Yesterday, Southwest Airlines announced some pretty big changes for the inside of some of their Boeing 737 aircraft, which they are calling “Evolve: The New Southwest Interior.”

For the average customer, the differences probably won’t be so obvious — hence why Southwest is calling this an evolution rather than a revolution. The tones of [...]]]>

Yesterday, Southwest Airlines announced some pretty big changes for the inside of some of their Boeing 737 aircraft, which they are calling “Evolve: The New Southwest Interior.”

For the average customer, the differences probably won’t be so obvious — hence why Southwest is calling this an evolution rather than a revolution. The tones of brown and blue will be familiar, but with a closer eye, one can see the changes. From Southwest directly, here they are:

The new Southwest interior with new seats and carpeting. Photo by Southwest Airlines.

• Modern Cabin Design: The new design incorporates natural, earthy tones combined with Southwest’s iconic Canyon blue and clean, aluminum accents for a more modern, fresh appeal.  The redesign is inspired by Southwest’s past with a nod to the future.
• Lighter and More Comfortable Seat: The redesigned low-profile seat is more durable, made of eco-friendly products, is lighter, and more comfortable. 
• Increased Under-Seat Space: The new design allows for more under-seat room for carryon luggage and approved pet carriers.
• Customer Living Space: Reducing the recline from three inches to two inches preserves onboard personal living space while still allowing for ample seat adjustment for Customer comfort. 
• Seatback pockets: The new netted seatback pockets are streamlined to provide more knee room. 
• Headrest: The fixed-wing headrest provides better neck and head alignment with side-to-side support for sleeping.
• Improved Ergonomics: The combination of the low-profile cushion and fixed wing headrestimproves ergonomics by positioning Customers “down and back” into the seat, allowing for better lumbar support, armrest alignment, and increased personal living space.

There might be less seat pitch, but there is more space. Photo by Southwest Airlines.

The new interior means that there allows Southwest to put six additional seats on each aircraft. This is due to reducing the seat pitch from 32″ to 31″, using the skinnier seats and reducing the recline from 3″ to 2″. This will allow Southwest to increase their profit, without having to add fees.

The seats are made with eco-friendly materials and are designed to last longer, reducing replacement costs. Each seat weighs six pounds less than their predecessor, meaning real fuel savings for Southwest Airlines. The new carpet, which is made out of recycled materials, is put in by squares where a section can easily be replaced instead of taking out the whole carpet.

“We are preparing now for our next 40 years with a fleet modernization plan that includes the new interior, the Boeing 737-800 which is scheduled to come online beginning in March this year, and the 737 MAX, which is expected to join the Southwest fleet in 2017,” said Bob Jordan, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. “The evolutionary changes we’re making with the new interior uphold our low-cost roots and historic focus on Customer Service. The cabin upgrade also allows us to create significant revenue opportunities without adding unwanted fees.”

Southwest plans to update all their newer Boeing 737-700s and also AirTran’s 737s and 717s. They have not stated if they will update their older classic 737s, but my guess is that they will not.  It would be unlikely, since they recently announced an order 150 new Boeing 737MAX aircraft.

Learn more about Southwest’s new interior:
* Great 360 view of the interior
* Story from Mary Kirby with APEX, who was there at the reveal
* See more photos and learn more on the Nuts about Southwest Blog
* In October 2009, Southwest shows off their Green Plane 

I do not know what is cooler: the classic flight attendant uniform or the Boeing 737-200 flying overhead. I wonder how many takes this took to get it right and if she had any hearing left. Enjoy this Southwest Airlines commercial from 1972.

UPDATE: Brian Lunsk, Southwest Airlines Corporate Historian and Nuts About Southwest [...]]]>

I do not know what is cooler: the classic flight attendant uniform or the Boeing 737-200 flying overhead. I wonder how many takes this took to get it right and if she had any hearing left. Enjoy this Southwest Airlines commercial from 1972.

UPDATE:
Brian Lunsk, Southwest Airlines Corporate Historian and Nuts About Southwest Blogger, left a comment with a bit more information on the video: “This commercial was filmed at the former Connally Air Force Base in Waco. I’m not sure how many takes were involved, but Southwest wouldn’t let our own Employees stand there. The woman in the Hot Pants is a model. It was produced by the former Bloom Agency of Dallas and one of the production crew involved on the shoot was Donald Bellisario, the creator of Magnum, PI, Quantum Leap, JAG, and currently NCIS.” — Thanks Brian!

Recently I got a call on my phone where I didn’t recognize the number, so I decided not to answer. Then they called again. Okay, fine — it might be something important so I answered and it turned [...]]]>

That bump on the back of the Southwest Boeing 737 gives Row44 internet to the aircraft.

