I was looking to travel between Denver and Phoenix to help me complete another US state during my trip. As I had two vouchers with the Southwest Airlines after previously cancelled flights they were the natural airline of choice.
For those who have never heard of them, Southwest are a low cost airline based in the USA and were the inspiration behind European airline Ryanair. Although Ryanair based their business model on Southwest, the two airlines are totally different from each other.
I am going to start this review in a different order than I normally would and tell you how much the flight was and what that price gets you.
Fare Details
Price – $135.98 (£110)
Cabin baggage allowance – One cabin sized case and a backpack!
Checked baggage allowance – 2 checked bags per passenger (free of charge)
Free snack provided – yes, a free snack is provided!
Free drink included – yes, soft drinks are free!
Seat Allocation – Southwest do not offer assigned seating, you are issued a boarding group and number and you pick a seat onboard.
As you can see, even before travelling this is fantastic value for money. This review will mainly focus on my flight between Denver and Phoenix as there is more to talk about on that particular flight.
Flight Details
Origin – Denver
Destination – Phoenix
Miles between – 864 miles
Flight Time – 1 Hour 46 Minutes
Seat – 21F
Aircraft Type – Boeing 737-800
Airport experience
Southwest Airlines use automated machines for checking in at Denver. These machines allow you to print off a boarding pass and print off your luggage tags for any bags you are putting in the hold. Once you have finished this, take your bag to the counter and a member of staff will do the rest.
TSA security at Denver is primarily done at the south check point and is well organised. As is the process with all TSA searches your boarding pass and passport will be checked by an agent before you reach security. Also for any Europeans reading you are required to take your shoes off going through security.
After security to reach the gates you must take the train to your terminal – for me this was Terminal C. Denver airport has a good range of shops available to get any food and drinks you would like, and seating is available throughout.
Boarding Process
Boarding on Southwest is different from airlines in Europe, but that certainly is not a bad thing. As usual families are allowed to board first alongside any US Military personnel (this is standard in the US and is important to them).
Whilst they are boarding group A will be asked to line up at the columns at the gate. You will find a letter and a number on your boarding pass, the letter is your group, and the number is the position within that group. Each column has a set of numbers on it and you line up in the appropriate place, and in the correct order (that last part is important, as people will ask you what number you are).
Once onboard the aircraft you are free to select any available seat you like, that’s why the group and number are so important. The cabin crew were greeting every passenger (and say hello to them, it’s the nice thing to do). Once you find the seat you would like you are asked to vacate this aisle to let other passengers pass.
In-flight Service
I will say now, I was given a voucher by the Southwest twitter team for free Wi-Fi (thanks @SouthwestAir), but the standard cost of Wi-Fi is the same as onboard United Airlines for their members.
Wi-Fi is available throughout the flight and also offers access to the inflight entertainment system which is streamed through your phone. It worked well throughout the flight and was a nice touch on a low cost airline.
Shortly after take-off the crew pass through the cabin in two groups. The first group is passing out a snack bag that contains some pretzels and crackers, whilst the second group are taking drinks orders. Both groups of crew were very friendly and interactive whilst serving us.
As mentioned previously soft drinks and the snack bag are free for all passengers, if you would like alcohol it is available to purchase, however, it must be paid for by card as Southwest do not accept cash onboard their flights.
Landing into Phoenix
For only the second time in all the flights I have taken, a go-around was carried out on approach, for those who do not know, a go-around is when an aircraft aborts its approach to an airport and will fly around and have another attempt. Although they can be sudden and unexpected, they are perfectly safe and crew practice them every 6 months in a simulator, so there is no need to panic.
The reason for this approach was due to the distance between us and the aircraft in front, we were too close and the captain made the sensible decision to abort this approach and do it again.
The crew were quick to announce this to passengers and assured those who were nervous that everything was ok.
We landed safely the second time and were still ahead of schedule.
Phoenix Airport Arrivals
After landing, we were able to disembark the aircraft quickly thanks to the amazing work of the Southwest ground teams (they often are overlooked by passengers, but without them you are going nowhere.)
Bags were available at the belt within 20 minutes of landing, and unlike Lufthansa my bag arrived safely on the belt on the same flight as me.
Officially the fastest way into downtown Phoenix is to take a car or a taxi, however, I found that taking the airport train to the last station and catching the tram was a more pleasant experience, and much cheaper, so bare that in mind should you ever visit.
I should also remind you that Phoenix is very hot, especially during the summer, by midday it was 37 degrees Celsius.
My Final Thoughts
Ultimately Southwest Airlines offer fantastic value for money, I mean I cannot think of another airline that gives you so much for a base fare.
They have a very solid ground experience, which continues into the air, plus with the promised improvements to their fleet that were announced last week, they will only improve on their already fantastic offering.
I will definitely use Southwest again, and I would strongly recommend that you use them the next time you visit the US.
George Nugent Travels 
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