Southwest Airlines, lots of pros for family travel
When I was growing up, I dreaded flying on Southwest Airlines. Why? Well, things were a bit different back in the 90s and early 00s flying Southwest. It was by far the cheapest tickets out there, at least out on the west coast. You got a ticket, but then you had to stand in line to get another ticket. First come, first serve so that meant getting to the airport early. Then standing in line, then standing in line again at the gate. It was no fun, especially as a kid. That is probably the root of my mild travel anxiety. Of course, benefits of lounge access with premium credit cards is that even if you get to the airport early, there is a place to relax and grab a drink.
Anyways, I had no desire to fly Southwest as an adult with those memories. However, times change and so has Southwest. It still has open seating, but with online check in, the cattle calls of the past have evolved into orderly A/B/C 1-60 boarding groups. It works, and it works well. Families within children under 5 (I think) board between A and B groups. Traveling with our toddler, this has been extremely helpful when we miss that 24 hour check-in window and don’t do early bird.
Added benefit, two free check bags per ticket! My wife and I hardly checked bags domestically before our son was born. Now, we check at least one bag, if not two to three. Southwest also has more legroom than economy on other airlines and, as a family, you are almost guaranteed to sit together.
And as of today, travel credits no longer expire. Before, if you had to cancel a flight, you could do so at no charge but you had 12 months from the date you booked the ticket (not the date of the flight) to use the credit. Still better than the other US airlines (or really any airline worldwide), the credits now don’t expire. That means if a family situation comes up, a kiddo gets a bit of a cold, or you just need to postpone a trip, you can use those flight credits anytime in the future. I wish this was around the past year or so, but, hey, it’s here now and I’m thankful.
It also helps that my family lives near a Southwest hub, so we can pretty much fly anywhere in the country (outside of connecting in California to fly to Hawaii) and the Caribbean directly.
Southwest isn’t quite the budget carrier it was 20 or 30 years ago. Typically, I’ve found them more expensive than Spirit or Frontier, and even the Big 3 (American, Delta and United). However, those checked bags and travel flexibility end up tipping the scale to Southwest for my family.
However, Southwest Airlines does not have power outlets. It has solid WIFI in my experience, but the seat comfort isn’t great for flights over 2 hours. Meals are chips and snack mix, even on a 5 hour flight, so bring your own food/snacks. Also, flights tend to be sold to capacity, so don’t expect open seats very often next to or within a few rows of you.
In sum, if you are traveling as a family domestically or to the Caribbean/Mexico, Southwest has just gotten a bit better for you.