Tag Archives for southwest airlines.
Southwest Airlines announced an extension of members’ elite status, Companion Pass benefits, and the validity of travel vouchers.
They’re also making it easier to earn elite status this year, as well as to earn a Companion Pass and extending the life of travel credits, in some cases giving up to an additional 2.5 years to use those credits.
The saying ‘not all heroes wear capes’ has become trite and is frequently used ironically. But how else are you supposed to describe a Southwest Airlines plane full of doctors and nurses flying into the hardest hit region for the novel coronavirus?
Each of these women and men are taking on real personal risk to help the people of New York. There’s not enough personal protective gear. Over 50 doctors have died of COVID-19 in Italy so far. And yet they’re all smiling, even knowing what’s in store.
Effective March 12 Southwest will let companions on the same reservation as an elite member board with the elite. Companions on the same booking will be assigned boarding numbers at the same time as the elite.
All of the reporting about Southwest Airlines employees receiving 6 weeks of extra pay in their paycheck next month turns out to be inaccurate since most of the money is required to go into a retirement account that is separate from employee 401(K)s. That’s good for employee retirement, but not as valuable as cash for those who want access to the funds today.
The conniving 14 year old gets short shrift in all of the legal maneuvering. He was being watched by his grandfather and “asked his grandfather to go to Starbucks to get him a Frappuccino.” While the grandfather was gone the boy went to the airport. He was apparently in league with him mom who bought him a ticket to New Orleans. The father, alerted to the plan, called the police and drove to the airport before the flight took off. Southwest let the boy travel.
A companion pass is arguably the best deal in all of travel, it allows you to bring a companion along on your Southwest Airlines travels for just the cost of taxes – whether you buy your own ticket with cash or with points.
Now is the best time to prepare to earn one – because if you earn it at the start of 2020 it’ll last nearly two full years.
Southwest though has a long history of profits and margins that have eluded much of the industry, and they haven’t gone down the same fees and restrictions rabbit hole. They are the largest domestic airline in the country. They do not have change fees or checked bag fees (for up to 2 bags per passenger). They don’t have seat fees, without assigned seats, but they do charge to be at the front of the boarding queue which means earlier dibs at seat selection.
It took nearly a decade for Southwest Airlines to inaugurate Hawaii service from the time they publicly advertised for someone to manage certification of their planes for long flights over water. When Southwest does something new, it seems to take awhile.
However with Hawaii firmly under their belt, could Europe be next?
The Southwest Airlines elite status challenge, which gives you 3 months of status and an expedited path to keep it for a year, has several quirks. One is that the status lasts literally a year, not the full next year. Another is that once the year is up you can sign up for another challenge.
I discovered a third quirk and that’s that you may want to time just when you complete your challenge. Here’s why.
Not only does Southwest offer ‘family boarding’ when you’re traveling with a child under 4 years old — boarding with elites who don’t have A group boarding passes — but if you are traveling with a lap infant and the flight isn’t 100% full you can almost always get an extra seat for your baby without having to buy them one.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