Recently I got a call on my phone where I didn’t recognize the number, so I decided not to answer. Then they called again. Okay, fine — it might be something important so I answered and it turned out to be my friend Nick. Wait a second; #1 why is he calling with a number I do not know and #2 he is flying on Delta Air Lines from Minneapolis (MSP) to Seattle (SEA), how is that possible? Even though airlines and internet providers have tried to ban talking via phones on airliners, there are still pretty easy ways to get around it.

Earlier Nick and I had been talking about VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) and I was explaining how you cannot have a phone conversation while flying — he was all too happy to prove me wrong. This is by no means a “how-to” story and I am not going to explain  how he did it, since I am against people talking via their phone on planes. However, I can say it was nothing complicated and anyone with a smart phone could and an internet connection could replicate it.

So, it was possible to use GoGo Wi-Fi (internet provider on Delta and other airlines) to talk on the phone and I wondered what policies airlines and internet providers had in place to stop passengers from doing things they should not (phones, porn, etc).

I first spoke with Steven Nolan with GoGo Communications and he explained, “We do restrict VOIP services and at the request of our airline partners, we also restrict access to some web sites.” One of the big challengers is technology is always changing and it can be difficult to know all the “bad” sites and smart phone applications. What happens when someone, like Nick, finds a loophole? Well, talking to multiple airlines, this doesn’t seem to be a big problem.

Virgin America’s Abby Lunardini explained that they block VOIP and have not had any major issues with passengers finding their way around it. Alaska Airlines also bans VOIP for passengers on their GoGo internet. Even though they haven’t had a lot of issues, the flight crew are trained to enforce the airline’s policy. “Should a customer get around the VOIP blocking, our flight attendants would be prepared to enforce our policy which prohibits voice calls of any kind inflight,” Alaska Airline’s Bobbie Egan explained to AirlineReporter.com.

Row44, another airline internet provider, that can be found on Southwest Airlines and Norwegian Air Shuttle helps airlines in similar ways. They provide airlines software that allows them to choose what sites they want to block. “We allow our airline partners to decide whether to use this option and which sites to block,” Row 44’s chief commercial officer, Howard Lefkowitz explained over email. Row44′s airline customers are easily able to add new sites that are deemed to be a problem since new technologies are always emerging. “The back-end system supporting Row 44’s broadband entertainment platform adapts quickly and can immediately add new sites (VoIP services or other types of websites) to the list of blocked content in-flight. But this will be a decision for our airline partners.”

So does this become a game to beat the internet providers and the airlines? No, at least it shouldn’t. Public opinion in the US is pretty split on allowing in-flight conversations. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) bans cell phone usage in the US and it is still against airline policy. Nick was a good passenger and kept our conversation short, even though he supports passengers being allowed to talk on their cell phones on a plane.

What are your thoughts? Other airlines around the globe let passengers talk on their cell phones with little to no issues are Americans ready?

Image: gTarded

The Southwest Boeing 737 sits at OshKosh 2011.

39,000ft over the [...]]]> Last year, flying to Oshkosh AirAdventure with Southwest Airlines was on my list of my Top 5 experiences of 2010. Unfortunately I was not able to make the trip this year, but NYCAviation.com was and documented his adventure. Here is their story:

The Southwest Boeing 737 sits at OshKosh 2011.

39,000ft over the West: For some reason, I doubt that most of the folks reading this post will be anything but familiar with the week-long aviation festival from heaven known as Oshkosh. I’d be willing to bet, too, that a number of folks are not just familiar with but are seasoned veterans of the show, able to count off the years or even decades they’ve made the pilgrimage to Wisconsin. Being a pretty big aviation fan myself, I have for years dreamed of making the pilgrimage and attending my first AirVenture, as the show is officially called. For various reasons I’ve never been able to make it; most of the excuses having something to do with the lack of money and the rest with lack of time. But this year; this year, opportunity came a knockin’.

A very yellow DC-3 at Oshkosh.

That knock came about a two weeks ago, when, due to a strange series of events, I ended up filling in for AirlineReporter for Southwest’s second annual sponsorship of “Super Saturday”. In addition to other activities through the day, the airline sends one of their trademark 737-700 aircraft up from Chicago for the day bringing employees, contest winners, and a few media along for the ride.

