Southwest -- Not a good Boarding # -- Is there hope?

[roliepolieoliefan]

Not to be rude, but you know this prior to booking... so I am not sure where the surprise is? If seating is a priority and makes you nervous, choose another airline that assures you get seat assignments.

And which airline is that?

We just flew American. I purchased our airfare in February for a july vacation.
Something told me to check our flights and seats about a week before our trip
We were in completely different seats than i picked and my 12 yo daughter was in the back of the plane by herself
DH DS and myself were fairly close.

I had to argue with customer service to the point of rudeness for her to put us back together as i picked 5 months prior.
She kept repeating we guarantee to get u there not where u sit

It took me bringing up two not so nice unaccompanied minor stories which both happened on American for her to switch us

So you see nothing is guaranteed

 

[12disneybee]

It's a gamble. Period
Deal with it or pay more..
I would never assume anything...

 

[12disneybee]

Wow..someone is angry

Because you would think checking in at the earliest possible time you would get decent seating... and "not to be rude" generally means you know you are being rude- so just save it.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

It's a gamble. Period
Deal with it or pay more..
I would never assume anything...

I paid $600 a person for our flights to the Caribbean and even paid extra for seat upgrades and we were still switched without our knowledge
So even on airlines with seat assignments your theory proves wrong
We paid more and still didnt get what we paid for without a fight

 

[maxiesmom]

I paid $600 a person for our flights to the Caribbean and even paid extra for seat upgrades and we were still switched without our knowledge
So even on airlines with seat assignments your theory proves wrong
We paid more and still didnt get what we paid for without a fight

That is why you keep an eye on your flights. They can change equipment or flight times and change your seats around as a result.

 

[Fire14]

my issue is I like Aisle, hubs like window I'm not spending my 2.5 hr flight climbing over ppl if I can avoid it and hubs wants his window. we buy EBCI or pray for early boarding numbers. I'm sorry that leaves a middle seat but Life happens. My other issue is if I buy EBCI when I buy flights I lose it when I rebook flight for cheaper. I'm in a no win situation.

 

[maxiesmom]

Because you would think checking in at the earliest possible time you would get decent seating... and "not to be rude" generally means you know you are being rude- so just save it.

Not to a vacation destination that is loaded with families, including tons of children.

 

[maxiesmom]

my issue is I like Aisle, hubs like window I'm not spending my 2.5 hr flight climbing over ppl if I can avoid it and hubs wants his window. we buy EBCI or pray for early boarding numbers. I'm sorry that leaves a middle seat but Life happens. My other issue is if I buy EBCI when I buy flights I lose it when I rebook flight for cheaper. I'm in a no win situation.

You don't lose your EBCI.

 

[Fire14]

OK I was given bad info than. Thank you

 

[goofy4tink]

Ok. There are a lot of people out there that aren't as 'well informed' as we are...I say with tongue planted firmly in cheek!
Can we cut people some slack here? While I don't think this board is a great place for rumor, innuendo and sarcasm, neither is it a place where posters should feel attacked.
I have had less than stellar experiences with the legacy airlines. I've booked particular seats, paying extra for the seats, only to have the airline change the equipment...a plane that didn't offer the seats that I had paid extra for. When we called to request a refund, $40 pp, we were told that we still had 'preferred seats'..yeah, preferred seats behind the wing.
So even when you pay for the seats you want, you may not get what you paid for.
With SW, it's almost mandatory to buy EBCI to and from MCO. More and more people buy it now, not to mention those that buy EBCI for two people then proceed to save seat for the remaining 8 people in their group!! I now tell people to just think of that charge as part of the airfare! Otherwise, you could get a boarding spot at the end of the B group, or even into the C group!

 

[Tinker06]

Good luck! Hope it works out.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

That is why you keep an eye on your flights. They can change equipment or flight times and change your seats around as a result.

Yes i learned that the hard way.
We always fly SWA but they dont fly where we were going
I'll be more careful next time
Thx

 

[scrapquitler]

Just logged in--right at 24 hours--literally sitting here waiting for the clock to change.

