Everything you need to know about Southwest, the world's best lowcost
If you have to fly to America you can count on this company
Southwest Airlines
Founded in Dallas in 1967, Southwest Airlines boasts. the primacy of the most great Low Cost airline at the world. It owns a fleet of 746 aircraft, 638 of them Boeing 737s, covering 100 destinations, almost all of them in the United States.
In this article:
What are the strengths of this company? What makes it so respected and used in the States? Let's find out together!
Southwest, a bit of history
After the liberalizations of the air traffic market in the United States, Southwest saw the light in 1971 with the first air link between Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, marking the beginning of a major rise. By 1979 it expands outside Texas, operating in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Nevada and California. In 1988 it became the second-largest low-cost airline in the world.
In 2005, with its 88 million passengers carried, it became the third U.S. airline, after American Airlines and Delta, and takes the lead in first flight airline national to the world.
The customer comes first
Forget the rudeness of European low-cost airlines, if you think that low-cost airlines are all out to rip you off with absurd fees, with cumbersome procedures that only aim to milk the passenger, here this company is the exact opposite.
One of the strengths that make Southwest great is definitely theattention to the customer and we're not just talking about the free snacks that are served on board, but the culture of respecting the traveler which has always distinguished the carrier with a heart in its logo.
Analyzing the data that Southwest has made available, we see that the company has had only positive balance sheets for as many as 44 years, but then came Covid-19 to break this record.
It is placed at the first place as a company with the minor number of complaints of customers, 85% of employees say they are proud to work for Southwest and was never notified of a layoff.
The program of affiliation of Southwest is extensive, offering a variety of methods for earning miles and dots loyalty that give access to the "Southwest Companion Pass," which is a pass That allows your traveling companion to fly with you at no additional cost!
Here again we can see the diversity of the American airline compared to the European low-cost carriers. In the Old Continent, in fact, very few low-cost carriers have their own loyalty program and certainly nothing comparable to what Southwest offers in America.
Southwest Transdoncy
"Low Fares. Nothing to Hide. That's Transfarency." That is, "Low rates. Nothing to hide. This is Transparency". So reads the company's motto. Southwest has even coined a word, protected by trademark, namely "Transfarency," a play on words between "Transparency" = Transparency and "Fare" = Fare.
Staying on the topic of customer satisfaction, Southwest boasts that it has no rates hidden or unforeseen costs. The baggage policy is one of the best among Low Cost airlines, if not the best in the world: it does not, in fact, impose any additional payment of the according to baggage embarked, means being able to check two 23kg suitcases for free! There are airlines in Europe that also charge for carry-on luggage, Ryanair above all, although they have recently changed their policy on the second piece of luggage on board.
Non-alcoholic beverages and snacks such as pretzels and peanuts are distributed free of charge on board, the always friendly and helpful staff are ready to meet every need of passengers, not making them feel the "burden" of traveling Low Cost.
On board most of the fleet you can use WiFi, for a fee, or enjoy hundreds of movies, live TV channels, podcasts and a host of other content for free by simply connecting to the plane's network with your devices.
Even the boarding process is anything but the chaos we are used to and especially forget about the extra payments before boarding. Last but not least, you arrive earlier than expected at the airport and given the multitude of daily flights you want to take advantage of a seat on an earlier flight? No problem ask the staff at the gate and they will board you on the first available flight.
Conclusions
The Low Cost You Don't Expect, Southwest pampers its guests with services e rewards adequate, when you happen to travel around America you can count on a solid, long-lived airline that doesn't hide surprise fares from its customers!
