Review Insights · Google Play
Southwest Airlines: Travel App
Southwest Airlines · 166,077 ratings · ★ 4.4
4.4
★★★★★
166,077 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 67 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"flight"
18 negative reviews mention this · 27% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The app works fine, but Southwest abuses the notification feature to sell you flights. I allow airline apps to send notifications because I need them while traveling. No other airline app uses notifications to sell product. I will only inst…" - John Hansen
2
"southwest"
16 negative reviews mention this · 24% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The app works fine, but Southwest abuses the notification feature to sell you flights. I allow airline apps to send notifications because I need them while traveling. No other airline app uses notifications to sell product. I will only inst…" - John Hansen
3
"every"
13 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "every time I fly I get stuck with no wifi" - Angel Aquino
4
"airline"
12 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The app works fine, but Southwest abuses the notification feature to sell you flights. I allow airline apps to send notifications because I need them while traveling. No other airline app uses notifications to sell product. I will only inst…" - John Hansen
5
"flights"
9 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The app works fine, but Southwest abuses the notification feature to sell you flights. I allow airline apps to send notifications because I need them while traveling. No other airline app uses notifications to sell product. I will only inst…" - John Hansen
6
"check"
8 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I'm done with Southwest. For many years I wouldn't consider flying with anyone else. I live 2 hours from an airport that Southwest flies out of and I made the drive often because Southwest was a better airline than the others. The planes we…" - Ed Keller
7
"boarding"
8 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "will not show my boarding pass after checking in I makes me check in every time I want to see my pass." - T C
8
"other"
7 negative reviews mention this · 10% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The app works fine, but Southwest abuses the notification feature to sell you flights. I allow airline apps to send notifications because I need them while traveling. No other airline app uses notifications to sell product. I will only inst…" - John Hansen
9
"pass"
7 negative reviews mention this · 10% of all complaints
★★★★★ "will not show my boarding pass after checking in I makes me check in every time I want to see my pass." - T C
10
"boarding pass"
7 negative reviews mention this · 10% of all complaints
★★★★★ "will not show my boarding pass after checking in I makes me check in every time I want to see my pass." - T C
📋 All 67 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Slow, difficult to find the information you want, requires navigating multiple menus to find simple things like a departure gate. Mostly worthless.
I'm done with Southwest. For many years I wouldn't consider flying with anyone else. I live 2 hours from an airport that Southwest flies out of and I made the drive often because Southwest was a better airline than the others. The planes were more comfortable, the fares were more that competitive. Checking in was easy. Checking bags was easy. I guess this is a great example of private equity firms killing a company. Oh, I've got to go to Las Vegas in October. Delta beat their price by $100.00.
every time I fly I get stuck with no wifi
like everything else dealing with Southwest these days, it used to be good. Can't get it to verify my Precheck status and it's lousy with the Standby updates. No option for bags or decent seats either without paying a fortune. they've heard these complaints and don't care. thanks again, Elliott Investments for driving up the stock price, selling, and leaving the company as Shell of itself.
Same issues as everyone else, app is slow, doesn't save data, constantly waiting for it to load, have to look up reservation every time....
This is the worst airline app in the industry. Compared to United, it looks like 5 year old kids developed it. And some of the basic functions don't work half the time.
i have never gotten a call back from the multiple requests for information regarding my experience on a flight from phoenix to whitchta kansas. The fact it never happened because of a combative employee at gate after switching planes an delays due to wind. The last 3 seats were forced to check luggage due to lack of overhead availability. The flight had 62 percent occupancy with plenty of overhead compartment space.
app sucks and their Wi-Fi is even worse
From Houston Hobby to Bradley International Airport, Hartford CT, Not a drop to drink, nor a Morsel to eat.
Rarely works in Samsung Android
Southwest has changed their app where ALL your flights are most of your flights. The next flight no longer shows except the first page. If I want to look at all my flights, I want to see ALL of them.
always offers an unattainable sale rate
My reservation keeps disappearing
New App, new SWA, it all sucks. New app is very slow, laggy, multiple error messages on flight I already booked. The new SWA, I used to fly you exclusively, not anymore, nothing about your new programs generate any loyalty as before. The customer was what you USED to be about, now it's greed and investors, after the flights I have currently booked, I'll use you only as my last resort. Well done Southwest
I am unable to open the app it will not connect to the internet.
