I’ve shared often why my husband and I have made Southwest Airlines’s our family’s airline of choice the past decade. Kind and funny employees, a growing route map, and policies that work especially well for family travelers have helped earn our loyalty (even when the going gets rough like it did during the 2022 holiday …
Southwest Airlines
With the Oakland Airport just 12 minutes from my front door, my family flies Southwest Airlines a lot. Southwest is often a favorite airline of flying families as well, and with good reason. Since it has different rules and practices than other airlines, however, it can sometimes trip up inexperienced flyers, especially travelers with kids. …
When Southwest Airlines announced plans to fly to Hawaii in fall 2017, fans began hoarding Rapid Rewards points with palm trees and mai tais on the brain. As frequent Southwest flyer who travels often to the Aloha State from my home base in Northern California, I was pretty excited myself. Flights began in March 2019. …
I talk a lot about flying with kids on this site, but what if you are ready for your child to fly without you? Each year, millions of parents trust their kids to the airlines, allowing them to fly solo to a destination as an unaccompanied minor. Whether your child is traveling to visit extended …
Are you making the most of Southwest Airlines fare sales? Major Southwest flight sales only happen a couple of times a year (with more minor ones in the mix regularly), so it’s really important for travelers to know how to take full advantage of the savings when they pop up. Whenever a Southwest sale is …
I’m often asked by fellow traveling parents: “What is the best airline to fly with kids?” Air travel with kids can be stressful even in the best of circumstances, so it’s only natural that families want to fly an airline that makes things easier. If only the answer were so simple. For United States based …
Late yesterday, United Airlines made some serious waves in the brave new world of 2020 air travel. The airline announced that it was eliminating change fees. United previously charged non-elite passengers who wanted to change their flights to another date or time a whopping $200 per ticket over and above any difference in fare. Just …
Editor’s note (March 28, 2020): I wrote this post what feels like a lifetime ago, when the evidence of the pandemic’s reach and the thread facing us was not obvious to those of us in the US yet. In case it isn’t obvious, no one should be traveling right now. Please read my other and …
If you want to earn points towards free flights aboard Southwest Airlines, one of the easiest ways to do that is with a Southwest co-branded credit card. Chase currently offers three Southwest personal credit cards (in addition to two business cards) that are an excellent way to load up your Southwest Rapid Rewards account balance. …
Flying with kids can be a challenge. But sometimes airlines can make it harder by throwing a curveball your way with a unique rule or requirement that you weren’t expecting on your travel day. My family has flown on pretty much every US airline and quite a few international carriers over the years. While the basics …