SWA is great. I have used them 4 times now, our 5th trip will be in May. They have great prices and a great rewards program, called SW Rapid Rewards.
On this trip my family will all be flying for free, and I will be paying $142 RT from Manchester, NH. I actually have a 4th free ticket, but I am paying so I can get more reward points for the next trip. They also send you vouchers for free alcholic drinks whenever you get a free pass!
If you have small children (I think 5 and under) they will allow you to "pre-board", thus assuring you can sit together. If you do not have small children, get in line at check-in well before check-in opens. They will give you a card with a number on it (between 1-the capacity of the plane). They then board teh plane in groups of 1-30, then 30-60, 60-90 etc...
The staff is always great, very friendly and very relaxed. On my last trip the gate personnel took my son and I down to the plane whiel they were still cleaning it, and the Captain gave us a cockpit tour. The Captain even got out of the cockpit and let my son and I sit in the seats, and a flight attendant offered to operate our camcorder for me.
On one of my return flights from MCO the crew played games with the passengers over the intercom (each side of the plane passing a roll of toilet paper over our heads and whichever side one got to get off the plane first!), and sang SWA songs based on Disney song tunes over the intercom!
The only drawbacks are no assigned seating, and limited food.
SWA (Airline symbol is actually WN) flies only Boeing 737's. If you are lucky you may get one of their new B737-800's (The outside is painted with a blue bottom half). These planes offer more leg room and leather seating!
In reference to an earlier post, they actually did have a "crash", in 3/2000. A B737 enroute from Las Vegas to Burbank CA, for unknown reasons came in too fast and too steep. The crew was unable to stop the plane before crashing trough a blast fence crossing a main road and coming to rest in a gas station. There were no fatalities. But otherwise, that is it for SW's entire history.
Don Waldron