After arriving to Chicago in the late afternoon and getting settled into my hotel, I took the opportunity to head downtown to the Loop. Taking in the sights of Chicago was fun, and I had planned to trek on foot from the Roosevelt area (old Meigs Field), up to nearly the Gold Coast. I quickly realized this was far too ambitious, and cut it short after coming across a free show put on in Millennium Park. Arriving back at the hotel pretty late I charged my batteries, cleared my cards, and packed my camera bag for the coming day.

EAA (which stands for Experimental Aircraft Association) hosts AirVenture.

Arriving back at Midway for the crisp hour of 6am, I checked in, got my ticket – which listed our destination, oddly, as Vegas, and proceeded to the gate. Bright yellow Southwest shirts flooded the boarding area, and once on board, reflected a soft golden yellow hue throughout the plane. The flight departed on time and made a nice pass over downtown Chicago (of course I picked the wrong side to sit on), then trekked due north-ish.

A line of Trojans sits on the hot ramp, baking in the sun.

Ferry flights (having no revenue passengers) are always fun for a few reasons: first, there’s hardly anyone on the plane. Second, nearly everyone on it actually wants to be there. Third, you’re flying a route that usually doesn’t normally exist, which for a commercial airline nerd is just, well, awesome. The mood was good and the flight was short and smooth. Before we knew it, the farms of the Wisconsin country-side were taking up more and more of the window and then, in the distance, a runway.

It feels like you can almost reach out and touch the airplanes.

A gentle landing and quick taxi trip later we all deplaned, donned our wristbands, and headed out to see the show. If you’ve never been there before it can be described as an enormous aviation wonderland, filled with more than you could ever possibly imagine. Aircraft ranged from Wright Replica’s to the newest in electric planes; TriMotor’s to a 737; B29 to F/A-18s; Citations to the HondaJet. The flight line stretched for what felt like forever. It took nearly 20 minutes at a brisk pace to walk from the ultralights on one end to Warbird Alley on the other. I thought I knew my planes, but I regrettably had to admit I saw far too many things that I could not positively ID.

A view of the crowd and AirVenture from the flight deck of the B29 named FIFI.

And then there was the flying, oh yes, the flying. I could not believe the volume and frequency of traffic. I had heard about the legendary split runway action, and was thrilled to finally see it happening in front of me. Runway 27 was constantly alive with activity; there was never a dull a moment. 18 functioned as the main runway and was generally kept intact while 27 often bounced between single and split. P-51’s with their iconic sounding Merlin’s buzzed the crowd while T-6s/ SNJs flew formations out into the North Central skies. L-39’s and T-45 Goshawks landed in between huge flying boats and tiny Bonanza’s. And this wasn’t even the air show yet.

And there were the crowds. Being mainly a photographer, crowds are both one of my favorite and least favorite parts of every airshow I will ever go to. They are my least favorite because they prevent me from easily accessing the porta-potty or acquiring another burger in less than two hours time, but much more so because they get in the way of my static shots (can I hear an “amen” photogs?). Nothing screams “ruined” more than someone’s head cutting off a nose cone, blocking an intake, or obscuring the entire right third of the photo. But at the same time, the crowds offer tons of unsuspecting targets to bring the story together.

US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet in digi-cam livery.

Let’s be honest, who hasn’t stood in line to get on board something cool, or spent time talking with a crew member? I did it multiple times throughout the day, and getting a chance to see and capture individuals interacting and experience aviation is sometimes better than watching the show itself. Speaking of getting on board, I checked out the B29 FIFI, a DHS Dash-8 (super, super cool interior plus the crew’s titles were “Air Interdiction Agent” – how bad ass sounding is that??), Super Stallion, Piaggio Avanti-180, A-26 Invader, TriMotor, Breezi, P51D, and more. Some of the lines, particularly for the B29 and our Southwest 737, stretched quite long.

AirVenture is more than just seeing airplanes on the ground -- there are airshows through out the whole event.

The air show itself was a bit of a mixed bag. A Navy Heritage flight consisting of the only remaining HellDiver combined with one of the retro CoNA F/A 18’s flew a moving demo to open it up. By and large the rest of the show consisted of Warbirds. Everything from T6/SNJ/Harvards to P51’s, B25 Mitchell to Trojans, a Huey to the venerable C47 took the skies over the course of two hours. The show appeared to be cut short, however, by weather moving in. A strong wind storm wreaked havoc during a demo by Sean Tucker, eventually forcing the airport to close. For the folks on the Southwest ferry flight like myself it was just as well, as we had to be back to the plane for departure right around the time the storm hit anyways.

A crew member for a static talks with the crowd.

Boarding was smooth and straightforward, and once the field reopened we were towed up to the taxiway, helped along by folks waving us off from the crowd. The flight back to Chicago was again short and sweet, clocking just shy of half an hour. I was lucky enough to get a very nice window seat, with a view to die for.

