You could argue that the level of service isn't commensurate with what you'd get on a Delta or AA so its not the same product The people who would argue this a

You could argue that the level of service isn't commensurate with what you'd get on a Delta or AA so its not the same product The people who would argue this are probably the ones who also earned status on a legacy carrier before they started really turning the screws on people in 2008, and thus have been immune to all the bag charges and seat fees all along. But, if you have no status on AA/Delta/United, you'll probably find you'd get a better level of service on Southwest, at least based on my experiences from having flown them recently.