Question with Southwest Online Check In for a Family

[mykidsrqts]

I've flown southwest many times but always for work so I was flying solo. This is the first flight for us as a family (4 of us DD12 and DS9 so no family boarding for us). Can anyone help me with my question about online checkin? Of course, I plan to check in at exactly 24 hours, but since all 4 of us are on one reservation and have the same confirmation number, do I just check in once and it checks us all in or do I need to check 4 separate times? Thanks in advance for you help!

 

[DVC-Don]

Just once with all of you on one confirmation number will take care of it.

 

[mykidsrqts]

Thanks so much! That's what I was hoping but when I looked at the screen for the check in I noticed that you needed to enter a name with the confirmation and started wondering. Thanks again.

 

[BellsFam]

Yeah if you have one confirmation number you are all set.

DD, DH and I all had separate. I paid extra for EBCI, and I got A (60s) each time, DH got high B's and DD(5) got mid-B's... I asked a ticket agent if DD could board with me, or DH, because she was only 5 but had her own ticket... they let us board family the way down but not back, the way back we all got to board on Dh's high B category...

I don't think I'll fly SW again after this one!

 

[mykidsrqts]

Thanks BellsFam. Just curious - on your way back were you able to sit all together?

 

[Gracie09]

Yeah if you have one confirmation number you are all set.

DD, DH and I all had separate. I paid extra for EBCI, and I got A (60s) each time, DH got high B's and DD(5) got mid-B's... I asked a ticket agent if DD could board with me, or DH, because she was only 5 but had her own ticket... they let us board family the way down but not back, the way back we all got to board on Dh's high B category...

I don't think I'll fly SW again after this one!

Why's that because they enforced a policy people on here told you they probably would enforce? Or did you have other issues

 

[disney world dreamer]

everyone that is on the same reservation will have the same confirmation number and therefore you only need to check in once.

if you had booked each person separately you would have needed to check each person in.

 

[goofy4tink]

Yeah if you have one confirmation number you are all set.

DD, DH and I all had separate. I paid extra for EBCI, and I got A (60s) each time, DH got high B's and DD(5) got mid-B's... I asked a ticket agent if DD could board with me, or DH, because she was only 5 but had her own ticket... they let us board family the way down but not back, the way back we all got to board on Dh's high B category...

I don't think I'll fly SW again after this one!

Either you or your dh could have moved back to board with your dd...that would have been acceptable. Unfortunately, most passengers are much happier to move forward a slot or two, vs back a slot or two!

Many people get upset with the way SW boards. As long as you are aware of how it works, and you're fine with the possibility of not being next to your family in the boarding queue, then it's fine. But, if families expect to board together, with no regard to where their boarding slots are, then they are going to be better off flying with an airline that has assigned seating.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks BellsFam. Just curious - on your way back were you able to sit all together?

There's no reason to think they didn't all sit together either way.

If I'm reading it right, they ultimately boarded the two Bs earlier than they would have (family boarding is before B, but family boarding is usually kids younger than their 5 year old) though they could have sent the A on ahead, and boarding B on the way back doesn't mean you won't get seats together. Not at all.

 

[BellsFam]

Either you or your dh could have moved back to board with your dd...that would have been acceptable. Unfortunately, most passengers are much happier to move forward a slot or two, vs back a slot or two!

Many people get upset with the way SW boards. As long as you are aware of how it works, and you're fine with the possibility of not being next to your family in the boarding queue, then it's fine. But, if families expect to board together, with no regard to where their boarding slots are, then they are going to be better off flying with an airline that has assigned seating.

The way there I had an A60 and DH had a B5, DD had B15 I stayed back and they boarded us in between A and B with the family boarding...

The check in agent at MHT said to board as family rather than DD with either me or DH...

On the way there DH and I both held back (he had A60 and I had A60)to the B1 that DD had and we boarded after family with her in B1...

The check in agent in MCO said we could have boarded her with me in A60...

I didn't try to "get away" with anything I asked the gate agents how to proceed with her being on her own ticket... I did what they told me to do... In both cases I had better boarding on my own and stayed back to board with my family...

The plane was super full we got together but towards the back of the plane...

 

[BellsFam]

Why's that because they enforced a policy people on here told you they probably would enforce? Or did you have other issues

I've always flown SW and am aware of their boarding policies so nobody on this board needed to tell me otherwise...

I have never not boarded in my category and I wasn't letting my 5yrold hang out in the airport alone while DH and I had already boarded because of my lack of knowledge about boarding back with them...

I asked the gate agent at the time I boarded the plane how to proceed... I didn't skirt the boarding rules or save seats which I clearly could have done.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Family boarding is for children ages 4 and under.

You could have all boarded with your daughter at her boarding number. Or you could have boarded one adult and your daughter at Boarding position B5 and the other adult at B15. Or you could fly an airline with assigned seating and avoid all this nonsense.