The rest of the day was spent working up photos (over 1,000 of them) and getting some much needed sleep. The flight back to my home city on Southwest 762 the next day gave me some time to think over the show, and I came to the following conclusions:

First, it’s huge. Yeah, I know, this one is obvious, but it deserves saying it again. There was just no way I, or anyone, could have seen it all in one day: not even close. The show was so large, the planes so numerous, the talks so intriguing – one can’t do it all. I’ve heard from folks who go for the week who can’t even get around to see it all.

The ferry flight turns onto the active runway at Chicago's Midway.

Second, and much more importantly, it’s about airplanes, yes, but much more-so it is about community. News reports since the show have quoted that as many as twelve thousand aircraft visited the show over week and hundreds of thousands flooded the grounds over the week. Let’s be honest, maybe a few hundred, at most, of that 12,000 actually flew as a part of the official airshow; the rest were folks who were there to bask in the community that is aviation. At the end of the day, airplanes are really about people: the people who build them, the people who fly them, and the people who admire them. Friendships are made and strengthened, stories are shared, and new stories are made to tell at future AirVentures.

In the spirit of full & clear disclosure NYCAviation/AirlineReporter was offered and accepted round-trip tickets from Seattle to Chicago Midway and a two night accommodation at the Chicago Midway Marriot. We thank Southwest for the offer and their hospitality.

This story was a joint venture between NYCAviation and AirlineReporter.

This video was shot in Los Angeles, CA at Ontario International Airport (ONT) in 2009. On its own, it is a pretty slick video showing a bit of airport operations and of course aircraft. The video was made by Greg Strasz who is a visual effects art director who has worked on movies like [...]]]>

This video was shot in Los Angeles, CA at Ontario International Airport (ONT) in 2009. On its own, it is a pretty slick video showing a bit of airport operations and of course aircraft. The video was made by Greg Strasz who is a visual effects art director who has worked on movies like 2012 and soon to-be release Anonymous. Yea, not too shabby work huh? Although he loves video effects, he also loves aviation and shot this video to provide as a reference for his VFX department to the director of 2012. Obviously it worked. If I remember there was a pretty slick shot of the main character flying a plane under a falling building in the movie. Ah yea.

Thanks Greg for sharing.

Tis the season for fooling. It is hard to know what is true and what is not true on this day. Some airlines have really gotten into it and come up with great April Fool’s news stories. Who says airlines can’t have a sense of humor? [...]]]>

Um...what? You are holding this blog upside down.

Tis the season for fooling. It is hard to know what is true and what is not true on this day. Some airlines have really gotten into it and come up with great April Fool’s news stories. Who says airlines can’t have a sense of humor? Here are the ones I have found so far:

* Air New Zealand promoted their new pay per pound program, which I have stated previous, it might actually work
* Ryanair  will start child-free flights
* easyJet announced the new royal couple will be flying them and honeymooning in Scotland
* WestJet will be adding helium to their aircraft to reduce weight
* Southwest now is able to travel through time and they brought a video back to prove it
* Air France will start Jupiter flights starting Bastille Day
* Swiss Air Lines will hand out different types of chocolate depending on your flier status
* Virgin Atlantic is to have fresh produce and herbs in upper class
* Virgin America announces Sir Richard Branson buys Pluto and re-instates it as a planet
* JetBlue is to get rid of free snacks, DirectTV, direct flights and more (via @hbaskas)

If you run into any more April Fool’s jokes done by airlines (or airline-related) let me know and I will add it to the list with a little shout out to you.

Spirit has announced a new fee structure and it is causing some airline-hate.

For me, Spirit is the best example of a US-based ultra low cost carrier. They have perfected the art of ala cart pricing, where they offer rock bottom fares, but then have fees for everything else. [...]]]>

Spirit Airlines Airbus A319 landing.

Spirit has announced a new fee structure and it is causing some airline-hate.

For me, Spirit is the best example of a US-based ultra low cost carrier. They have perfected the art of ala cart pricing, where they offer rock bottom fares, but then have fees for everything else. I think Ryanair holds the crown currently for world-wide uber ultra low cost carrier, but Spirit is quickly catching up. Spirit’s creative fees (ie charging for carry-on bags) causes a lot of media-drama, but it works for them. Most recently they announced a change in their fee structure. If you wait until the last 24 hours before your flight to pay the bag fees, you are going to pay more, but if you pay with more than a day’s notice, your fees stay the same.

