I (heart) Southwest Airlines

After my parents flew last week on an airline that shall remain nameless (except it perhaps maybe rhymes with "Unrequited Hairlines") and had a horrible experience going and coming (missing connections due to late planes, being ignored by customer service when the missed connection became a problem, waiting around a LOT, etc.)...I had some trepidations about flying this weekend. All went well going to Albuquerque, but when I got to the airport to fly back to Austin, I noticed that my plane was going to leave 30 minutes late. That would be cool except I knew I had only 25 minutes to catch my connection in Dallas. 25 minus 30 is -5, and I'm no Mathematics major, but I am pretty sure I can't get off a plane and find my new gate and board in -5 minutes. So, with a slightly heightened sense of panic, I approach the ticket counter and explain the situation. The Southwest representative was very nice, typed in her magic numbers, gave me a boarding pass for a new flight, told me to get to gate A7..."and don't get off the plane in Midland!" (I'm sure Midland is a very nice town but I had places to be...maybe when there is more time for leisure I'll get off the plane in Midland). So I get through security and get to gate A7 which is empty, and a couple of Southwest gate agents say, "Are you Jana?" I say yes. They say, "YAY! Get on the plane! And have fun in Austin!" Haha. So not only did I get a direct flight to Austin, but they held the plane for me. That's customer service. I'm back in Austin for a spell.