Article in the USA Today about Southwest Airlines growth, gate remodeling, and (surprisingly) adding wireless internet to 4 planes next year. Hope the test goes well! That would be my kind of IFE. I wonder what the cost would be to add something like that to 520+ airplanes!
Cheers!
Drew
The safest place to be in an airplane crash is on the ground.
NWADC9 From United States of America, joined May 2004, 4857 posts, RR: 10 Reply 1, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
I'd expect to see Wi-Fi on a fancy-schmancy legacy carrier, but SOUTHWEST?!?
Flying an aeroplane with only a single propeller to keep you in the air. Can you imagine that? -Capt. Picard
WNCrew From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 1317 posts, RR: 9 Reply 2, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
EXAAUADL From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 4, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
Ok, for thsi to really work well, they need to fly those planes on dedicated business routes where they will get useage. No point in flying them aroundthe system and pax not knowing if they will get a wireless plane or not....not sure what markets they shoudl be on..perhaps LAX-MDW but they need to be dedicated to certain markets
Dispatchguy From United States of America, joined Jan 2006, 1185 posts, RR: 2 Reply 5, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 5 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
G4resagent From United States of America, joined Oct 2005, 300 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
WNCrew From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 1317 posts, RR: 9 Reply 7, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
Quoting G4resagent (Reply 6):
If I'm on business, I certainly would not fly WN...
What exactly do you mean by that? We carry LOTS of business travelers.
ALL views, opinions expressed are mine ONLY and are NOT representative of those shared by Southwest Airlines Co.
Kstatepilot From United States of America, joined Mar 2007, 159 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
Quoting WNCrew (Reply 7): What exactly do you mean by that? We carry LOTS of business travelers.
IIRC that was how WN started flying. Taking care of business travelers down in TX.
G4resagent From United States of America, joined Oct 2005, 300 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
It is just my personal preference to not fly WN. I'm not a fan of the cattle call, but with the new boarding process and gate areas coming online, I might be more open to trying them.
Don't get me wrong... there isn't anything wrong with WN. People 'LUV' to fly them and the employees 'LUV' to work for them. I'm just not a fan.
Boston92 From United States of America, joined Aug 2006, 3390 posts, RR: 7 Reply 10, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
Quoting WNCrew (Reply 7): What exactly do you mean by that? We carry LOTS of business travelers.
Well, probably just what was said. I have nothing against WN, but when on business, I need certain things. I like having an assigned seat, I like having the ability to upgrade to F, I like flying to the major airports in the city (ORD to MDW, BOS to MHT, SFO to OAK, JFK to BWI) in case I need to change my plans and get on the next flight regardless of airline. WN does not offer business travelers the comfort of lounges to relax in during a connection.
Of course, there would be some occasions when traveling on WN would be appropriate, like the ability for non-stop flights.
"Why does a slight tax increase cost you $200 and a substantial tax cut save you 30 cents?"
Aloha73G From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 2302 posts, RR: 5 Reply 11, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
Atrude777 From United States of America, joined Aug 2003, 5613 posts, RR: 54 Reply 12, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
Quoting Boston92 (Reply 10): I like flying to the major airports in the city (ORD to MDW, BOS to MHT, SFO to OAK, JFK to BWI) in case I need to change my plans and get on the next flight regardless of airline. WN does not offer business travelers the comfort of lounges to relax in during a connection.
Flying to JFK to Reach Baltimore...hmmh
I assume you meant IAD? Which we also Serve, and we serve many large major cities and their respective airports such as STL, LAS, PHX, LAX, MCO, FLL, DEN, IAD, ABQ, CLE, RNO, SFO, SAN, the ones you gave, like MDW, is actually closer to Chicago Downtown then ORD is, unless you mean aviation perspective then thats understandable.
As for the lounge and all, we are offering a business area at the gates for laptop and seats for the Business folks to do their work on their laptop at the gates.
Pic is here...
Anyway, as I know this still won't get you to ride WN, oh well.
Alex
Good things come to those who wait, better things come to those who go AFTER it!
