Think about the consumer
 

It is clear that you are so financially desperate that you stoop to robbing customers, with booking charge fees, flight change fees, baggage fees. The lowest of low was when I was charged a $100 change fee because minutes after booking I realized I had booked the wrong date. However, when Delta makes a mistake or error we still pay with time and frustration. You are NOT the only game in town and I will travel with another carrier. How is it that Southwest airlines is # 1 in the world without all the obnoxious fees and top notch customer service?

By who's measure is Southwest #1?

hmmm, maybe in your opinoin southwest is #1, sure isn't #1 in the world and NOT#1 in my book (unless you can prove to everybody that they ARE #1 in the world). even though UA has all the change fees, baggage fees etc. i would rather fly them.

Why is it Delta's fault you messed up? And if Southwest is so great, why did you fly on Delta?

To the original poster, I completely agree. Many airlines actually have (or HAD) a policy that allowed you to make a simple change within 24 hours of your original booking....Delta used to do this, in fact. To the response asking "why is it Delta's fault you messed up?, I didn't interpret it as the poster stating it's Delta's fault, but asking why they were charged $100 for something that was easily correctable with the click of a mouse, and for something that if the error had been on the airline's side, there would have been no reimbursement to the customer. Simply put, airlines charge these fees because they can....we as consumers continue to pay them. The only way to stop them is to take our business elsewhere. I also prefer Southwest, but unfortunately, Southwest doesn't fly to every city...specifically to Atlanta, which Delta pretty much owns.

The airlines all need to wake up and realize that the answer to their financial problems is not to keep charging the customers these outrageous fees, but to offer better service at a fair price...believe me, if they did that, people will come.

Delta had (and did when this was first posted almost a year ago) a no questions asked 24 hour refund policy. Perhaps the OP was pushing the agent to merely change the reservation which, no matter when it's done, carries a fee. Had s/he simply requested a refund s/he could have re-booked it from scratch online. Of course we don't know if it was really inside that 24 hour window or not.

Unfortunately offering better service at a fair price would mean increasing fares across the board. Airlines are constantly adjusting their fares for advanced bookings to test the waters of just what the market will bear. Recently, fueled by a major fare cut offered by Southwest, they lowered fares from mid-September through mid-November to "bargain basement" levels. As soon as the sale was over the fares only briefly went back to the pre-sale levels but then edged back downward when bookings dropped significantly. If they need to keep dropping fares to stimulate bookings then they have to make up for it somewhere.

Southwest #1? Great service? I laughed so hard I almost did myself an injury.

I am still trying to figure out how an airline that only flies in the Continental United States is ranked #1 in the world.

I think that the OP was refering to Southwest being ranked #1 in DOT's Air Consumer Travelers Report (ATCR). Southwest was #1 in August 2008 in consumer complaints. (the fewest per 100,000 enplainments) complaints among those ranked.

And why do people like resurrecting dead threads? And why am I responding to them??

Southwest Airlines Declares 132nd Consecutive Quarterly Dividend
 

Southwest #1? Great service? I laughed so hard I almost did myself an injury.

132nd CONSECUTIVE quarterly dividend.

http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/press/prindex.html

I know, it's all a lie. Southest makes bogus filings with the US Securities And Exchange Commission.

132 consecutive quarterly dividends equates to 33 years of non-stop dividends. Gromit, how many other US-based airlines can make that claim today? If you're thinking of throwing-up the matter of their fuel hedges: Why is it that Southwest was able to acquire all those fuel hedges in the first place??

Southwest is no frills without question. Unlike Spirit Air they have even gone so far as to advertise the fact of their no frills service. How many people remember the newspaper ads and the close-up of the bag of peanuts? The point is customers of Southwest have limited expectations. The so-called "full service" carriers want you to think they still serve steak in flight--at least until you buy a ticket.

Also, Southwest has labor peace. Again, how many of the "full service" guys can claim that. Yeah, United got enough people to volunteer for a furlough. Do you think the remaining help, really, think their jobs are now safe??

What about reliability? True, with Southwest's service to New York--LaGuardia, the reliability piece will probably take a hit. On the other hand, even with Chicago's weather, service to Chicago--Midway has maintained reliability.

The problem is the legacy carriers still think, after years of losses, they can be everything to everyone. They also think they can treat their help like dirt and nothing will happen. Some of the keys to profitability demonstrated by Southwest:

* Maintain enough liquidity to purchase significant numbers of fuel hedges.
* Take the matter of good labor relations seriously.
* The customer is NOT "the enemy:" No call centers in India. The customer is treated with civility when something goes wrong. Flexibility on the re-use of non-refundable tickets.

Finally I wonder if I'll hear about someone's years of experience on Wall Street in addition to the years of railroad experience I've already heard about??