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Southwest Airlines Community

Re: Power

chgoflyer
Aviator A

In-seat power just isn't going to happen on Southwest. They spent millions on retrofitting all the planes with new seats (Evolve) which added an extra row and reduced legroom. They could have added it then, but they didn't. They can't justify the extra weight without corresponding increase in revenue (extra seats = more money, adding power = less money). The bottom line drives all decisions these days.

 

Not gonna happen.

Re: Power

TimS
Explorer C

Great comments... and I have just transitioned from American to Southwest, which I LUV!  That said, you're right about the new planes and power.  My main concern is the quality and bandwith on SWA compared to Gogo on AA.  Gogo enabled me to accomplish much more (when it worked) because I believe it had way better bandwidth... I need to work on my flights and the internet on Southwest needs more work.

 

Thanks for listening.

Re: Power

Swrox
Explorer C

I'm a huge fan of SW. It's my first carrier of choice for all travel. On my recent trip to Hawaii, I was excited to find that there is a direct flight between my city and Hawaii. I booked it enthusiastically. It's a long flight, 7 hours. It was on the new 737 max8. 

 

Imagine my surprise as I tried to plug in my Nintendo switch and ipad for the flight. They were no where to be found. Then I found this thread. And of course, there is no IFE either 

 

This completely rules out SW as my preferred carrier for any flight over 3 hours. For a new plane in 2021/2022, this is completely unacceptable. 

 

I've lost all respect for this airline. Now I'm sitting on a 7 hr flight with 2 kids and a depleting iPad and switch. 

Re: Power

UnhappyWithSWA
Explorer C

I flew American Airlines from STL to DCA the week after Memorial Day.
The coach seats were nicer than Southwest, for sure.
The plane actually boarded promptly and took off on time, something that almost never happens with Southwest.

And I checked a bag on my return trip.  By the time I walked off the plane and got to the baggage claim carousel, the bag was there!  I was stunned.

When I check a bag with Southwest, I always have to wait 25+ minutes for the checked bags to arrive.  Southwest does a terrible job with checked baggage.

Re: Power

Em_Flies
Explorer A

I too would like to see this happen. It's so crazy--usually the gates don't have enough seats with power, so everyone is going nuts trying to charge in the terminal but *on the flight*, it's nice to have that option. I also thought about passengers who don't have devices--my mom and grandma, for example, don't have iPads, and mom doesn't like to watch things on her phone. If there were even monitors on the seatbacks, then people could at least have entertainment options if they don't have iPads/other devices or if their batteries die. 

Re: Power

byrdbrain591
Adventurer C

Sounds like heaven.

Re: Power

Bill5303
Explorer A

Recently I flew on an AA 738 from ATL to DFW.  Not only were the flight attendants not friendly like they are on SWA, the rows of seats were noticeably closer to each other than they are on SWA planes, resulting in noticeably less legroom. Neither I nor anyone else around me used the power outlets.  I would much rather have more legroom space than a power outlet that I’d probably not use.  Just take along an auxiliary charger if it’s that important to you. 

Re: Power

kizavid
Explorer C

 the most important reason is that adding power would increase the weight of the plane, which would reduce profits

Re: Power

gatosur
Explorer C

And these days, at Southwest, innovation only comes when it postively affects the bottom line.