Another SWA boarding question

[Lucky'sMom]

Okay, so...I make sure I go online at 12:01 am to get an "A" boarding pass. What happens at the gate? Did I read that people have to line up by thier letters (A, B, C)? How early should I get to my gate, and will my whole family have to stand in a line immediately? If we have "A" passes, would we definitely be able to get seats together, or is it really important to be in the front of the "A" line?

I couldn't believe it when I read from another DIS member that her 6-year old DD had to sit by herself! I cannot imagine that! I can't believe that I booked on SWA, and had NO IDEA that their boarding was different than other airlines. If I didn't have young children, I wouldn't mind so much.

Thanks for all of your help.

 

[crzy4mickey]

We also printed our boarding passes before we went to the airport. I didn't print them until 3:30 am and our fligh was 10:10 am. We arrived at the airport at least 2 hrs early and were among the first at the gate. We usually wait until the first person lines up to get in line or if it looks really crowded (especially the pre-board) we just get in line. The kids just sit and play their games or we take turns bringing the kids for a last minute bathroom brake. I would not like it if we had to sit appart and i know my kids would be upset enough to maybe even cry. My friend has to fly by herself with 2 kids and ended up choosing Delta because she didn't want to take any chances not being able to sit together. I told her just to have them say they were feeling sick and maybe had to throw up! Maybe someone would change seats for them! I would never want to sit apart from my kids but would split one of us with one kid. And i would make changes for any other adult that wanted to sit with their kids.

 

[disneycrazed139]

I flew SWA once and got an A pass. I felt like I was getting in line for something in elementary school. People were getting in their respective A, B, C lines an hour or so before boarding. I think if you have an A pass you will get a good choice of seats, but unless you are at the very front of the line, you don't get your first choice and it makes little difference. If you are in B or C, it pretty much doesn't matter where you are (unless you are at the very end, in which case you may be split up).

On our flight, it seemed that 20% of the passengers were in the A line. About 70% in the B line, and the rest in the very short C line. I am still trying to figure out why the system is the way it is and what this meant. Very few get the A pass and practically the rest get the B pass, so aside from the privileged A's, it's pretty much first come, first served, which makes you feel like you are in line for a buffet or camping out for concert tickets or something.

 

[inkkognito]

I always get in the A line as soon as I arrive, unless I can't (for example, if another flight is leaving from my gate right before mine). I get there about 90 minutes early and am usually around fourth in the A line. It doesn't bother me to line up early; instead of sitting in a chair, I sit in the line. Since it's my husband and I, one of us can stay while the other uses the restrooms or gets food or whatever. It's sort of a pain, but not as bad as I thought it would be when we started flying SWA.
Barb

 

[inkkognito]

Oh, and I forgot to mention...
I had heard about people leaving their bags in the line and sitting down far away. That happened last flight, but NO ONE honored their place in line. It was the B line, and the other passengers in the line just shoved the bags off to the side. The people were not pleased when they got up and thought they were going to be first!
Barb

 

[Lewisc]

If you have an "A" pass and the flight is originating from your airport there isn't any reason to line up early, you still should be able to sit together even if you're the last "A" to board.

That said my wife likes lining up early.

 

[Mom-to-3]

www.flyertalk.com is a great site. It has all sorts of info/discussion boards frequented by "travel warriors." Some of these people are in hotel rooms 200+ days/year!

Use the 12:01am local time online check in. They say the first 45 people to check in get A . There is no reason to get in line at the airport gate unless you want a certain row. As the A's are finishing boarding, just stroll up.

THE ONLY TIME THIS WON'T WORK: Ask the gate agent how many people are arriving on the plane and staying on to your destination. If more than 1/2 the plane will be full when the A's get on, you might want to stand in the line.

 

[yogibigdog]

Wanted to let you know if you purchased a child or any senior ticket you cannot check in online before hand. It states this on the SW website. I had to pay full fare (going during school vacation - happy do even get a ticket) I paid $10.00 less for the childs fare but now I can't check in ahead of time.

 

[DrTomorrow]

www.flyertalk.com is a great site. It has all sorts of info/discussion boards frequented by "travel warriors." Some of these people are in hotel rooms 200+ days/year!

Use the 12:01am local time online check in. They say the first 45 people to check in get A . There is no reason to get in line at the airport gate unless you want a certain row. As the A's are finishing boarding, just stroll up.

THE ONLY TIME THIS WON'T WORK: Ask the gate agent how many people are arriving on the plane and staying on to your destination. If more than 1/2 the plane will be full when the A's get on, you might want to stand in the line.

There's no "reason" to get in line, but it's darned hard to sit there, watching all those other people get ahead of me! Plus, I have to sit somewhere, so why not in line?

And THE TIME IT WON'T WORK is very real. On our last flight home from WDW (to Phoenix), the flight originated somewhere like Ft. Lauderdale or Daytona - and A LOT of folks stayed on-board. We were about 9 and 10 in the A line, and got one of the last two aisle-middle combos left.

 

[blitzkrieg048]

SOUTHWEST IS GREAT IF YOU HAVE SMALL CHILDREN. YOU USE THE PREBOARD LINE AND ARE ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE ON THE PLANE. YOU BYPASS ALL THE A,B,C LINES. YOU CAN BE LAST IN THE PRE BOARD LINE AND STILL HAVE NO PROBLEM SITTING TOGETHER. IF YOUR KIDS ARE OVER 6 THEN YOU SHOULD PROBABLY GET TO THE AIRPORT A COUPLE HOURS EARLY. IMO THE MONEY YOU SAVE BY FLYING SOUTHWEST IS WORTH GETTING THERE A LITTLE EARLIER AND STANDING IN LINE IF YOUR KIDS ARE OVER 6.

