SouthWest Airlines... My pleasant Experience

Before I get into the meat of this post, let me debunk some myths, urban legends, and  rumors. First off I don't earn commission from the airlines! SouthWest Airlines may not be the cheapest or best option for your travel. This is just my experience with SouthWest Airlines.Occasionally a supplier, not the airline, will offer a percentage to every agent that uses them to try and get the agent to book everything through them. Sometimes it works out great for you as a client, other times not so much and in reality that commission maybe coming from an inflated airline ticket passed on to you. That is why I look at all the options that are available to you and make suggestions on airfare to you based on that; trying to save you money. I will be honest with you, many times cutting out flying and choosing to drive(if possible) will save you the most on any vacation.

Let's face it, flying isn't as easy as it used to be. There are fewer flights and so many hidden cost out there that at times airfare(especially during peak travel times) can actually cost more than rest of your vacation and that cheap advertised airfare is way too good to be true.  I know that there are many options out there for choosing an airline and some of the airlines are region specific or seasonal in operation which can be frustrating. I have had the pleasure and displeasure of flying on the major airlines and some of the discounters airlines that are out there. In the current air travel market, I will have to say SouthWest Airlines WOWED me for our Spring Break Trip to Orlando! This is no frills flying at it's best! Just because it is no frills doesn't mean that is not quality!

So here is the scoop. We booked a Spring Break Trip to Orlando a little over 6 months prior to the trip happening. At that time the major airlines had their flight schedule and pricing available but I was not satisfied with how high the airfare was. So we dabbled with driving to Florida and I continued to watch airfare.  At our 6 month mark, SouthWest Airlines released their air schedule and pricing. It was high but significantly lower than the other major airlines(yes SouthWest is a major airline now). So I began to play the waiting game to see if prices dropped and or increased. During that time I watched flights sell out and began to kick myself for not grabbing the flights.  So I decided to make the jump and book the flights because the other major airlines were raising prices. SouthWest was raising their prices also but not as much as the other major airlines and flights their flights were becoming scarce. At one point Airfare on a major airline out of Kalamazoo was at over $800 per person round trip.  We paid nowhere close to that with SouthWest and best of all there were NO BAGGAGE FEES for the first two bags!  At the time I booked I was offered Early Bird Check In for a nominal fee per Flight. I choose not to get it, but at later date choose to purchase it still for a nominal fee.($12.50 per person) Keep Reading for more information about this. 

From the moment we arrived at the counter to drop off our luggage until we stepped off the plane, we were greeted warmly and treated extremely pleasantly until we left the gate at our Destinations. When checking our bags we were informed our plane was running about 15 minutes late because of fog, but there was a chance that it would make that time back up.(it did!) We are a tall family, my wife is 6'2, and we were impressed with the leg room on the planes! There is no first class area separating the cabin of the plane this open cabin design allows more space between seats freeing up more leg room.
Seating is based on 3 groups of A, B, C.  You are assigned a boarding group and number based on the Fare you purchase , Early Bird Check-In purchase, or at the time you Check-In following the 24 hour mark to your flight(check-in online as soon as possible when it becomes available, don't have a computer? Use the SouthWest Airlines App on your Smart Phone!)  There are no TV monitors in the seats or  in the cabin for you to watch. There is the ability to purchase Wi-Fi for your mobile devices to keep you entertained, or just bring a book or take a snooze for your flight. On our flights we were offered nuts, pretzels, and a non-alcoholic beverage that was complimentary but if you felt the need, you could purchase alcoholic beverages and other snacks. That right there in nutshell is No Frills Flying!

If you were to look online at the airfares that Southwest offers you might get confused. The lowest fare generally available is the Wanna Get Away but has the most restrictions etc. So here is a brief summary of the fares you can expect when booking a SouthWest fare.

Business Select
This fare gets you in the first portion of the "A" boarding group.
If your in there mileage club called the Rapid Rewards Club(always join the mileage clubs of any airline you fly on) you earn extra Rapid Rewards points
You will receive one premium beverage of your choice
These fares are refundable and changeable and may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines for the originally ticketed passenger only.
Lower fares may be available.

Anytime
The fares are refundable and changeable and may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines for the originally ticketed passenger only.
Lower fares may be available.

Wanna Get Away
Fares are nonrefundable but may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines for the originally ticketed passenger only.
Standby travel requires an upgrade to the Anytime fare.

Pretty straight forward when it comes to fares. We chose the Wanna Get Away Fare. 

Things to consider when flying SouthWest.

Just because they may have a cheaper fare doesn't mean they are not a reliable, quality airline. They are great value and the employees genuinely seem happy to be working there and to serve you. (trust me some of the discounters airlines out there are scary)

They may not be the cheapest for your region. Shop around before you buy.

If you have kids and they are sitting in a seat, they will be the same fare as an adult sitting in a seat. If you have a child that qualifies to sit in your lap, they need to be sitting in your lap. This is strictly enforced on full flights. 

Join the Rapid Rewards Club and Ding! newsletter, they will give a heads up on sales. SouthWest has some nice sales on airfare occasionally. 

