AA to SW and Mears Questions (Dallas/MCO)

[TiffFromTX]

For the first time, I'm going to try Southwest over American - their hours are SO much better from Dallas both arriving and leaving (we get more park time).

SW confuses me with no assigned seating so I'm going to get business and not sure if there's anything else I can pay for or do to ensure we get boarded early and my teen daughter can sit with me. I hear horror stories about SW and the fact that it has its own thread here worries me. LOL!

Anyone have any opinions on making the switch? And if you're from Dallas Fort Worth, anything to understand about Love Field? I've only ever flown DFW.

Also, I think it's cheaper for us to do Mears express over Lyft (the one we usually choose) - is the Express Mears good? Does anyone know how early before your flight they pick you up?

 

[EACarlson]

You don't need to buy Business Select to be sure to sit with your daughter. Wanna Get Away Plus with Early Bird Check in will do it. As would Anytime. Love Field is much smaller than DFW, much less confusing and much less well designed. If it's a busy time of day it will feel more crowded even with fewer people.
I don't think Mears Express for two will be less expensive than a Lyft. You also have the issue that Mears is on the opposite corner of MCO from where SW lands. You'll have to grab your bags, go back up stairs, across the airport then back down to where Mears is.

 

[_19disnA]

Been a few years since I flew on Southwest, but was no big deal as I recall. They don't have assigned seats like other airlines. However, you get to choose where you sit when you board and unless you are late and/or one of the last to board, there will be plenty of choices for you and your daughter to choose seats next to each other. There is a paid option you can choose where you get to board earlier then others. I find online you always get people who exaggerate and complain about whatever their experience was.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I fly SW almost exclusively. Now, it is only me flying but...I buy Wanna Get Away with Early Bird or Wanna Get Away plus. If I don't like my boarding number when I get it (A30-40), I see if there are any seats left in the A1-15 and buy that. But, if you are in the A boarding group or even the early B's, you will find 2 seats together. You may have to go back a bit in the plane but you will find 2 seats together.

 

[tx911]

I think you will really like Love field. It's very easy to navigate.

I'd echo what everyone else has said re seating. I always do Wanna Get Away plus with Earlybird check-in, and I've consistently been in group A.

 

[scrappinginontario]

My daughter and I almost exclusively fly SW and in over 80 flights we were only (almost) separated once and that was when I forgot to check us in until a couple of hours before our flight. (Was having too much fun at Disney and completely forgot!!) That flight there were only single seats left but eventually someone offered to change seats as my dd was only 5yo at the time so we sat together.

(Cool moment - 2 years ago when my now 13yo offered her seat to a mom and daughter who wanted to sit together as she remembered all those years later what it meant when someone did that for her. )

We purchase Wanna Get Away fares and when she was younger I purchased EBCI to guarantee we’d be together.

There really is no need to purchase Business Class (especially as there is no actual ‘Business Class seating’ on the plane itself.

SW is an amazing airline and I hope your experience is as wonderful as many of us have shared here.

Another tip as this is your first time flying with SW, continue to check the price of your flights. If prices go down (which is quite common) you can modify and keep the savings as a non-expiring travel credit. I originally booked our round trip flights for this coming Aug, from Buffalo - Orlando the day they were released, I believe in Jan or Feb. Now, 3 months later I’ve modified often and we each have $270 in travel credits purely from taking advantage of price drops!! Bonus is one flight is now direct too when previously there were stops. Add to that SW’s great fares, free luggage and they are a great airline to travel with with amazing staff!!

 

[beccasmom]

We flew SW quite a bit over the years and had no issues. No luggage fees is a great perk. We usually ended up in low-to-middle “A” seats either through using EarlyBird or remembering to check in once it became available. We found their service to be mostly fine and have no complaints. But the lack of interline agreements with other airlines does give me pause, particularly with regard to winter travel. I try not to over-analyze it, but it is something to consider with discount airlines.

However, SW offers very few non-stop flights from our home airport (PHL) anymore (3 flights one day, but only one on another day and some flights requiring plane changes in Chicago and St. Louis, making for a very long day) and the fares aren’t much better than using American. So we are flying American now and that’s been fine as well, getting us to MCO in a bit over two hours. We can use our miles for upgrades, which we take advantage of on longer flights and using our AA credit card gives us $0 baggage fees.

 

[TiffFromTX]

Thanks y'all! I decided to give Southwest a try. Flying from DAL to MCO. We will do Lyft (I hope they pick up by the Southwest baggage and I don't have to go across the airport). I love the tips here. Before reading them, I got the Business class and the agent said because I need wheelchair assistance I'll board first anyway (but some articles say they no longer do this). Anyone know which seats are best? I assume they're all 3 seats and no 2 seat options.

 

[EACarlson]

Thanks y'all! I decided to give Southwest a try. Flying from DAL to MCO. We will do Lyft (I hope they pick up by the Southwest baggage and I don't have to go across the airport). I love the tips here. Before reading them, I got the Business class and the agent said because I need wheelchair assistance I'll board first anyway (but some articles say they no longer do this). Anyone know which seats are best? I assume they're all 3 seats and no 2 seat options.

Lyft will pick you up on the Terminal A side, if I recall what I've read here, they've changed it so you just tell the driver which door your at when you come out instead of having to go down to the end.
Yes, wheelchairs Preboard, no reason to buy anything other than Wanna Get Away fares.
The best seats are not eligible for you as a Preboard. There are two seats that don't have a seat in front of them due to the emergency exit so you have essentially unlimited legroom.
I would sit as far forward as you can, in whatever your seat preference is. Personally I prefer window but many people prefer the aisle.

 

[DisneyTexan]

because I need wheelchair assistance I'll board first anyway (but some articles say they no longer do this).

Don't worry, you will pre-board. Even if you weren't pre-boarding, sitting together is very rarely ever an issue. I have found that people are mostly nice and will accommodate if a family is having difficulty finding seats.

I'm just the opposite on our airport choice -- it has been many years since I have been to DFW, and now Southwest gets us pretty much everywhere. Love Field is easy and very manageable. There is only one big terminal, so you don't have to worry about where you enter the airport.