[kent_snyder]

I know this is a complaint website and I came her to complain about Delta.

However, while here I want to tell people why Southwest is such a terrific airline. I fly about 50 times per year.

All airlines have their problems, but here are the reasons to fly Southwest:

1. If you have to change your scheduled flight, there is never a change fee. Never! I always purchase 4 to 8 weeks in advance to get the best prices. After purchasing a ticket, I have to change the departure date or return date at least a dozen times a year. The other airlines would charge me thousands of dollars to make all those changes. At Delta for example, they wanted $1,230 to change the return date of a one hour flight from Bozeman to Salt Lake City. This was making a change 3 1/2 weeks before the flight on a flight that was half full. The same day I changed the return date on a Southwest flight from Boise to Salt Lake City. Southwest gave me a $10 credit because that flight was cheaper.

2. If the price changes (lower) after you've purchased a ticket, you can go to their website and repurchase the ticket and get a credit for the difference. You don't have to gamble on when to purcahse to get the best price like you do on most other airlines.

3. Even if you purchase advance fare tickets, you can cancel the flight up to an hour before departure and get full credit for your purchase. No fees.

4. Bigger, more comfortable leather seats with more leg room than the most other airlines.

5. I get to pick where I sit and who I sit by. I'm very broad shouldered and if get assigned to sit next to someone else who is broad shouldered the flight is very very uncomfortable.

6. When I've had a problem, they have always been more than fair. For instance, I had a ticket on a flight from Salt Lake City to Norfolk. The flight left at 7:30 am, but I thought the flight left at 2:40 pm becasue that was the departure time of my previous trip to Norfolk. At 8:00 am (after the flight had already departed) I discovered my mistake. I called Southwest. They put me on the 2:40 pm flight and charged me $18. I was amazed. I thought I would have to purchase a whole new ticket. I can give several other examples of how Southwest has been more than fair with me. Thank you Southwest for being the only airline who has treated me better than I expected.

7. The Southwest employees love working for Southwest and it shows.

I am the presenter at two and three day seminars in hotel conference rooms. I present at 16 conferences per year in 8 states. At each conference I do a segment on "How to set company policies to drive customers away". I use Delta airlines as my primary example. I use Southwest airlines as my primary example of how to attract those customers.

In 2003, Delta airlines had more domestic boardings than Southwest. In 2007, Southwest had 65% more domestic boardings than Delta. People are swarming to Southwest with good reason.