Southwest Airlines. I noticed there are no assigned seats, how are they?

Question

compared to some of the other airlines. Someone had mentioned to me that their seats were alot smaller and attendants were rude. Normally I fly with continental but the prices were way to high this time.

Answer 1

I flew Southwest before and I thought the attendants were pretty nice (at least they were not rude) and the seats were pretty comfortable. It also looks wider than some other airlines. Seats are leather.

Answer 2

Their seats are about 1-2" narrower than most major US airlines.

In terms of seat assignment, they board in groups.  The trick with Southwest is to check in online as close to 24 hours out as possible; this will give you the best chance of getting to board first, and then (presumably) getting a more desirable seat location.

Go to www.seatguru.com and you can compare width, pitch, legroom.

Answer 3

Major suckage.  I feel like their airplane are going to fall out of the sky.  Took two flights with them.  No more.  Their counter personnel are as surly as American Airlines.

Answer 4

I personally prefer Southwest over other airlines.  They are more "laid back", flight attendants tend to be more fun and casual, not so stuffy.  I also prefer picking out my own seat.

Here's a hint - if there are two of you traveling, one sit in the aisle seat and one sit by the window, leaving an empty seat between you.  As other people board, they will not want that middle seat and will pass by you.  If someone does ask to sit there, you can simply move over to the middle seat and let them have the aisle.  Unless the flight is really full, you will probably have that empty seat and more elbow room during the flight.

Answer 5

That is the correct trick, to check in online right at 24 hours before the flight, so you can get in the A boarding group, that is if you want to be first to board.  There are pros and cons to this.  If you board last, then you can pick who you want to sit by... avoiding screaming children, etc., however, the down side is that all the overhead bins are filled by that time.

The seats do feel a bit smaller, but I've never had a problem though with rude attendants or whatever.

I've flown them a few times because their prices are cheaper, but I prefer other carriers.

Answer 6

Southwest has been great to me each time I fly, I go to San Diego from Oakland regularly and have never had a problem, seats are small but its not a big deal for a short flight. United is garbage, rude service, crappy seats and the whole plane smelled like a porta-potty. The service on any flight is hit or miss someone might be having a bad day on any airline.