Is Southwest Airlines Really Underrated?

With the United States being the biggest aviation market in the world, passengers have multiple airlines to choose from on most routes. Some prioritize premium options, particularly on longer transcontinental routes, while for others, a basic economy with decent service suffices as long as the airline gets them from point A to B on time. As the aviation landscape evolves, many feel that the lines between full-service carriers and budget airlines are gradually blurring, with each segment exploring each other’s territory, whether it's full-service players offering low-fare options and services or low-cost airlines enticing more premium customers through product enhancements.

Among the carriers with a commanding presence in the US, Southwest Airlines has a significant customer base and a network that competes with other major legacy carriers in the country. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) , part of the Department of Transportation (DOT), Southwest had a 17.3% domestic market share in the United States between November 2023 and October 2024.



It surpassed United Airlines (15.9%) and was at number three behind Delta Air Lines (17.8%) and American Airlines (17.

5%). While Southwest has had its share of criticism over the years, such as outdated IT infrastructure and other issues, the airline continues to maintain its space in a challenging and highly competitive industry. Clearly, something works for the airline that keeps attracting passengers in huge numbers.

Favorite among economy class passengers J.D. Power, a company that deals with consumer insights, advisory services, and data and analytics conducted a survey last year that found that while Delta ranked highest in customer satisfaction in the first/business segment, Southwest was the clear winner when it came to the economy/basic economy segment – for a third consecutive year.

Southwest scored the highest in all seven study dimensions including Day of Travel Pre/Post-Flight Experience, On-Board Experience, Ease of Travel with Airline, Digital Tools, Value for Price Paid, Level of Trust with Airline, and Airline Staff. The study was based on responses from 9,582 passengers who flew on a major North American airline within the past month of completing a survey – between March 2023 and March 2024. Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines President, Chief Executive Officer, & Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, commented, “Our Customer-friendly and industry-leading policies allow our People to deliver the Legendary Customer Service and warm Hospitality they're famous for.

It's a true testament to our Employees, and an honor, to be recognized three times in a row as the Leader in Economy Class Customer Satisfaction by J.D. Power.

” Least likely to cancel flights If the 2024 data is anything to go by, Southwest passengers last year were least likely to have had their flight canceled. Cirium , an aviation analytics company, released these findings this January and found that while Delta had a slight edge over Southwest on on-time performance, the latter was ahead when it came to least flight cancelations. While it’s always good to maintain a competitive OTP, completing the flight is likely to rank higher among passengers.

Cirium found that Southwest Airlines had a 99.38% completion factor, which represents the percentage of scheduled flights that were not canceled. Last year, the budget carrier flew 1,452,197 flights and canceled only 9,041.

The following stats show how its competitors fared last year when it came to completion factor: Delta Air Lines - 98.95% American Airlines 98.68% Alaska Airlines 98.

56% United Airlines with 98.35% Forbes quotes Mike Malik, Cirium’s chief marketing officer, as saying, “Generally, a cancellation rate around 1% is considered strong, reflecting good operational reliability. Conversely, rates exceeding 2% may indicate potential operational challenges.

” Southwest’s cancelation rate was below 1%, at 0.62%. Spirit was the only other airline to also score a less-than-1% cancelation rate at 0.

68%. Southwest told Forbes that these results were because of, “..

.intentional investments to enhance the strength of our network operations control procedures, crew scheduling capabilities, and our ability to quickly adapt and recover from winter storms and other disruptions. “We worked hard to achieve the No.

1 ranking in completed flights. None of this would be possible without the dedication and focus of our employees, who perform at a high level every day.” Rebooking is allowed when fares drop Passengers often face a dilemma when it comes to booking flight tickets for journeys months in advance.

While booking ahead does offer some protection from a last-minute price surge, it can be disheartening to find out later that the same ticket could have been had for an even lower price when an airline announces discounted fares. With Southwest, however, passengers can have their cake and eat it too. The budget carrier allows passengers to re-price their ticket when the fare drops, without charging any additional fee.

How the passengers receive their fare difference depends upon the kind of fare they booked. As highlighted in a report by The Points Guy , customers with the lowest-price Wanna Get Away fare, get Travel Funds credit for the difference in the fare. Thankfully, these credits do not expire and will be available until they are redeemed.

Those with Wanna Get Away Plus get an additional option to transfer their flight credits to someone else as long as both passengers are Rapid Rewards members. In such cases, only one transfer is allowed. Passengers who purchase Business Select and Anytime fares receive a monetary refund for the difference in fares.

Baggage policy A major factor that differentiates Southwest from other US carriers is its generous baggage policy. The airline’s slogan, “Bags fly free” has been with it for years and allows two bags of up to 50 pounds each and 62 inches in size (length + width + height) for free. Golf bags and skis count toward a free checked bag if they are within the weight limit.

US airlines have often come under the microscope when it comes to hidden fees. While the concept of unbundled fares has allowed some independence for passengers to customize their tickets, many are still regularly encountered with additional fees when they reach the airport. For example, an airline might advertise a ticket for a comparatively lower price than Southwest, only to reveal later that passengers would need to loosen their purse strings for additional baggage fees.

In 2023, US airlines recorded baggage fee revenue of nearly $7 billion, against a worldwide amount of $30 billion. One of Southwest’s competitors, American Airlines, alone collected $1.4 billion from checked bags.

Indeed, this is often one of the primary reasons for passengers to choose Southwest over other airlines. But many regular Southwest flyers could take this for granted, and the airline has had some ground agents come onboard aircraft before departure to announce just how much passengers had saved. CBS News obtained one such announcement on a flight: “Ladies and Gentlemen, can I have your attention please.

My name is Jay, and I am the Operations Agent for your flight to San Diego today. I want to give a shout out to my math teachers for teaching me how to do the following math: I show 137 passengers had 125 bags checked in today for this flight ..

. with what the other airlines are now charging for luggage, I come up with at least $3,250.00 that you all did not have to pay EXTRA today to travel.

Thanks for flying Southwest Airlines.” Companion pass Another great feature that many Southwest loyalists enjoy is the carrier’s companion pass. This allows one person to fly with the pass holder for free (only taxes and fees from $5.

60 one-way are applied). Of course, there are rules and conditions for getting the lucrative companion pass, such as having 100 qualifying one-way flights or earning 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. A Companion Pass is valid for the following full calendar year plus the remainder of the year in which a passenger earns it.

If timed correctly, a passenger can have the companion pass for almost two years. To learn how to earn a Companion Pass for 2025-2026, visit the airline’s website . Cancelation policy While airlines often entice passengers with promotional fares and other perks, they might not be as forgiving when it comes to canceling or rebooking tickets.

In case of unexpected change of plans, passengers often lose hundreds of dollars in canceling or rebooking fees. Southwest, however, allows passengers to cancel their tickets up to 10 minutes before departure. For Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus fares, passengers get credit for the amount paid.

Anytime and Business Select fares, passengers get a full monetary refund. The increased flexibility will provide some relief to travelers whose plans have been affected by the attack. Customer Of Size Policy The airline is also generous when it comes to policies regarding larger passengers.

Its 'Customers of Size' policy allows passengers to purchase an extra seat and later receive a refund for the additional cost. Unlike other airlines, Southwest does not make this a complicated process, and passengers do not need to complete a complicated form to book another seat or get their money back. Simple Flying has analyzed this in detail in the article below.

Southwest will fully refund the cost of buying a second seat on all flights..