Looking at some of the headlines related to this story, you would think Spirit just stole your first born child. For example, Jaunted titled their story, “Spirit Airlines Raises Baggage Fees Again, Screws Over Passengers.” Then, last night the The Consumerist had their story titled something like “Airline charges you a fee to pay a fee,” trying to insinuate some sort of evil double fee. However, it looks like they came to their sense, since this morning, the title has been changed to, “Spirit Airlines Adds Fee For Not Paying Your Baggage Fees Far Enough In Advance.” I have to give them credit for the change.

When first looking at the fees (early vs late, domestic vs international, early vs late), it got very confusing. Luckily Spirit simplified it for me into four tiers:

1. When reserving online more than 24 hours in advance: no price changes
2. While checking online or by telephone: $5 more
3. Waiting until at the airport check-in counter or kiosk: $10 more
4. Pay at the gate: flat $45 fee

Pretty much, if you do not do things last minute, you aren’t going to be charged more. Plus, if you are part of their $9 Fare Club, you will save $10 per fee. Why wouldn’t Spirit do this? People keep flying and paying their fees and Spirit made almost $56million in bag fees alone last year just from January to September (to compare, Delta made over $730million during the same time). This is a lot of extra revenue and very tempting for airlines not only to keep fees, but look at other creative ways to add to fees. According to Dan Webb on Things in the Sky, Spirit has been able to increase their over all bag fee per passenger from $9.59 in the fourth quarter of 2009 to $16.82 for the fourth quarter of 2010.

Some are trying to lobby the government to fight the bag fees and force airlines to include your first bag in the price of your ticket. This just seems inappropriate to me. In the long run, airlines will charge more overall for your ticket and fees and fares should be market driven, not dictated by the government.

Airlines like Southwest and JetBlue still refuse to charge passengers for their first bag, providing alternative for passengers. ”Southwest has a 40 year history of sharing the wealth of the maximum value we provide — whether it’s in the Customer Service of our People, the predictable efficiency of our operation, or the transparency of our pricing and low fares,” Brad Hawkins with Southwest Communications explains. ” Bags Fly Free and ticketing changes are the pillars of our fee-free stance in not nickel and diming our Customers.”

If you don’t want to pay the fee, then either pay more for a first class ticket or choose an airline that won’t charge you a fee. Even with fees, airline travel with-in the US is very affordable and it is a good thing many can take it for granted.

Image: Noel back in Zurich

Delta Air Lines has a very diverse fleet of aircraft. Delta currently flies the Boeing 737-700 and -800, the Airbus A319 and A320, the DC-9, MD-88 and has been adding additional MD-90s — which all compete with each other. A while [...]]]>

Delta Air Lines MD-90 (N908DA) in older livery with Mt. Rainier in the background.

Delta Air Lines has a very diverse fleet of aircraft. Delta currently flies the Boeing 737-700 and -800, the Airbus A319 and A320, the DC-9, MD-88 and has been adding additional MD-90s — which all compete with each other. A while back Delta announced they would be replacing their older DC-9s with newer aircraft and at first I assumed it might be with Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s in a move to simplify their fleet by getting rid of the entire DC-9/MD-80 family, but it looks like they are going to upgrade it. Why would Delta buy MD-90s instead of Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s? I think there are a few reasons.

The biggest is cost. To pick up a Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 it is going to cost a heck of a lot more than purchasing a used MD-90. Yes, Delta will have to pay to re-do the interiors and the planes won’t be as fuel efficient as a brand new model, but the over all costs will still remain lower. Delta has a huge maintenance facility in Atlanta and would most likely continue to work on DC-9/MD-80 aircraft from other airlines, even if they got rid of their own fleet.

The MD-90s allows Delta to back fill the DC-9s and save additional time before completing an entire fleet renewal program. Delta just announced buying nine MD-90s from Japan Airlines (JAL) and they hope to find more in the future. Delta’s President Ed Bastian stated at a December investor presentation that Delta hopes to purchase about 50 MD-90 aircraft over the next two years.

Since Delta is looking to get so many MD-90 aircraft, could it make sense to purchase some Boeing 717s which are based off the MD-90? Maybe. Recently Southwest purchased AirTran, which has over 85 Boeing 717s. Currently, Southwest only has a fleet of Boeing 737s, it could be possibly they would want to be rid of the 717s. The problem is that Southwest is locked into a contract with Boeing for the aircraft and it is unlikely Boeing would want to let them out.  If Delta plans to purchase a significant amount of new Boeing aircraft in the future, it could be negotiated to let Southwest out of their contract early (with Southwest’s approval, of course), allowing Delta to take control of the 717s.

