Southwest Airlines Reviews

I used to love Southwest. But ever since they changed their boarding, seating, rewards, and luggage policies they are just as terrible as American. They forced everyone in Boarding Groups 7 & 8 to gate-check their bags. Only for there to be room for at least seven bags in the overhead space and my seat was only halfway down the plane. And I'm not even counting the space that was empty in the "reserved for extra leg room" bins.

My wife and I recently flew Southwest Airlines from PDX (Portland, OR) to ONT (Ontario, CA) and had an incredibly frustrating experience both ways. Outbound Flight: Our first flight was cancelled outright, and our replacement flight was rescheduled 5.5 hours later — only to be delayed again by nearly 2 hours at our layover in Sacramento. We arrived at PDX at 6:00 AM and didn't reach our final destination until 7:30 PM. For a flight that should take roughly 2 hours in the air, an 11.5-hour travel day is simply unacceptable.

Absolutely horrible. I was a long time customer and now why bother. Nothing sets them apart from any other airline. In fact they are probably the worst now with constant delays and total lack of communication. No perks whatsoever unless you pay out the ass! Bye bye SW…

Had to check my one carryon due to boarding staff stating flight was booked and no room. Get on board and every seat aisle had empty bin space and I was one of the last to board. Been flying Southwest for 20 years and never had the issues. Enforce your rules and have people store their purses and backpack under their seats. What is the point of selecting a seat and overhead been space to then be told it’s not available. If I could give less than a one I would have. Figure it out southwest!!!

Flight was delayed more than once with little to no communication at the gate, an annoyance but it happens, I get it. Better communication would have been nice. We sat there with an app status of boarding for over half an hour with no update. Boarded the plane and was met by a flight attendant named Eboni who had a scowl on her face. I asked her for a belt extender, she asked me how I was doing today while still scowling, I didn't think she heard me the first time because it was a bit loud entering the plane and she did not acknowledge my request. She snaps back at me and says, "I heard you the first time, I was asking how your day was," in an extremely snarky manner. She digs me out an extender and I head to my seat perturbed by the unnecessary situation.

I would give no stars if I could. Departing flight no issue. Return nightmare. You can’t get in touch with anyone for support. Changed a connecting flight, they said it would be 150, charged 252 to my credit card. Then they put standby on boarding pass. Walked all over airport to find some help but non existed. Then looked at the flight info and there were seats available. I paid the fees to upgrade seats. Was 107. Finally, someone came to the gate. I showed her boarding passes and told her I had upgraded seats since the passes showed standby. She said those seats were taken and I didn’t have seats. So, they defrauded me out of 359.00. Plus I checked 2 carryons, which they charged me for, then announced it was free, another 80. I’m almost 80 with a healing shattered ankle. My chest started hurting, my ankle swelling, thought I was going to have a heart attack. Still can’t find anyone at SW to try to rectify this occurrence

I had two legs of my trip that was delayed. Terrible customer service. No reason for the schedule change except for poor planning on their part. I get that delays are to be expected but not when it happens to multiple legs in the flight. Do better SWA!

Southwest’s policy for disabled travelers is very frustrating. I chose an economy price for travel. I have ambulating problems and needed wheelchair accommodations which were provided. I was assigned a middle seat which was not helpful to me because of my leg and knee problems. The night before the flight I called and requested an aisle seat. I was informed the change could not be made until I was at the airport the next day and that there were 64 seats available. The staff at the airport and those on the phone who I spoke with were unhelpful. They seemed not interested in my accommodations. I was told by staff on the phone disabled economy fare does not provide other accommodations for your disability.

The problem is compounded by the number of oversized carry-on bags that appear to make it on board. When a single bag occupies the space intended for multiple passengers, everyone else pays the price. Passengers who comply with the rules should not be the ones inconvenienced because overhead space is being used inefficiently. The most concerning aspect is that these were not isolated incidents. These same issues occurred across all three of my recent trips. As a result, I no longer view these as occasional operational challenges but as recurring service problems.

They used to be excellent and for a $20 fee you got on board quicker. Now you pay to upgrade for $50 so that you can pick your seat and then they charge you again to pick the seat up to $67. Then they charge you for any luggage which for one checked bag, which used to be free, was $45. Screw them. They are now TRASH and I hope they go out of business. Typical greedy crap airline. I rate them at a Zero! I'm switching to American Airlines!!!

