I Am Now Free To Move About The East Coast

I don't do a ton of flying (about once a month), but I definitely do enough that it's worth my while to enroll in frequent flyer programs. I racked up enough points in '08 to get two free flights - one with Delta and the other with Southwest. Southwest probably has the best frequent flyer program because unlike other airlines that assign points based on how long your trip is, 8 round trips on Southwest to anywhere will get you a free flight. Technically you could fly 8 times round trip from Providence to Philly (about $120 roundtrip) and then use the free ticket to go to California with very few blackout dates and no questions asked. It's a pretty good deal.

Since Vegas was cancelled, I am going to use my free ticket to go to Raleigh. A good friend of mine moved down there recently and tickets to Raleigh for some reason are ridiculously expensive. The only caveat to Southwest is that they offer very few direct flights, forcing you to travel through their Baltimore hub more often than not. As many of you know, the Troll lives in Baltimore so I figured that rather than switch planes at BWI and go immediately to Providence that I could just hop off the plane, hang out with her for a few hours, and take a later flight. Simple, right?

I've had a few conversations with Southwest and they've informed me that if I want to hop off the plane in Baltimore that I have to re-book my flight and pay full fare. I understand that there's a price differential between the 11am flight to Providence (about $70) and the later flight that I want to take ($102) so I don't have a problem paying them the difference. What I do have a problem with is them requesting that if I am going to book a full-priced ticket that I call them so they can sell that seat to another person.

What??

So I'm supposed to do them the courtesy of allowing them to sell my "free" flight to Providence but they can't do me the courtesy of cutting me a break? Either way I'm going from Baltimore to Providence, it's just a matter of which one of the dozen of so scheduled Southwest flights I take that day.

Southwest is a good airline, but they have this habitual way of being annoying. I had a similar encounter with them last year when I showed up early for my flight from Chicago to Providence and was told that even though an earlier scheduled flight was barely half full that I would have to pay full fare if I wanted to take it. Why be like that, Southwest? If the flights are full I can understand squeezing every dollar possible out of your customers but making me languish in a Midway food court for two hours just because? It seems pretty sadistic to me.

In the end, I'll probably end up paying full fare to spend the day in Baltimore but I can't guarantee that I'll be flying back on Southwest. Either way, I certainly won't do them the courtesy of notifying them of my change of plans. Screw 'em, let them fly with an empty seat for all I care. My lack of manners will probably make some guy in C boarding grateful that he won't have to take a middle seat.