anyone fly southwest?

[PA Princess]

Generally in our experience flying with Southwest they have allowed our family to board with our youngest child and that included our 3 older kids and my mother. However, in your case, Melzseb, I would just make certain to check in at the 24 hour mark to get A boarding passes for your group and then there are no worries.

We are another very happy SW family from PA - we have no complaints with Southwest after many flight experiences over the years.

OP something to keep in mind is that all of the Southwest planes I have flown have had a 3 seat, aisle, and another 3 seats configuration. This means with a family of 4 someone in your group will be sitting next to a stranger, so you will want to give some though to how you want to arrange your seats...one kid with one parent and a stranger or 2 kids with one parent and another in the aisle across the way? We have 4 kids so we fit well with one parent with 2 kids, but we haven't always had 4 kiddos and we have had to decide how to arrange our family in the seats.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

If you get early boarding passes you should be okay with 4. I don't recommend trying to do more than 4 on Southwest.

BUT, with your kid's age, you may be able to pre-board so you shouldn't have a problem at all. Just ask at check-in if you can pre-board with your young children (tell them one of the kiddos has anxiety about getting lost in the boarding crowd or something...).

 

[melzseb]

One of my BIL, age 10, had bipolar disorder and many anxiety issues with that so he would be all worried about being seperate. MIL is calling right at 6:50 the morning before to guarentee we get the A boarding, hopefully it will work.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I love Southwest!! - Last time we happened to fly on another airline, and I really missed it! (- especially when everyone claps after landing in Orlando.)

 

[JUJU814]

Southwest has the option to print out baording passes exactly 24 hours in advance from your home. Doing this will almost guarantee you get on the plane in the 'A' boarding group. That means one of the first 60 people. I haven't had a problem on SW getting seats together by doing this. Also, I believe with a 3yr old you would still qualify for 'special' boarding for families with little ones. This will allow you to get on the plane after the 'A' baording group and before the 'B' group. You would certainly end up with seats together doing this as well.

Don't be afraid. SW is great for families! And I love the fact that you don't have to pay for extra baggage!

I love southwest. Just make sure you check in 24 hours in advance.

I've been in b group also with a family of five and had absolutely no trouble sitting together.

Julie

 

[Trinity524]

Just another happy mother with Southwest here. I travel with my company all the time and whenever I fly non-southwest I always think how much I would rather be flying southwest. So much so that my mother thinks that I am on their payroll. New fleet of planes, the free baggage, the level of service, and the fact that I can choose my seat are all A+++++ in my book. I also have been known to be highly picky!

 

[pooh4evr]

I haven't had that large of a group before but I have heard on here that SW can/or sometimes will only let the younger child and family board, not grandparents, aunts uncles...too just child and immed family- but every gate attendant is different- and that it is UNDER 4 - Just get the A passes by ONLine check in, not sure if calling will get you too far- Thats alot of people to let through with just one 4 yr old. Have fun ans don't worry everything will work out!!

 

[pjm-guy]

We're a family of 4 that's been back into the "B" grouping before (in the 20's somewhere) and even after all the A's & families boarded, we had no problem sitting close together in (2) sets of 2 seats.

 

[Kae]

Do you have to have a child that is under 4 with you, or can the child be 4? My DS is 4 and I was wondering if we would qualify for the family boarding. Do they limit, or can the whole "family" board? We are a group on 9, including my DS, myself, MIL, FIL, 3 BIL, 1 SIL, I nephew, all of us having the same last name except for nephew. Would we all get on as a family?

When our kids were younger it was one adult per child, & they stuck to that rule. Have everyone try to get an A boarding pass & you should be fine.

Kae

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

My family also loves Southwest, and their customer service is typically very good. Just remember it's a "no-frills" airline. We were on one flight, and as we backed away from the gate, the woman next to us took out her headphones and kept looking all over the armrest, wondering where she was supposed to plug them in. We just looked at her and said, "You haven't flown Southwest before, have you?"

 

[melzseb]

Do they not play any movies on the flight?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

No, there are no movies or "in-flight entertainment". You're welcome to bring your portable DVD player or iPod, though.

They also don't serve full meals--just a snack involving a soda and cookies/crackers.

 

[melzseb]

THanks, now I can plan accordinly. I might have him bring his Leapster.

 

[kerry1140]

We had a great trip on SW from IND. Checkin right at 24hr on the way down and was like A50, 51, 52. There were 3 of us, and all sorts of seats to choose from. On the return trip, I didn't make it the Customer Relations Desk at AK until about 22 hrs before and we were B25, 26, 27. This put us a little further back on the plane, but still no problem sitting together.

If you plan on being at a park around your 24 hr mark, make sure you take you confirmation printout with you, and the CMs at customer relations will print out your boarding passes for you. I thought this was a great service.

 

[mickeyncldkd]

We love Southwest. we have two kids (4 and 6). they both been flying since they were babies to disney. It is the main carrier in Orlando. it is the only airline we fly to disney.

 

[kaleighmariesmom]

can someone explain the "ding" to me. I went to buy tickets and then this pop up comes on and says download the "ding" and get better prices ! I did and nothing happened!!

 

[melzseb]

Good to know that CMs will do this for you at Disney. Thanks for the tip.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I only fly southwest. I LOVE IT!!! We just went in May and I printed my boarding passes 24 hr in advance and we were in boarding group A. Perfect!! On the way back, because Southwest wasn't a participating airline with Disney we had to check in there. We were in class C. But, because we had small children we boarded in "Family Boarding anyway" , which you would too, And that boarded right after Group A, so we had great seats both times.

And, Disney told me that this year they were adding Southwest to their Participating Airline group. So, you would be able to check in at your hotel to board 24 hrs before anyway. Go for it. Southwest is a great airline.

 

[Candy30]

Hey this is great information!! We fly out Sept for Disney. Can't wait!!

 

[NotUrsula]

can someone explain the "ding" to me. I went to buy tickets and then this pop up comes on and says download the "ding" and get better prices ! I did and nothing happened!!

DING is like an RSS feed; it sets you up to receive targeted offers of special sales for your airport. Most of the time there is no more than one offer per day, only good for that day, and some days will have no Dings at all. Depending upon what time you signed up, you may have been past that day's deadline.

Now you should watch the lower right margin of your screen whenever you are using your computer. If you hear the sound of the seat-belt warning bell, and see a tiny icon of a SWA plane's tailfin with an envelope on it, you have a Ding offer. Click on that, and it will open the offer in your browser. All Ding fares must be purchased via that link -- you can't just go to the main website to access them.