NROP: Why You Should Fly Southwest.

No, I was not paid (or provided with any perks) by Southwest Airlines to write this post. However, if you are an employee of that company and would like to thank me for the below post and send me some sort of compensation, please feel free to reach out to me via my Contact page or DM me on Twitter.

Are you excited for the return of my usual NROP/ CW pieces as much as I am?

*insert encouraging shouts, whistles, and applause*

Oh, thank you. You should not have… but thank you 😉

The weekend had been pretty dreary here – it was cold, cloudy, and rainy (a trifecta that I highly dislike) – and my mood felt it. My brain that was sprinting and doing somersaults last week pulled over onto the side of the road, pulled a blanket over itself, and went to sleep.

We are all painfully aware that browsing through news articles these days fills us with nothing but distress, which is why I do so sporadically and keep it to a minimum (just scan the headlines and only read more about something that interests me in particular). Imagine my surprise when amid all the clouds (literal and metaphorical), I stumbled upon an article that made me happy.

Southwest is bringing alcohol back to its menu! Woohoo! I think it is cause for celebration. Do you not? *pours self a screwdriver*

In the good ol’ days, you had all the alcohol you wanted on long-haul flights included in the price of your ticket. Then, more people started flying, airline companies began making more money and so – naturally – they got greedy and decided to charge extra for alcohol. Different airlines, at different times, would either only serve wine and/or beer for free or nothing at all.

While I travel, I like to be as mentally sharp as possible. Additionally, aware of the impact carbonated drinks and alcohol have on your body while you fly, which means that I would never get drunk on a plane. However, I do not mind having a drink or maybe even two on a flight that is several hours long. Like everything else – it helps kill the time that just drags on otherwise.

Did people get drunk back in the day when booze was free? Absolutely. But they get drunk now when you have to pay for alcohol, too. Some people pre-game at the airport and then continue the party on the plane. Are those passengers unruly? Sometimes – yes.

I remember traveling across the Atlantic in March of 2020. Each passenger got some sort of an inedible, prepackaged sandwich and a large bottle of water. That was it. No tea. No coffee. Of course – no alcohol. It was completely barbaric. When I was served tea on a domestic flight in 2021 I nearly cried. That warm beverage signified a glimmer of hope that one day we will be able to go back to enjoying travel by air.

To minimize COVID-19 exposure of their crew members and passengers, airlines stopped selling beverages and snacks in 2020. Due to an increase in the number of ‘incidents’ onboard, Southwest decided to extend those restrictions in 2021 and discontinued the sale of alcohol on their flights.

I have never flown Southwest before. Where I lived previously, Southwest only departed from (and arrived at) an airport that was on the other side of town, which was totally inconvenient for me. As I began writing this post, I looked into Southwest in the city I live in now and found out that it is stationed at the same airport as all the other airlines. I have always heard good things about Southwest. I might have to try them.

Back to the alcohol ban on their flights – it is being lifted! Beginning February 16th, you will be able to buy wine and beer, as well as some other spirits like tequila, vodka, and rum. While I think that is a great idea, many disagree. The union workers are concerned that the consumption of alcohol will lead to an increase in aggressive passengers. I am not so sure about that. Have you not seen all the videos from the past two years showing completely sober passengers fighting with the flight crew? I think airlines should go back to providing alcohol to their customers FOR FREE. That would mellow some of them out and actually decrease the aggressive encounters. But then they would not make any money… At least not immediately.

To sum up – Southwest is making the right choice by bringing back the booze. Two of their main competitors have already done so. If Southwest wants to take it a step further and ensure people fly with them instead of with other airlines, they should make booze available to all for free. At least make the first drink free of charge. In the long run, that might actually make them more money with more people flying Southwest.

Aside from alcohol, Southwest will now also offer hot cocoa! How cool is that?

• Have you ever traveled with Southwest? If you have, what was your experience? If you have not – why?
• Do you drink while in the air? Why/ why not?
• What do you think of the return of alcohol onto the menu?
• Do you prefer posts that are written in a conversational manner (like this one with all sorts of inserts between parenthases and asterisks) or those that are structured like official articles.

Stay golden,

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