I Heart Southwest

I don't like to fly, but when I do, I love Southwest Airlines. For one thing, all their planes are the same, so I know what to expect. I don't have to worry if it's a itty bitty plane or one with propellers.

I can choose my seat, especially if I check in at the first minute I am allowed. If I'm flying with Steve, he gets checked in early automatically, so he can save me a seat.

Southwest has a bunch of flights to Orlando, where I tend to go quite a bit. The more I go, the closer I get to a free ticket. Which means another flight somewhere.

I can check two bags for free. On some flights, I get the whole can of my chosen drink. They have four Sudoku puzzles in their in-flight magazine.

The flight attendants are usually good-natured and funny, and don't look down on me for whatever flying attire and luggage I might bring on board. Sometimes they sing to us.

Once Southwest offered me incentives to get on a later flight, and gave the incentives to me even though I ended up on my original flight.

But my favorite thing about Southwest is Southwest Roulette. This is a game I play whenever I get a terrific Ding! fare or they have special fares. I look at my flight cost, then change or rebook my reservation, saving money. The trick is to get it done before the fare ends or all the cheap fares are taken. The money I save is on file until I use it for another flight, which will probably be to Orlando. Tonight I saved $62. While that might not seem a huge amount to some, it could be a one-way ticket for me, and anything that gets me to the Happiest Place on Earth makes me happy!

I still hate to fly. But at least with Southwest, I feel like I'm traveling with a old friend.