American Airlines vs Southwest: how are they different?

When it comes to head-to-head comparisons, American Airlines vs Southwest is not one that I typically struggle with. These are two completely different airlines with two completely different customer bases.

That’s not to say that I prefer one over the other. American Airlines is great when I’m looking for a full-service experience (a decent meal and a comfy seat). Southwest Airlines is great when I throw my hands in the air in surrender, say “f*** it“, and seek out the cheapest option possible.

The following is an in-depth comparison of both airlines. My hope is that it will help you to choose one over the other for your next trip. At least for those of you who are willing to say “f*** it” and throw caution into the wind…

American Airlines vs Southwest: a brief summary of all the similarities and differences

In a nutshell: American tends to cater towards the business traveler crowd. Southwest aims their marketing towards leisure travelers. Of course there’s plenty of overlap and I’m making some pretty big generalizations here. But that’s the gist of it.

Similarities

• Both airlines have a very strong presence in Dallas, TX. American has its largest hub at the Dallas-Fort Worth international airport (DFW), while Southwest Airlines has set up shop across town at Dallas Love Field (DAL).
• Both airlines fly the Boeing 737 more than any other type of aircraft. As a matter of fact, that’s the only kind of aircraft that Southwest Airlines operates.
• Both airlines fly to every corner of the continental United States. The route networks of both airlines are equally complete and impressive.
• Both airlines serve Hawaii from a wide variety of US mainland airports. And to be completely honest, the Southwest Airlines Hawaii experience is just as good as the American Airlines Hawaii experience. 
• Both airlines offer a decent “enhanced economy” product offering extra legroom with premium snacks and drinks.

Differences

• American Airlines offers a first class seating product. Southwest does not.
• American Airlines offers lounge access to it’s most valued customers at select airports. Southwest does not.
• American Airlines is a global carrier serving 50 countries with 350 destinations around the globe.
• American Airlines has a fleet size of nearly 1000 aircraft. Southwest Airlines fleet totals a little over 800 aircraft at the time of this writing.
• American Airlines serves complementary meals in economy class on select flights (mostly longer transcontinental routes). On Southwest airlines, all you are going to get is a snack. Even on flights to Hawaii.
• Southwest Airlines flies inter-Hawaiian routes. American Airlines does not.

American Airlines seats vs Southwest Airlines seats

One of the main advantages that American Airlines has over Southwest is that they offer more seating options. However, for the sake of simplicity, I’m going to limit this comparison to economy class seats only. This is the only kind of seat that they both compete on.

American Airlines basic economy seats

Unlike the seats that you’ll find on any Southwest Airlines aircraft, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll get a video screen and USB power ports on an American Airlines aircraft. Not all of them feature these amenities, but a significant number of them do.

If there’s one thing that I have to criticize American Airlines for, it’s the fact that their economy class seating product is very inconsistent between aircraft types. I mean, they can’t promise you that you’ll get a video screen and a USB power port in American Airlines economy class. However, it is a possibility. How’s that for vague?

American Airlines Main Cabin Extra seats

just like Southwest, American Airlines offers A Standard economy seat with extra legroom. They call this ‘Main Cabin Extra’, and it’s a fairly decent upgrade from the confines of one of the basic economy seats.

Southwest Airlines basic economy seats

When it comes to comparing Southwest airline seats with American Airlines seats, Southwest has one major advantage IMHO: Consistency.

Southwest Airlines seats are generally consistent across their entire fleet of aircraft. Yes, some seats might look different than others, but you always know for a fact that you’re not going to get a video screen.

Southwest Airlines Extra Legroom seats

Southwest’s Extra Legroom seats are a fairly decent competitor to the Main Cabin Extra seats on American Airlines. You’ll get the same amount of enhanced legroom (about 3 inches worth), although I will admit that the Southwest seats are slightly harder.

American Airlines food vs Southwest Airlines food

The problem with comparing Southwest Airlines against any other airline is that Southwest is always going to lose when it comes to food. They do offer complementary snacks on most flights. But it’s slim pickings beyond that.

American Airlines food

Even though you already know that American Airlines has won the food comparison in this head-to-head battle, there are a few things that I still need to say about it. Basically: don’t get your hopes up.

On a vast majority of American Airlines flights within the continental United States, all you’re going to get is a complementary snack in economy class. It usually consists of a bag of snack mix in a beverage of your choice. Alcohol is available, but you’re going to have to pay extra for it. Note that Main Cabin Extra passengers get alcohol for free.

On longer flights, you’ll have the option to purchase something off the in-flight menu. It won’t be very high-quality food, but it will be far more substantial than anything you’ll ever be served on Southwest Airlines.

