Southwest doesn't give stars 1st class treatment

Last year Ghery spent a week in Bangkok. 5 days of meetings and presentations. Ghery did a little sightseeing, too.

Two months later Ghery visited Germany and Israel.

Ghery likes Singapore Airlines and does not like Lufthansa Airlines.
 

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gibbons said:
Chip's records show that Chip only accumulated 43,000 miles on GibAir last year, but still obtained Super Titanium Über Customer status. The flights always wait until Chip boards before they depart, provide Chip with preferred seating, and Chip gets to sleep with one of the owners of the airline. Yes, Chip prefers GibAir over any other airline.
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Kent thinks Chip is on to something. Kent flew GibAir a couple of times last year and had lots of fun, but didn't get any miles! For miles, Kent prefers a competing domestic carrier, Kilo Sierra Airways. They provide Kent with some excellent in-flight meal service when desired too. ;)
 
I have to say that I agree with the other frequent business travelers on here. Until a recent promotion, I had to travel nearly every week for business, and I too have come to the point where I want those extra perks to make that lifestyle easier. I currently have Platinum Elite status on Continental, which gives me an upgrade to 1st class on almost any Continental or Northwest flight I get on, and access to the exit row seats when I purchase my ticket as opposed to when I check in. Plus, I get "priority handling" on my baggage, which means it comes off the plane first, along with all of the other "elite" travelers, and I get to pre-board. So, while Southwest does give you free flights faster (1 free round trip for every 8 round trips, I think?), with the single-class seating they can't offer the same perks as the other airlines.

I do have to say, however, that I do like Southwest when I do have to fly them. Their crews are always laid back and joking with you, and for coach seats, they're pretty nice. Especially when I compare them to a trip I took on Ryanair over in the UK last fall... Southwest is dang near royalty compared to them.
 
astanley said:
Bill clearly has exceptional taste. Andrew is a fan of Poggio Antico's wines, and has often debated taking his wife there during their next trip.

Andrew notes that there is a firm that allows rentals of Ducati motorcycles in Toscana, Andrew wishes he did this last time he was there. But he'll do it next Spring when he returns for sure.

Andrew is now officially jealous of Bill's hotel choice.
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When Andrew and his wife tire of Poggio Antico and Toscana, they may wish to venture up to Eperney, France. Near Eperney, they will find (nestled amongst the Champagne-producing Chardonnay vines) the little town of Etoges.

In Etoges, they may wish to stay at this fine Chateau: http://english.chateau-etoges.com/ . Andrew and his wife should ask for one of the "tower" rooms.

Bill finds Chateau Etoges to be a lovely place to stay. It was here that he needed some ice to nurse an ankle twisted on the marble steps of Versailles and was thus forced to order a second bottle of local champagne in a bucket of ice to the room. Bill's pain was greatly eased.
 
wsuffa said:
...It was here that he needed some ice to nurse an ankle twisted on the marble steps of Versailles and was thus forced to order a second bottle of local champagne in a bucket of ice to the room. Bill's pain was greatly eased.
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My hero!
 
Ric can't quite figure out who "I", "my", or "me" is... (Ric gets confused easily...) :rolleyes:

Originally posted by PJ Gustafson-
I have to say that I agree with the other frequent business travelers on here. Until a recent promotion, I had to travel nearly every week for business, and I too have come to the point where I want those extra perks to make that lifestyle easier. I currently have Platinum Elite status on Continental, which gives me an upgrade to 1st class on almost any Continental or Northwest flight I get on, and access to the exit row seats when I purchase my ticket as opposed to when I check in. Plus, I get "priority handling" on my baggage, which means it comes off the plane first, along with all of the other "elite" travelers, and I get to pre-board. So, while Southwest does give you free flights faster (1 free round trip for every 8 round trips, I think?), with the single-class seating they can't offer the same perks as the other airlines.

