For Southwest Airlines, and many airlines, there are many aspects to take into account when choosing which airline to fly with for your upcoming family holiday or business trip. You could be wondering: Is Southwest Airlines excellent, horrible, pricey, safe, or worthwhile depending on where you’re going.
Southwest Airlines is well-known for its inexpensive flights and frequent flyer programs, but is it a reliable carrier?
Southwest Airlines is the biggest low-cost airline in the world, so it makes sense why they’re so well-liked.
With the addition of customary extras like complimentary checked bags, in-flight refreshments, and award-winning customer service, Southwest offers some incredibly inexpensive tickets.
Is Southwest Airlines Considered a Good Airline?
First off, according to a recent review of the best airline rewards programs overall, Southwest Airlines ranks somewhere in the middle.
The airline outperformed American, Delta, United, and Frontier but lagged behind Alaska, Hawaiian, and JetBlue in areas like the company’s elite status program, rewards point value, COVID-19 response, and additional costs.
| Rank | Airline | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 4.9 |
| 2 | Hawaiian | 4.1 |
| 3 | JetBlue | 3.6 |
| 4 | Southwest | 3.5 |
| 5 | American | 3.0 |
| 6 (tie) | De;ta | 2.8 |
| 6 (tie) | Unites | 2.8 |
| 8 | Frontier | 1.9 |
Southwest Airlines is a significant American airline with its main office in Dallas, Texas. Southwest Airlines is the largest low-cost airline in the world, so it operates with significantly reduced operational expenses and provides lower fares and fewer amenities.
Is Southwest Airlines a good airline considering that it doesn’t offer some of the customary luxuries and services because its operating costs are so low?
Yes, Southwest Airlines is a really good airline, and flying with them is very safe.
Southwest Airlines is now rated as a 4-star airline for the quality of its onboard services, food, flight services, ticket fare, baggage, seating policy, etc.
Other Reasons Why Southwest Airlines Considered a Good Airline
Safety Ratings
Southwest Airlines is one of the top 20 safest airlines in the world in 2021, according to AirlineRatings.com.
It was ranked above Delta and American but below Hawaiian and Alaska. The airlines were judged according to their fleet age, audits, industry-leading safety programs, and records of significant incidents and crashes.
Southwest and the other top 20 airlines all outperformed the other 385 airlines in the study in terms of safety and innovation.
Customer Satisfaction
Southwest receives a 4 out of 5-star rating from Skytrax, which publishes recognized airline ratings, for the quality of its personnel and services, including cabin comfort and cleanliness, extra fees, in-flight food and beverages, and customer interactions.
Online customer testimonials concur with that conclusion. In 2020, the airline had the lowest rate of customer complaints, per a recent Airline Quality Rating study.
General Cost
Southwest isn’t always the cheapest airline, but depending on your travel preferences and your final destination, traveling with Southwest may be cost-effective once you account for a free carry-on and two free checked baggage.
Reliability
Overall, it’s challenging to assess Southwest’s dependability. It received a 3 out of 5-star rating from OAG, a review site, placing it below Delta, American, and Alaska for punctuality.
Additionally, in June 2021, it had the third-highest flight cancellation rate among U.S. airlines, according to flight data by Information Design.
However, Southwest makes up for it with regard to luggage. Southwest placed second among 17 airlines for the least amount of luggage that were mishandled in July 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Its position decreased just a few spots to fifth out of 17 in July 2021.
Final Note
Should you avoid Southwest Airlines or is it a good airline? In most cases, the solution is in the middle.
High levels of customer satisfaction, excellent flexibility in changing or canceling flights, and the availability of free checked bags on every flight are all major advantages.
The lack of seat allocations and first-class privileges, together with the unimpressive reliability rating, are the downsides that merit consideration.
Your travel preferences will determine whether these facts are a deal breaker for you. Overall, Southwest is a reliable airline that provides a pleasurable journey at a reasonable cost.