Consider purchasing an Early Bird Check-In option. Really consider this option especially if your not going to be near a computer 24 hours before your flight or you want a better chance of sitting with family members. Special note here Everyone on your flight has the option to buy the Early Bird Check-In, so in theory everyone could have bought Early Bird Check-In for your flight. 

B and C boarding positions  can make finding a seat  a pain the rear on full flights but if you made it on the plane there is a seat for you. You may not like it though. 

This is No Frills flying. If you need to be entertained, bring something to entertain yourself but follow all FAA regulations and listen to your flight attendants about electronic devices..

Nuts, Pretzels, or a non-alcoholic beverage not gonna be enough for you? After you make it past security, pick up something from a restaurant near your gate or gift shop and bring it on the plane with you.(this may or may not be available to do on your flight, check with the gate attendant first!) 

If you hear the ticket agent asking for volunteers to get bumped from the flight,and if you have the flexibility to do so, find out what they are offering it may be extremely worth it. 

Would I recommend SouthWest Airlines? Absolutely! My experience with them will make them my go to airline for my personal travel!

Relax and enjoy your flight!

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You can get there from here, but how? Part 2

    Today's post is prompted by the sudden surge in gas prices. In You can get here, but how? Part 1, I gave my insights and shared some of my misadventures of flying into the Central Florida area. Flying is my preference because it is quicker to get there and generally easier. I didn't start flying to Florida though, until I was out of high school.

I am an Eagle Scout and proud even if  I don't have the bumper sticker.
This was my Scout Troops bus

    My first visits to Florida came via the open road and was within my parent’s vehicle pulling a pop up camper. I was too young to remember that trip, but have been told it  happened not  long after Disney World opened and it was cold, causing the trip to be cut short because everyone got sick. Since then the chariots that ushered me to Florida were a Boy Scout Bus and conversion vans.

   After discovering the joys and general ease of flying, I tried the option of  driving to Florida only once since then and probably won’t do it again unless I get a plush RV to make the trip in. Traveling by car, bus, or van tends to a much more affordable mode of transportation for large families or groups, even with high gas prices. The Problem is, depending on where you live, it could be pretty time consuming and burn valuable vacation time. I can’t recall a trip that we took by automobile that didn’t come with some delay or hassle.

1,217 miles  In perfect world 21 hours....in a perfect world.

   The trip from my hometown of Portage, Michigan to Patrick’s Air Force base near Cocoa beach Florida(generally our first destination on the road to Disney World) was supposed to take roughly 21 hours. The route looks easy enough on paper and of the several times we traveled the route, closest we got to our destination was about 36 hours. Fortunately those planning the trip, built in wiggle room so we wouldn't lose days at Disney and would be able to make our pilgrimage to Ron Jon's Surf Shop.(If you have never been to Ron Jon's Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach you haven't lived!!) Unfortunately, the trip down would leave everyone grouchy and exhausted.  We would always run across several delays ranging from a private plane making an emergency landing on the highway, mechanical problems with the bus leaving us stranded at  garage in Atlanta with 40 some scouts for over 10 hours, or when you stop to food or potty break, rounding up 40 some scouts that have been cooped on a bus could be a chore, especially when the food joints freak out when the bus rolls up.

One of the Runaway Truck Ramps on Mount Eagle

   There was always a few things to look forward to on the bus ride. One happened to be to try to be awake when the bus took on Mount Eagle. We would watch in anticipation to see if any trucks burned their brakes up and ended up out of control or on the runaway truck ramps. Never had the luck of seeing it happen, but you could always smell the burning brakes.

  Another highlight of the trip down was when we crossed a state line.The driver would blow the airhorn and say "Welcome to fill in the state name!" over the P.A. The closer to Florida we got, the more anxious people would get and want to be off the bus. It may not seem like much to get excited about,  but then again we were young and it made us happy. That is after the other form of enjoyment  that got taken away. That  being  me putting a Honk if you're ____ sign in the bus window. Once the scout leaders finally figuring out why people were honking when they went by, I got several lectures from several of the scout leaders and even a few snickers from them while they were chewing out. Of course, I got  a major lecture and threat to be sent home by the Troop Leader ,who happened to be my dad. That wasn't embarrassing for him at all.

This was the last time we drove to Florida circa 1997 The munchkin and I look much different now.

   Like I said in the first post, I hate being cooped up and  I am a sucker for roadside attractions, so when the bus stopped, I tried to be the first one off and the last one back on. Doing so, I would collect just about any brochure at a rest stop to try and keep my mind occupied. I just loved state welcoming centers, especially Florida's, that one even gave you free orange juice! Those brochures I gathered, would be littering the bus by the time we got to Disney World leading to me "volunteer" to clean the bus while everyone else was setting up camp and beginning their assault on the theme parks and arcades.( Yes, some people I traveled with would spend more times in the arcades than the theme parks, especially when The Contemporary Resort had the massive arcade on the bottom floor.)

  Once the bus was cleaned and camp was set up in Creekside Meadow at Fort Wilderness, we were turned loose for a week of fun at Disney World and the bus would sit dormant awaiting our trip back north, unless of course we had a side trip planned to Universal.  The scout bus truly favored the trip back north. Unlike the trip south, there was never mechanical problems or delays on the way home. It was as if the bus was mocking us because the vacation was over.

