When Southwest Hawaii flights started, there were already signs that technology and mindset were amiss. That was nearly four years before the recent meltdown occurred.
When Southwest Hawaii flights started, there were already signs that technology and mindset were amiss. That was nearly four years before the recent meltdown occurred.
As I understand it,the SW CEO is also a bean counter (accountant) He was largely responsible for the no go with a better IT system sooner. A good many of the older people who built the airline warned him about the old IT system as did the pilots too. This is the very same problem that got Boeing into trouble. (Bean Counter) They moved the 787 production from Seattle to the Carolina’s, it’s a non union shop and they are having a very hard time getting 787 to pass inspection both FAA and their own. The MAX is still being made in Seattle.
I stopped flying SW several years ago due to a string of bad experiences. At this point I wouldn’t touch the with a 10 foot pole. I’m flying United now and am very happy. Much better aircraft with premium seating, airport lounges and friendly crew.
In December 2022 SWA had a one stop – no plane change – from Lihue to Albuquerque. Finally service to ABQ without having to change planes – well I now see that the no change plane service is gone. Are there any plans to resume that service?
Typing this comment from 35000 feet on an (on-time!) Southwest flight from Salt Lake to San Jose. From San Jose, we fly to Honolulu, then on to Lihue. Felt risky to rely on three straight SWA flights with about 1 hour layover between each one, but so far, so good. And gets us from Wyoming to Hawaii in a single day (courtesy of 5 hour drive through nasty weather and road conditions down the I-15 early this am.
Looking forward to a couple of cold ones at Kauai Beer Co. after we land.
Flight segment 2 off to bad start. We boarded on time in San Jose, but have been sitting at gate because …. the contractor that cleans the toilets and empties the tanks had not serviced the lavatories. Now 45 minutes late.
So the 737 MAX8 plane we are on is the same plane that continues onto Lihue – or at least the same flight crew.
The Southwest flight attendant handling our row is extremely pleasant and personable. She also did not know what island Lihue is on. This came up when she was collecting the “I’m not bringing any snakes” forms. Then she wanted to know how to spell Kauai.
The good news is that, despite being an hour delayed waiting for the lavatories to be “serviced,” we won’t miss our connection to Lihue because we are on the same plane (or with the same crew). However, this is endangering my Kauai Beer Co. visit.
Great article
To your point about trying to fly the MAX inter island. As you said there are wear and tear issues with that plane as it was designed for long haul routes. It has issues as an inter island airplane that the jury is still out on. Coupled with their inexperience with Hawaii’s unique operational demands and their attempt to operate here as a satellite operation dispatched from the mainland and flown by crews that have limited Hawaii experience means I’ll always support the Hawaii economy rather then buy an inter island ticket where the revenue goes to SWA HQ in Dallas.
Mokulele Airlines to the rescue!
Hawaiian airlines needs the competition. I’m glad southwest is flying interisland. HA has become complacent and their customer service suffering. Their planes are old and full of roaches, they are always delayed, and until southwest put pressure on ticket prices, they were price gouging because they could.
At first I was excited by Southwest going to Hawaii. Now, after a stream of continuing problems pilot shortage, diversions, issues with the planes themselves, threatened price increases, theip reservation system, thier point-to-point system and reading the above mind-set of planning executives, it will be long day before I risk taking Southwest to any Hawaii destination, mainland or inter-island.
We love flying southwest. Haven’t experienced any issues thus far. Southwest is our preferred airlines especially when going to Hawaii. Have had horrible experiences on most other airlines but not SW. Booking is easy and cost is very reasonable. While it may not be first class, they definitely provide what feels like a first class experience. Flight experience is always nice. Staff extremely kind and pleasant and act like they truly enjoy their jobs. Planes are always very clean. Just an overall pleasant experience every time. Even when flying to Hawaii in Oct 2021 as things were getting back to normal, SW was very organized with covid requirements for the islands. Some family flew SW and others flew American. American was a mess!
LOL hilarious that the CEO was a former Computer programmer. He must have been a really good one. You would figure someone with that background would understand the importance of technology. Wonder how he got his job?
I am familiar with the issues preventing red-eyes at Southwest. Email me.
Not having to fly an overnight return flight is my favorite thing about flying to Hawaii on Southwest!