 

[bumbershoot]

The way there I had an A60 and DH had a B5, DD had B15 I stayed back and they boarded us in between A and B with the family boarding...

The check in agent at MHT said to board as family rather than DD with either me or DH...

On the way there DH and I both held back (he had A60 and I had A60)to the B1 that DD had and we boarded after family with her in B1...

The check in agent in MCO said we could have boarded her with me in A60...

I didn't try to "get away" with anything I asked the gate agents how to proceed with her being on her own ticket... I did what they told me to do... In both cases I had better boarding on my own and stayed back to board with my family...

The plane was super full we got together but towards the back of the plane...

I didn't say you were trying to get away with anything.

It's odd that the agent told you go leave your A spot to go to B, since you could have just stayed in your A spot and then DH and DD could have gone together at her B number. This is what we do on SW when we're separated. (we've only flown SW when it's me and DS...no DH to complicate matters) We go to the latest-boarding number we have. No one has ANY issue with this, imagine that. The people behind us are still getting on at the exact same time they would have boarded, and the people in front get on one-person earlier.

In your case DH could have gone back to DD's number, and you could have stayed with your A. On your first flight, DH and DD got onboard earlier than they otherwise would have done because they allowed them to go with family boarding.

On the second flight, they got just what they would get, and you were held back, which I'm still confused by.

I've always flown SW and am aware of their boarding policies so nobody on this board needed to tell me otherwise...

I have never not boarded in my category and I wasn't letting my 5yrold hang out in the airport alone while DH and I had already boarded because of my lack of knowledge about boarding back with them...

I asked the gate agent at the time I boarded the plane how to proceed... I didn't skirt the boarding rules or save seats which I clearly could have done.

No one was telling you to leave the 5 year old. If in our family, the adult with the B pass would go to my son's B spot with him, and the other adult would get onboard.

Though maybe not; we're not interested in trying to save spots on an airline that has zero policy on it (they aren't going to get involved in helping one save spots and they aren't going to get involved if someone sits themselves down in a "saved" spot).

Were you at your A spot when you asked the gate agent? And s/he told you to go back to B? Odd. Should you ever end up on SW and in the same situation, just don't talk to them about it. The later-boarding adult stands at the latest-boarding spot with DD, and the earluer-boarding adult can go on with their boarding pass. No reason to talk with the SW people at all when doing it that way.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

This is why I think I am going to appreciate EBCI. Have never used it before, but avoiding this sort of stuff is worth the money to me

 

[Gracie09]

I've always flown SW and am aware of their boarding policies so nobody on this board needed to tell me otherwise...

I have never not boarded in my category and I wasn't letting my 5yrold hang out in the airport alone while DH and I had already boarded because of my lack of knowledge about boarding back with them...

I asked the gate agent at the time I boarded the plane how to proceed... I didn't skirt the boarding rules or save seats which I clearly could have done.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/sw-early-bird-check-in-question.3398409/

Actually in this thread when you asked about it previously, people told you to have your husband board back with her, not leave her alone.

You still haven't said was SW enforcing their rules about boarding procedures the reason you won't fly them again or did something else happen.

 

[ibob52]

 

[maxiesmom]

I've always flown SW and am aware of their boarding policies so nobody on this board needed to tell me otherwise...

I have never not boarded in my category and I wasn't letting my 5yrold hang out in the airport alone while DH and I had already boarded because of my lack of knowledge about boarding back with them...

You have contradicted yourself.

I'm not sure why you asked for advice before when you didn't pay it any mind. All you had to do was step back in line and board with your daughter. Easy.

 

[DebbieB]

This is why I think I am going to appreciate EBCI. Have never used it before, but avoiding this sort of stuff is worth the money to me

You could still end up with boarding positions not together.

 

[BellsFam]

You have contradicted yourself.

I'm not sure why you asked for advice before when you didn't pay it any mind. All you had to do was step back in line and board with your daughter. Easy.

I asked for advice on the off chance it wouldn't happen, then it did and I asked and followed the airline rules by the gate and check in agent...

Much like CMs they are the authority and no matter what advice anyone on the DIS is giving me, chances are it could be different...

Plus being overwhelmed by single handedly planning this vacation, packing for vacation and packing my entire office because we literally moved to a new building the week I was gone, I guess I just plum forgot I even asked most of what I had ever asked on this board.

I make one innocent comment to the OP and people are going back into my old questions to call me out? I don't really understand that.

I won't fly SW again because I want a seat assignment and nothing more. Not because they wouldn't bend their rules for me and my situation that wasn't even a situation. I "played right" by the SW boarding rules, even though SW was going to let me skirt them...

It was just a hiccup in boarding that's all...a comparison to having your family on one conf # opposed to individual conf #.

 

[BellsFam]

You could still end up with boarding positions not together.

Like me!