South West Airlines

On Mon, 12 Sep 2005 06:35:44 -0600, "Clark W. Griswold, Jr."
wrote:

"Von Fourche" wrote:

So, there are two of us flying. We bought tickets over the net. We have
luggage - each of us have one big suitcase for check in and one carry on.
So, what's the best way to check in? What's the online check in all about?
What are those security documents?

What happens if we check in online? I print something out? I will
still have to go to a desk to check in my luggage wont I? So why not skip
the online check in and just go to the desk and check in regularly?

What do we need to do to get in the A group and be sure we can get seats
that are together?


Relax - this isn't that difficult. You are not consigned to Dante's 3 level of
Hell if you do not get a "A" group bording pass.

Starting at 12:01 the day of the flight you have the option of checking in
online and printing out your boarding passes from home. If you do, you improve
your chances of getting an earlier boarding group.

Whether you have checked baggage or not is immaterial. If you can't checkin
online, you can go to the airport and check in a bit early there.

If you checkin online, you go to the baggage checkin counter, show your boarding
pass and proceed to the gate. You do not have to wait in the typically long SWA
ticketline.


I believe the baggage check-in counter is the SAME as the SWA ticket
counter so you do have to wait in line.

If you have your boarding pass and luggage to check-in, then check
your luggage at the curb with the baggage handlers.

" wrote:

I strongly suspect that WN could improve their image greatly
if they had some form of assigned seating. It is the #1
complaint I hear about them. Personally, I could do without
the juvinile humor too, but that's just a matter of taste.
But I suspect they won't ever change the former because it
creates the impression that somehow the customer is saving
money by standing in line so much.

No - I think it was in Herb's book "Peanuts" where he said the initial reason
reason for unassigned seating was the cost of implementing a seat reservation
system and then to get people to the gate and ready to board. SWA had to upgrade
the reservation system for security reasons, but they still do everything they
can to keep their aircraft flying and minimize ground time. By not assigning
seats, they instill a sense of urgency in their passengers, which helps them get
the planes back in the air without delay.

john wrote:

I believe the baggage check-in counter is the SAME as the SWA ticket
counter so you do have to wait in line.


While I haven't been to every SWA city, at many airports if you check to the
side of the standard ticket line, next to the automated kiosks, you will find
the bag check area for passengers who either used the airport kiosks to check in
or checked in at home.

If you have your boarding pass and luggage to check-in, then check
your luggage at the curb with the baggage handlers.

And pay for the privilege.

On 12 Sep 2005 05:25:26 -0700, "
wrote:


Actually, there are 4 groups. A,B,C and "preboard". Ya
have to qualify for preboarding, but here in mouse land
there seem to be alot of folks that qualify.

I didn't think of being one of the groups since you don't sign up
ahead. But there do seem to be a lot. Southwest to be more lenient
about the definition of young children than other airlines do.

I strongly suspect that WN could improve their image greatly
if they had some form of assigned seating. It is the #1
complaint I hear about them. Personally, I could do without
the juvinile humor too, but that's just a matter of taste.
But I suspect they won't ever change the former because it
creates the impression that somehow the customer is saving
money by standing in line so much.

I don't consider standing in line to be a virtue but maybe that's just
my bad back speaking.

On Mon, 12 Sep 2005 17:19:06 -0600, "Clark W. Griswold, Jr."
wrote:


And pay for the privilege.

$1-2/bag just doesn't seem like that big a deal to me compared with
the hassles of getting them inside and standing in the line. To each
his own.

Clark W. Griswold, Jr. wrote:
" wrote:

I strongly suspect that WN could improve their image greatly
if they had some form of assigned seating. It is the #1
complaint I hear about them. Personally, I could do without
the juvinile humor too, but that's just a matter of taste.
But I suspect they won't ever change the former because it
creates the impression that somehow the customer is saving
money by standing in line so much.

No - I think it was in Herb's book "Peanuts" where he said the initial reason
reason for unassigned seating was the cost of implementing a seat reservation
system and then to get people to the gate and ready to board. SWA had to upgrade
the reservation system for security reasons, but they still do everything they
can to keep their aircraft flying and minimize ground time. By not assigning
seats, they instill a sense of urgency in their passengers, which helps them get
the planes back in the air without delay.

SWA has had to upgrade just to compete. Their lines are already
some
of the longest, throughout the system, and they want to reduce the
amount
of personell just as much as anyone. That said though, "instilling a
sense of urgency" I suspect will remain the #1 reason for open seating.
It gets folks all lined up well before they need to be, and gives some
an incentive for arriving at the airport early. The few flights I've
been on with them always has die hards, mostly in the A line, sitting
in line an hour or more before departure. But I don't notice much
improvement in boarding speed. What I notice is that they don't have
many connecting passengers so they rarely are holding the door open
for those last few arriving passengers from connecting flights. I was
on a "completely full" flight in which every single passenger was in
the
boarding area prior to the door opening. You'll never get that on
Delta.

