No frills, just attentive service
Written: Jun 29 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Low rates, great service, wonderful attendants
Cons: No frills, no seating reservations
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| QueenLyssa's Full Review: Southwest Airlines |
Now I can't account for everyone's experience with every flight by Southwest Airlines, but if you ask me what airline I'd -rather- fly on, Southwest heads the list. Living in Southern California with relatives in Northern California, I took the corridor flights from Ontario to the Bay Area on a regular basis and Southwest was my first choice every time. Thanks to a good number of daily flights by Southwest between Southern and Northern California, there were very few times I ever had to travel with anyone else, but I have flown American and United. Southwest still remained my favorite.
Now granted, Southwest is a no-frills airline. Don't expect meals served, not that United or American served meals on a corridor flight anyhow. Not much sense in doing so on such a short flight. You'll get a bag of peanuts. On occasion, they're labelled humorously "Frills" in case you weren't clear that this is it. That and a soda is all you'll get, folks.
You won't get a reserved seat. Rather, it's first come, first serve. This is handled at most airports by allowing people to obtain a boarding order ticket when they arrive at the terminal. Those whose tickets allow them to board first get to choose where they want to sit. Even so, this can result in what my mother used to refer to as 'the cattle call' boarding, where passengers rush for the good seats with all the courtesy of a New York subway crowd. My mother dealt with this by being armed with a thick paperback copy of Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, with which she politely (and gently, mind you) bludgeoned the worst offenders. Fortunately, I never had to resort to such tactics.
What you will get, however, is service unmatched by any other airline I have flown. The attendants are actually *gasp* friendly and polite! Now being crammed into a compact metal tube with several dozen strangers is a hard experience to enjoy; usually one hopes it will at least just be tolerable. However, Southwest believes in a very powerful psychological concept: humor diffuses tension.
On most flights, it starts with the safety instructions. On most airlines, it sounds the same, delivered in oft-recited monotone and easily ignored by the passengers, which makes you wonder what the point of going over the whole mess is. On Southwest flights, however, you'll seldom see anyone dozing off or reading while the attendants go over the FAA regulations. This is because the attendants salt the speech with lots of humor, grabbing the attention of the passengers. Different attendants have different acts, so even if you've flown other Southwest flights you find yourself glued and grinning.
Should the unexpected happen, the attendants are still ready to bring a smile and ease emotions. On one trip, we experienced heavy turbulence, to the point where some passengers were becoming uneasy. After making sure everyone was buckled in, the flight attendant announced we would be learning a turbulence drill and requested our complete attention. He raised both arms, requesting that we follow his moves. Hushed, we did so. He then leaned with the tilt of the plane and said "Whee!" Most of us were a bit befuddled until he leaned the other direction with the next tilt. In a moment the entire plane was giggling and mimicking a ride on a rollercoaster, even the most nervous fliers relaxing.
On another flight, there was an extremely fussy baby on board. The mother and the attendants had tried everything they could to calm the baby, from a fresh milk bottle to pacifiers to walking up and down the aisles, but nothing worked. Rather than watching passengers get frustrated and the mother become frantic and pressured, the attendant cheerfully announced that as they were stymied, they would accept suggestions as to how to please the infant. Suddenly the passengers were involved, throwing out suggestions. The winning idea, a quiet round of Row, Row, Row the Boat by the entire plane that actually caused the baby to stop crying to listen, was rewarded by five bags of 'Frills' peanuts. The baby stopped fussing, the mother was relieved, and the passengers felt like a small and temporary community.
Of course there are other great things about Southwest as well. The pilots are exceptional and experienced. I've never had misplaced luggage on a Southwest flight. My flights always arrived on time. The one time there was a flight cancellation due to a mechanical problem a replacement flight was arranged quickly and courteously.
Now granted, I may be particularly blessed with Southwest, but I can only account for my experience. What will always keep Southwest my favorite airline, however, is the manner in which the attendants seek to make flying a pleasurable and comfortable experience for everyone on their flight.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
QueenLyssa
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Member: Lyssa Jaraba
Location: Riverside, CA
Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 19 members
About Me:
It's good to be queen.
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