john southwest is a good airline,only problem is they only fly in the states.

why does anyone fly somebody else when they can fly Southwest...let me see....

Southwest does not fly to Europe
Southwest does not fly to Asia
Southwest does not fly to Hawaii

There are three reasons right there....

"one of the best safety records " ??????? They just grounded more than 70 of their B-737. I like moon roof in cars not in aircrafts.

"the best fares"????? Only in markets with no competitions.

Sorry, where did you get your info? Ask any pilot in any poilot/airport circle, southwest has one of the worst for safety...and the most recent happenings finally give the public a clear picture. Think about it, if their fares are so low...how are they saving money?

Best Customer Service...NOT!!

I had a ticket purchased home to Louisiana for Thanksgiving 2005 on Southwest and one for Christmas on American Airlines. I had gotten them both for good fares. Then gas prices soared. Then Katrina happened. Southwest cancelled ALL of their flights from August through January. Once they started flying back into Louisiana (in Sept-Oct of that year), they refused to "honor" my ticket and said I'd have to rebook the ticket (now at a much higher price, of course). They also refused to fly me into other airports (e.g., Jackson MS, Houston TX) or put me on another carrier. They gave me a credit for the fare that I had purchased (after I had to fight and fight for it)! I haven't flown with them since and never will!

In contrast, AA sent out a letter not long after the Hurricane and said that they will honor their tickets, and if they can't get a passenger into New Orleans (which they did end up keeping that flight), not to worry that they would fly anyone into another airport of their choice, or get us a ticket on another airline that was flying into New Orleans. Basically, they SERVED THEIR CUSTOMER!

Moral of story...Southwest only appears to have customer service until a customer needs service...then it is nowhere to be found. The big guys like AA actually have customer service. I firmly believe Southwest took advantage of the situation and saw an opportunity to cancel flights that people had at a low rate and force them to re-book at a much higher rate...scumbags!

Also, their planes come apart during flight because of poor maintenance.

Southwest is INFAMOUS for overbooking people.

Because they don't do anything for their road warriors. I have lifetime gold status on AA, because I logged a million miles. I get to used first class check-in on domestic flights. I get to use the elite security line. I get to board ahead of all other coach passengers. I also have a private reservations number, so if a flight is delayed or cancelled, I can call getting stuck on hold with the main number.

Oh, and I get upgraded to first class.

I would argue that Southwest's safety record is acutally good. They've had only one fatal accident during the airline's existance. They don't farm out maintenance to "iffy" repair facilities.

When they grounded the 737-300 fleet, that was an internal decision and not one suggested by Boeing or demanded by the FAA. Other carriers may have kept planes flying until the sevice bulletin was issued.

And while Southwest did ground 70+ 737-300s, remember that AA once had to ground its entire MD-80 fleet (nearly 270 aicraft), because one FAA inspector decided that another one had made a mistake in approving a mandated repair.

Southwest has the best safety record? You forgot about that "sun-roof" that opened up in the top of one aircraft a couple weks ago. How safe is that at 33,000 feet?

Ummm...they have the dirtiest airplanes I have ever been on. The Greyhound of the skies.

I won't fly Southwest because they will not reserve seats. I do not want to stand in line for hours in order to get a good seat. It only takes 5 minutes for a ticket person to reserve a seat. I wrote to Southwest about reserving seats and was told that it was never done and they would not change that policy. How stupid to have everything carved in stone.

Southwest doesn't fly everywhere...you can't get to Europe or Asia on Southwest and many other places...but Southwest is great for flying up and down the west coast... and I do it often.

Southwest is by far the absolute best airline. 2 bags fly FREE. Fun attendants. On time 99% of the time. And, if you have to change a flight...NO huge penalty, only the difference in the cost of original ticket. I got a refund twice because my changed ticket was cheaper. They are not out to gouge their passengers. Southwest and I are doing life!!!!!!

I believe some of you need reminding that Boeing manufactures the airplane that ripped open, NOT Southwest.

Best Safety records? Right....were do you get your information? They were fined millions in 06 for stress cracks and oh yeah last week a big hole blew out of the plane at 37,000 ft. These planes are not safe. They don't charge anything for seats how do you think they make up for this? Their maintenance sucks! Their time is coming and somehow I think it will be soon.