Without waiting for the body to be cold, the WSJ is reporting that it would buy any assets that Delta needs to shed in its merger with US Airways.  If you’re a fan of the merger, this is a good sign.  Delta will have to sell some parts of its operations to make the combination [...]

Southwest Airlines is known for its laid-back attitude, but sometimes it’s apparently a bit too laid back.  A Southwest pilot was arrested at Salt Lake City’s airport on Sunday after security staff smelled alcohol on his breath.  Airport police removed the pilot from the cockpit minutes before his departure to Phoenix.  The co-pilot continued on [...]

Next month, Southwest Airlines will test assigned seating on some of its flights out of San Diego.  If assigned seats are adopted, this would be a huge change for the carrier, which has always forced customers into a cattle call without a seat assignment.  Assuming the change doesn’t add additional time to boarding, Southwest would [...]

After years and years of bickering, a compromise has been reached on the Wright Amendment situation that affects Dallas Love airport.  As mentioned here a bunch of times, the Wright Amendment forbade airlines from flying from Dallas Love to states that were not contiguous to Texas.  Nor could they sell tickets between, say, Dallas Love [...]

I have no idea how I have not heard of boardfirst.com until now.  For $5 they will check you in for your Southwest Airlines flight and ensure that you get a coveted "A" boarding pass, which allows you to board first.  This is absolutely brilliant.  So brilliant that Southwest is suing boardfirst.com and a few [...]

Southwest Airlines is upgrading its reservations systems, a move that could lead to –gasp!– assigned seating.  The Southwest cattle call has been a staple of the airline since its inception and for those of us who like to get to the airport at the very last minute, the reason why we typically end up with [...]

Southwest Airlines announced that it plans service from Washington-Dulles airport beginning this fall.  I usually don’t bother with new city announcements, but Southwest has changed its strategy so significantly in the past couple of years that it warrants a mention.  Southwest used to actively avoid competing directly with other low cost carriers, preferring to stay [...]

8 ex-employees of Southwest Airlines were charged with attempting a pretty impressive ticket scam that would have net them about a million dollars.  Basically, the employees took used tickets and re-sold them to passengers who were paying cash for tickets.  The workers would then just pocket the cash.  Not too shabby.  But still shabby enough [...]

Southwest has some crazy delicious fares between Chicago-Midway and Islip Airport in central Long Island.  $78 ($97 including tax) gets you a round trip ticket between the two most days of the week for the forseeable future.  Hard to beat.  Thanks to D-lux for the heads up.

They may be the king of the discounters, but Southwest Airlines is also the king of profitability.  That may or may not make any sense.  Whatever.  The airline raised top fares $10 (and its cheapest fares by $2) each way to offset fuel prices.  This move increases the carrier’s top fare to $309 each way [...]