Southwest airlines boarding

[PolynesianPrincess]

We fly Southwest and really enjoy it. The no bag fee is good and the RR points you earn are MUCH easier to redeem than with other airlines. I think with Delta a RT ticket Portlnd, ME to Orlando was 33,000 points. On SW it's 16,000 and you can book them right on their website. I believe other airlines only offer a certain number of seats on the flight can be used as FF seats. On SW, if it's available online, you can book it as points, no questions asked. I've taken 4 RT SW flights since February and am just 500 pts shy of a one way ticket. I would never reach enough with Delta to earn a free ticket.

The only thing I wish could be done was making single travelers sit in certain seats. So many times I'll see 6 single travelers sitting in a row of 3, one in a window and one in an aisle, for 3 rows, leaving the middle seat open. If they forced those 6 people to sit in 2 rows of 3, that would open up a whole row for a family of 3 to sit in. But instead you'll have 1 family member in each row, in the middle seat (if that's all that's left for flights.) Or seeing a family of 4 sit 2 in one row (middle and aisle) and 2 in the row across (middle and aisle) this leave the window seat open in both rows. Why not just sit 3 in one row and one across on the aisle and leave the middle and window open for a party of two? Unfotunately, unless they go with assigned seating, there is no way to regulate this.

I know some people say it's when you purchase your ticket is what number boarding group you are assigned and I don't think that's the case. We booked our flight down to Orlando and the return flight the same day (2 different itineraries though since we were using credits) We checked in at 24 hours on the flight down and got B15 or so but then on the return, I forgot to check us in 24 hours prior and we got a C boarding group. Why would I get a B on the way out checking in at 24 hours and a C on the return checking in at about 15 hours out if it was based on when you bought the tickets? They were bought at the same time. It's all about when you check in, how many people bought early bird and how many business select travelers are traveling on your flight. If there are few BS travelers and few who bought EB check in, you could easily end up with an A boarding group if you check in at the 24 hour mark. Then again, if you purchased EB check in but so did everyone else on the plane, you could get stuck with C boarding group. ..

 

[CheshireCat12]

Although Southwest recently started flying out of our local airport, we avoid it as well, and for the same reason. If I was a business traveler flying alone I wouldn't mind so much, but as a parent, I don't want to have to stress about getting separated from my small children (ages 5 and 7, too small to sit alone but not young enough to be entitled to family boarding) simply because I refused to pay an extra $100 for the four of us (early bird is $25/pp round trip), or because we didn't check in exactly at the 24-hour mark.

JetBlue flies out of another local airport, just 15 minutes further away. Their ticket prices generally cost less than SW, they have free in-flight entertainment and we get to choose our seats ahead of time. It's a no-brainer.

I had a SW Visa with lots of points racked up, but we've decided to ditch it. We've spent the points on airfare and hotel for a 2-night family jaunt to Washington, D.C. over the kids' February break, after which I'll cancel the card. When most of our travel is as a family, an airline that can't guarantee us seats together just isn't worth it.

I fly Southwest exclusively- I have yet to see a parent separated from a young child. If the parent needs help making this work, I'm sure the flight attendants/other passengers will help out. Most people are good people
And I know you don't want to be tied down to the online check-in window, but honestly, that's how the game is played at SW and if you fly them you have to be prepared for that.
Reasons I DO fly SW- reward points, choice of seat (Delta kept changing my seat assignment after I picked it!) and free checked bag. Also I've found the flight attendants to be very funny
Another thing- I NEVER purchase the EarlyBird check in- I log in at the 24 hour mark (right on it!) and I have gotten A's and B's. It depends on how many business (A1-A15) and early bird (A group) people have purchased. Highest number I've gotten was A16. Lowest number was mid B.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I fly Southwest exclusively- I have yet to see a parent separated from a young child. If the parent needs help making this work, I'm sure the flight attendants/other passengers will help out. Most people are good people
And I know you don't want to be tied down to the online check-in window, but honestly, that's how the game is played at SW and if you fly them you have to be prepared for that.
Reasons I DO fly SW- reward points, choice of seat (Delta kept changing my seat assignment after I picked it!) and free checked bag. Also I've found the flight attendants to be very funny
Another thing- I NEVER purchase the EarlyBird check in- I log in at the 24 hour mark (right on it!) and I have gotten A's and B's. It depends on how many business (A1-A15) and early bird (A group) people have purchased. Highest number I've gotten was A16. Lowest number was mid B.

I'm glad to know you've had good experiences. I hope we'll have a similarly positive one when we fly SW in February.

I know that parents-getting-separated-from-young-children is infrequent, but it does happen (at least, enough to appear in online complaints from said parents), and that's all I need to feel insecure.

 

[Hakunamatata]

I'm glad to know you've had good experiences. I hope we'll have a similarly positive one when we fly SW in February.

I know that parents-getting-separated-from-young-children is infrequent, but it does happen (at least, enough to appear in online complaints from said parents), and that's all I need to feel insecure.

Hundreds of flights I have taken on SW I have never once seen a child have to sit separated from a parent. No, the whole family may not be sitting together, but I have regularly seen passangers accommodate a parent and child request when asked. I'm sure it does happen, and when it has, I'm sure the parent is hacked off, it's not the fault of the airline. If the parent has not taken the time to familiarize themselves with the process of the airline they are flying then they should be mad at themselves.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Hundreds of flights I have taken on SW I have never once seen a child have to sit separated from a parent. No, the whole family may not be sitting together, but I have regularly seen passangers accommodate a parent and child request when asked. I'm sure it does happen, and when it has, I'm sure the parent is hacked off, it's not the fault of the airline. If the parent has not taken the time to familiarize themselves with the process of the airline they are flying then they should be mad at themselves.

