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Southwest Airlines
by tenkilos
We have recently had the pleasure of using Southwest Airlines twice for flights from Chicago to New Orleans and then from San Antonio, TX to Los Angeles while on a holiday in the USA.
Firstly, you will find that Southwest are a very large American airline with flights virtually in all corners of the country and many airports ... having whole terminals or half terminals devoted to their flights. The proposition is simple: the company is a budget carrier, has numerous routes and is cheap, but does not try and squeeze every single last dollar you might have out of you like many of its European counterparts.
Booking the flight on their website is incredibly easy. There is no multitude of hidden charges like we get in the UK with bags flying free and no ridiculous check-in fees or whatnot. When you come to the airport, the service is also very good. There are kiosks where you can print off your boarding pass if you haven't managed to do so already and the queues were very short both times we travelled. Each passenger is allowed up to 2 hold bags weighing up to 50 pounds (around 22.5kg) and this is the only thing they are very strict on (we had to repack both times), but they are very courteous and helpful and the reasons for the rules are clear as the female staff at the desks have to manually haul your baggage around and then lift it onto the conveyor.
Once you oblige to not have overweight bags, everything else is very simple. You do not get assigned seats, but you get a number according to when you buy your ticket which lets you board in order. We boarded right at the end both times and still easily got two seats together by the window which were perfectly good for us. Granted, if you travel in a large group, this may be dificult, but at the price you're paying, it is hard to complain.
They are very generous with cabin luggage and allow much greater "cabin-sized" suitcases than you would get away with in Europe which most locals seem to make use of despite the huge hold baggage allowances. Moreover, we even found that the airline provides complimentary snacks and drinks on the flights including sandwiches which is great for short-haul flights. Ryanair and Easyjet are really put to shame! One more interesting point is that all flights operate from major airports which means you are both close to the place you're going and you get all the shops/amenities that you get with any other airline.
Last, but not least, the airline operates an interesting scheme where you can turn up to the airport and buy a special kind of ticket when the plane is full, proceed to the gate and wait to see if any passengers fail to turn up. This can result in you having to go back out and leave the airport if unsuccessful, but having witnessed a large number of people on many flights doing this and every single one succeeding, it seems an interesting concept if you have to fly urgently. It is also important to note that they operate very good terms for changing your flights with either no fees if done early enough or very low ones to change your dates which is also a consideration for some travellers.
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American Airlines
by kama0529
American Airlines
I have flown on American Airlines many times over the years, largely within the intercontinental USA. I generally choose AA because they tend to be one of the less expensive airlines that have an extensive route throughout the continental USA and so are able to offer me flights at the time and date I want, without ... me really having to compromise on price.
Check in staff for AA have always been helpful and courteous and more than happy to answer any questions or queries I have had. The queues tend to be minimal and move quickly, and many locations have self check in facilities where you simply need to swipe your ID, enter your booking code or swipe your credit card. I have to admit that, wherever possible, I use this self check in facility as it's quicker than queuing up, particularly at major hubs like LAX.
Unlike flying in Europe, with the exception of budget airlines, if checking in a bag on AA you have to pay a checking in fee which is $20 for the first bag and $27 for the second bag. However, you don't have to pay for hand luggage and you can take fairly large holdalls on as hand luggage. At the time of writing this, each passenger was allowed one bag plus one personals item, such as a hand bag, briefcase, laptop etc.
I have never been majorly delayed using AA. While occasionally flights have been slightly delayed taking off, it seems that they generally manage to make up this time delay during the flight and so you arrive on time or ahead of schedule. Boarding onto the plane is done in groups which are assigned to you at check in. Priority is given to those with young children, disability, military persons and those with first class tickets.
The flight itself is fairly standard. In cattle class (economy), as with all airlines, the seats are small, with too little leg room and cramped conditions. It's no more or less comfortable than the seating provided by most major carriers. Each seat has a personal reading light and aircon blower - and the standard pull down tray table.
All of soft drinks and water are complimentary, but you do need to pay for alcoholic beverages. A small 175 ml bottle of white wine costs $7 - which is fairly expensive for bog standard wine. There are snacks available, but there is not much to choose from - and these require payment also. On my last flight, which was a 5 hour flight across country, the only snack options were a turkey croissant, a packet of fruit and nut or a cookie........so not really anything substantial. The turkey crosissant cost $6 and the fruit and nut packet about $5. I would recommend that you bring your own snacks on the plane otherwise it could be a long hungry trip! Be warned that any payment must be made by credit card as they do not accept cash payemnts.
Entertainment on the flight is also minimal. There are shared TV screens throughout the cabin about every 4 rows and so everyone will be able to see a screen. However, there is no choice as to what movie is shown and on many occasions a movie has started and then not been completed by the time the flight is over.......which can be annoying. You can use your own headphones or purchase them onboard for $2.
The cabin crew are polite, friendly and helpful and, like much of the US, very much service orientated. Sometimes cabin service can be slow as there doesn't ever seem to be enough cabin crew, but having said that, I cannot fault their professionalism.
I will continue to use AA when in the US, simply because they usually win on price and on route coverage. I would say that using AA is very much about simply getting A to B safely and efficiently and comfort comes much further down the list.
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