Try buying a ticket on United and cancelling. Maybe you’ll get credit, but that will only be after a $150 fee is taken off.

Every airline offers a product where the cost is non-refundable if you buy a certain class of ticket, even if you don’t fly. Southwest is one of the incredibly rare airlines that actually doesn’t make you take a severe penalty if you want to use that money with them in the future, for another flight. The deserve applause for that.

Who on earth offers a product where it is non refundable if no services are rendered? I will never fly them again. f*** off Souhwest.

It’s valuable for the following reasons:
* no need to check in online exactly 24 hours in advance of the flight to get a decent boarding number. (I used to set 24 hour, 5 minute reminders on my PDA so I wouldn’t forget, which was no fun if I had an early morning flight which meant waking up early two mornings in a row!)
* use of the the fly-by lanes in airports that have them
(That’s pretty much it.)

It’s NOT valuable for the following reasons
* low boarding number “status” does not transfer if one changes flights at the last minute (i.e., meeting ends early, get to the airport in time to catch an earlier flight, give up “A” boarding group on later flight for the opportunity to arrive home earlier, but with potentially a much later [and "unreserved"] boarding position)
* reservation of a flight on the same day does not qualify for A-list boarding priority because the lower boarding positions have already been assigned.

These last two run counterintuitive to what one would think is a program targeted primarily at business travelers who often have last minute schedule changes or make last minute travel plans. One would think SWA could reserve a few lower boarding slots to account for these situations (as they do for last minute “business select” fares, where there are typically unused boarding slots around the A10-15 range).

Families with children do not preboard – they board with their group if they have an A boarding pass, or if they have a B or C boarding pass then families with children 5 and under board after the A’s but before the B’s.

Special assistant needs do get to pre-board, however if you pre-board you are prohibited from sitting in one of the exit row seats.

SWA is a great way to get where you are going, and the people who work there enjoy what they do.

When registering online, be sure to do it as early as possible. Section A can fill up within minutes. (Wait, should I not have shared that tip?)

JetBlue’s $100 change fee is ridiculous. I foolishly chose them once because they were a bit cheaper than Southwest. I think the flight was like $69? Then I wanted to change the flight by a day. Spend $100 to change a $69 ticket? Sheyeah! As if!

So I have the choice, either sit in between 2 very fat people or, leave the plane with a migraine from the screaming or the poor guy who can’t control himself from swinging his arms and hitting me in the face over and over and over again, while laughing hysterically non stop. The flight attendant laughed when I asked to be shot and put out of misery.

I think I just have bad luck.

As much as I hate United and bitch about them, screaming children do not get priority seating. Basically you need to fly so much that you have no life to get the good seats. Thus everyone around you is as bitter or close to as bitter as you are and just sits there and makes no noise. I know this sounds horrible, but I kinda prefer it this way.