Let me be clear -- I don't blame Southwest Airlines for families not being able to sit together, even if that is the logical result of their policy, at least some percentage, however minuscule, of the time. SW is very clear in its policies that no one is guaranteed a seat with a family member, and that passengers are not required to move to accommodate others, so no one should be boarding a SW flight with false expectations. I also think the SW website provides great instructional tools that passengers can use to familiarize themselves with the check-in and boarding systems, and I have done so. Southwest has a perfect right to seat passengers any way it wishes, but that doesn't mean I have to think that it's the best arrangement for my particular family in our particular circumstances.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Hundreds of flights I have taken on SW I have never once seen a child have to sit separated from a parent. No, the whole family may not be sitting together, but I have regularly seen passangers accommodate a parent and child request when asked. I'm sure it does happen, and when it has, I'm sure the parent is hacked off, it's not the fault of the airline. If the parent has not taken the time to familiarize themselves with the process of the airline they are flying then they should be mad at themselves.

We just flew SW on Monday, flight was booked solid. We saw atleast 10 single travelers and all accomodated families that wanted to sit together. We always do EB and are usually in Group A. I can honestly say, I have never seen a parent separated from a child. They're usually pretty good at seating families together

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I love Southwest. If you have other airlines that are cheaper or you think Southwest is worse, then good for you. I picked some random dates in January, and BUF-MCO is still cheaper on Southwest than JetBlue or anything else... and that's with two free checked bags versus one on JetBlue and the fact that the Southwest flight is a 2.5 hour nonstop flight, while the cheapest JetBlue flight (still more expensive) is a 5.5 hour flight with a layover in Boston. We have been fortunate to be travelling with small children and do family boarding, but there was one time where our flight arrived late for a connection in MDW and they held the plane for us... it was obviously very full by the time we got on. The flight attendants offered up some free drink coupons, and my wife was able to sit with my children; I was a couple of rows behind. Nobody wants kids sitting by themselves. Not nobody.

They also have free entertainment right now, just on your own device.

 

[G00fyDad]

I love Southwest. If you have other airlines that are cheaper or you think Southwest is worse, then good for you. I picked some random dates in January, and BUF-MCO is still cheaper on Southwest than JetBlue or anything else... and that's with two free checked bags versus one on JetBlue and the fact that the Southwest flight is a 2.5 hour nonstop flight, while the cheapest JetBlue flight (still more expensive) is a 5.5 hour flight with a layover in Boston. We have been fortunate to be travelling with small children and do family boarding, but there was one time where our flight arrived late for a connection in MDW and they held the plane for us... it was obviously very full by the time we got on. The flight attendants offered up some free drink coupons, and my wife was able to sit with my children; I was a couple of rows behind. Nobody wants kids sitting by themselves. Not nobody.

They also have free entertainment right now, just on your own device.

For now.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

For now.

True. But I could pay for the early bird check-in and either the wi-fi or tv and it would still be cheaper for me.

Edit: I saw you bolded the checked bags thing... it's still a pretty big part of their marketing strategy. If they decide to charge for bags, I think it's still a ways off. They'll probably de-emphasize the "bags fly free" first.

 

[G00fyDad]

True. But I could pay for the early bird check-in and either the wi-fi or tv and it would still be cheaper for me.

Edit: I saw you bolded the checked bags thing... it's still a pretty big part of their marketing strategy. If they decide to charge for bags, I think it's still a ways off. They'll probably de-emphasize the "bags fly free" first.

My reason for saying that is CNN aired a story a couple of weeks ago featuring the SW CEO who was quoted as mentioning that the free baggage may not be around for long. He was quoted as saying "They are tired of missing out on this gold mine."


Edit: I should add that I hope he does not go forward with this since it is one of the things that makes it easier for people to fly places. I may never use SW again, but that is my own preference. I know many here still love SW.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

My reason for saying that is CNN aired a story a couple of weeks ago featuring the SW CEO who was quoted as mentioning that the free baggage may not be around for long. He was quoted as saying "They are tired of missing out on this gold mine."

Ugh. I think it would hurt them more than it would help in the short term. Hopefully, they would still do one free checked bag like JetBlue does. I don't use eight bags for my family of four, but it's nice not having to think about it. I don't blame them, though. My comparison of SW to the legacy carriers for flights I would use is before you even consider the checked baggage fees we'd be paying on other airlines, so I think SW would still be my best choice, even with their own baggage fees... as much as I don't like the idea.

 

[G00fyDad]

Ugh. I think it would hurt them more than it would help in the short term. Hopefully, they would still do one free checked bag like JetBlue does. I don't use eight bags for my family of four, but it's nice not having to think about it. I don't blame them, though. My comparison of SW to the legacy carriers for flights I would use is before you even consider the checked baggage fees we'd be paying on other airlines, so I think SW would still be my best choice, even with their own baggage fees... as much as I don't like the idea.

I agree. Although I may never use them again my brother plans on taking SW to Disney with us for our next trip (his and his wife's first). He just cannot see past the free baggage. Hopefully he will have a better experience than I did. When the FA spilled the entire cup of Sprite down my side and did not apologize, that was one thing, but the entire flight was messed up from beginning to end. Who knows, I may try it again next trip to see if the experience changes, but if I do it will only be because I would prefer that we all be on the same flight.