“The MD-90 is a cost-effective aircraft that helps us more efficiently maintain our flying levels as we retire regional jets and DC-9s, so the additions won’t increase our capacity.” Delta spokesperson Trebor Banstetter told AirlineReporter.com. “We’ll continue to look for opportunities to acquire used MD-90s in the future as we retire DC-9s and smaller jets.”

Either way, I like the ‘ol MD-80 maddog family. I hear so many people complain about the aircraft and sure if you are sitting in the back by the engines, they can be a bit annoying. However, I love that 2-3 layout and the sound of their engines at full throttle during takeoff. I am glad to see an American airline will be keeping the maddog alive for years to come.

Image: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren

Southwest Airlines is at it again, doing some innovative things. This time they are announcing a new and improved rewards program for frequent fliers. Their Rapid Rewards plan was already a bit different. Most airlines you collect miles. The longer the route you fly, the more miles you [...]]]>

Southwest Airlines tail at Oshkosh 2010

Southwest Airlines is at it again, doing some innovative things. This time they are announcing a new and improved rewards program for frequent fliers. Their Rapid Rewards plan was already a bit different. Most airlines you collect miles. The longer the route you fly, the more miles you get. The old Southwest Rapid Rewards program was based on flights. You fly eight round trip flights, no matter the amount of miles and you get a free trip. Now, the new Rapid Rewards program will be dependent on the amount of money you spend on your ticket. Hmm, interesting.

If you decide to buy a Business Select ticket, you get more rewards. If the cheapest tickets are all sold out and you have to pay more, at least you can feel a bit better knowing you will get more rewards. This is not a bad idea at all.

“This year we enter our fifth decade of giving Americans the Freedom to fly, and what better way to kick off the year than to introduce a new frequent flyer program that our Customers are going to LUV,” said Southwest’s Chairman, President, and CEO Gary Kelly.

If you already have an account and awards, do not worry, you will not lose them when the new program goes live on March 1, 2011. There are no black out dates and every seat can be a rewards seat. So if you have earned a free ticket and there is a seat left on the flight — it is yours.

To learn more, check out Southwest’s site that is dedicated to the changes: NewRapidRewards.com.

Traveling during the holidays can be very stressful. Why not put a little cheer into your holiday travel experience with a fun photo with Santa?

Southwest Airlines is teaming with Microsoft to provide free photos with Santa [...]]]>

Southwest Fan and FlyerTalk moderator for the Southwest forum Drew gets a photo with Santa at Phoenix.

Traveling during the holidays can be very stressful. Why not put a little cheer into your holiday travel experience with a fun photo with Santa?

Southwest Airlines is teaming with Microsoft to provide free photos with Santa at participating airports (Seattle is included). If you aren’t able to make it out for photos, you can still create your own holiday card online or sign up for their contest to win cool stuff including Southwest Airlines tickets.

There are only four more days to get your photo: December 17-20th before Santa needs to head north to get ready to delivery presents. I wanted to try and make it down to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to get my own photo, but my schedule wouldn’t allow it. Luckily Drew (aka @curbcrusher) who lives in Phoenix and is a moderator for the Southwest Forum on FlyerTalk.com, was happy to share his photo. High-five is right Drew and Santa! Party on.

I couldn’t care less what celebrities do on airplanes. You see them all the time in the news getting in trouble. I hate the idea that I am writing about a celebrity and an airline, but I just can’t help myself. Back in [...]]]>

Virgin America Airbus A320 and Southwest Boeing 737-300 at Las Vegas

I couldn’t care less what celebrities do on airplanes. You see them all the time in the news getting in trouble. I hate the idea that I am writing about a celebrity and an airline, but I just can’t help myself. Back in February Director Kevin Smith had a little issue with Southwest Airlines and I managed to not write anything on it, even though I had a lot to say. In case you missed it, Smith was on a full Southwest flight and the flight crew made the call that he was a bit too large for one seat and was asked to leave the plane since there was no second seat available. Smith used his 1.5 million Twitter followers at the time and fame to turn the incident into a huge deal. Southwest tried to work to make him happy, but it only caused him to get more upset. Many were delighted that Southwest stood up against passengers of size and others felt they were being too harsh. I just found it interesting that Smith had a new movie coming out around the same time.

Smith declared he would never fly Southwest again and from what I have heard, he has kept his promise. Yesterday Smith had a flight on Virgin America from New York to Los Angeles and ran into a little trouble. In an open letter to the airline on his blog, Smith stated that he and his guests arrived at the airport an hour before boarding time. Since they were early they headed to the lounge to relax. Boarding for their 11:45am flight started at 11:15am  and they arrived at the gate at 11:35am to find the gate agent was in the process of closing the door. Smith had hired a concierge to make sure he boarded the plane last so people wouldn’t gawk at him being on the aircraft. He states that his concierge does this all the time and boarding 10 minutes before departure is standard procedure for clients.

