SWA help

[kamik86]

Thanks for the advice. I think we will break into two groups as you suggested just in case. Either that or maybe try EBCI for one group to avoid the strict gate attendant problem.

On the age limit increase, it is apparently just a test. SW may find that it's more trouble than it's worth. I read some interesting ideas on another forum for how they could mitigate the problem, like calling family boarding after all EBCI's are on board, requiring families to sit near the back of the plane, etc. One poster made a good point that if they can figure out a system that works at MCO, where there are a ton of families, then that system should work fine for the rest of their flights.

Yeah I heard some of the tests, they were doing them out of BWI, not for a flight I was on but for some of the other nearby flights.

The problem with that is BWI although it is the closest thing SW has to a hub (along with Midway) doesn't get a high percentage of kids. With DC so close I have found the flights I take to BWI seem to be very high in business travelers (flights to BWI tend to be the ones where there are 10-15 A listers and only 4-5 small children) Raising the age to 11 on those flights and we are talking 15 kids max still

SW will never be able to eliminate the last minute scramble though unless they completely change boarding. There will also be the chance that a family with a 3 year old has a late connection and due to that doesn't get to the boarding area until the Cs are boarding and only middle seats are left. Well no actually they could handle that one... the gate agent should be able to tell they have a young kid on a late connection and have the FA save two seats towards the back together for them.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

There will also be the chance that a family with a 3 year old has a late connection and due to that doesn't get to the boarding area until the Cs are boarding Well no actually they could handle that one... the gate agent should be able to tell they have a young kid on a late connection and have the FA save two seats towards the back together for them.[/QUOTE]

Not sure if the gate agents can't tell who is coming from a connecting flight or they don't care....but twice we have missed connecting flights...once by 5 min and when we arrived at the gate the agent asked where we had been ....they had been paging us....she had to look up and confirm the flight we flew in on and then rebook us on a later flight.
The other time....we knew even before the first leg of the flight departed we were going to miss the connection(mechanical issue)....the gate agents would not rebook connecting passengers and when I called they would not either since the system was showing we departed.....had to wait until we arrived in Baltimore and wait at the gate to rebook.....after that I've given up booking connecting flights on SW and will only fly direct.....SW does a lot right...but in my experience they are horrible wheN a connecting flight is missed

 

[n2mm]

Goofy4tink, I share your rant. We rarely take SW, but did book them for our flight on August 1 out of bwi. We are taking our 3 granddaughters ages 8-10. I purchased early birds for all 5 of us. If we end up with a B and are boarded behind family I'll be done with SW. I feel if you pay extra for early bird then you should board before family boarding. If not, then they should limit how many early birds they sell. I know I've shared this info before, but did want to point out another view. Just call me a nervous nana since this is the first time we are taking the grandkids without their parents.

 

[kamik86]

Goofy4tink, I share your rant. We rarely take SW, but did book them for our flight on August 1 out of bwi. We are taking our 3 granddaughters ages 8-10. I purchased early birds for all 5 of us. If we end up with a B and are boarded behind family I'll be done with SW. I feel if you pay extra for early bird then you should board before family boarding. If not, then they should limit how many early birds they sell. I know I've shared this info before, but did want to point out another view. Just call me a nervous nana since this is the first time we are taking the grandkids without their parents.

To set your expectations.

Out of BWI it is HIGHLY likely you will board behind family for the following reasons:

1) BWI has a number of business travelers that fly alot for many flights. All A listers (frequent flighers) will have the numbers from A15-whenever they are done with A listers as long as they had their status right before the 36 hour mark. So if you have 15 A listers (not uncommon at BWI) between business class and A list your half way through A before early birds even started.

2) BWI is the closest thing SW has to a hub. So the changes are high that many on your flight are connecting to it from another flight. The way SW does Early Bird is that you check in for all legs of the flight at 36 hours. So say I flew from Albany to BWI with early bird and then will be on your flight. My Albany flight left three hours before the BWI flight so I was really checked into the BWI flight at 39 hours. This means you will be towards the back of the early bird line (along with any other early birds that also started at BWI)

3) It seems more people have been purchasing EBCI lately.

I understand the view that all the EBCIs should board before family since they paid... the problem with this for the airline is that laws and liability will always trump customer desires and since any child in a car seat legally HAS to have a window and have a companion in the seat next to them and they don't want to be liable for a child under 4 that wasn't sat next to Mom and Dad in an emergency. Boarding them first is what they have to do... There is no legal problem at all and much lower of a liability issue if your granddaughters get separated from you since they are older.


Editing to add: Honestly I would go with a backup plan in case you have to split into at least two groups on the plane. Even with EBCI the fact that BWI is a major connection point means unless your flight is first thing in the morning it is also likely that its a continuing flight from somewhere else. Which means you could have many people on the plane already before the medical preboards even start boarding. With 5 people you will definitely need two rows so the chances are pretty good that you wont be able to find all 5 seats together and may have a row or more between you.

