The Quality of Southwest Airlines Flights that Last More than One Hour

Yesterday I took my longest trip on Southwest Airlines as I flew 3.5 hours from Phoenix to Chicago.   I give the airline an A-.   On the plus side, we did land after a 1 hour delay and there was free TV on the flight so I caught up on my Law & Order watching as I watched the cops part of 4 different episodes (I skipped the law stuff -- given that I am  Professor at UCLA Law --- I don't need to watch that stuff).   On the plus side, the cranapple juice they serve is good.  On the "bad side", the flight was packed.  This was a flying bus with fares that are almost too cheap. I've been thinking of buying two tickets but with open seating --- someone would still sit down next to me.   I was sitting next to a young teenager who was doing her homework and chatting with her boyfriend.  The space is so tight that  I couldn't lean down to pull out my computer bag. My knees touch the seat in front of me and I live in fear of the guy in front of me reclining his seat.    For flights from LA to Oakland or Sacramento this is okay but on a longer flight this becomes tough.   I will fly back to LA on United in Economy Plus and I'm thinking of upgrading to first class.