Horrible experience!!! Do not trust them with minors or elderly flying alone together. They attempted to extort my 11 year old son and 59 year old mother in law for an extra $270 less than 1 hour before the flight claiming that my sons ticket had a military discount on it because it was purchased with our account; despite us changing this a month ago on the phone for 2 hours and they acted like that was ok. My 11 year old son and 59 year old mother in law had to literally run to the gate with their bags because the rude ticketing agent did not want to call a supervisor until the last minute at which time we paid an extra $30 for something we already paid for because southwest is too lazy or does not care to check their recorded calls.

I wish I had read the reviews before paying for my ticket. Flight time was changed many times. At last report it’s now a 2 hr and 2 minute delay.🤬

Southwest is supposed to be a low cost carrier. What happened??? I have to pay for the privilege of selecting, AND PAYING, for a seat? And pay for a bag, and pay for boarding. Last SWA flight I was on, I didn’t pay for heat and froze for 2.5 hours. Whoever made all of these changes so fast to make your airline unrecognizable, enjoy your stock options as parachute as you watch another Dallas airline drank.

Garbage customer service in LGA. Supervisor name is AL, racist! Stay away and don’t fly Southwest!!!

Southwest Airlines is the worst airline now. I have flown on almost every airline all around the US and overseas. The last 3 flights I have taken were delayed. Today we are delayed 30 mins to board, once we board, we are now delayed 40 mins stuck in the plane with no AC and it’s 90 degrees outside. Keep in mind this is only a flight from San Jose to San Diego CA. This is a 1 hour and 15 minute flight rr that has been delays for just as long. I asked the rep at the desk before boarding why the flight is delayed and her response is “because there was nowhere for the plane to park, it had to wait for the other plane to move.” This is the month of May, there are no weather conditions anywhere in America for them to blame being late and delayed, so now the reason is there is nowhere for the plane to park. I will never fly southwest again.

Southwest Airlines no longer respect or value the concerns of their handicap customers. I booked a bulkhead roundtrip. On my returned they sold my bulkhead.

This airline has gone down the drain. Almost every flight is delayed. Rude employees with Green hair and nose-rings. I bought a bunch of Costco gift cards for Southwest last year that are non-refundable, otherwise, I would avoid this "new" airline at all costs.

Some, NOT ALL, of the staff were rude; one employee at the​ Gate in Burbank didn't want to answer a question we had about our flight because we were confused. We're seniors and don't know a lot of technology, but we thought our ticket was on our phone, and he said, 'I CAN'T LOOK AT YOUR PHONE. I CAN'T SEE THAT'.. We were totally stunned as we are so polite and respectful to people. Had NO idea Southwest had changed this much. We have always taken it everywhere it goes. NO MORE...

My flight was delayed by two hours. The man next to me at the airport had his flight delayed by 4. The plane was packed and was made to check in my carry on. I didn’t get any nuts because I wasn’t “in the paid seats” We finally landed and waited 30 min for another plane to leave our gate before we could get off. Awful all around experience.

3.5 hours and not a single drink. Not acceptable. At least give the drink as I land. I will never fly Southwest again and you shouldn't either unless you want to pay a lot of money and have no drink.

As a first time customer I have to say I would not recommend this airline to anyone. I almost missed my cruise due to delayed flights. The return was just as bad. I was left to spend the night in the Phoenix airport. We arrived around 11:30, everything was closed and nothing was open before we left. The flight was advertised as a direct flight, but shocker about an hour before boarding the app notified me that the flight had a layover in Dallas. I paid for a direct flight not a longer layover flight. The staff is friendly, but the delays, being stranded with no food or beverages, plus the additional stop are not acceptable. I should have flown my normal carrier for a few dollars more.

Horrible. Everything’s becoming terrible with Southwest Airlines. 1- No way they give you a smile especially at Midway. 2- They charge you for luggages now. 3- They think customers will never care, but, we do and I will never ever fly with Southwest after finishing my trips with them. One more and OVER. Small terrible seats. 4- My seat is number 7 and boarding the aircraft with last group! 5- Unorganized brains. Used to love them and now we are canceling our SW credit cards since we are not happy with them. 6- Now and on always delayed flights trust me, do yourself a favor and never fly with them no more. All I hear at this moment with people at the airport next to me: SWA are terrible. See you SWA after you go back to the days. Look at the pictures I submit and I tell you they already delayed it 35 minutes.

The male flight attendant was rude and condescending on flight from. Phoenix that went to Denver around 4pm.

Booked a flight before the assigned seat policy and then had to pay over $700 so I could sit next to my 8 and 10 year old on the flight. Will never fly with Southwest again. Disgusting.

These plane fair prices are expensive enough but then there are the delay after delay. I travel on Monday 11th of 2026 from Cancun airport and it was a nightmare..finally after making it to to Houston completely a nightmare.

