mickeysshoes
Well-Known Member
Glad to help when I can!! Feel free to PM me anytime with questions!!! Thats crazy Disney friends are for!!! :ROFLOL:
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Flying help
- Thread starter Alison1975
- Start date
thank you very much!!!
Rob562
Well-Known Member
If they've never flown Southwest, the flyers might want to look into Southwest's boarding policies before the trip.
As mentioned earlier, all of Southwest's flights have "open seating", meaning that there are no assigned seats. Tell them to think of it like a movie theater: When they walk on the plane, they can choose any open seat and sit down. (Keeping in mind that if they take the over-wing Emergency Exit row, there are additional age/physical requirements to sit there) If they're among the first to board, it's like getting to the movie theater really early and having a ton of empty seats to choose from. But then as more and more people arrive, you have to start looking for seats together. (Worst-case-scenario is that they're the last to board and they have to sit apart from each other)
When boarding with open seating, they'll be assigned a letter/number combo, which will be printed in large text on the boarding pass. These are assigned A1-A60, B1-B60, C1-C[some number], essentially in the order people check in. (There are some frequent flyer and business fare flyers who will get the lowest possible numbers no matter when they check in)
When they call up their letter group, they just find their place in the line based on the numbers. So if they have A42 and A43, they line up with the "A" group and get themselves sorted between the people who have A41 and A44. (There are signs to help sort people out)
Here's a little animated thing that Southwest put out when they switched to this new way of lining up:
http://www.southwest.com/boardingschool
And yes, the boarding pass is all they'll need for the flight. (Well, plus an ID at the security checkpoint for all adults 18+) Paper tickets for domestic flights are almost never seen anymore. Everything is all Electronic Tickets (E-Tickets).
And because they have only carry-on bags, they can totally skip the check-in counter and proceed to the security line, and then from there to the gate. If for some reason they need to re-print their boarding passes when they get to the airport, there are often kiosks away from the counters specifically for people who need to print the boarding passes.
Oh, and as you've obviously already discovered, when an airline advertises a fare like "$79 one way", that's the price before taxes and various airport fees... But yes, the base fare is $79. (Cheapest flights I've *ever* had from New England were years ago, Providence to Orlando, $49 each way, plus tax. And I think I ever had a $100 voucher from a delayed bag on a previous flight, so the flight only cost me about $15 for taxes, etc)
-Rob
As mentioned earlier, all of Southwest's flights have "open seating", meaning that there are no assigned seats. Tell them to think of it like a movie theater: When they walk on the plane, they can choose any open seat and sit down. (Keeping in mind that if they take the over-wing Emergency Exit row, there are additional age/physical requirements to sit there) If they're among the first to board, it's like getting to the movie theater really early and having a ton of empty seats to choose from. But then as more and more people arrive, you have to start looking for seats together. (Worst-case-scenario is that they're the last to board and they have to sit apart from each other)
When boarding with open seating, they'll be assigned a letter/number combo, which will be printed in large text on the boarding pass. These are assigned A1-A60, B1-B60, C1-C[some number], essentially in the order people check in. (There are some frequent flyer and business fare flyers who will get the lowest possible numbers no matter when they check in)
When they call up their letter group, they just find their place in the line based on the numbers. So if they have A42 and A43, they line up with the "A" group and get themselves sorted between the people who have A41 and A44. (There are signs to help sort people out)
Here's a little animated thing that Southwest put out when they switched to this new way of lining up:
http://www.southwest.com/boardingschool
And yes, the boarding pass is all they'll need for the flight. (Well, plus an ID at the security checkpoint for all adults 18+) Paper tickets for domestic flights are almost never seen anymore. Everything is all Electronic Tickets (E-Tickets).
And because they have only carry-on bags, they can totally skip the check-in counter and proceed to the security line, and then from there to the gate. If for some reason they need to re-print their boarding passes when they get to the airport, there are often kiosks away from the counters specifically for people who need to print the boarding passes.
Oh, and as you've obviously already discovered, when an airline advertises a fare like "$79 one way", that's the price before taxes and various airport fees... But yes, the base fare is $79. (Cheapest flights I've *ever* had from New England were years ago, Providence to Orlando, $49 each way, plus tax. And I think I ever had a $100 voucher from a delayed bag on a previous flight, so the flight only cost me about $15 for taxes, etc)
-Rob
Thank you so much for all the help and input!! My son is thrilled he won't be on the train for 24 hours or in the van with us for 21..LOL..I am wishing I could fly us all down..lol.
Mammymouse
Well-Known Member
I totally agree with everything that Rob562 just said. We do this several times a year as we now live in Florida and fly from Orlando MCO to Providence, and back again as needed - we have our buisness (rentals) still in RI. It is so simple to online book. When I first did it (online booking) I was so nervous that there was something I was missing to do, thinking of how it used to be to book a trip with travel agents, itinerary and such. Now all I stress about is printing my boarding passes at the 24 hour prior time. I put post-it notes on my computer monitor to remind myself. I too remember the $49 one way tickets of 2005. I guess we won't be seeing that again unless jet fuel prices drop back to oil prices of that era, but one can dream. Anyway have a great trip!!!:wave:
yensid67
Well-Known Member
Alison,
$79 each way? Really? I have been searching each month and the get away fares are like $131+ from BWI-Orlando...When you make your reservations you will be sent paper tickets, then the day before you can print your boarding pass. If you have access to Air Tran, which was bought by Southwest, their fares are alot cheaper..I get Flight AND Hotel for 2 for $1,000+/- for 7 Days!!! But with Air Tran, you will get e-tickets...basically there are a receipt with your confirmation number on it and that serves as your tickets and again 24 hours before your departure, you can print your boarding pass or do online check-in too! If you check Air Tran, go through Expedia.com
I have never done this either but as you familiarize yourself with the Southwest site you will get more comfortable and figure out what you need to know! I hope this helps! Have a good trip!
Uncle Lupe
Well-Known Member
I booked my entire trip via Disney, so when should I expect some sort of airline ticket confirmation or reservation number? I know my flight time and flight numbers but not our seating arrangement. The package was paid in full.