Southwest Airlines has taken a lot of heat for the way it has handled the unexpected grounding of its Boeing 737 MAX fleet. Many customers are angry and argue that Southwest has acted very much out of character. But...
I’m Not Flying Southwest to Hawaii Even With Companion Pass
Southwest Airlines has started flights to Hawaii, initially offering limited availability as cheap as $99 round-trip. But even with the Companion Pass, I won’t take Southwest to the islands. If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add...
United’s Dig At Southwest Airlines
Southwest will shortly commence service between California and Hawaii, but United wants to remind you that there are other choices. The following appeared on United’s Twitter recently: I view the ad as a friendly and good-natured jab, but a...
Southwest’s Hawaii Experiment Is Missing One Essential Ingredient
Southwest is launching service to Hawaii next week but is leaving far too much at the table thanks to its quirky scheduling policies. The problem can be summed up in one word: redeyes. Southwest doesn’t do them and has...
Southwest Wages War Against Its Mechanics
Southwest Airlines has sued its mechanics’ union, alleging that the union is engaging in an illegal work slowdown. For the last few weeks, mechanics have taken far more aircraft out of service than usual, citing maintenance concerns. Southwest has...
Prepare For A Fare War To Hawaii
Southwest Airlines is expected to announce schedules for its new Hawaii service this week. Brace yourselves for a fare war. Southwest already has a dedicated page on its website for Hawaii and hints that a service announcement is imminent....
My Conversation With Southwest’s Herb Kelleher
Southwest founder and Chairman Emeritus Herb Kelleher died last week. I once had a brief conversation with him and reflect on that below. It was 2006 and the U.S. House Transportation Committee was meeting to consider abolishing the 1979...
Southwest Denies Boarding…To A Fish
Southwest Airlines refused boarding to a pet fish, forcing a college student to make a difficult choice. Lanice Powless was traveling home to California for the holidays. She is a student at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs and...
Southwest Airlines 737 Skids Off Runway, But Could Have Been Far Worse
A Southwest Airlines 737 overran the runway at Burbank-Hollywood Airport yesterday, skidding to a halt. But a technological system prevented a far worse disaster. Flight 278 from Oakland to Burbank had 112 passengers and five crew members onboard. No...
Man Gropes Female Passenger, Blames Donald Trump
“The president of the United States says it’s OK to grab women by their private parts.” That’s the rationale Michael Alexander, a Southwest passenger, used to defend his groping of a female passenger on a flight from Houston Hobby to...
Southwest Companion Pass Loses Luster, Value
I have written before about the valuable Southwest Airlines Companion Pass (pass holders can take another passenger with them for free). But its value proposition has lost its luster, we find ourselves using it so rarely because the value...
Passenger Ejected From Southwest Flight For Running Her Racist Mouth
A woman was ejected from a Southwest flight (to the applause of fellow passengers) after embarking on a racist tirade when told to fold up her tray table. I write about these stories, in part, to chronicle poor behavior...