They pleaded, but the gate agent wouldn’t let Smith’s group board the aircraft. Smith’s main concern was that their bags would already be on the aircraft and his wife needed her medication. Now, why anyone who needed medication  would not keep it in their carry-on, I do not get. The gate agent wouldn’t remove their bags and would not let them board the aircraft and Smith got angry and took his ranting to the web.

On his first rant at 2:00pm, Smith stated that he will be avoiding Virgin America, “like the plague.” It was almost like history repeating when he described how he flies so much and spends so much money and no one he knows will ever fly on Virgin America or Virgin Atlantic again. Of course us airline geeks know they are separate companies with similar branding, so it doesn’t mean too much. By the time he landed in LAX at 5:10pm his tone changed a bit. He stated, “@VirginAtlantic [sic - guessing he meant @VirginAmerica] seems to care: lovely, apologetic email, full refund for flight, free tix offer – all before I’ve landed. I appreciate the gesture/effort.” In another update posted at 5:45pm Smith stated that Virgin America, “did EXACTLY what any corporation/company should do when their customers have issues with their service: they almost instantly self-corrected.

I contacted Virgin America, but the are deciding to stay out of the comment business… which is probably smart. Southwest tried to interact with Smith via their blog in a public format and that only ended up making him more upset and created a bigger national story.

Although Virgin’s contract of carriage clearly states that passengers, “must be at the boarding gate at least fifteen (15) minutes prior to scheduled departure time,” that seems to be a pretty flexible. I know I have been running late and ran on a flight just minutes before departure time. If you look just at the rules, it looks like Virgin America had every right to deny Smith and his party from boarding, but that doesn’t mean it was the right call. I don’t feel that Virgin America just paid off Smith to make him happy; it looks like they did it since a few local gate agents stood by the rules a little too harshly.  However, with Virgin America being on top of social media, they were able to stop this incident before it got any worse.

Love it or hate it, Southwest Airlines has a unique seating process. Where most airlines will assign you an exact seat, Southwest gives you a boarding number and you can choose any open seat in the plane. Some enjoy choosing who they sit [...]]]>

Not all seats are created equal and you deserve the best.

Love it or hate it, Southwest Airlines has a unique seating process. Where most airlines will assign you an exact seat, Southwest gives you a boarding number and you can choose any open seat in the plane. Some enjoy choosing who they sit next to, but others don’t like the added anxiety of not knowing where you will sit until you are on the plane.

When you check-in you will get a boarding letter A, B or C and a number 1-60. A1 is the best and C60 is the worst. No matter what number you have there are ways to improve where you sit — unless you are last to board. I have flown quite a bit on Southwest and have picked up a few tricks and I figured I would share them with you and hopefully learn a few more from you.

Some people will be going for the window seat, while others for the aisle. I don’t know anyone trying to get a center seat. You might think having A1 guarantees you a good seat, but it might not. I will give you seven tips that I suggest trying, then a few things that I have always thought about how they might work but one shouldn’t necessarily try. There’s no scientific research to these and not saying they always work, but here’s what I got:

1. Ask if the flight is full. Before boarding ask the gate agent if the flight will be full or how full it might be. If it is full, none of these really matter. Just try to get a window/aisle seat as close to the front or in an exit row. If you are in the C-group just find a center seat as soon as possible.

2. Don’t be in the C group. Seriously, just don’t be in the C-group. If you read this blog and end up in the C group, you should be embarrassed. Okay, I know sometimes life happens, so if you somehow end up in the C group just take the first window or aisle seat possible and next time check in earlier.

3. Don’t sit in the exit row. Oh you think these are the prime seats right? Well maybe for leg room, but they will be the first center seats to go. If you only want legroom and don’t care about someone sitting next to you go for it. However, Southwest has a pretty good seat pitch of 32-33″, so I like going for not having a person sit next to me and exit rows always fill up.

4. Sit near the front. Try to get the first window or aisle seat on the plane. Boarding passengers are always  hoping to not have to get a center seat and will travel to the back of the plane hoping to find one. This means they will leave center seats in the front of the plane hoping for premium seat in the back. When they don’t find them they will just take a center seat in the back.

5. Don’t pick an empty row. Pick a row with someone already sitting in the aisle or window seat. If you take a new row you might end up getting a couple (or worst a child with a parent).

