My brother travels probably 3 weeks on every month on average on American, He's already Super Uber Ultra Awesome Platinum with them and can basically get First Class on every flight for free I don't know why I stated this but Southwest would be hell to ride business as often as he does with as cramped as they are and as shitty as those DC-10s are

You're saying that SW is more profitable, and while I am agreeing I am stating that they are profitable for the simple reason that they are a Texas airline, I wasn't arguing.



AA gets me there in 6. LAS has delay problems which adds time onto the SW flight (though DFW lately isn't much better). Again, I am not trying to argue that CO is a better airline, they pissed me off. I was just stating why I don't fly SW that much (and why a lot of corporate people don't). I cannot fly into major business hubs without stopping or sitting next to a 3 yr. old who gets his peanuts all over me. To put it simply, SW is the Wal-Mart of airlines, they just treat their employees better. This doesn't mean SW isn't great in some situations, it just isn't great for all of them.



Well, considering the only ones on your list that are transcon flights are la-philly (barely), and oakland-baltimore and philly, no not really. The rest of those flights are considered mid-con. They have no SFO-NY area flights direct (important), they have no SEA-BWI flights (somewhat important), and LAX-BOS or LAX-MIA (another important one). Those are transcon flights. Anything that takes off in the middle of the country usually takes 3-4 hours to get anywhere else. So, like I said, they do not have a lot of options to a lot of places that other airlines do. Which brings up another point, SW does not have redeyes.



I get hungry yes, and a bag of peanuts doesn't hold anyone over. On roadtrips, I bring food, so you wouldn't have to worry about it. I used to drive from Lubbock to Houston only stopping to get gas one time.



I was simply making it clear that SW isn't this righteous airline that doesn't have maintenance problems.



Yes, smells. Go hang out in that food court. I was sitting there on saturday and could barely finish my beer because of the smell of the place. The SW area is nice but everything else is a dump. The parking situation kind of sucks as well.



Some flights are cheaper. A lot of flights aren't. I just looked up a HOU-BWI flight and it was more expensive than the AA options. I have watched SW fares increase slowly over the past few months... I am preparing myself for some low fares though as they try to blow Virgin America out of the water and keep them from being profitable.

No. I want flights that meet my schedule. When I am done on Friday at a client, I want to arrive at an airport, hang out in the lounge, check my e-mail, and relax. I don't want to stand in a 3 prong line hoping to get a decent seat.

ok first you said cross country, then you said trans-continental. i don't really see how you wouldn't consider oakland -> baltimore a trans-continental flight, but whatever. oakland->chicago is like 2000 miles, I'd consider that a pretty long flight with no stops. it's obvious that they don't have as many choices as the other airlines, but that's not what you said, you said there was very few, and there really is a lot.


so, you couldn't eat something after you landed? i mean, seriously man you're really bein a puss. i've made that nasty lubbock to houston drive a lot too, same deal, stop in commanche for gas and drive through. that's 8 hrs though


ok but now we're getting into airports and not airlines. i've never really noticed any particular smell, but i guess i don't hang around the airport any longer than an hour either. as far as i'm concerned, the quality of the airport comes in a distant second to the location and convienence.


hmm... i don't know where you're looking, but i just priced one for tomorrow:
SW: $334, non stop, 3:00
AA (shortest flight): $773, 1 stop DFW, 4:35
AA (cheapest flight): $343, 1 stop DFW, 5:05 (obviously worth the insane price difference)

well i guess that's where we differ. i'd rather wait a few extra minutes in a line because i thought ahead well enough to get an A boarding pass, and get a good seat for the next 1-4 hours i'll be on the plane. rather than have some assigned seat that takes nothing into account (i.e. you could end up with a 120 lb 5' 20 year old girl sitting next to you, or a 400 lbs 85 year old grandma that stinks to high heaven). kinda like pot luck roommates imo.

But I thought you wanted time to eat... That means you have to take your food to the line with you because if you don't get there an hour before the flight is set to push back you'll be at the back of the "A" line.

My assigned seat does take things into account. On CO I am guaranteed a seat at the front or at an exit row on the aisle. On AA I am pretty much guaranteed First Class or Business. So yeah...

I'll read your other post when I get home. I don't know where you were looking but I just found a roundtrip flight to BWI from IAH for $283 and from HOU for $338, granted from HOU it's a puddle jumper.

I was inferring eating before you go to the airport in the first place. Or eating after you get home. Is it really that difficult?

Ok instead of keeping on saying "i dunno where you're looking" I got the two prices off their actual websites, for a flight on 3/23. I did not see a single flight that was non stop, and I did not look up BWI->HOU, I only looked up HOU->BWI (one way).

I go to http://www.aa.com, leave the default dates (usually the next day it seems), type in HOU to BWI, and click "GO". then I go to http://www.southwest.com and click "book a flight", then choose HOU -> BWI and enter the same dates that were used on the aa.com site. then choose the flight and click next, so it adds in the taxes and crap.

and unless I'm completely blind, I don't see any direct flights from AA, they all go through dallas, or any flights cheaper than SW. it also seems like the further in advance you schedule the flight, the bigger the gap gets between the two prices (w/SW being a lower price).