 

[disneyldwjr]

SOUTHWEST IS GREAT IF YOU HAVE SMALL CHILDREN. YOU USE THE PREBOARD LINE AND ARE ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE ON THE PLANE. YOU BYPASS ALL THE A,B,C LINES. YOU CAN BE LAST IN THE PRE BOARD LINE AND STILL HAVE NO PROBLEM SITTING TOGETHER. IF YOUR KIDS ARE OVER 6 THEN YOU SHOULD PROBABLY GET TO THE AIRPORT A COUPLE HOURS EARLY. IMO THE MONEY YOU SAVE BY FLYING SOUTHWEST IS WORTH GETTING THERE A LITTLE EARLIER AND STANDING IN LINE IF YOUR KIDS ARE OVER 6.

Actually, they stop preboarding any child that is 5 and over.

 

[laurabelle]

I flew on SW for the 1st time in January with my 2 dds (11 & 8yrs old). We had A boarding passes, and arrived early because I wanted to allow plenty of time to return my rental car and get through security (we had no checked bags), not to mention the fact that I didn't want to be seperated from my girls. We were probably lined up an hour early. Like the other poster said, you've gotta sit somewhere, it might as well be in line. I can see how getting there early isn't as urgent if you have an A pass, but I didn't want to take my chances. BTW- we weren't the first in line!

 

[Mom-to-3]

Sitting in line? Do you mean sitting on your carry-on bag or on the carpet? I've not seen a gate that had chairs in the designated lines. And be careful about leaving unattended bags to hold your place. Security claims they'll be confiscated, but more likely they'll be shoved aside.

Last week I flew to NYC on American with a high school girls' choir and we had individually assigned seats -- it was heaven.

But for pricing, you'll see me heading out on Southwest this weekend.

 

[laurabelle]

Sitting in line? Do you mean sitting on your carry-on bag or on the carpet? I've not seen a gate that had chairs in the designated lines. And be careful about leaving unattended bags to hold your place. Security claims they'll be confiscated, but more likely they'll be shoved aside.

We all sat on the carpeted floor with our carry ons beside us... though you could certainly stand the whole time if you wanted to. It wasn't a big deal for us, and hey, it's cheap!

 

[jkfreeman33]

We flew from Chicago Midway to Orlando and had an "A" boarding pass. We sat in row 6. Going was not a problem, however........
Coming home from Orlando, we were 4th in line with a "A" pass and because of all the pre-boarders with "small" children, we sat in row 31. That's how many pre-boarders there were coming back from Orlando. The pre-boarding line was longer than the A,B & C together.
People with small children who came late were seperated. FA asked for people to change seats and no one did. It was a hostle group, people were yelling that they should have come early if they wanted to sit together.
I like SWA, just not to Orlando.

 

[kar313]

Wanted to let you know if you purchased a child or any senior ticket you cannot check in online before hand. It states this on the SW website. I had to pay full fare (going during school vacation - happy do even get a ticket) I paid $10.00 less for the childs fare but now I can't check in ahead of time.

Seniors and people w/ children under 4 don't have to get in any of the ABC lines they get to board in priority boarding line first before the other passengers.

 

[goofyforlife]

We usually try to arrive at least 45 minutes early to the gate so that we can be towards front of A line.

(Only because I'm picky about wanting to sit forward of the wings because my stomach feels better than the couple times we were assigned to the back of a plane.)

It's true that on the way home if you can't pre-board get there even earlier since in Orlando sometimes more than half the plane is in pre-board with kids.

 

[simzac]

I know I'll get flamed for this, but here goes anyway. It's only a short airline flight, it's not the whole day, like some people make it out to be. I can understand little kids needing to be with their parents, and that's what the preboard is for. My boys are 14 and 11, if they have to sit by themselves during the flight, so be it. They have their gameboys to keep them occupied. Adults can read, eat, sleep, or better yet, strike up a conversation with the person seated next to you, you might make a new friend. Not having assigned seats is not the end of the world. Just remember where your plane is taking you, first to Disney World at the beginning of your trip, and then back home after you had a great time. I would rather save money on SW tickets any day than have assigned seats for much more cash. JMO

 

[disneyldwjr]

I know I'll get flamed for this, but here goes anyway. It's only a short airline flight, it's not the whole day, like some people make it out to be. I can understand little kids needing to be with their parents, and that's what the preboard is for. My boys are 14 and 11, if they have to sit by themselves during the flight, so be it. They have their gameboys to keep them occupied. Adults can read, eat, sleep, or better yet, strike up a conversation with the person seated next to you, you might make a new friend. Not having assigned seats is not the end of the world. Just remember where your plane is taking you, first to Disney World at the beginning of your trip, and then back home after you had a great time. I would rather save money on SW tickets any day than have assigned seats for much more cash. JMO

VERY WELL SAID!!!!!

 

[3PrezGirls]

I agree if my children were older and used to flying but having a 5 year old, a 3 year old and an infant I need to sit as a family to make it more enjoyable for all of us. If I can't sit next to dh so be it though I won't be that mad like the poster said above I'm on my way to WDW what more could I ask for!!!