you'll notice they hook up a large yellow duct to the plane. That's the ground ventilation/cooling system. I really doubt any airline is without this capability, but that doesn't mean they use it, though not doing so in Houston defies logic. Maybe that's how Continental manages to shave 3 seconds off their pathetic 'on-time' departure stats.

Not exactly. The aircraft air conditioner can also operate if the Auxilary Power Unit (APU) is running. This is usually a small turbine engine that runs independent of the engines and 1) to run an additional electrical generator. 2) to provide compressed air (pneumatics) for main engine starting, air-conditioning and pressurization.

The attached photo shows the APU exhaust on a B 747

The reason why the large yellow duct is used in some airports is an airport ban on running APUs at the gate.

[Al]

Exactly.  In my experience SW doesn't use the ground AC units very often. Instead they use the APU which you can hear running in the rear of the plane.

Al

[SHANEA]

Flying Through Airport Security

[SHANEA]

Kiss in-flight movies goodbye

Added Fees
NWA will also match other competitors by adding fees to offset some of its extraordinary fuel costs.
   Checked Bag Fees
NWA is matching several competitors including American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways, with plans to charge $15 for the customer's first checked bag. The new policy applies to tickets sold on or after July 10, for travel starting August 28, throughout the United States as well as travel between the U.S. and Canada.
NWA also charges $25 for a second checked bag and $100 for three or more checked bags. Frequent flier elites are exempt from the policy, along with full-fare coach passengers.
   WorldPerks(R) Award Tickets
NWA is also matching competitors by implementing a service fee for award tickets. For WorldPerks(R) Award tickets issued in North America on or after September 15, 2008, NWA will charge $25 for domestic tickets, $50 for Trans-Atlantic tickets, and $100 for Trans-Pacific travel.
Steenland noted, "This is a temporary service fee to partially offset our fuel costs. As fuel comes down, we will re-visit this decision."
   Ticket Change Fees
NWA also followed moves by American, United, Continental and US Airways to increase fees for ticket changes. Starting July 9, the fee for domestic non-refundable ticket changes will increase from $100 to $150. International ticket change fees will increase by an additional $50 to $150 per ticket, depending on class of service and other restrictions.

[Al]

Yup, but I am glad to report that Southwest still honors expired drink coupons.  If fact some flight attendants actually get excited when you give them one that's old enough.  You get stuff like, "beautiful!" or "Wow, I've never seen one of those before." They have an expiration date but it doesn't matter.  I guess its one of SW's ways of rewarding loyal customers. 

Al

[cjacob]

Hey the key is loyalty...

My little lady has 1 million + on AA and 700k + Miles on Cont. 

They are waving fees for the most loyal flyers.  The key is fly one airline and only one.  I get gold status every year on AA, and ONLY fly AA.  I will not have to pay the additional fees.  We just booked a trip that is AUS, DFW, MEX, ZIH.  Just so we could stick with AA.  Now we could have gotten there quickly via other airlines.  I would rather know when $hit happens we are taken care of. 

Pick one airline and stick with them that is my best advise.

[presidio]

Yup, but I am glad to report that Southwest still honors expired drink coupons.  If fact some flight attendants actually get excited when you give them one that's old enough.  You get stuff like, "beautiful!" or "Wow, I've never seen one of those before." They have an expiration date but it doesn't matter.  I guess its one of SW's ways of rewarding loyal customers. 

Al

What SW does is so simple, and so lost on their competitors. Just today there was an announcement that SW has gone into a code-share arrangement with their functional equivalent in Canada, so now you can book an international flight. There's some talk a similar arrangement may be considered for Europe. This will be dark news to some companies.