  Occasionally, there would be a chase van that followed us down with family members or for scouts that had no seats on the bus. That was the coveted ride because you could stretch out in the van more than you could in the bus.  The van though, was just as problematic as the bus. So much so, that within mere miles of making it to Cocoa Beach one trip, a call came over the CB radio that, " The van has blown up were pulling over NOW!" Silence hovered in the bus with everyone thinking the worse had happened, especially since the was no return calls on the radio when the leaders on the bus were trying to locate were the van was to know the extent of the problem. It turned out to just be a radiator that blew, but still ended up being hours in a garage, delaying our fun.

I told you to stop and ask for directions.

   Driving to Florida is not for me, but it is for a lot people. It can be the most affordable transportation for large groups or families. If you do plan on driving, plan for mishaps, traffic delays, and tired cranky people.  Make sure you stay alert and take shifts driving, navigating, and PLEASE DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE. It would be a bad thing if you were headed through Atlanta in the middle of the night with everyone fast asleep except the driver, then hear several hours later, "Welcome to Alabama", but that is a whole different story.

You can get there from here but how? Part 1

By now if you live on the East Coast or in the Midwest you probably have heard about the debacle that is going on right now with Direct Air, a discount airline that flys into Orlando/Sanford airport. If you haven't,  here is the quick summary. Direct Air stopped all operation without notice stranding passengers and making them scurry to find a way home or to their vacation destination. This is a horrible situation for any traveler,  experienced or not. This situation has lead me to recall my experiences when it comes to traveling to Orlando or anywhere in that matter.

When it comes to going to Orlando, I prefer to fly. I like to get there are quick as possible and as cheap as possible. I could drive, but after about 5 hours, I am done with being  in the car for the day. I get cranky and antsy. The other problem I have with driving is that I am sucker for roadside attractions.It could get rather expensive very quickly if I want to stop at every alpine slide in the mountains, drive thru safari, Firework shop, etc. that we come across. Trust me I will find a way to stop and won't walk out empty handed. So flying for me and my family it is.

I just need to see the Skunk-Ape and maybe get a can koozie also!

Where we live, we are fortunate to have wide variety of airports to fly from. Three major airports  about 2.5 hours away(Detroit, Chicago Midway, and O'Hare) and four regional airports( South Bend, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and Lansing) This provides for a variety of airlines and airfares, both discounters and major airlines. With this come a variety of routes that are either non-stop(the coveted of all flights) or many different hops in different types of planes. The non-stops tend to be the most expensive. This where the discounters come in. The big catch with discounters that fly into Central Florida is that they usually don't fly into Orlando International, but into Lakeland or Orlando/Sanford. Both of these Airports are about 45 minutes or hour commute to the Orlando and attractions area. This is really not a bad option for someone that had planned to rent a car or wasn't planning on using Disney's Magic express. Although with Discounters, you may end up in a situation like Direct Air stuck its customers with or you may have gotten a great flight at a great price. Just remember these discounters are really no frills, some of the planes seats don't even recline, and you may have to book almost a year in advance. In the past I have flown on the Discounter Spirit Airlines, after an awkward delay we had a pleasant flight to and from Orlando.(While being delayed at the gate before boarding the plane, an announcement was made that there was a mechanical problem with the plane and they were locating another aircraft. We watched the plane back away from the gate, stop, then return to the gate followed by an announcement that we could now board and that this was new plane.)

Discounters aren't the only airlines to have problems. I have had some great flights on major airlines and some nerve racking ones as well. The worst airline experience and flight resulted  from a flight cancellation that stuck the family at Chicago Midway for 7 hours in the baggage claim area. It would have been fine if we weren't subjected to the song Sweet Home Chicago over and over and over and over again. The night before the flight, severe weather ground stopped all flights and the airline claimed they called everyone that was affected. Needless to say, we didn't get the phone call. So we put the family truckster in the long term parking, took the shuttle to the terminal, and headed to check our baggage for our 6am flight.  That's when we get the are you stupid look from the clerk at the baggage counter and informed our flight has been canceled. The next available flight was going to be 3pm that afternoon and wasn't going to be non-stop. After trying to get on various different airlines with no avail, we finally boarded and were finally on our way, arriving at DisneyWorld sometime after midnight much later than our anticipated 9am arrival. That is not the only adventurous or delayed  flight we have had, just the most frustrating. The most adventurous and white knuckled flight we have had into Orlando occurred when our flight pattern took us directly over the swamp fires burning around Orlando International.  Fires of that nature tend to make up their own weather and turbulence. On final approach we had a drastic sudden drop in altitude, I mean worse than the Tower of terror drop, sending everyone into a panic and had people screaming, that is all but one little girl, my angel of a daughter, who was giggling and asking if we could do that again.

Please don't sing Sweet Home Chicago anymore!!!!!

Even with these mishaps and delays, I will take the 2 hour non stop flight into Orlando International or outlaying airports over the 24 hour non stop drive we would have. I had several of those trips and those were adventures in themselves. Stay tuned for part 2.