6. Take a kid with you. I don’t have one, so I can’t really do this, but I see a lot of empty seats in a row if there is kid traveling with an adult. Probably not worth it to borrow someone’s kid to end up having an empty row. My last Southwest flight some kid pee’d in his seat, luckily I was not sitting next to him.

7. Don’t be attractive. It seems all the attractive people (especially women) will find seats filling up next to them quite quickly. Kind of like speed dating, but not that fast. Try to look as least attractive as possible to keep the seat next to you empty for as long as possible.

Alright, now here are the ones you really shouldn’t use. Either they are crazy, rude or just plain wrong:

A. Avoid eye contact. If you make eye contact, it is easier for others to ask if they can sit next to you. Yea, this is easy, but it is just darn rude and I think of it as cheating.

B. Take the center seat. I have never had enough guts to try this one and it is risky. This will only work if the flight isnt that full and could get you a row to yourself.

C. Take up space. Take your laptop out and start working on it, don’t crunch your arms in if no one is sitting next to you and maybe store a jacket or something on the center seat. I normally won’t store something on the center seat since that is getting into the “not nice travel buddy” category, but being 6’1″ and 250lbs it is easy for me to look like I am taking up space.

D. Act. Pretend to be sick or insane. Just be careful… if you go too far you are getting booted off the plane. Hmm, actually on second thought, I might purposefully sit next to a person like this just to write up a fun blog.

E. Go more than just un-attractive. Wear dirty clothes, don’t shower a week before your flight.  Just don’t go too far, you might be booted off the plane.

F. Start crying. I have seen this work quite a few times, but it is annoying. Not sure if people are being genuine or not, but they say they have just can’t sit in the middle seat and start begging for someone to switch them. Argh! I am normally a nice guy, but if you “can’t” sit in a center seat, pay the $10 for early-bird check in or just check in earlier. If you are willing to fake-cry to get out of a center seat, that is just sad.

There have to be more. What are some of your strategies for getting the best seat on Southwest?

If you are an airline geek or have a TV you probably have a good idea that bags fly free with Southwest Airlines. As airline after airline started to charge for bags, Southwest stuck to their guns with no fees. More recently they have started a large [...]]]>

Some of Southwest's "Bags Fly Free" advertising.

If you are an airline geek or have a TV you probably have a good idea that bags fly free with Southwest Airlines. As airline after airline started to charge for bags, Southwest stuck to their guns with no fees. More recently they have started a large advertising campaign hoping that passengers are angry at the fees and will change airlines.

Although personally I do not like paying bag fees, I understand them; weight costs money. The heavier the plane, the most it costs to fly and for now, fees are generating a lot of money for airlines. Passengers will complain about them, but are they changing airlines?

Southwest is making the bet that additional fees will not work in the long run and they will make more revenue earning more passengers than they are losing by not charging bag fees.  It is a big bet, but if they lose, Southwest can always start charging bag fees.

In May 2010 Southwest completed a survey of 3900 business and leisure passengers where they could pick from 55 choices what aspect is most important to them when choosing an airline.  Here are the top five “needs” for business travelers:

1. Has good safety record
2. Offers non-stop flights where I want to go
3. Has convenient flight times
4. Provides good value
5. Does not charge fees

And the top five for leisure travelers:

1) Has good safety record
2) Provides good value
3) Does not charge fees
4) Offers non-stop flights where I want to go
5) Has sales on fares

The fact that charging fees made it on the top five for business travelers is surprising to me. Most business travelers do not have to worry about the fees, since their company will pick up the charges. However, Southwest stated that even though business travelers don’t have to pay, some will have to process an expense report and explain why the additional charges are on the trip. That is annoying and takes time.

Southwest’s next step is to advertise they do not have ticket-change fees either. This won’t be as easy to get across to customers as the no bag fees. It is more obvious for a passenger to know if they have to pay for a bag. It is more difficult for passengers to know if something will come up and they will need to change their flight. Southwest feels confident they can get the message across with a series of new creative ads.

Gary Kelly, Southwest’s CEO and President, wondered out loud at their recent Media Day event, why airlines would do something passengers hate. He stated that Southwest feels lucky that almost every other airline is charging for bags and they are not.

We won’t know how successful no fees will be, but so far Southwest is reporting both growth in leisure and business travelers. I have previously stated it is not an airline’s fault for charging fees… passengers choose to pay them. If passengers are willing to pay fees, airlines will continue to charge them. If passengers rebel against the fees and choose airlines that do not charge them, you will see fees start to go away (although ticket prices will most likely go up). It is a great experiment and I think so far it is working well for Southwest.