Acknowledging that we are not fortune tellers with crystal balls, I was wondering folks' thoughts on booking flights for February/March meets on Southwest. From our point of origin, they definitely offer the best scheduling options for meet travel, but I'm afraid to pull the trigger on booking given their current state of chaos. Would you go ahead and book the best flight for the schedule assuming SW will have ironed things out by then or would you just book on another airline?
For Parents Poll: booking flights - airline panic
- Thread starter CuriousCate
- Start date
I am having the same dilemma at the moment. I already have 2 meet trips booked on Southwest (one in late January and one in early February). I have one other trip I need to book asap, but I'm not sure what to do. I was planning on booking southwest, but it feels risky now. I have to decide soon because prices are going up everywhere. Ugh.
Part of SW's issue is their IT - it is antiquated and unable to handle the sheer number of calls - even from their own staff (pilots, attendants, etc).
I would have said "sure" if it was in spring season. But Feb/March is still winter and the chance of a major storm in Denver or Chicago (large SW hubs) is high in those months.
Not worth the $$ savings if you have to fret about getting to the meet on time.
I would have said "sure" if it was in spring season. But Feb/March is still winter and the chance of a major storm in Denver or Chicago (large SW hubs) is high in those months.
Not worth the $$ savings if you have to fret about getting to the meet on time.
Most airlines use hub and spoke route designs, whereas SW uses many more direct routes. When the direct routes work, they're (i) cheaper and (ii) much more likely to be on time. This is why SW has the reputation that it does. However, the value of hub and spoke is in redundancy. Legacy airlines are MUCH better positioned to deal with various disruptions.
I typically fly business class through legacy carriers due to flyer status earned through international travel, so I don't have a ton of SW experience. With that said, I'm not sure I'd trust them to get me somewhere that I need to go.
But to be fair, most airlines have been TERRIBLE since COVID.
I typically fly business class through legacy carriers due to flyer status earned through international travel, so I don't have a ton of SW experience. With that said, I'm not sure I'd trust them to get me somewhere that I need to go.
But to be fair, most airlines have been TERRIBLE since COVID.
That's the direction I'm leaning as well. It actually does not save us money. SW is about $50 more per ticket. But they just have so many more options for scheduling...that was the bigger draw for me.
I have a flight at the end of January on SW right now. It is from Denver to Pittsburgh. On most other airlines I would have a stop in there increasing the risk.
Truth be told, in Jan/Feb/March, the chances of a storm disrupting travel on any airline are high. It is a risk for sure.
For now, I am staying on the flight I have. I will look again in a week and see how things are going. I will NOT be checking a bag anytime soon, on any airline. I have spoken to a couple of friends who have been caught up in this mess, and they have all said they would fly SW again and that they would stick with what I have.
It may be a mistake, but again, I could get cancelled on any airline with this route lol.
Truth be told, in Jan/Feb/March, the chances of a storm disrupting travel on any airline are high. It is a risk for sure.
For now, I am staying on the flight I have. I will look again in a week and see how things are going. I will NOT be checking a bag anytime soon, on any airline. I have spoken to a couple of friends who have been caught up in this mess, and they have all said they would fly SW again and that they would stick with what I have.
It may be a mistake, but again, I could get cancelled on any airline with this route lol.
Not the OP, but for me it's a difference of over $400 because I have the free companion pass at Southwest through February. And I'm flying NC to FL, although I do understand what the other poster said about how the point to point setup at SW makes it more vulnerable to weather/travel issues regardless of the destination. The only "good news" for me is that I could drive to all my destinations if worse came to worse (~8-10 hour drives). I'd much prefer not to, but I've driven there before and it's not terrible. It's more of a time issue and the fact that I'd have to do all the driving myself now that my other drivers are both away at college. lol.
I’m sticking with my original SW flights for the season. Companion pass and only option for nonstops make it worth it. My flights are minimum 2 days before meet and I could drive the day before if needed (but it would be like 10 and 12 hr drives ). And we won’t check bags.
This is off topic sort of but my mom ALWAYS used to keep my comp stuff like the team backpack comp Leo and warmups, grips, spare Leo just in case etc in her carryon in case baggage got lost
That’s a no brainer. Everyone should travel with the largest storable carry on they can find. Briggs and Riley is my preferred brand.
Even on a small plane it will get gate checked and make it to your destination with you.
Control the things you can control. Like finding the best flights and $ that works for your family. You cant control when weather is going to hit or some IT issues pops it head up. SW is an established company, one has to operate under the assumption that they will be flying normal operations by then.
What a great idea!! Yes that would be a bummer if your grips and Leo got lost where you couldn’t compete!! Yay for mom!!
It’s not off topic at all. No matter what it is, if it’s important carry it on.
medication, clothes, paperwork…..
Our daughter is an adoptee, we had the first few days of formula, meds, diapers in our carry on.
And on that trip and a return heritage trip. We spread our things out in multiple bags. So if one bag didn’t arrive, we all had something. And one of us didn’t end up with nothing.
When I fly I always have my toothbrush, extra undies and the clothes I need for work/interview/pool/whatever was important on my carry on.
And when the airlines look for folks to volunteers to check their carryons they are crystal clear, to remove anything important especially medications.
My entire family was stranded in another state for 5 days past our initial flight date before we finally rebooked on a different airline. We were without bags (or a car seat for the 1yo) for about 24hrs. We have not been compensated for anything yet and had 3 flights canceled while trying to get home. The employees were ridiculous and had zero answers.
Trying to overhaul an antiquated IT system for a company that size will NOT be fixed by feb/March. They are going to do what every company in this position does: scramble to patch. Those patches are necessary to solve their current mess but they will not hold and are not a solution. 2-3 months is not enough time to rebuild this system and it needs rebuilding, not updating
Would not fly in winter with them this year, winter has more issues, more storms, more delays, more things their system won’t be able to handle well
Would not fly in winter with them this year, winter has more issues, more storms, more delays, more things their system won’t be able to handle well
