Review of Southwest Airlines flight Las Vegas → San Francisco in Economy

Conclusion

I hardly saw any smiles from any of the FA's and they just did their job efficiently. So much for how Southwest likes to advertise how different they are from the legacy carriers by focusing on the human aspect, at least from this one time experience. Of course, it is hard to judge based on one sample and one should attempt to fly several more trips in order to get a more objective perspective, but this passenger is not in a hurry to go out of his way to try WN again.

The Buy on Board consisted of liquors for USD 5 each.

Flight took off a few minutes late but arrived on time.

11 Comments

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  Esteban GOLD 19960 Comments 2015-01-17 07:24:47

  Hey Adan, thanks for this beautiful report.
  I am amazed that WN can perform a full beverage and snack run between LAS and LAX whereas DL claims that there is not enough time to do it and does no service at all in coach.
  What was the prize of the Bellagio buffet if I can ask? As Las Vegas more or less my second home is, that may be something I should consider ^^ 2015-01-17 07:24:47

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  jetsetpanda AUTHOR 2283 Comments 2015-01-17 11:57:37

  Thanks for the visit Esteban and I am glad that you liked this FR.
  
  The buffet was around USD 30+ with taxes if I remember correctly. Personally I thought it was well worth it due to the quality of the items and the decent selection of seafood.
  
  Have fun in sin city. ;) 2015-01-17 11:57:37

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  Esteban GOLD 19960 Comments 2015-01-17 07:25:51

  Sorry did not see your flight was going to SFO, but anyway, DL has lots of routes they don't serve anything whereas competitors do. 2015-01-17 07:25:51

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  indianocean SILVER 7573 Comments 2015-01-17 14:32:10

  Thank you for sharing Adan.
  
  Haven't you ever considered to fly on VX. I know WN is a LCC but flying on Virgin America might be interesting, don't you think?
  
  Thank you so much for the precious tip at The Bellagio. USD 30 for the buffet is quite affordable. 2015-01-17 14:32:10

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  jetsetpanda AUTHOR 2283 Comments 2015-01-18 17:53:04

  You are most welcome Bernard.
  
  VX is a good airline and I have flown them before, it's just that I have not posted FR's of those trips. ;) You are right about them being interesting and as a matter of fact I think they are quite stylish and are the boutique of all U.S. airlines. 2015-01-18 17:53:04

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  SKYTEAMCHC GOLD 10143 Comments 2015-01-18 10:49:38

  Thanks for sharing with us this short flight. The snack and drinks are good on such a short segment. It seems that Southwest is loosing it's soul and that what made the difference , the human factor, is less and less different from other airlines, when not worse. Southwest still advertises good prices but should be careful about focussing on friendly staff or it might run into trouble. 2015-01-18 10:49:38

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  jetsetpanda AUTHOR 2283 Comments 2015-01-18 17:57:04

  The people could be a major differentiating factor with WN but sadly I think this airline is losing its niche. It has always attracted a different market but as long as they still provide free checked bags and snacks on board some passengers won't mind flying with them.
  
  Thanks. 2015-01-18 17:57:04

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  KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6739 Comments 2015-01-21 22:30:04

  I almost didn't read this Report when I saw it was SWA, but then I remembered you told me you were taking WN back from LAS. And it turns out I really like this report, because you are showing WN in the true light of what it has become...SWA is great at PR and preaching that they care and all about the LUV but really they're becoming just like any other airline, minus the perks of First class or lounges for frequent flyers. And now with the tighter configurations in the new Evolve seat cabins with less pitch, they can't even say their seats offer more room than legacies. SWA has become mediocre at best but survives on their PR fluff and bags fly free blah blah. Wait until they start charging for bags...and they will one day...then what will set them apart? Sad...they used to actually be a fun airline with heart, now it's no different than flying AA or DL...ok, it's better than UA, but that's not saying much :-P 2015-01-21 22:30:04

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  jetsetpanda AUTHOR 2283 Comments 2015-01-22 05:32:11

  Thanks Kevin and NGO85.
  
  Kevin is right about WN clinging to their PR fluff but sooner or later that is not going to work anymore. As NGO85 has said, the WN expansion into the international market is in full swing. Personally I don't think that UA has anything to worry about. WN attracts a different clientele and market, and cannot even compare with UA in terms of intl presence. MP+ is still a decent frequent flyer program and its extensive number of partners make it possible to get to anywhere in the world.
  2015-01-22 05:32:11

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  KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6739 Comments 2015-01-22 23:58:37

  I also don't think UA really has anything to worry about for the same reasons, but they sure were worried when they tried to get the city of Houston to block WN's expansion of Hobby for international flying. Like you said, the clientele is different, with lower yielding leisure pax going to WN and higher yielding frequent flyers staying with UA. There may be some frequency changes or upgrauge/downgauge of aircraft on the UA side to compete in shared markets, but overall I don't think the impact will be that major. SWA's playbook used to be fly to secondary markets, offer lots of service, and print money on monopoly routes--now they're just another hub-and-spoke carrier (though they'll never admit they have hubs), flying into busy markets and competing head on with the legacies...and not necessarily winning. WN's international expansion will work, as NK's did, but in the end they'll be going after the mostly low yielding VFR traffic as I said above. The only reason to fly them will be price, because even tired old UA will be offering a better product to Central/South America with PTVs on those pmCO birds. Makes a difference on a 4-5 hour flight to Northern South America. 2015-01-22 23:58:37

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  NGO85 SILVER 1980 Comments 2015-01-22 02:56:50

  I agree with Kevin's assessment, WN boasts the largest domestic US fleet and has become a very diluted product recently on the service side. They have aggressively expanded and they have let that LUV service aspect slip in the process (lack of consistency with FAs). There is no way to get that back and they are just clinging to the free bags appeal since their fares are typically not that much lower than the legacy carriers (unless you are in a market with point-to-point flight advantages).
  
  Their overhaul of Houston-Hobby into an international airport is in full swing and they will soon begin attacking the Central American market so we will see how UA responds. 2015-01-22 02:56:50