Iaddca From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 286 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 2893 times:
good thing it's not ATA, their FAs would be arresting a lot of laptop users in flight
AV8orWALK From United States of America, joined Nov 2006, 174 posts, RR: 0 Reply 14, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 2559 times:
Alex, thanks for posting the pic of the remodeled gate area. If the gate area has the room for it, it looks great. Seems like smaller cities like SDF might have problems with the design.
Cheers!
Drew
The safest place to be in an airplane crash is on the ground.
EA CO AS From United States of America, joined Nov 2001, 12559 posts, RR: 64 Reply 15, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 2505 times:
Quoting AV8orWALK (Thread starter): Article in the USA Today about Southwest Airlines growth, gate remodeling, and (surprisingly) adding wireless internet to 4 planes next year. Hope the test goes well! That would be my kind of IFE.
You'll be able to enjoy wireless internet access on Alaska Airlines before then. And since it's satellite-based, there are no coverage gaps. Anywhere.
"In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem - government IS the problem." - Ronald Reagan
KFLLCFII From United States of America, joined Sep 2004, 3262 posts, RR: 33 Reply 16, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 2505 times:
Quoting G4resagent (Reply 9): t is just my personal preference to not fly WN. I'm not a fan of the cattle call
Cattle call?
A cattle call is when AA announces "Now boarding Group 2", and everyone and their mother jumps out of their chair in a stampede toward the gate.
With WN, everyone's already in a line...
I've actually never experienced a true orderly boarding process until I flew with Southwest.
Atrude777 From United States of America, joined Aug 2003, 5613 posts, RR: 54 Reply 17, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 2505 times:
Quoting KFLLCFII (Reply 16): Wow Alex, when's that gonna come online?
Bryan-
We are working on at every airport immediatly. We started with DAL and SAT and SAN (Go figure ) and are working through the system to implement it ASAP.
Expect it to be totally completed by middle of 2008.
Alex
Good things come to those who wait, better things come to those who go AFTER it!
Boston92 From United States of America, joined Aug 2006, 3390 posts, RR: 7 Reply 18, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 2505 times:
Quoting Atrude777 (Reply 12): Flying to JFK to Reach Baltimore...hmmh
Ya, don't really know where I was going with that one. I guess I meant LGA or ISP.
"Why does a slight tax increase cost you $200 and a substantial tax cut save you 30 cents?"
N200WN From United States of America, joined Feb 2005, 783 posts, RR: 7 Reply 19, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 2505 times:
Quoting KFLLCFII (Reply 16): Wow Alex, when's that gonna come online?
When? Right now. That conception is Gate 3 in SAT. Although when the "designer" came through she arranged all of the gate seating into "conversation" areas which blocked Customer access to the new boarding lines. I just spent all last Wednesday evening putting the seats back into normal rows. DAL is next in line to recieve the gate makeover and to rollout the new boarding process.
By the way, the Southwest model has always been geared toward the business traveler, and it will be even more so with the changes that Gary Kelly has in store. Come on...you guys don't really think that Southwest has been profitable for 30 plus years by catering to leisure traffic do you? If that were the case the legacy carriers have been chasing the wrong customers all of these years.
Boston92 From United States of America, joined Aug 2006, 3390 posts, RR: 7 Reply 20, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 2505 times:
Quoting N200WN (Reply 19): Come on...you guys don't really think that Southwest has been profitable for 30 plus years by catering to leisure traffic do you?
No, I don't think that. It is just a preference.
"Why does a slight tax increase cost you $200 and a substantial tax cut save you 30 cents?"
717-200 From United States of America, joined Oct 2000, 601 posts, RR: 3 Reply 21, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 2505 times:
Quoting Kstatepilot (Reply 8): IIRC that was how WN started flying. Taking care of business travelers down in TX.
How about that free fifth of liquor promo that WN did to stave off BN and TI back when they got started in the early '70's.
WNCrew From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 1317 posts, RR: 9 Reply 22, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 2332 times:
I fly other carriers VERY REGULARLY and I see how we stack up. We're a very good airline offering a very good product with overall excellent customer service. we don't have lounges, we don't have "status" and some people thrive on that recognition, some don't. It also depends on what type of business traveler you are, if you need to go to LHR every 3 weeks then no, WN isn't for you. This next year the business traveler will see much more geared toward them! The business traveler is my pax of choice as I fly mornings mostly. They know the drill, they still dress appropriately, they don't bring the entire house with them, they smell good...ha.., they're for-the-most-part very low maintenance, and also appreciative.
