Southwest Airlines: Boston to New Orleans
Back in March, Audrey and I were traveling to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. We booked our trip through Southwest, an airline I have not flown on in well over a decade.
Discount airlines are held in low regard in the United States. Countless horror stories about airlines like Spirit have sullied the reputation of budget carriers. I honestly never thought I would fly on one but Southwest’s fares down to New Orleans that week were simply too good to pass up.
After my experience with Southwest on this trip, I have to say, my expectations were shattered.
Booking
We booked our tickets in January through AMEX travel to since we were using the accumulated points on my American Express Gold Card. Surprisingly, despite the heavy demand that inevitably happens during Mardi Gras, we were able to get tickets at a relatively decent price.
Customer Service & Ground Experience
After buying our tickets, we didn’t really think about our trip much until a few days before we were set to take off. As luck would have it, after a relatively mild winter here in Boston, mother nature was anticipated to drop up to 18” of snow the night before our departure.
Less than 12 hours before our flight, I receive an automated text from Southwest airlines, our flight was cancelled in anticipation of the snow.
I called Southwest’s customer service number and, as expected, due to the numerous cancellations their phone lines were swamped. Luckily, Southwest gives customers the option to get a call back from Southwest once your next in line. This saved me roughly about an hour of listening to god-awful hold music.
When Southwest called me back, the service representative was very friendly and helped me get on another flight through Dallas a little later in the day. Our connection window was tight, but we were hoping luck would be in our favor.
Our Southwest Airlines plane sitting at the gate still covered in snow from the night before.