And we got.....B50-B53. Never had numbers anywhere near this. We always check ourselves in going down and pay for EBCI for the ride home.

We're a family of four. Is there any hope at all that we'll get seats together? Anyone else been through this? It's me, DH and two teenage boys. So not the end of the world if we're not together, but would just like to be.

Hoping to at least put the two boys together--so they can play games and whatever. Then DH and I will just find seats as close as we can.

But will it still be possible to get a row of 3 and an extra nearby? Or even two and two next to one another?

I'm just not looking forward to this at all...

We had something in the c40s on the second leg of our flight home one trip last year. It was just two of us at that time, and we were still able to sit togehter, even on a full flight. The key is to head to the back of the plane.

And paying for early boarding doesn't always help that much. We paid for it on one trip this spring and ended up with B20s. If a lot of people buy it, it kind of kills the purpose.

 

[maxiesmom]

Yes i learned that the hard way.
We always fly SWA but they dont fly where we were going
I'll be more careful next time
Thx

I had to learn the hard way. One trip Delta kept moving my flight time by 5 minutes.. And the seats were moved every time. So frustrating!

 

[goofy4tink]

We had something in the c40s on the second leg of our flight home one trip last year. It was just two of us at that time, and we were still able to sit togehter, even on a full flight. The key is to head to the back of the plane.

And paying for early boarding doesn't always help that much. We paid for it on one trip this spring and ended up with B20s. If a lot of people buy it, it kind of kills the purpose.

Just a reminder...EBCI is not 'early boarding'. It's early checkin. And because you're getting checked in 12 hrs before those without EBCI, you should get a better boarding slot. EBCI is just that...early checkin, done by SW, so you don't have to worry about doing it. There will be those passengers that pay for EBCI and get boarding spot A18 and others that pay for it and end up with B47!

 

[scrapquitler]

Just a reminder...EBCI is not 'early boarding'. It's early checkin. And because you're getting checked in 12 hrs before those without EBCI, you should get a better boarding slot. EBCI is just that...early checkin, done by SW, so you don't have to worry about doing it. There will be those passengers that pay for EBCI and get boarding spot A18 and others that pay for it and end up with B47!

Yes, I mistyped. I should have said early check in. Usually early check in means earlier boarding, but as I learned, there are those flights where lots of people purchase it and then it doesn't help much.

 

[LisaS]

My other issue is if I buy EBCI when I buy flights I lose it when I rebook flight for cheaper. I'm in a no win situation.

If you use the "Change Flight" option to reprice your flight, EBCI is preserved. EBCI is tied to your reservation number and when you "change" your flight, you keep the same confirmation number so EBCI is preserved. If you reprice by canceling and rebooking, you will get a new confirmation number and your EBCI will be lost.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

On our flight to Dallas, we had terrible numbers and ended up stepping onto a full flight. I got 100% lucky that the flight attendant knew I was flying alone with 3 kids and saved us a row of seats in the very back! My near panic was enough to get me to pay extra for better boarding on the way back!

 

[happymom2one]

So, after reading this... Do you guys suggest the early check in or not? we are a family of 4 flying to Orlando with 2 kids (9 and 3.5). We do not need to sit all together but each kiddo has to be by a parent... I do have a credit, could that be used for the early check in? We are flying on Saturday if that makes a different? Thanks.

 

[nkereina]

So, after reading this... Do you guys suggest the early check in or not? we are a family of 4 flying to Orlando with 2 kids (9 and 3.5). We do not need to sit all together but each kiddo has to be by a parent... I do have a credit, could that be used for the early check in? We are flying on Saturday if that makes a different? Thanks.

I always buy EBCI, mostly so I don't have to worry about checking in exactly at 24 hours. If I had someone I *had* to sit next to, I would most definitely buy the EBCI.

In your case, you could rely on family boarding between the A group and B group. It wouldn't matter what your boarding position is. But if you'd prefer to be in the A group or are picky about where on the plane you sit, I would buy EBCI.