Airline

Does Southwest have business class or first class?

/ coreyroth / Leave a comment

For people that are new to Southwest Airlines they often ask if Southwest has an equivalent of business class or first class.  For a seasoned Southwest traveler that may seem like a dumb question, but I get traffic on my web site every day with people asking that exact question.

Does Southwest have business class or first class?  No. 

Remember, once onboard a Southwest plane every one on the plane is equal.  There aren’t a handful of seats at the front of the plane filled with the elites.  All the seats are roughly the same with some small differences around exit rows, bulk heads, and the back of the plane.  It’s true the people with status are probably sitting up front, but not always.

What is Business Select though?

Business Select is Southwest’s top fare aimed at business travelers.  While it is the most expensive fare, it is only usually $22 more than the refundable fare.  Whereas a first class or business class ticket on another airline can cost hundreds if not thousands more.

What does Business Select get you?  You’ll be one of the first on the plane with a position of A1 – A15, you’ll get the most rapid rewards points possible for the flight, and you’ll get a free drink coupon for that flight.  You’re one of the first people on the plane and that is nice.  Keep in mind though that you still board after the pre-boarders.  Some flights will also have passengers from a previous stop as well.  Still you get to board before everyone else after that so if you are picky about where you sit, Business Select is for you.

Is Business Select worth it?  Depends on the flight.  If you can get someone else to pay for it, absolutely.   Business Select is usually reasonable for those flying on short regional flights at the last minute.

On longer flights such as Dallas to La Guardia, the Wanna Get Away fares don’t get booked up as fast on last minute flights.  That means the price difference between Wanna Get Away and Anytime / Business Select might be a few hundred dollars each way.  That’s usually hard to justify.

When it comes to points, you get double the amount per dollar (12 points versus 6 points).  Couple that with the higher fare and you will get a huge number of points for each Business Select flight you take.  No other airline can compare to this.

Note, if you don’t use your drink coupon on that flight, you can usually get away with using it on another flight.  This is a good use for those drink coupons you get from those 6 am flights on the way to see a client.  It means you can double-up on the way home.

Hopefully that explains how Business Select works on Southwest.  If you still have questions about flying on Southwest, be sure and read my Beginner’s Guide to flying Southwest.

Fly you and a companion to Dubai on Emirates for only $1299

/ coreyroth / Leave a comment

Dubai is by far one of the coolest places I have visited.  If you have ever been thinking about visiting there, now is a great time to book.  Two of you can fly on Emirates for only $1,299.  That’s less than I paid for my first ticket.  That’s less than you’ll usually pay going to Europe.  This offer only applies if you live in one of the cities that Emirates flies to in the United States which includes New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Washington DC (IAD), Houston (IAH), Seattle (SEA), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO) and Dallas Ft. Worth (DFW).  You must book by June 14th and travel by December 18th.  A few blackout dates also apply.

The flight from Texas is a brief 15 hours. :)

For you high rollers out there, you can also fly Business Class for a mere $9,999.  I find that Business Class is usually booked up well in advance though.

Use promo code MFmVDxXm1MU when booking.

$1299 Emirates Offer

There is also a companion offer from Atlantis where you can save 25% on all room categories.  That means you will still pay a lot but the place is awesome.  You don’t have to stay there though, hotels are pretty cheap throughout Dubai.

What is a “Wanna get away” fare on Southwest Airlines?

/ coreyroth / 40 Comments

Southwest Airlines keeps their airfare classes extremely simple.  They don’t have Y, M, K, X, and other cryptic classes that only people with 10+ years in the travel industry understand.  They have three fares:

  • Business Select – Southwest’s top fare which includes priority boarding, more Rapid Rewards Points, priority screening, and a drink.  It’s also fully refundable and you can change your ticket at any time.  This is as close as it comes to first class on Southwest.
  • Anytime – This is Southwest’s fully refundable fare.  This fare allows you to change your ticket at any time without penalty.  It also allows you to fly standby at no extra charge.
  • Wanna Get Away – This is Southwest’s lowest fare aimed at the casual traveler.   You can get this fare by booking your flights in advance.  However, it comes with fewer Rapid Rewards points and flying standby will cost you extra.  If you want to fly standby, you will have to pay the fare difference between what you paid and the published Anytime fare.  On the plus side, there is no change fee charged on top of your fare.  You can change you flight at any time.  Just keep in mind fares go up as your travel date gets closer.

For the seasoned Southwest traveler, these fares may be common knowledge.  According to my analytics though, this is one of the top search queries directing users to my site.  For more information on Southwest fares, refer to this chart.

Which airlines have the best wine?

/ coreyroth / 1 Comment

WineMy wife and I have become quite the avid wine enthusiasts and we like to sample new offerings wherever we go.  Whether that’s a winery, a new restaurant, or an airplane, we want to try it and see how it compares with the rest.  With our love of travel, sampling wines falls naturally.  We’ve been to vineyards in Napa, Sonoma, Texas, Washington, Spain, and more.  It doesn’t matter how you get to the vineyards, one thing is always involved: travel.

What do you drink though when you are traveling?  Our first choice would be wine, but we find the experience can vary greatly on the airlines.  Some do really well while others only provide the worst of the mass-produced wines.  While, serving wine on airlines has certain logistical difficulties, there are some great wines out there even at the back of the plane.

This upcoming series of articles will feature the best and the worst of wines that you can find on domestic and International flights.  Whether you are looking for your next Merlot or Chardonnay in the skies, we’ll tell you where to find it.  Have you experienced a great wine at 30,000 feet?  Tell us where in the comments.  Are there wines we should avoid in economy class?  Tell us where!

Stay tuned for our series where we review wine available on long haul flights!