I'm sorry dude, but unless you get some jollies out of going to DFW, you can't tell me you'd rather pay more, and be in the air for a minimum of 1.5 hrs longer.

when I fly SW.... I dont ever wait in line for a seat. In fact, even when I have an A boarding pass, Ill sometimes still board with the C's cuz I dont like sitting on a crowded plane waiting for people to get on. I like to spend as little time on the plane as possible. People hate sitting in the middle seat. I dont mind...as long as Im toward the front of the plane so that I can be one of the first off the plane. I always get a seat up front...even when Im one of the last ones to board.

Out of HOU yes, it sucks. Out of IAH, it's better. But you are right, the price is better, though the time difference is arguable (I'll leave it at that). And yes, I do get my jollies out of going through DFW. More miles at double the value. At the rate I am going, I will have 4 free international flights by October. And when it's not me paying, I don't care. I want to get there, I want to be treated well, I want my AAdvantage line that has no one in it, I want the AAdvantage and CO Elite security lines that are basically empty, and I want first class.

That may not matter to you, but it does to me because I am in an airplane at ~18 hours a week. Yes, 18. Three abreast seating doesn't cut it when you fly that much. I do not want to have to stand in line an hour before the flight hoping to get a good seat, then ride a train an hour because the airport that I landed at isn't actually in the city I want to go, nor do I want to listen to "funny" flight attendants.

One thing about being fed on planes. One reason that airlines do this that may not be that obvious is time change. On transcon flights they will feed you so that you subconsciously adjust to the time change. Like I said before, I do not have time to grab food on the way to the airport and I am not usually coming from home. I am usually coming from work or from a client and I am at the 1.5 hour threshold of making or missing a flight, so I just want to get to the airport and relax (I think that's the third time I've said that).

And I'd like to go back to the transcon stuff. I said cross-country, which is usually, across the country, not halfway. Chicago and Dallas are middle grounds, not cross-country. Transcon flights are usually serviced by bigger jets (767s and A300s) while midcon flights are serviced by smaller aircraft. I have never flown SW cross-country, but now I might have to, I'm interested to see what a 5-6/7 hour flight is like on them.

All of this said, you and I travel differently because of circumstances. I travel for a specific reason, not for a weekend trip home or to Dallas.

I am trying to get a flight from LAX-D.C. Area and the only direct flight is to BWI, but the price is nice, $383 on SW. I can fly from LAX-IAD for $270 on AA, non-stop on a widebody and be closer to D.C.

Since SW doesn't fly from LAX-NY Area non-stop, I can't compare there...

well no shit sherlock. of course you're gonna ride AA first class if your company pays for it. but here's a clue: not everyone has their flights paid for. you can't compare two airlines on the basis that the fuckin tickets are free. geezus. and maybe you wouldn't spend 18 hours in an airplane a week if you traded off your yuppy first class and got a southwest flight that was 1/3 shorter flight.

you see, they've done a great job of making you think you're getting all this great treatment, when the service they provide is second class. oh, here sir, let me treat you like a grown up businessman, and since you feel all tingly inside, that'll make up for the fact that we suck as an airline and can't get you to your destination any faster. give that some thought while you're sipping your beer in DFW and the people on SW are half way to baltimore already.

It's akin to the losers driving around in their 20 year old el dorado with $4,000 worth of wheels.

if you really want to compare airlines, don't come on here and give your first class seats as a reason to use the airline, and then give me an economy price. come on you're smarter than that.

dear god, Impala. Please stop. You dont know where and when Stephan travels...sounds to me like he makes multiple trips a week so he would probably spend ~18 hours on a plane no matter what airline he choses. Im sure his company wants to get him there and back in the timeliest fashion with the most comfort and convenience for him...which is why a lot of high-paying companies have their employees use American and Continental. JESUS H CHRIST

why wounldnt he compare economy with economy? of course his first-class seats are going to be more expensive. you are saying sw is cheaper....well, uhhh in some cases it isnt. I found super cheap airfare with AA from Dallas to San Fran...about $100 cheaper than SW.

Well, let's see, since I have to fly places that SW doesn't fly, I'd be sitting in a car for 20 hours just to get one place instead of using that time to work and bill it. Now, if SW wants to start direct flights to Vancouver or JFK out of the Houston area, I'll fly them, but until they do, I'll stick with the direct ones.

On the basis that tickets are free, the company does not pay for a first class ticket, they pay for economy... I get free upgrades to first class on the basis of how many miles I've freaking flown. So don't try to belittle me and make it sound like I am being haughty. I am stating that I prefer the first class upgrades to the cattle-herding.

Fuck this shit...

I'm gonna jump on a forum and argue the living fuck out of airline destination/stops