from Hacker News

Southwest Airlines now available on Google Flights

by kk6mrp on 5/23/24, 2:34 PM with 107 comments

• by CSSer on 5/23/24, 4:26 PM

  This is going to sound like an ad, but I exclusively fly SW domestically. As noted, they used to look like a worse value but only because of the way competition handled fees. Couple this with the standard rewards program and I think SW is a steal. Did you know that SW is also the only domestic airline to have never filed bankruptcy? I’m glad to see the rest of the world being forced to compete more honestly. I’m sad to see that my convenient flights might get a little more crowded, but oh well!

• by 22c on 5/23/24, 3:27 PM

  I didn't know they weren't listed on flight aggregator services and I almost certainly did not consider Southwest when flying to FL for this very reason.

  Seems to me that Southwest are learning the hard way that not being competitive and transparent with consumers about their pricing is bad for business.

• by avelis on 5/23/24, 5:04 PM

  Southwest Airlines (SW) has still not made an investment in their scheduling and operations software and infrastructure. They will have more operational failures in the future if say a huge store system forces to many flights to be rescheduled. For something so critical to business continuity I find it astounding how little SW has done in that regard. SW also has lobbied alot to derail high speed rail in Texas. Although I am sure all airlines have done that to some degree.

• by adam_arthur on 5/23/24, 5:14 PM

  I've flown Southwest a few times out of necessity and it's always been a worse experience for me. I don't like the "hunger games" aspect of seating... I'd rather have the seat pre-selected and relax during boarding. I've also found it to be more expensive generally for the routes I fly.

  Everyone has their own preferences, but I wonder is there a tangible advantage to flying Southwest to those that prefer it?

• by _huayra_ on 5/23/24, 4:08 PM

  Besides the 2 bags you get for free, the ability to rebook whenever you want and pay the difference / get a credit is so incredibly useful. I am not super well-versed on airline policies, but last time I looked, I think they were the only US airline that did this (at least for the economy class level of tickets).

  One neat trick: you can rebook your exact same itinerary if you see it cheaper and get the difference as a credit (for the Wanna Get Away class fares; if you booked with the pricier ones, you'll get it back as a refund to your credit card).

• by eiiot on 5/23/24, 4:47 PM

  > Southwest even sues websites that display its schedules and fares without authorization

  Why does Southwest even have any jurisdiction here? It seems like they won a preliminary case, but don't we have established president that scraping websites is legal, thanks to hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn?

• by impish9208 on 5/23/24, 3:53 PM

  I noticed this the other day when I saw SWA flights listed in the Chase Travel portal. Previously, you could only book directly from them.

• by hnburnsy on 5/23/24, 4:37 PM

  What was interesting is that Southwest has been part of GDS allowing agents and corporate travel bookers to compare fares. Always seemed consumer unfriendly.

• by vikramkr on 5/23/24, 4:58 PM

  Huh, I had no idea they weren't listed on these sites. I'd generally heard good things about them but they didn't really 'exist' as an option for me since I never saw a flight from them available. Wonder how many times I'd have chosen them if I knew/remembered they existed on a given route

• by xnx on 5/25/24, 6:55 PM

  4 reasons I've avoided Southwest: 1) Not in Google Flights 2) Not seatback charging 3) More expensive (for my flights) 4) Boarding procedure . Now that the first 2 are fixed, I'll give them more consideration.

• by hi-v-rocknroll on 5/23/24, 8:11 PM

  tl;dr: Trains and boats are less terrible.

  Not SW-specific, but air travel generally:

  - Climate change: carbon footprint nearly 44% greater than a single occupancy vehicle but multiplied over thousands of miles

  - Monetized misery with short seat pitches, junk fees, and preferential treatment with $$$

  - Inconsistent, sometimes terrible customer service (About 10 years ago, I was stuck at Heathrow but Virgin Atlantic once showed me how to and let me use their booking terminal directly to find a flight on any carrier. They definitely had customer service.)

  - Regular inconveniences like endless gate changes (AA pulled this 11x in 6 hours to me at DFW)

  - Sketchy maintenance practices like offshoring MRO

  - Close calls and ATC shortage