 

[n2mm]

I'm sure my flight is a connecting for others but did check and it doesn't appear to have originated elsewhere, did a little digging. While my girls are older, we just need to sit next to the 8 year old and one of the 10 year olds who has never flown. The other 10 year old is fine. Just give her a word find and she's good to go. She's been flying since she was a baby. I flew out of bwi in October, though our flight was 4 hours late. Which is the reason we are flying them this time because we had a $200 credit to use. We did pretty good as we did have an A30ish that trip. Nothing we can do about it now. We are flying home JetBlue so no worries there.

 

[Jake]

Think about it "" When you fly to Disney, there is a lot of family boarding. I don't think they will allow six to board together. if you are flying to some other place could be different

 

[tarak]

I'm taking SW for the first time in August. Traveling with two of my kids, who are 12 and 3. I went ahead and paid for the early bird boarding because while I figured I qualified for family with the 3-year-old, wasn't sure about the older daughter (who would be fine by herself if it came down to it). Now I'm wondering if we're better off with the family boarding after all, since we're going out of BWI.

 

[n2mm]

I'm taking SW for the first time in August. Traveling with two of my kids, who are 12 and 3. I went ahead and paid for the early bird boarding because while I figured I qualified for family with the 3-year-old, wasn't sure about the older daughter (who would be fine by herself if it came down to it). Now I'm wondering if we're better off with the family boarding after all, since we're going out of BWI.

If you don't get an A, then you should be able to do family boarding.

 

[tarak]

If you don't get an A, then you should be able to do family boarding.

Thank you! At the moment we can get our boarding group, I will be at karate because that's belt-test night. Not sure whether my husband or 12-year-old is better suited to signing in and getting our boarding group. But if things go wacky, I'm glad to have a plan B.

 

[n2mm]

Thank you! At the moment we can get our boarding group, I will be at karate because that's belt-test night. Not sure whether my husband or 12-year-old is better suited to signing in and getting our boarding group. But if things go wacky, I'm glad to have a plan B.

Since you already paid for early bird, your boarding number will be issued for you automatically. You just need to go online and print your boarding passes. Just log on 24 hrs or after and see what you get and print.

 

[tarak]

Since you already paid for early bird, your boarding number will be issued for you automatically. You just need to go online and print your boarding passes. Just log on 24 hrs or after and see what
you get and print.

Oh, see I thought I logged on earlier with the early bird. And that was after I looked at the SW site. Honestly, I'd rather just pay the sit-with-my-kid fee.

But it's nice I don't have to do anything. I think I saw 36 hours and assumed I just checked in that much earlier. Now I can just concentrate on not getting humiliated at belt testing when I spar against a 12-year-old who is much faster than I am...

 

[n2mm]

To set your expectations.

Out of BWI it is HIGHLY likely you will board behind family for the following reasons:

1) BWI has a number of business travelers that fly alot for many flights. All A listers (frequent flighers) will have the numbers from A15-whenever they are done with A listers as long as they had their status right before the 36 hour mark. So if you have 15 A listers (not uncommon at BWI) between business class and A list your half way through A before early birds even started.

2) BWI is the closest thing SW has to a hub. So the changes are high that many on your flight are connecting to it from another flight. The way SW does Early Bird is that you check in for all legs of the flight at 36 hours. So say I flew from Albany to BWI with early bird and then will be on your flight. My Albany flight left three hours before the BWI flight so I was really checked into the BWI flight at 39 hours. This means you will be towards the back of the early bird line (along with any other early birds that also started at BWI)

3) It seems more people have been purchasing EBCI lately.

I understand the view that all the EBCIs should board before family since they paid... the problem with this for the airline is that laws and liability will always trump customer desires and since any child in a car seat legally HAS to have a window and have a companion in the seat next to them and they don't want to be liable for a child under 4 that wasn't sat next to Mom and Dad in an emergency. Boarding them first is what they have to do... There is no legal problem at all and much lower of a liability issue if your granddaughters get separated from you since they are older.


Editing to add: Honestly I would go with a backup plan in case you have to split into at least two groups on the plane. Even with EBCI the fact that BWI is a major connection point means unless your flight is first thing in the morning it is also likely that its a continuing flight from somewhere else. Which means you could have many people on the plane already before the medical preboards even start boarding. With 5 people you will definitely need two rows so the chances are pretty good that you wont be able to find all 5 seats together and may have a row or more between you.

An update. We leave tomorrow out of bwi and I printed my boarding passes. Boy was I relieved to get A 25-29, and both my husband and I got tsa precheck. I had done a little searching and knew my flight was a connecting flight for maybe 6+ flights coming in from the north. I was pretty surprise.

 

[austinwildflower]

Go to seatguru.com and click on Seat Maps to find out the seat configurations (with any noticeably good or bad seats highlighted) for your flight. If you're very concerned about seating, I recommend purchasing Early Bird Check-In for your family and having it added to the reservations. Given the good deal you got on tickets, the extra $25/person round trip is not that much to add to ensure some peace of mind.