6 ms·

Strongly disagree. Southwest is hugely overrated imo. It’s one of those companies that maybe used to be better or something, so they have a whole class of fans

Strongly disagree. Southwest is hugely overrated imo. It’s one of those companies that maybe used to be better or something, so they have a whole class of fans who are blind to how lame they currently are. I’m probably that way about Apple :) Not that any of the other major carriers is much better. But I don’t love the lining up and then hoping for a good seat, they’re often not the cheapest, and letting everyone check two bags for “free” is a cost drag on everyone. Unbundling is better. So is having different classes of service so that people who want to subsidize the entire cost of the flight for a lie flat seat can do so. I’ve also had multiple shitty customer service experiences with them, including one where they wouldn’t let me board an earlier half-full flight instead of the one I was ticketed on without trying to charge me 2x the cost of my ticket as an upgrade fee. Now, I obviously wasn’t entitled to anything beyond what I paid for, but I’ve been treated much better by many airlines and they were just rude about it. They owed me nothing, and they weren’t about to let me forget it. I still fly them every now and then but it’s a pretty mediocre brand that people are irrationally excited about.

leetcrew 8y ago
i suspect people's opinions about airlines are severely skewed by their home airport and choice of route. i mainly fly between two southwest hubs, and only occasionally is there a delay of 30-60 minutes. when i fly the same route on united, it is delayed more often than not, sometimes by hours or even cancelled entirely.
hakfoo 8y ago
My feelings on unbundling: it's less about the product, and more about product-market fit. Air travel was a premium market product for many Americans well within living memory. The old regulated-pricing model helped to reinforce this: airlines used to sometimes advertise "we're the same cost as the other guys, but our food is better/planes are faster/experience is superior." So people traditionally expect a certain degree of basic services and features. The market pivoted quite quickly towards "we're promoting the lowest price we legally can by means of unbundling features", and obviously, they're not going to trumpet the second half of that premise. Either cnnsumers aren't quite ready to adjust their expectations that far downward, or the product is now so hollowed out that even the new lower price feels too high for what it is.
- sokoloff 8y ago
  Economy airline travel is insanely cheap now, often quite a bit cheaper for two round trip tickets than driving the same distance in a personally owned car would cost.
mindslight 8y ago
Southwest, at least as of 2 years ago when I stopped flying. Of course being partial to them just means I'd check their prices first, before Matrix. 1. Experienced pilots on all legs, rather than eg Corporate Liability Shield #73 dba United Express. 2. No change fees. Sure, fellating surveillance programs on other airlines can probably get you this too, but why bother? 3. As you've referenced, two free bags. Most of the time "unbundling" means paying the same fare plus the fees. 4. Hot chocolate (yes, this really deserves its own bullet point). If any airline actually stopped enabling the blue shirted molesters, I would switch in a heartbeat. Until then, they're really all just cattle cars.
kalleboo 8y ago
> letting everyone check two bags for “free” is a cost drag on everyone Not necessarily. More checked bags -> fewer carry-ons -> faster boarding as people aren't trying to cram their bags into the overhead and giving up and gate-checking -> shorter turnaround time -> higher aircraft utilization, cheaper airport fees -> cheaper tickets
- monadgonad 8y ago
  > faster boarding as people aren't trying to cram their bags Checking and loading baggage takes way longer, not to mention the unloading and waiting at the other end.
  - abruzzi 8y ago
    but it happens at a point where time is less critical. After a plane lands and the passengers depart, there is a race to clean, restock, and and board customers for the next flight, so the plane can get back in the air. Any part of that process that can be made more efficient benefits airlines. Checking luggage likely reduces complexity during that narrow window, and adds it before and after the flight
  - isostatic 8y ago
    Not with containerised baggage

leetcrew 8y ago

i suspect people's opinions about airlines are severely skewed by their home airport and choice of route. i mainly fly between two southwest hubs, and only occasionally is there a delay of 30-60 minutes. when i fly the same route on united, it is delayed more often than not, sometimes by hours or even cancelled entirely.

hakfoo 8y ago

My feelings on unbundling: it's less about the product, and more about product-market fit. Air travel was a premium market product for many Americans well within living memory. The old regulated-pricing model helped to reinforce this: airlines used to sometimes advertise "we're the same cost as the other guys, but our food is better/planes are faster/experience is superior." So people traditionally expect a certain degree of basic services and features. The market pivoted quite quickly towards "we're promoting the lowest price we legally can by means of unbundling features", and obviously, they're not going to trumpet the second half of that premise. Either cnnsumers aren't quite ready to adjust their expectations that far downward, or the product is now so hollowed out that even the new lower price feels too high for what it is.

sokoloff 8y ago
Economy airline travel is insanely cheap now, often quite a bit cheaper for two round trip tickets than driving the same distance in a personally owned car would cost.

mindslight 8y ago

Southwest, at least as of 2 years ago when I stopped flying. Of course being partial to them just means I'd check their prices first, before Matrix. 1. Experienced pilots on all legs, rather than eg Corporate Liability Shield #73 dba United Express. 2. No change fees. Sure, fellating surveillance programs on other airlines can probably get you this too, but why bother? 3. As you've referenced, two free bags. Most of the time "unbundling" means paying the same fare plus the fees. 4. Hot chocolate (yes, this really deserves its own bullet point). If any airline actually stopped enabling the blue shirted molesters, I would switch in a heartbeat. Until then, they're really all just cattle cars.

kalleboo 8y ago

> letting everyone check two bags for “free” is a cost drag on everyone Not necessarily. More checked bags -> fewer carry-ons -> faster boarding as people aren't trying to cram their bags into the overhead and giving up and gate-checking -> shorter turnaround time -> higher aircraft utilization, cheaper airport fees -> cheaper tickets

monadgonad 8y ago
> faster boarding as people aren't trying to cram their bags Checking and loading baggage takes way longer, not to mention the unloading and waiting at the other end.
- abruzzi 8y ago
  but it happens at a point where time is less critical. After a plane lands and the passengers depart, there is a race to clean, restock, and and board customers for the next flight, so the plane can get back in the air. Any part of that process that can be made more efficient benefits airlines. Checking luggage likely reduces complexity during that narrow window, and adds it before and after the flight
- isostatic 8y ago
  Not with containerised baggage