I do have to say, however, that I do like Southwest when I do have to fly them. Their crews are always laid back and joking with you, and for coach seats, they're pretty nice. Especially when I compare them to a trip I took on Ryanair over in the UK last fall... Southwest is dang near royalty compared to them.


:D :D :D Ric apologizes to PJ for missing the last Wheels and Wings....
 
colomtnflyer said:
:D :D :D Ric apologizes to PJ for missing the last Wheels and Wings....
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PJ accepts Ric's apology, on the condition that Ric comes to the next Wings and Wheels on May 19, as The 1940 Air Terminal Museum at William P. Hobby Airport will have some extra special "surprise" guest aircraft since that event falls in conjunction with Hobby's 80th Anniversary Celebration. PJ invites all members of the PoA Forum to fly in to Houston Hobby Airport that day, as fly-in visitors can get half-price admission ($5 instead of $10, and that includes lunch!). PM PJ for more information, and PJ promises to post details in the Fun Places To Fly forum as that date draws nearer.

PJ also apologizes to the members of the PoA forum for the use of first-person pronouns in his previous post. He posted a reply prior to reading the rest of the thread. He regrets the error.
 
See, you only stood in two lines to get ON the plane, not three like Southwest:
!: TSA false sense of security line
2: Line to get your little plastic thingie for boarding, as Southwest has no assigned seats. (where Ma and Pa Kettle, who only fly once every couple of years, get the line going three hours before the flight leaves, so that if you arrive only an hour before the flight leaves you are 187th in line, and get to sit between the two smelly fat guys)
3: Line to actually get on the plane

If you change planes, you get to skip the TSA false security line, but you still have 2 & 3.

SCCutler said:
Not sure I understand how this is different from other carriers...


...when I fly, it's (1) TSA (have no idea how one might avoid this...), and (2) boarding line (and have never found out how to avoid this on any other carrier, either).
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mgkdrgn said:
See, you only stood in two lines to get ON the plane, not three like Southwest:
!: TSA false sense of security line
2: Line to get your little plastic thingie for boarding, as Southwest has no assigned seats. (where Ma and Pa Kettle, who only fly once every couple of years, get the line going three hours before the flight leaves, so that if you arrive only an hour before the flight leaves you are 187th in line, and get to sit between the two smelly fat guys)
3: Line to actually get on the plane

If you change planes, you get to skip the TSA false security line, but you still have 2 & 3.
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Man, you have not flown Southwest for a long time, have you? Southwest has not used the plastic boarding passes for four or five years; now, you can either (1) log in, check in and print your own boarding pass 24-hours in advance, or (2) check in at automated kiosk (no waiting lines) at the airport.

Next?
 
mgkdrgn said:
See, you only stood in two lines to get ON the plane, not three like Southwest:
!: TSA false sense of security line
2: Line to get your little plastic thingie for boarding, as Southwest has no assigned seats. (where Ma and Pa Kettle, who only fly once every couple of years, get the line going three hours before the flight leaves, so that if you arrive only an hour before the flight leaves you are 187th in line, and get to sit between the two smelly fat guys)
3: Line to actually get on the plane

If you change planes, you get to skip the TSA false security line, but you still have 2 & 3.
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Brett,

As Spike pointed out, WN has online check-in now - no more plastic cards. You get a boarding pass online (or at an airport kiosk, just like the other airlines), and you can check-in 24 hours in advance. You can even check-in online from a computer without a printer and stop at the kiosk to reprint your boarding pass at the airport. And the earlier you check in, the better chance of Group A (in other words, if you wait until the airport, theres a very good chance you get group C.)

Really just like the others.

If I want an upgrade on AA, and it doesn't clear in advance, I have to go stand in a third airport line, just to get my name on the airport list because the online request does not transfer to the airport.
 
"Man, you have not flown Southwest for a long time, have you?"

No, it only took one Baltimore to Seattle trip, with two connections, for me to learn my lesson and avoid them like the plague. Started flying AmericaWest instead. They were not "perfect" either (as no one is), but they were good enough for me to rack up about 500K miles or so.

