[mrgalaxy]

> “We’re not hub and spoke, and we do very little out-and-back,” Jordan said. “So when you stop a line, you’re stopping a line where the aircraft is attempting to flow across the country.”

I routinely get flights delayed on Southwest like no other airline, even the budget ones. Now I understand why.

[jedberg]

Well that plus they have very little slack in their schedule. They have a goal of 20 minute turnarounds. That leaves no room for error. Most airlines won't turnaround a plane in less than an hour.

[edgefield]

Setting all the recent issues aside, I remember a time when I would always check Southwest Airlines for flight options before any other airline and they’d often win my business. For the last ~5 years I don’t even bother. Their prices are at best the same as all the other major airlines (just as likely to be more expensive) and their flight schedules are just okay. I don’t understand how Southwest is maintaining market share (perhaps it’s not).

[InvaderFizz]

For me, they happen to have direct flights to my preferred airports and their cancellation policy provides a great peace of mind having the option of canceling a flight 10 minutes prior to departure and just rescheduling for later.

[esalman]

They win (won) my business chiefly because of checked bag policy. Even with 2 free checked bags, their prices are competitive. I do hope they recover from this mess.

[ktpecot]

They have an incredible loyal customer base despite some of the recent bad publicity. Also seems like if the price and schedule are the same, generally Southwest provides a better experience.

[zenithd]

It's the stroller airline. If you have kids it's a good deal.

[ktpecot]

Not quite true anymore. The average scheduled turn is closer to 35 minutes on 700 aircraft and 40+ on 800s. Still much shorter than legacy carriers

[OldHand2018]

> I routinely get flights delayed on Southwest like no other airline, even the budget ones. Now I understand why.

Sure, but Southwest has always been the kind of airline that rewards people who play the game.

Let’s say you are flying from Chicago to Boston. Southwest has a flight every hour, sometimes even more frequently. You can pretty easily find out where your plane is coming from, and where the planes on the next few flights are coming from. You can pretty easily find out if those planes are taking off on time. If they do, they’re going to land in Chicago on time and turn around to Boston on time. If not, just walk over to the desk and ask to be moved to the one that is going to get you to Boston soonest. If there is a seat available, it’s yours. You’ll have your new boarding pass in 2 minutes or less and they wont charge you a dime.