2x2 or 3x1?

[jsginmd]

I am flying from BWI to MCO with my wife and two children on Southwest. Both kids are in car seats and they will have their own seats on the plane. I am aware of Southwest's early boarding policy for passengers with small children (love it!).

My question is this: Since the seats will most likely be three on each side of the aisle, do you think it would be better to split up 2 and 2 (with each child & carseat on the window) or would a 3x1 split (two carseats on one side, starting at the window and working towards the aisle) be better?

The 2x2 split would be better in an emergency, I think, since each parent could attend one child. The 3x1 split would confine the small children away from other passengers and give us a small area of chaos all to ourselves. It would also give one lucky parent a little break but still keep us close enough to help out as needed.

We're leaning towards the 3x1 split unless Southwest has anything against it (didn't see anything on their website).

With any luck, the kids will sleep the whole way, but what would you suggest?

 

[dtuleya]

I just booked my flight from BWI to MCO with USAir. I was already able to book my seats (I realize this isn't an option with Southwest) and I had the same issue. My boys will be 9 & 14, but they have never flown before and are a little anxious. My hubby is 6'3" and definitely needs an aisle seat. We decided to go with the 3x1. Me and three kids in one row with DH across the aisle. I figured that way we wouldn't have to sit with anyone else on the in our row and the boys could play hangman, tic tac toe, share gameboy games, etc. with little hassle.

 

[CarolA]

I am not 100% sure of this, but I thought that car seats had to be in the window seat which pretty much means you are 2x2. You might call SW and ask or just wing it when you get there.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Originally posted by jsginmd
With any luck, the kids will sleep the whole way, but what would you suggest?

Tranquilizers.

Just kidding. I'd go with the 2x2 arrangement. Look at it like this -- if you go with the 3x1, then you will have a child by the window, a child in the middle, and a parent on the aisle. If there's an emergency, the parent would have to reach across the child in the middle to reach the child by the window. I don't believe you can do child/parent/child -- IIRC, they don't allow young children to sit on the aisle.

Have a safe trip and have fun in WDW!

 

[DVC-Don]

We always go with the 2 X 2 seating on SW. We have always been in the first two groups to board and have not had a problem finding 2 X 2.

 

[ducklite]

Feed the kids turkey before the flight and talk to your pediatrician about something to prevent ear problems which might also cause drowsiness.

Anne

 

[Chess]

We went in February with an almost 4 and almost 6 year old. We did the 2x2 split with each child having a window seat and being one row behind the other. I felt this worked well because each kid got individual attention from the parent they were sitting with but you could still talk to the child in front and hand things to them. My kids enjoyed the individual attention. We flew Southwest from BWI to MCO and had no problem getting seats together as I described. What time are you leaving? My kids have never slept the on the flights and we have done a 10am flight and an 8:50pm.

Cindy

 

[disneyagain]

We've done both...We flew SWA last April, we did 3X1 (kids were 8 and 6). One parent in the middle and other across the aisle. It worked okay, but the aisle across is sort of at an angle so the person across is just a little forward or backward from you. When we flew again in November we decided to do the 2x2. We took the aisle and middle seat, one in front of the other, parent on the aisle. Since the plane wasn't booked, most people just strolled on past not wanting to sit with a child, or jump over to the window seat. So... we ended up with 3 seats for the 2 of us...worked great! If someone wanted to sit with us we probably would have just moved in to the window and middle.... We're going again in July, will do the 2X2 again!

 

[chris1gill]

Just wanted to say we are also 2 adults & 2 children... Often times we do the 3x1 split... 3 in front, 1 in back (to help out if needed & to switch with the other adult too!)... It's always worked good for us, although our oldest is now 7, so he's really good on the plane now

 

[jsginmd]

Thanks everybody.

While we haven't decided what we'll do yet, I appreciate the feedback. I hadn't even considered doing 2x2 sitting one behind the other (thanks Chess!). We might try to "discourage" people from sitting with us if the flight isn't full (a la disneyagain).

If anyone else has any other perspectives, feel free to post!

Thanks!

PS. Obi-Wan Pinobi - "Tranquilizers." HAHAHAHAHA

 

[CarolMN]

I agree with CarolA - call SWA and specifically ask for their policy on car seat placement. You may not have a choice. (I'd rather know ahead of time than have to inconvenience everyone after boarding). Many airlines restrict car seats to the window seat. I've been told it's a safety issue.

 

[Gillian]

I think the car seats have to go in the window seat because you can't get by them once they are installed. You probably couldn't reach the child who was in the window seat over the car seat of the child in the middle.