Southwest Airlines food

You can expect a complementary snack service on most Southwest airlines flights. It’s relatively basic, consisting of a little bag of snack mix and a beverage. Considering that Southwest Airlines is usually cheaper than most mainline carriers such as American, you have to expect that they’re going to cut corners somewhere.

Extra Legroom passengers will get a free premium snack and drink. And for the record, ‘premium drink’ = alcohol. The premium snack isn’t all that premium though, so I recommend bringing your own snacks for longer flights.

Comparing American Airlines and Southwest Airlines In flight entertainment

Wait. Before you skip over the section thinking that American Airlines (with its generous video screens at every seat on some aircraft) is the automatic winner in this category, think again. The American Airlines vs Southwest in-flight entertainment comparison is beefier than you might think.

American Airlines in flight entertainment

If somehow the stars have aligned and you find yourself on an American Airlines aircraft with video screens, congratulations. You’re in for a fantastic flight. The American Airlines video entertainment system is quite good. It’s stuffed full of all the typical TV shows and movies you would expect, along with other perks such as:

• A meal ordering service – a system that you can use to order snacks and drinks right from your seat (a flight attendant will bring it to you). However, the important thing to know about this is that I’ve never actually seen it operational. It has never worked on any American Airlines flight that I’ve ever been on.
• A fully interactive in-flight map. Which, to me, is an essential thing for long flights.

Note that most American Airlines aircraft have Wi-Fi installed, which means that you have the option to stream this video entertainment continent directly to your mobile device (free of charge). So in that sense, it’s not the end of the world if you find yourself on an aircraft without video screens.

Southwest Airlines in flight entertainment

In my experience, it seems that most people don’t realize that Southwest Airlines has a fully-stocked video entertainment system available on most flights. The catch is that the only way to view it is to stream it to your mobile device. There are no seat-back video screens to consume in-flight entertainment on Southwest Airlines.

Comparing the American Airlines and Southwest Airlines route networks

My first thought when writing out this American vs Southwest comparison was that there simply was no comparison. American Airlines is a global airline with a vast network of international partners, whereas Southwest is a primarily domestic airline staying close to home.

That being said, it turns out they are awfully similar if you strip away the American Airlines international route network and focus on domestic routes only. There’s a lot of overlap.

American Airlines route network

Putting the American Airlines international route network aside, their domestic network is impressive. They have a very complete and generous coverage of the entire continental United States, and there are only a few areas of the country where they don’t fly to (I’m looking at you, upper plains states). That being said, those are the same areas where Southwest doesn’t fly to either, so they have no real advantage.

There is one major difference compared to Southwest though: American Airlines is primarily a hub and spoke airline, meaning that they filter most of their flights through major hubs (Southwest does not do this as much). If you’re flying American Airlines, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going to be connecting and changing planes at one of the following airports:

• Phoenix sky Harbor Airport (PHX)
• Dallas Fort Worth international Airport (DFW)
• Charlotte international Airport (CLT) – By the way, shaving a short layover in Charlotte are a piece of cake. Just sayin’.
• John F Kennedy international Airport (JFK)
• Chicago O’Hare international Airport (ORD)
• Miami international Airport (MIA)

Southwest Airlines route network

In terms of destinations served around the continental US, the Southwest Airlines route network is very similar to the American Airlines route network. They both serve the same destinations, though Southwest does have a tendency to focus on the secondary airports of major cities. They do this to avoid congestion and run a smoother operation.

The major difference compared to American Airlines is that Southwest runs a point to point network of flights. Yes, they do have a few major hubs across the United States, but for the most part they fly directly to destinations without the need to connect at hub airports.

Chances are pretty good that you won’t have to connect or change planes when flying Southwest, but if you do, these are the airports were it’s most likely to happen:

• Dallas Love Field (DAL)
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Chicago Midway Airport (MDW)

Why would you choose American Airlines over Southwest Airlines (or vise versa)?

For some people, Southwest is going to be the obvious and best choice. For others, American Airlines will be the only way to go. If you’re still on the fence about it, here are a few things to consider about each:

Choose American Airlines if:

• You want the option of choosing first class
• You want slightly better food options
• You need a global airline that can take you to destinations all over the world
• You want the option to earn and redeem American Airlines frequent flyer points on other airlines
• You want to fly on something other than a Boeing 737

Choose Southwest Airlines if:

• The Boeing 737 is your favorite aircraft type. Like, ever.
• You like knowing what to expect every time you fly. Southwest Airlines is fantastically consistent.
• You’re primarily a domestic flyer who doesn’t venture internationally very often
• You don’t want the hassle of a complex frequent flyer program
• You hate the hassle of having to connect somewhere and change planes. This won’t be completely avoidable on Southwest Airlines, but it’ll happen a lot less than it would if you were flying American.