Arizona woman flew Southwest with family because it was the cheapest option. Then she realized the airlines doesn’t care: ‘I avoid them’

Southwest Airlines is currently hitting a massive wall with its customers. The latest criticism comes from a TikTok post by Arizona user theravemama, who shared her blunt assessment of the airline’s recent policy shifts. Her video, which has already racked up over 100K views, highlights a sentiment shared by many: Southwest is rapidly losing the loyalty that once made it a top choice for travelers.

According to the TikToker, the core of the issue is that the airline’s new policies show a fundamental disconnect from who their customers actually are. She pointed out that people have historically chosen Southwest because it was the reliable, cost-effective option. As she noted in her video, “People fly southwest because it’s usually the cheapest.” However, she explained that the airline is now alienating those very people. 

She mentioned that loyal customers and credit card holders have essentially seen their benefits vanish under the new system. “So, goodbye, loyalty,” she remarked. The pain points don’t stop there. Families, in particular, are finding the new boarding process difficult to navigate. The user explained that if you don’t check a specific box during the check-in process, you lose the ability to preboard. 

Every single aspect of the flight experience has changed

She noted that it leads to scenarios where families are boarding at the end of the line with crying children. She also expressed strong frustration regarding the airline’s treatment of plus-size passengers. Her overall impression is that Southwest is trying to “nickel and dime” passengers at every turn, which is a major shift from the brand’s original identity. She stated, “You have commoditized yourself. You are no different than any other airline now.”

The reaction from other flyers has been just as sharp. Sarah T, who described herself as a “DIE HARD” fan of the airline, said, “I haven’t flown since the changes but i’m not going to them first anymore.” Another user, mschuythomas, echoed this feeling after 40 years of flying with Southwest. “I am not paying for the same shitty seat that was free a few weeks ago,” they wrote, adding that the lack of amenities like chargers makes the higher prices even harder to swallow.

The operational side of these changes has been just as messy. Per Forbes, the transition to assigned seating, which launched on January 27, 2026, has been plagued by chaos. Travel analyst Gary Leff noted that the boarding process is a mess and that the airline is forcing gate bag checks even when bin space is available. 

This carry-on crisis actually dates back to May 2025, when Southwest began charging for checked bags, forcing passengers to bring more items into the cabin. Because the planes were designed with less overhead bin space, the system simply couldn’t handle the influx.

The struggle is also evident on platforms like Reddit. One user, dittrich31, shared their frustration after being an A-List member for six years, noting that their status now feels entirely cosmetic. They pointed out that even with assigned seats, the overhead bins are often full because passengers in the first boarding groups treat the space like a personal storage locker. 

“The boarding process is now chaos. The perks are meaningless,” the user wrote. They also mentioned the inconvenience of route changes, such as being forced into Midway instead of O’Hare, which adds significant travel time. It’s a sentiment of total exhaustion with the brand.

Southwest has attempted to fix these issues with multiple restructurings of their boarding groups, but these reactive changes are only signaling to customers that the system wasn’t ready. Kristen Wentzel shared a particularly stressful experience where her family’s seat assignments were moved from row 7 to row 27 without notice. 

When they brought it up, the airline suggested they pay an additional $600 to get their original seats back. “They won’t make it right and we won’t get the fare difference refunded,” she stated.

It’s a tough look for an airline that used to pride itself on being customer-first. As Suzyknows19 theorized in the comments of theravemama’s post, the pressure to maximize profits is clearly taking a toll on the passenger experience. Whether it’s the lack of consistent seating or the feeling that loyalty is no longer rewarded, the message from the community is loud and clear: they feel like afterthoughts. 

For now, it seems many former loyalists are looking for the exit, and as theravemama put it, “There is no way that you can survive this because the service that you get and the service that you’re providing is shit.”