The app is now destroyed behind a terrible build. You can't buy tickets correctly. I've had to click continue more times than I've ever needed to in any app ever in existence. You can't go back to just make sure you can apply for something in a cart. Switch to another airline.
my flight got delayed
freakin app doesn't work at All can't view my flight departure or return flight info. worthless
Definitely the worst airline app I've used. Tried creating an account approximately 37 times, with an error every time. Managing the flight is essentially impossible without being logged in, but you can't log in because the app sucks.
will not show my boarding pass after checking in I makes me check in every time I want to see my pass.
doesn't work only get home screen and no other options
Constantly getting locked out of my account. I need it to be reset every time I use it, which is a few times per year. It's incredibly frustrating. I have my username, account number, and password. I don't see why it doesn't work. Like usual, I'll need to call to get it reset.
trash absolute trash
Now have to pay for seat selection
Hands down the worst flight experience I've ever had! The app is terrible and not user friendly. Check in is difficult, getting a boarding pass was impossible, and we had to go through the security line twice because of that. I'm never going to fly Southwest again
App continues freezing with error message after agreeing to assignment of emergency exit seat. Hours before flight and after checking in, I still can not retrieve boarding pass. called customer service, they could do nothing and stated I must go to ticket counter at Boston Logan airport. a huge inconvenience! No compensation offered at all. very poor customer service.
it never said when the flight departed
slow
since an update happened, the app kicks out and have to login again and loose all the progress with booking flights. frustrating.
a joke
since the new changes with corporate, my satisfaction with southwest has freefalled. i spend more in baggage fees and hate the new seating rules. at this point it's cheaper overall to book united with upgrades to save on bags.
The app generates advertisement notification, and hides the settings to disable them. Users want notifications about the flights they have booked; they don't want notifications with whatever stupid marketing text Southwest chooses to send every 3 hours.
The wifi is a lie
The app is as mediocre as the airline. Fine if you like a mediocre experience.
won't let me enroll, won't accept any username
New update is a total glitch. Won't open and when it does it won't pull up flights. It will say no flights available when Google flights is showing them available.
Frustrated that there's been no improvement to Flight Status. Idk why companies think they always have to change apps and so often, they're worse. You used to be able to delete recent searches, but now they just stack up without being able to get rid of ones you no longer need. On top of no demarcation between, like they're used to be (much more esthetically pleasing in the old format). On top of that, when you initially Submit, the info is NOT updated. You have to refresh the page every time.
Probably the worst airline app to date. You have to manually search your flight and reservation to retrieve your information (like boarding pass or flight status). I must've checked in 4 times already, yet no matter how many times I log in, NOTHING is saved or auto displayed on the home screen. Every other airline app does, except Southwest. Total FAIL.
For $750 flights on dated aircraft you'd think they could afford developers to make an app that shows the boarding pass. how hard is it?
Touchless ID for TSA is not obviously down in the app. Is it the little green person next to pre check? Hard to tell and airport employees can't tell either. other apps actually say "touchless"
App keeps giving me technical difficulties when trying to move seats and now when I get to the flight they are full so I cant move. Please fix this!
Can't get human support. Sammy notifications
since the original owner passed away... Southwest has turned into a Section 8 Sideshow. no better than the other low-budget airlines... nothing lasts great forever. I always flew with them. now I refuse to fly with them.
cant get it to open to check in
New seating situation sucks. Personally was a fan of what made Southwest different, and now they suck as much as every other airline. However they assign boarding groups and seats is extra asinine, as I consistently see middle/aisle seats sat before window seats... senseless prolonging of the boarding process.
I've used this app for 5 minutes so far and I already hate it. the account creation process sucks on the app and then on top of that I still can't add my existing reservation, so I have to type in the confirmation number every time I want to know anything. what is even the point of having the app at that point?
and the awards for most canceled, most delayed, worst staff, and slowest unload time goes to Southwest! Now with Spirit gone we have a new number 1 contender for worst airline, congrats
App is unreliable.
booked a flight before the assigned seat policy and then had to pay over $700 so I could sit next to my 8 and 10 year old on the flight. will never fly with Southwest again. disgusting.
I paid $35 to check a bag to my destination and will check in another back. ive boked with Southwest Airlines for 2 decades and have ALWAYS had a window seat. now they're attempting to charge me $65 to move my seat to a window seat from a middle seat. I mine as well book with a better airline if I'm paying all these fees now. it's not worth it.
+ 17 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
86%
Positive (4-5★)
3%
Neutral (3★)
11%
Negative (1-2★)