I flew on Southwest Airlines during the pandemic and came away impressed by how well the largest low-cost US airline handed social distancing

• Southwest Airlines is primed to recover quicker than its competitors since the airline focuses on domestic service with a passenger-friendly low-cost business model.
• Despite being a low-cost airline, Southwest is limiting capacity by around a third which means only two people maximum can sit in a row, leaving the middle seat unoccupied.
• I flew on the airline to see how its seemingly-generous policies translated into a real-world experience and was impressed with how the airline is handling this crisis.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep international borders closed to Americans, domestic airlines in the US are slated to recover quicker than international airlines that rely on sales of premium seats on long-haul flights.

Southwest Airlines is the largest low-cost airline in the US primarily focused on domestic leisure travel with a sterling reputation among passengers, making it prime for a speedy recovery. Despite its low-cost status, the airline still offers plenty of full-service amenities including free checked bags, complimentary drinks and snacks, and free flight changes.

Implementing what it calls the "Southwest Promise," the airline is limiting bookings on every flight by around one-third in order to have a maximum of two people per row. Southwest follows a policy of open seating so seats aren't selected in advance.

I flew on Southwest last week to see how the airline's generous social distancing policies played out in the real world. Flying from New York to Orlando via Nashville, I experienced two flights on the low-cost airline and its fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft.

Here's what I found.

My journey to Orlando started on Southwest Airlines from the new LaGuardia Airport Terminal B, from where I'd first fly to Nashville.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Southwest and LaGuardia Airport both require face coverings so I was masked up from the moment I got to the terminal.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Before I even arrived at the airport, I had to acknowledge this health declaration. A longer version on the website tells passengers "do not travel if you have a fever."

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Here's the new Southwest check-in counter at LaGuardia Airport with no shortage of self-serve check-in kiosks.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

The terminal had just opened less than two weeks prior to this trip and safety features such as plexiglass partitions at check-in and the gates had come standard. Every airline, including United and Southwest, had these partitions.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Read More: I visited the newly opened LaGuardia terminal and saw how it has turned the infamous airport into one of the best in the US

I quickly scanned my mobile boarding pass to get a paper copy. The airport had positioned wipe stations right next to the kiosks.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

My journey was a simple one-stop flight to Orlando, making for an easy morning of flying.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Everything before the gate was up to LaGuardia, not Southwest. So let's go straight to the gate.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

All gates in the terminal also had the standard partitions installed by the airport.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Southwest's website says that all of its check-in and gate counters have partitions but I'd have to wait until I landed in Nashville to find out for sure.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Gate agents made an announcement before boarding about Southwest's social distancing policies but there was no reinforcement from any signage, unlike what I've seen from other airlines. Agents also gave face masks to those who needed it.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Southwest boards its aircraft by boarding group - A, B, and C - with each person given a number from 1-59 in that group. This requires people in each boarding group to line up, with 30 on each side.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

The procedure, however, was modified to only have groups of 10 line up and board at a time, with the rest remaining seated until their group was called.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Our gate didn't have that set-up and instead, we boarded by groups of 30.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

The trick on Southwest is to check-in online at exactly 24 hours prior to the flight to get the best boarding group. I was 13 min late to check in the day before and still got an A assignment, which nearly guarantees and aisle or window seat.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Most gates had these passenger-facing ticket scanners but our flight was boarded with the gate agent manually scanning each ticket with a handheld device.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

There were also no social distancing reminders in the jetway.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Our aircraft for the 2-hour hop to Nashville would be the Boeing 737-800, the largest in Southwest's fleet.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

All passengers and flight attendants are also required to wear masks on Southwest.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Southwest still boards passengers with their assigned number and, naturally, the front half typically fills up first.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Those boarding last have to walk past those who boarded and head to the back.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

This was the 6 a.m. flight so it was understandably empty but less than half the plane's capacity was filled.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

There were maybe 60 passengers with entire rows left open.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

With so few passengers, we didn't have to worry about social distancing but Southwest is limiting bookings by around a third. Only two people can sit in any row with an exception for families.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

I headed to the back to get the best seat on the 737-800 series, 16A.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

It's an exit row window seat with no seat in front of it, offering near-unlimited legroom.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

The Southwest Promise boasts at least six hours of overnight cleaning and it showed on this flight.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Source: Southwest Airlines

Even my tray table was spotless.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

All the in-flight literature besides safety cards had been removed as a precaution.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Flight attendants also asked passengers not to store sanitary wipes in the seats as they'd come around after boarding with a trash bag.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

The one downside was that the air vent, which experts say can provide a cone of fresh air for protection, wasn't too strong and I could barely feel the filtered air.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Soon enough, we blasted out of LaGuardia en route to Nashville.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

We were also treated to a nice view of Manhattan on departure.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Southwest is limiting in-flight service on its flights and only offering a snack and beverage for journeys over 250 miles, which we were luckily over.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Source: Southwest Airlines

Flight attendants came around with a self-serve bin of Southwest's snack mix — containing pretzels, bread crisps, and Cheez-Itz — and cups of water with ice.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

That was the entirety of the service with flight attendants also leaving this tray out in the galley.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Southwest does have complimentary streaming entertainment including live television, movies, and messaging. WiFi is offered for $8.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

It was smooth sailing down to Nashville but a quiet flight as the crew didn't really interact with passengers after the service.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

The deplaning process was the same, though, as everybody rushed for the exit.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Southwest's cleaning crews had already begun cleaning the aircraft after the flight, wiping down all surfaces including the overhead panel.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

At the gate in Nashville, I saw that Southwest had, in fact, erected partitions at their gates with social distancing reminders.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Southwest had placed floor placards in the boarding area, as well.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

The signage, however, still didn't show any social distancing information, just flight details.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

The boarding procedure is Nashville was adapted to the new policy with groups of only 10 being called to line up and board at the same time.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

It was clear from the gate area that this was going to be a fuller flight. Face coverings aren't required at Nashville Airport but the Southwest gate agent told passengers that they need to be on when they have their tickets scanned.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Passengers followed the rule of 10 and distanced at their leisure. Boarding passes were once again scanned by the gate agent.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

Just like in LaGuardia, there were no placards in the jetway and I noticed the same in Orlando.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

I scored another window seat on this flight.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

This flight was near to capacity but middle seats were not occupied unless a family was traveling together. Flight attendants continuously made announcements saying that a maximum of two people could sit in each row.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

It was smooth sailing down to Orlando with no notable disruptions. Even the seats were as clean as when I got on in New York.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

The service was the same, a package of snack mix and a cup of ice water. This flight was only around an hour and a half.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

An hour later, we were in Orlando.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider

The deplaning experience was also the same, with everybody rushing to get up and off as quickly as possible.

Flying on Southwest Airlines from New York to Orlando via Nashville.      Thomas Pallini/Business Insider