"Southwest has not used the plastic boarding passes for four or five years; now, you can either (1) log in, check in and print your own boarding pass 24-hours in advance, or (2) check in at automated kiosk (no waiting lines) at the airport."

Glad to hear they have been finally entered the 21st century. Unfortunately for them, they don't serve my new home in Columbia, SC (but USAir does, so I'm still collecting my miles).

However, with no assigned seats, I'll still wager that if you show up only an hour before your flight you still get to sit between the two fat guys.
 
mgkdrgn said:
However, with no assigned seats, I'll still wager that if you show up only an hour before your flight you still get to sit between the two fat guys.
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I've actually had less "between two persons of size" on SW than in coach on other airlines. Even on a last-minute refundable ticket when it looked like AA was going to cancel a flight, I ended up with Group B at 8 hours before the flight. Group B on an originating flight will still almost guarantee that you're not in the middle - maybe stuck in a window, but not the middle.

For me, it's sometimes a tough choice between direct on SW and a connection in ATL or DFW on the others.... especially since DFW seems to have been messed up at least once a week this spring and the planes are so full that there is simply NO capacity to recover from a mass-cancellation event.

USAir <shudder>
 
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See, that's what's funny- I almost never have any advance notice on trips, so if I book AA or another "legacy" carrier, I am relegated to either a middle seat, or no assigned seat at all until check in.

For me the product is the travel, and for appropriate itineraries, no one can touch Southwest for reliable quality service.

===

PS- Guess whose sim facility I am sitting in, in the picture to your left... (grin)
 
Scott on rare occasions gets a middle seat but that is usually only when changing flight at the last minute. Scott gets to sit in preferred seating for most all of his flights.
 
smigaldi said:
Scott on rare occasions gets a middle seat but that is usually only when changing flight at the last minute. Scott gets to sit in preferred seating for most all of his flights.
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Ghery had an aisle exit row seat on a 767 going to Denver today with nobody in the window seat. Ah, good conditions for working on memorizing the bass part of Mozart's Requiem.
 
Ken is still weirded out by the odd discussion where everyone is represented in third person.
 
smigaldi said:
Scott on rare occasions gets a middle seat but that is usually only when changing flight at the last minute. Scott gets to sit in preferred seating for most all of his flights.
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Bill sometimes has to book at the last minute, and is therefore "stuck". Negotiating with the gate agent sometimes works, like the time Bill was stuck in 37F on a Mad Dog. Other times it doesn't work, like the time Bill got a confirmed upgrade to first from an exit/aisle, but the GA came on board and bounced him back to a middle seat after someone 'more important' asked for a first class seat. Bill is still bitter and angry.
 
wsuffa said:
Bill was stuck in 37F on a Mad Dog.
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Bill absolutely hates the rear of those planes, so darned loud, that's why Bill carries foam earplugs on all commercial flights.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Bill absolutely hates the rear of those planes, so darned loud, that's why Bill carries foam earplugs on all commercial flights.
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Scott also carries those foam plugs which help with screaming babies. Scott recently bought new Shure in the ear headsets for his iPOD. Those Shure headsets have foam plugs for the ear buds and help to kepp out lots of noise. Scott is very happy with them and the bubble of silence around him when Scott wears them.
 
smigaldi said:
Scott recently bought new Shure in the ear headsets for his iPOD. Those Shure headsets have foam plugs for the ear buds and help to kepp out lots of noise. Scott is very happy with them and the bubble of silence around him when Scott wears them.
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Bill bought the Etymotic ER-6 isolator earphones, mainly for good tunes while riding Bill's motorcycle, but Bill also enjoys them on airplanes as well.

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6.aspx

Bill highly rates these headphones, when driven by a high quality home amp or receiver, they are STUNNINGLY good.
 