In article . com,
" wrote:

I strongly suspect that WN could improve their image greatly
if they had some form of assigned seating. It is the #1
complaint I hear about them.

Of course, why do people typically go to Southwest? For a consistently
low fare. One of the *biggest* ways of keeping fares low is by not
leaving a $55 Million airplane sitting on the ground, not making money,
any longer than necessary. Assigned seating removes that "sense of
urgency" about getting boarded that others have mentioned.

Southwest can turn a plane in 20 minutes that would take other carriers
45. That extra 20 minutes, perhaps 6 or 7 times a day, is enough time
to fly an extra segment, and get another 137 passengers' worth of
revenue out of the same airplane. That's a HUGE cost advantage, and is
one of the many reasons they can offer consistently lower prices than
their competitors.

beavis wrote:
In article . com,
" wrote:

I strongly suspect that WN could improve their image greatly
if they had some form of assigned seating. It is the #1
complaint I hear about them.

Of course, why do people typically go to Southwest? For a consistently
low fare.

Under certain conditions. Predominately last minute kinda
fare thing.

One of the *biggest* ways of keeping fares low is by not
leaving a $55 Million airplane sitting on the ground, not making money,
any longer than necessary. Assigned seating removes that "sense of
urgency" about getting boarded that others have mentioned.

Not really. It gets the first guy on, but the guy with the C
card already knows he's tail end charlie. However, since their
model is mostly point to point, they don't have much issues
with connecting flights.


Southwest can turn a plane in 20 minutes that would take other carriers
45. That extra 20 minutes, perhaps 6 or 7 times a day, is enough time
to fly an extra segment, and get another 137 passengers' worth of
revenue out of the same airplane. That's a HUGE cost advantage, and is
one of the many reasons they can offer consistently lower prices than
their competitors.

But they can't. Their competitors under cut them all the time.
However, they don't intend to compete directly on price. They
have a different model that works quite well. They do alot of
point to point and avoid airports that interfere with their
schedules. They also avoid connections which cuts down on
connection based delays. They aren't even #1 on arrival
or on baggage delays. But above all, they create the
impression in their customers that makes them FEEL like
they are getting a good deal. It involves festival seating,
and minimalism on about every level. They want people
thinking they are the "greyhound of the skies".

In article . com,
" wrote:


€
€
€ Southwest can turn a plane in 20 minutes that would take other carriers
€ 45. That extra 20 minutes, perhaps 6 or 7 times a day, is enough time
€ to fly an extra segment, and get another 137 passengers' worth of
€ revenue out of the same airplane. That's a HUGE cost advantage, and is
€ one of the many reasons they can offer consistently lower prices than
€ their competitors.
€
€ But they can't. Their competitors under cut them all the time.
€ However, they don't intend to compete directly on price. They
€ have a different model that works quite well. They do alot of
€ point to point and avoid airports that interfere with their
€ schedules. They also avoid connections which cuts down on
€ connection based delays. They aren't even #1 on arrival
€ or on baggage delays. But above all, they create the
€ impression in their customers that makes them FEEL like
€ they are getting a good deal. It involves festival seating,
€ and minimalism on about every level. They want people
€ thinking they are the "greyhound of the skies".
€

Well put. I think of them as a bus service that happens to use vehicles
with wings instead of tires.

And that isn't necessarily a bad thing. A bus is an easy way to get
where you need to go. It isn't fancy, it isn't necessarily super cheap,
but they go from point to point and they go often. For short hops, I
don't care about "the experience." I just want to get where I need to
go, and I really like that if I miss this bus, there's another one an
hour or two behind it (except for the last one of the day, of course
:-). If you accept Southwest for what it is, it's a good way to get
around.

In article . com,
" wrote:

That's a HUGE cost advantage, and is
one of the many reasons they can offer consistently lower prices than
their competitors.

But they can't. Their competitors under cut them all the time.

With all respect, that's because most of their competitors are NOT
TURNING A PROFIT. A few are, but it's *barely* above break-even.
They're selling the product for less than it costs them to produce it,
and that's not a good long-term business strategy. Look at today's
headlines, with Delta and Northwest now ready to enter bankruptcy.
United and US Airways already did it.

It's easy to undercut your competitors when you don't have to honor
your contracts with your creditors and your employees!