[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by richright

Quote:
Originally Posted by richright

If you read my statement correctly you would understand the wife is sitting with the kids and the husband is sitting in my emergency exit row seat.

Which, had you read my statement thoroughly, is not something that the crew should allow. With Dad in the exit row and Mom and kids elsewhere on the plane, what do you think Dad is going to do if something goes wrong? His parental instinct will kick in and not only will he not assist with evacuation, he'll become an obstacle as he goes against the flow trying to get to his family who are elsewhere on the plane.

If we use your math as any loyal Southwest employee is trained to state, you would only use the "Anytime" full fares and then say Business Select is only a "few dollars" more. If you are an objective engineer as I am one would use the average "Wanna Get Away Fare" which is what most people actually pay. In fact in some cases if you used the lowest rock bottom fare offered, Business Select would in many cases be nearly THREE times as much. Apparently many other passengers agree with me that the perks offered by Business Select is not quite worth twice as much as there was only 1 person boarding under this fare structure in the two flight segments I recently took.

I don't know why you assumed I am a Southwest employee. Guess what, I'm not. Nor am I an employee of any other airline. I do, however, log anywhere from 125,000 to 150,000 miles a year and that's actual flown miles excluding bonuses etc. Two of the airlines I fly most invite me once a year to attend meetings with their top people in marketing, revenue management, loyalty programs, etc. Anyone in airline revenue management, Southwest included, will tell you that your statement that most people pay the lowest fare is absolutely false. If any southwest flight was more than 50% full of people paying the lowest fare it would probably not be profitable. In my example, I used Phoenix-Philadelphia which I know to be a popular and profitable route for Southwest and also one of the longest they serve with non-stop flights. Their current one-way fares, excluding taxes and airport/security fees, are $210, $232, $255, $282, $312, $345, $382 (Anytime) and $407 (Business Select). So by your logic, the $407 business fare is twice the "typical" fare paid by "most" passengers, or $204. As you can see, $204 is lower than the lowest Southwest fare for this market and I can say pretty assuredly that somewhat less than half of the passengers on any given flight actually pay the lowest fare.

Quite easily. It would be the same as any other airline such as Spirit or Jet Blue. Special needs could be indicated during the reservation process or upon check-in. This is not rocket science as you imply.

The only time an airline is aware of a special needs customer is when there is a request for wheelchair assistance, an indication that a passenger is traveling with a service animal, etc. Many persons who self-identify as having a special need have no such special services requested in their reservation. What I'd like to ask is do you consider yourself a special needs customer simply because you are a person of height?

Because I don't fit in a normal seat. People who are short receive no benefit to extra legroom if their legs can't even touch the seat in front of them. Competitors offer people like me the opportunity to sit in the exit row seat so I will go with them from now on. Should Southwest change their policy I will reconsider. I have not stated I am an infrequent flyer. When I am away on contract assignments I fly about 2 round trips per month. Much less than some to be sure, but more than others.

Perhaps you should consider consolidating your flying to one carrier or carriers in an alliance. If you fly a minimum of 25,000 miles a year you would then be eligible to pre-select seats which give you extra room or even get an occasional upgrade to first class. United comes to mind. They aren't always the cheapest option but have an Economy Plus section (all rows from the exit rows forward) that elites (25K+ miles per year) can select at the time of booking. You can also pay a one-time fee annually ($349) and be able to select those seats as well. Plus the miles you accrue flying United and their partners can get you alot further than Southwest's Rapid Rewards program. Can RR credits get you flights to Europe and Asia? Hell no.

Yes, they should be rewarded with priority seating but NOT my exit row seat. Apparently you are a short arrogant person that works for Southwest? The type of employee without empathy for others that they could probably do without.

You call me arrogant yet there is just a hint of a sense of entitlement in your statement. "...NOT my exit row seat." (Emphasis mine) I'm sure we are both intelligent and educated people and if that comes off as arrogant than so be it. Actually I am of quite average height (5'11") and do appreciate the extra room that most exit rows provide. Were you aware that the 737-700, which currently comprises just over 60% of Southwest's fleet and is the only 737 variant for which Southwest has any aircraft on order, only provides a little more than an inch of additional pitch in the exit rows? Just a fact that I thought I'd pass on.

I do fly Southwest, albeit very infrequently. Most of the time it is for leisure travel and when my destination is either Las Vegas or Southern California. (I have residences in both Phoenix and New York but call Phoenix my permanent residence.) For short-haul flights I can endure the "cattle-call" boarding process and having to settle for a less than desirable seat.

I dislike their route system and how they market it. They say they save their customers money by not having a "hub and spoke" system like most legacies yet to fly from coast to coast you are sometimes on a flight that makes two stops with one change of plane. What's the difference? I can fly from Phoenix to any of the three New York area airports (five if you count Westchester and Newburgh) on either non-stop or one stop service on any other airline and their claim of having service to "New York" by virtue of their flights to Long Island's MacArthur is laughable.

So you see, I am neither an employee or huge fan of Southwest. As they say, "it is what it is."