Southwest Airlines working toward international flights

[Jamie76 0]

Well they did have that little ordeal while landing at Chicago Midway a year or so ago. No one on board died but there was a death on the ground. A lot of ithe reason there have been no major catastrophes has to do with the fact that they have not been around as long as the legacy airlines.

On another note...isn't Southwest one of the worst airlines for lost luggage?

So? Do you want to know how many ordeals American and Delta have had at DFW ALONE? One of the most vivid memories of childhood that I have is arriving at DFW in 1985 when my parents were putting my brother on a plane to San Antonio and seeing the smoldering wreckage of a Delta L-1011 where over 100 people were killed. The only intact part of the plane that I saw was the tail section; the rest of it was shattered into a zillion pieces.

I've also seen a Delta plane throw an engine fan through the fuselage and kill people, and I've seen several American jets at DFW with collapsed landing gear.

Your theory about Southwest not having been around long enough is, frankly, rubbish. Look at how many mishaps other US carriers have relative to the number of segments they fly and the size of their fleet, then look at Southwest. That's the only meaningful statistic you should pay any attention to. A company could be around for 80 years and that does NOT make it safe. Go to AirDisaster.com sometime and do some research.

As for lost luggage, I've never had any problems with Southwest. Ever. Nor has anyone that I know.

Read these and weep:

http://www.airsafe.com/airline.htm

SO??? What I was saying is not rubbish. Southwest has some of the newest planes in the air. It's average fleet age is just 9.8 years. Just wait until some of these planes get some age to them, you will see the exact same pattern. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that.

Southwest is good...I'm not saying that, but their going to be running in to trouble shortly. They were able to do well with fuel hedging, but they will be paying the same prices on fuel all the other airlines are paying in the near future.

[JamalNTam 1]

How about US airlines start serving food on flights over 1,000 miles first before worrying about expanding. Their management should also fly with Singapore and Emirates to learn something.

Now jet blue is a great carrier. American airlines is not too bad but needs to improve their in-flight service.

I cannot wait for Virgin America to start up.

When I flew with Emirates I had the worst experience than with any other airline! The customer service was bad and because I was assigned seats at the back, by the time they got to me with the food - they'd run out! I was on a flight from London to Dubai and Dubai to Hyderabad and did not get a single thing to eat!!! It wouldnt have been so bad if I hadnt paid so much for the flight and didnt have to watch most of the plane eat!

I do like southwest though - they remind me of easyjet, but the customer service seemed better and you get free drinks!

[homesick_american 1]

SO??? What I was saying is not rubbish. Southwest has some of the newest planes in the air. It's average fleet age is just 9.8 years. Just wait until some of these planes get some age to them, you will see the exact same pattern. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that.

Southwest is good...I'm not saying that, but their going to be running in to trouble shortly. They were able to do well with fuel hedging, but they will be paying the same prices on fuel all the other airlines are paying in the near future.

LOL....again, irrelevant. Southwest uses their planes almost as long as any other major US carrier, but they have an excellent relationship with Boeing and are better for switching to new aircraft than some carriers. They recently retired a 25 year-old 737, the last in their fleet of that particular make; I believe it was a 737-200, or it could have been old. I don't know why you're insisting on arguing with me about Southwest's safety record, which speaks for itself.

The airline may run into trouble...it may not. It has turned a profit basically every quarter since it was started in the 1970s and I can't think of another airline that has been more financially successful. You seem to have something against it as an organization, but I'm not going to argue about its record anymore; it's ridiculous.

[Jamie76 0]

SO??? What I was saying is not rubbish. Southwest has some of the newest planes in the air. It's average fleet age is just 9.8 years. Just wait until some of these planes get some age to them, you will see the exact same pattern. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that.

Southwest is good...I'm not saying that, but their going to be running in to trouble shortly. They were able to do well with fuel hedging, but they will be paying the same prices on fuel all the other airlines are paying in the near future.

LOL....again, irrelevant. Southwest uses their planes almost as long as any other major US carrier, but they have an excellent relationship with Boeing and are better for switching to new aircraft than some carriers. They recently retired a 25 year-old 737, the last in their fleet of that particular make; I believe it was a 737-200, or it could have been old. I don't know why you're insisting on arguing with me about Southwest's safety record, which speaks for itself.

The airline may run into trouble...it may not. It has turned a profit basically every quarter since it was started in the 1970s and I can't think of another airline that has been more financially successful. You seem to have something against it as an organization, but I'm not going to argue about its record anymore; it's ridiculous.

Actually, no, I think Southwest is a good company. I am just stating that I believe their safety record has a lot to do with the age of their fleet. That is all.

[payxibka 10,045]

Well they did have that little ordeal while landing at Chicago Midway a year or so ago. No one on board died but there was a death on the ground. A lot of ithe reason there have been no major catastrophes has to do with the fact that they have not been around as long as the legacy airlines.

Do you have any idea how long Southwest has been around? Try 36 years.... that is a pretty long time in my book...

[Heracles 417]

I heard Jet Blue was great from a lot of people, and I would LOVE to be able to afford Virgin!@!! We usually fly United (well, Craig did British Airways a lot, too) and although everyone has different experiences with different airlines, United has always treated me really well and I've had nice flights.

I mean Virgin America the new domestic US airline starting soon. I cannot wait as they are a great airline. They understand how to treat their customer 'during' a flight. Whereas most US carriers have forgotten about that. Ironically the service we are paying the airline for..

Check them out..

http://www.virginamerica.com

[Heracles 417]

Do you know how many passengers have died in accidents on board Southwest Airlines? Zero. That's right....zero. They've NEVER had a major catastrophe, so there goes the budget theory. My cousin is one of the ones making sure you're safe in the air when you fly Southwest, so it offends me when people assume that Southwest Airlines cuts corners on safety. I can assure you that they do NOT, and their safety record speaks for itself.

People are probably not specifically talking about being budget on maintenance but rather a budget carrier in terms of service.

Lets not compare SW to a carrier like Qantas. Even on the safety front..

Edited June 20, 2007 by Infidel

[homesick_american 1]

Do you know how many passengers have died in accidents on board Southwest Airlines? Zero. That's right....zero. They've NEVER had a major catastrophe, so there goes the budget theory. My cousin is one of the ones making sure you're safe in the air when you fly Southwest, so it offends me when people assume that Southwest Airlines cuts corners on safety. I can assure you that they do NOT, and their safety record speaks for itself.

People are probably not specifically talking about being budget on maintenance but rather a budget carrier in terms of service.

Lets not compare SW to a carrier like Qantas. Even on the safety front..

Uh....nobody is. You can't compare American Airlines' domestic service to their international service, which is much better.

Also, you can't fly Southwest to Sydney...and you can't fly Qantas from DFW to Vegas. It's not like we can pick and choose between the two.

[Heracles 417]

Uh....nobody is. You can't compare American Airlines' domestic service to their international service, which is much better.

Also, you can't fly Southwest to Sydney...and you can't fly Qantas from DFW to Vegas. It's not like we can pick and choose between the two.

I was only stirring u... Southwest is quite a good carrier. Much better than the other legacy carriers which need to merge and or shutdown.