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PJ is unfamiliar with the slang term "Mad Dog" and is hoping that Bill will be so kind as to tell him what it is.
 
t0r0nad0 said:
PJ is unfamiliar with the slang term "Mad Dog" and is hoping that Bill will be so kind as to tell him what it is.
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Andrew will speak on Bill's behalf: MD-8x series.

Andrew once had an upgrade clear and then get taken away from him when flying on a Y-Up fare, and Andrew got stuck in 32F when a full-fare Y class came on board.

32F for 3 hours is like sitting in a rotting latrine, mid summer, for 3 hours... shudder.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
Ah, PJ now understands, and shares Bill's and Andrew's hatred of flying coach in the MD-8x series aircraft, especially towards the rear of the aircraft. PJ is very glad that Continental retired theirs, so he almost never has to fly on them any more.
 
Bill actually thinks the MD coach section is a bit better than that of a 7x7, if for no reason other than it has one side of the cabin as 2-across, reducing the liklihood of a dreaded middle seat. However, the back 10 rows of a Mad Dog are putrid and Bill never wants to sit there, unless the alternative is the rear end of a CRJ.
 
wsuffa said:
Bill actually thinks the MD coach section is a bit better than that of a 7x7, if for no reason other than it has one side of the cabin as 2-across, reducing the liklihood of a dreaded middle seat. However, the back 10 rows of a Mad Dog are putrid and Bill never wants to sit there, unless the alternative is the rear end of a CRJ.
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Jesse doesn't mind the last row on the MD-80. It's loud but he thinks that's cool.
 
Ken Ibold said:
Oh well, if you're going to bring sobriety into it, then I'll switch to:

Q: How do you turn a 3 into a 10?

A: Turn out the lights.
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Or, ask for a large paper bag when you pick up the whiskey on the way out.

Actually, you need one for some of the flight attendants these days!

:goofy:
 
jesse said:
Jesse doesn't mind the last row on the MD-80. It's loud but he thinks that's cool.
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It's nost just the noise, but the guy who ate burritos the night before...
 
There's a saying that the only people who actually like the MD's are the pilots that fly them... since it's pretty much the last airplane in regular airline service that you actually have to fly.
 
Bill Jennings said:
It's nost just the noise, but the guy who ate burritos the night before...
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It's pretty extreme back there. I worked over rotting fish bait for 12+ hours at a time at one point in my life, that was a gentle spring breeze compared to what comes out of that aisle... :hairraise:
 
If I can avoid the back 1/5 of the plane or so, I find the MD80s to be superior traveling machines among narrowbodies, especially in coach. This because (1) they are whisper-quiet up front, and
(2) the 2-3 seating means only a 1 in 5 chance of a middle seat. Great for traveling with my bride.
 
SCCutler said:
If I can avoid the back 1/5 of the plane or so,
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That's not the only reason to avoid the back. On a recient trip to WPB from Philly, the boarding agent anounced that there had been a plane change from planned and it was in a diffrent configuration, which had 3 less rows then the plane expected. So anyone in the last 3 rows would not be allowed to board. If it was possible the passengers would be reseated. The plane was full, some people with confirmed seats in the back did not get on the plane. One more reason I hate the Philly airport.

Missa
 
Bill Jennings said:
Bill bought the Etymotic ER-6 isolator earphones, mainly for good tunes while riding Bill's motorcycle, but Bill also enjoys them on airplanes as well.

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6.aspx

Bill highly rates these headphones, when driven by a high quality home amp or receiver, they are STUNNINGLY good.
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Ghery has the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headset. Pricy, but works well. Engine noise is eliminated completely. They are very good for listening to music, as well.
 
astanley said:
It's pretty extreme back there. I worked over rotting fish bait for 12+ hours at a time at one point in my life, that was a gentle spring breeze compared to what comes out of that aisle... :hairraise:
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It's not just the breeze. Bill's been on several Mad Dogs where one of the back lavs flooded into the aisle. Bill was very glad he was seated in row 3.
 
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