STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

dc · Dooney & Bourke

Southwest Airlines vs/ other low-cost

lsubatgirl · Gucci

I hear the trick with Southwest is to do the 24 hour advance check in before you get to the airport and you can get in Group A. I've never flown with them so I don't know of anything firsthand with them.

Kel · Coach

I don't know if they are still considered low-cost but I love Jet Blue. I always travel with them. Also SONG is pretty good too. I second that with Frontier, I flew out to CO with them, and I thought that they were pretty good.

jj · Kate Spade

Yep, you gotta check in on-line to get group A. I've never been sure why no seat assignments = saving money. It's tough for the return trip, if you are staying at a hotel (you may have a laptop, but probably not a printer). My parents fly SW all the time because there are lots of cheap flights around the west coast, and my mom gets the hotel concierge to print their boarding passes. She's pretty resourceful.

sfclinevandy · Coach

I LOATHE Southwest. I honestly think it's no better than a bus. I get airsick and I need to sit my a window and so not being able to book my own ticket always is a problem. But sometimes when I'm booking last minute it's the only airline that'll work.

I LOVE Song (budget line of Delta), however. I've only flown it once but it was great. The plane was decorated in bright colors, cheesy but I liked it. Normally Delta flight attendants are mean trolls, but Song flight attendants were really nice. There is a martini menu, which I didn't partake from, but I thought it was a cute gimmick and if I got bored on a long flight I would probably buy a $7 fruit-tini. I also loved being able to watch live tv, movies, and play games on the personal tvs. There isn't a first class so I don't think I could fly Song on a long trip (I have long legs and need the leg space) but I loved it otherwise.

I don't know it AirTran is considered like Southwest, but I've been pleased with that. The planes are older but I liked being to upgrade to 1st class for only $30 at check-in. Of course you can only do that when there are available seats. The flight attendants were nice and the snacks were really good. I remember sitting in coach and getting a full size Nature's Valley granola bar AND a pack of Fig Newtons. Yes, I'm a pig and these things mean a lot to me.

I'm flying Ted in October when I go to Chicago. My roundtrip ticket from Tampa was only $118 including all fees! Coming from Atlanta where Delta basically rules and you fly where Delta goes at the price they set, this was very refreshing. I'll post a review later what it's like.

I have a couple of friends that fly Idependance Air. They like it and I think you can book your seat like other civilized air lines.

Escrime · Kate Spade

sfclinevandy wrote:

I LOATHE Southwest. I honestly think it's no better than a bus.

Ditto! I haven't flown them in years because I hate how they do things, and most of the time, they don't even save me that much $$ when I look.

I love JetBlue and Independence Air.

bumblebee · Coach

we call it "southworst" and it is exactly like a bus. sometimes you can't beat the fares, though, and it's worth the inconvenience. especially the $30 each way fares to/from Vegas from LAX--if you get on the friday evening flight out it is absolutely like getting on the school bus to go away for the weekend with all of the other people--it's actually kind of funny. i don't hate it, but i could see how it would be easy to.

ILoveChoo · Hermes

I used to take southwest between DC and Albany and it wasn't too bad, but it was only about a 45 minute flight. I don't think I could handle nay longer than that. I remember one time I was dying of thirst and the attendant wouldn't bring me a drink- wtf? I just wanted some water, but she said we already got our drinks and we were only allowed to have one. Ew.

FH downright refuses to take them, because of their policy of making larger people pay for two seats, so now that he lives down here too I never really take them anymore. I like Jet Blue a lot though, so for budget arlines we'll usually just take them.

Alikat · Kate Spade

Southwest is ok... I normally only fly them to LA or San Diego, though so 1 hour flights tops. If I'm flying transcontinental I definitely choose another airline.

If you guys hate SW, watch out for the low cost European airlines that fly within Europe. I think they might have changed this, but Ryanair used to have no organized seating, so everyone lined up and waited to get on the plane. It was chaos and everyone's nasty side came out fighting for seats.

The good part was they sell their tickets at insanely low prices (plus tax which normally was more than the ticket)... but they fly to crappy airports in the middle of nowhere also, which usually cost like $20 on their chartered buses to get to so everything adds up in the end.

Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent, but fyi watch out for those airlines

rocky · Coach

ILoveChoo wrote:

I used to take southwest between DC and Albany and it wasn't too bad, but it was only about a 45 minute flight. I don't think I could handle nay longer than that. I remember one time I was dying of thirst and the attendant wouldn't bring me a drink- wtf? I just wanted some water, but she said we already got our drinks and we were only allowed to have one. Ew. FH downright refuses to take them, because of their policy of making larger people pay for two seats, so now that he lives down here too I never really take them anymore. I like Jet Blue a lot though, so for budget arlines we'll usually just take them.

No way!!! They make larger ppl pay for two seats??? How is that justifiable?

bumblebee · Coach

i could be wrong, but i think it's becoming standard practice in the airline industry. for people over a certain weight limit. the airlines feel that it is uncomfortable for both that person and the people sitting next to them if they are spilling over onto a second seat, so they make them buy two because that is the square footage they actually require (i think southwest's seats are particularly small and close together also, so that might be why they insist).

rocky wrote:

ILoveChoo wrote: I used to take southwest between DC and Albany and it wasn't too bad, but it was only about a 45 minute flight. I don't think I could handle nay longer than that. I remember one time I was dying of thirst and the attendant wouldn't bring me a drink- wtf? I just wanted some water, but she said we already got our drinks and we were only allowed to have one. Ew. FH downright refuses to take them, because of their policy of making larger people pay for two seats, so now that he lives down here too I never really take them anymore. I like Jet Blue a lot though, so for budget arlines we'll usually just take them. No way!!! They make larger ppl pay for two seats??? How is that justifiable?

ILoveChoo · Hermes

bumblebee wrote:

i could be wrong, but i think it's becoming standard practice in the airline industry. for people over a certain weight limit. the airlines feel that it is uncomfortable for both that person and the people sitting next to them if they are spilling over onto a second seat, so they make them buy two because that is the square footage they actually require (i think southwest's seats are particularly small and close together also, so that might be why they insist). rocky wrote: ILoveChoo wrote: I used to take southwest between DC and Albany and it wasn't too bad, but it was only about a 45 minute flight. I don't think I could handle nay longer than that. I remember one time I was dying of thirst and the attendant wouldn't bring me a drink- wtf? I just wanted some water, but she said we already got our drinks and we were only allowed to have one. Ew. FH downright refuses to take them, because of their policy of making larger people pay for two seats, so now that he lives down here too I never really take them anymore. I like Jet Blue a lot though, so for budget arlines we'll usually just take them. No way!!! They make larger ppl pay for two seats??? How is that justifiable?

yeah, it is becomming pretty standard. I have mixed feelings about it: I've had to sit next to FH on flight before and it's pretty squished since he takes up a little of my seat...If I didn't know hi I would be pretty pissed, so I see where thet are coming from. At the same time though, they still have to wear a seatbelt so its not like they'd be able to sit in the middle of two seats anyway...

sorry, this is a bit of an issue for me. FH and i argue about it constantly.