I absolutely would not recommend flying with Southwest Airlines. There is always the matter of inconsistency, there is always a delay or inconvenience that they DO NOT reimburse for unless you count $15 voucher for a $1200 flight that came with an 8 hour delay and an “I'm sorry but there is nothing we can do.” I am a frequent flyer of southwest and every single time I have flown with them it is ALWAYS a delay. It is ALWAYS a problem that they are less than willing to help you solve, just take a voucher paper and go on about your shitty day.

The customer service person working gate C38 at tampa was very rude and disrespectful. I'm an retired Disabled Vet with PTSD. I made a mistake and should in the AM. My flight didn't leave to PM. When I showed up at C39/C38 I asked the attendant am I at the right gate. Instead of saying Sir your flight don't leave until tonight she told my fight switch gates and it was boarding at C36. I'm running to the gate so I wouldn't be late. The attendant at C36 was nice and informed me that my flight wasn't until that night. This happened 05/10/2026. I took a photo of her.

We bought 3 tickets which they claim you can cancel up to 10 minutes before flight. My brother got sick and ended up in the hospital. So she cancelled his flight 27 days before the flight. She printed out the cancellation confirmation. However they claim we never cancelled and refuse to refund or give flight credits as per their terms. It was the worst flight I was ever on. Felt like I was in a sardine can barely room in ally for baggage. Seat made my back hurt so was in pain the whole 3 hour flight. WiFi did not work. Constant turbulence. Would never fly with them again.

We were once extremely loyal Southwest Airlines flyers for three decades. We just flew for our last time on this airline and only to get rid of our remaining credits. What used to be a terrific airline that was safe, professional, efficient, on time, and fun to fly does not exist anymore. If Southwest was the only airline flying to my destination I would drive instead. Our advice is to fly United instead.

I’m done with Southwest. All we get anymore are delays, and missed connections with no explanation or apology.

Long layover both ways and no food vouchers. Never again.

I would not recommend. First of all the new seating and the charge for check-in luggage, BUT most of all the unhinged flight attendant that obviously has some mental health issues (Michelle **).

This airline is coming up with the most stupid rules ever!! And the flight attendants are relentless on enforcing them. First time in my life I was asked to put away a cross over little purse that can hold nothing more but my phone. And the most ridiculous thing is the flight attendant had the same one!! And she didn’t put it away!!

Southwest has gone from the best customer service in the industry to the worst. I was an A-list member and a credit card holder and loyal customer. I’ll never fly Southwest again. Delayed and cancelled flight, high fees for seats, no flexibility, baggage fees. Everything that they used to make them good, they have stopped going. Use a different airline.

Can you give a zero? It’s all greed. Southwest Airlines used to stand out as budget friendly, staff friendly, free seating. Now it’s just the same garbage as the rest. Well done. You suck. I’ll fly elsewhere.

Awful. Cheap prices = bad experiences especially if you're disabled. No in cabin wheelchair storage. Lack of help getting from point a to b. No wifi on plane. Small. No chargers.

The Southwest Gate Agent felt like "I was getting smart" when asked about tagging a stroller. She attempted to abuse her authority by threatening to cancel our flight...excessive and unwarranted, particularly in front of my family. Then, the supervisor heightened the situation with an interaction that effectively prevented me from fully explaining what had actually occurred. We felt bullied and unable to speak due the fear of not being able to get on the flight to return home- their tone and nature of the interaction felt increasingly personal and intimidating, and I began to feel as though I was being treated in a manner that was not appropriate for the situation.

Was stranded in a city that was not home or destination because of a delay prior to boarding causing me to miss connection. Was told I would not be compensated in anyway even though I still had to pay for hotel in destination city ($490) and random connecting city ($400), missed event in destination city (tickets>$1000) and no refund just a rebooked flight the following day without discussing with me. Two separate customer service agents at airport refused to help and offered me a barcode to submit request for assistance. This is a low point of air travel for me and have been treated better on every other airline I have ever flown.

April 16, 2026. What a wonderful flight crew especially the Flight Attendants Nicole, Lisa, Santos and Jody. We were traveling with my mom in a wheelchair and my father with dementia and they were so helpful and accommodating. We fly Southwest often but this was truly an exceptionally great flight. We were on flight 2287 from Houston to Albuquerque.

I’m beyond frustrated with the consistent delays from Southwest Airlines. At this point, it feels like passengers’ time and money are being treated as expendable—and that’s not okay. Travel requires planning, coordination, and real financial commitment. Delays happen, but frequent delays with little accountability show a lack of respect for your customers. Do better.