We offer great fares, simple but efficient and friendly inflight service as well as some small amenities such a snacks, pillows blankets. We don't have RJ's (which some people don't enjoy but I like)...and we have better than avg legroom. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but WN is not what the trash-talkers make it out to be. Truth be told, if you feel that way about WN, I don't want you on board anyway. I'd rather give some LUV'in to someone who wants to be there in the first place because let's face it, the attitude can affect the entire experience.
ALL views, opinions expressed are mine ONLY and are NOT representative of those shared by Southwest Airlines Co.
Aloha73G From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 2302 posts, RR: 5 Reply 23, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 2332 times:
A cattle call is when AA announces "Now boarding Group 2", and everyone and their mother jumps out of their chair in a stampede toward the gate.
With WN, everyone's already in a line...
I've actually never experienced a true orderly boarding process until I flew with Southwest.
How's that for food for thought?
SO SO SO True. Some fo the WN Bashers out there will never get over the "Cattle Call" label for Southwest. I've found zone/group/seating area boarding to be much more "crazy" than WN's old or new system.
And wireles....VERY cool. We can do live trip report blogs
-Aloha!
Aloha Airlines - The Spirit Moves Us. Gone but NEVER Forgotten. Aloha, A Hui Hou!
Chris133 From United States of America, joined Oct 2005, 303 posts, RR: 0 Reply 24, posted (5 years 7 months 2 weeks 1 day 1 hour ago) and read 2332 times:
Quoting AV8orWALK (Thread starter): Article in the USA Today about Southwest Airlines growth, gate remodeling, and (surprisingly) adding wireless internet to 4 planes next year. Hope the test goes well! That would be my kind of IFE
This was actually announced in Aug sometime. Not sure which planes are getting it yet.
Quoting Boston92 (Reply 10): WN does not offer business travelers the comfort of lounges to relax in during a connection.
Who needs a lounge when you can usually get a direct flight or at the worse your connection is 25 minutes to an hour in length. How much work are you really gonna get done in that time after walking to a lounge and getting set up?
25 Iloveboeing: The old boarding system never bothered me as long as I got an 'A' boarding pass. I am one of those people who loves to have a window seat. This new bo
26 Mnevans: Absolutely agreed. I'll be jumping when CO adds wifi to domestic and makes it free for Elite's. Yes that is absolute #1 thing that does need to happe
27 Kaitak744: The problem with PTVs is that you need to change all the seats and add a lot of weight (hence huge cost). In order to install wireless internet, all
28 RDUDDJI: You've got to be smokin crack...standing around the gate 45 minutes before departure so you don't get a crappy seat... That's order?! That's reason C
29 57AZ: Frankly, I think that the WiFi will eventually spread to all of WN's aircraft. Certainly the installations on the first four may be experimental, but
30 Boeingluvr: I'm sure the trial will be good. And fitting all planes eventually with wifi will be huge for the first airline to start applying this. So many people
31 Malaysia: AK and FD is far worse than WN in boarding, no real group, or is there one? but the Asians dont care and they all stampede for the gate at the last m
32 KFLLCFII: Yes, that's ORDER. There's never a mad dash....ever. Now tell me this: Why do people on other airlines stampede toward the gate when they have a conf
33 RDUDDJI: Herd mentality. "There's a line, so I better get in it". Now, most frequent travelers will wait patiently in the boarding area until their Zone is ca
34 Mike89406: I think the disadvantage of WN is you do not have a F or J class seating it's all 1 class regrdless. WN has it place and is very successful in what th
35 Iaddca: You are, better planes and crew than the legacies, actually your FAs might be the best in the entire industry. At the same time, you've been losing g
36 KFLLCFII: Herd mentality. "There's a line, so I better get in it". Bingo. Which proves my point exactly that to label WN as having a "cattle call" is anything
37 SW733: I fly Southwest all the time, on business and pleasure, and I would love to come across wireless internet on one of these flights! I am very excited.
Sponsor Message: 
From United States of America, joined Nov 2006, 174 posts, 
) and are working through the system to implement it ASAP.
Printer friendly format 
