Boarding Groups on SW?

[wdwnewbie15]

I've never flown before. Looking at SW for a March trip, rates seem to be good, actually internet special one-ways work out to be less than round trip. But, the SW rep told me they board in "groups" that are "assigned" when you reach the airport. We are a family of 5 and ABSOLUTELY cannot be split up during our flight... anyone have anything on this? Am I paranoid? Is this something all airlines do?

 

[joyebean]

If you have a child 4 or under, you can preboard, which allows the entire family to sit together. In preboarding, first the medical and elderly preboards go on, then the families with small children, and THEN the preassigned groups.

The Southwest website says "small children," and I always thought the age was 5 and under, but I think they've recently cut it back to 4 and under. My guess is that if you've got a borderline kid and you ask nicely, they'll still go for it--Southwest is, in my mind, the most kid-friendly airline of all. We'll be flying them to Orlando on Tuesday!

If your youngest is well over 4-5 years old, it's more chancy, but often worth a shot. In a worst-case situation, you'd probably be able to have 2 groups sitting near each other--other passengers are often accomodating I've found.

Hope this helps!
=joye

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

The new deal on SWA is for families with a child 4 and under to preboard and that means MOM, DAD, and the kids. NOT the grandparents, friends, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends you may have made before or after your trip. They had us in stitches yesterday when they made that announcement. The older passengers and those with special needs, as stated previously, board first, then the families and then A, B, C groups.

 

[Tink42]

We're flying SW in March also but we are not direct. Will we get our boarding group assignment for each leg of the trip when we check in or do we have to go to the gate of our connection to get our next boarding group assignment?

Thanks

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Each leg requires check in for a boarding pass. The only exception to this is if you are not changing planes.

 

[Figaro]

Gail, do you know how Southwest handles people in wheelchairs? We haven't used them, but are considering trying them. I need a wheelchair and my spouse has to help me get settled into a seat on airplanes. Is he allowed to get on the plane with me to help me into a seat?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Gail, do you know how Southwest handles people in wheelchairs? We haven't used them, but are considering trying them. I need a wheelchair and my spouse has to help me get settled into a seat on airplanes. Is he allowed to get on the plane with me to help me into a seat?

Hi, your spouse is most certainly able to board with you, you would be the first group to board. Make sure you ask for a "blue jacket" for your boarding passes, you can only get them at the gate counter. After you receive these blue thingies, you will go to the preboard area.
They have limited the amount of people allowed to board with kids under 4 to parents and siblings only because of abuse. People who need assistance are also limited to immediate family only. IE: person who needs assistance, person giving assistance and children of those people only. Hopefully, this makes sense.
SWA is GREAT for preboarding. I had knee problems last Jan. and they allowed Dee and I to preboard without any hassle at all.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

I just flew SWA today from MCO to MHT... I was AMAZED that there were no preboarders... Usually on an orlando flight, I've encountered tons of families with lil kids and whatnot.

One thing to note, SWA no longer has the plastic boarding cards... it's all pre-printed onto the boarding pass. (One less thing to carry)...

I checked in 90 mins prior to my flight at the luggage area, and I received a "B" pass. Apparently with the new system, you can check in at the gate 90 (soon to be 60) mins prior, and at the luggage area 4hrs prior.

As long as you have an "A" or a "B" pass, you should be set. My advice would be to get to the airport, and check in 2hrs before your flight. This will give you some time to check your luggage, get through security, find your gate, grab a bite to eat, etc.

Also, one thing I did... I "camped out" at the gate. I was one of the first "B" people to be let in. Although, my flight wasn't full, so I had a nice window seat, and the middle seat remained vacant. Oh, and a good word about leg room... I'm 6'2", and I was able to stretch out in my seat.

Oh, and one bit of good news... SWA has changed thier snacks since last year... Last year, I got a box of processed cheese, meat and breadsticks. BLAH... But this year, I got Oreo's, Cheese 'n Crackers, Fruit chewy things (the good kind), and the traditional bag of 5 peanuts.


My flight was wonderful. The flight attendants were very nice, the plan left on time, and even arrived early. I got my luggage and stuff before my flight was even scheduled to arrive... hehe Only bad part was that I had to wait around for my family. Oh well

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

I checked in 90 mins prior to my flight at the luggage area, and I received a "B" pass. Apparently with the new system, you can check in at the gate 90 (soon to be 60) mins prior, and at the luggage area 4hrs prior.

You can check your luggage 4 hours prior to the flight at the curb or ticket counter, but you cannot receive a boarding pass until 90 (soon to be 60) mins prior to the flight. This is according to the skycaps and SWA customer service.

We flew from BDL to MCO and received the peanuts and cheeseits and that was it. I would have loved your snack.

 

[lawgs]

gail....is the 60 minute rule being applied to all areas....we were under the impression that since the system was working so well...they were just cutting back the "gate" time to 60 minutes prior and leaving the other areas ( sky cap and check in desk) 90 minutes.....

have they changed it again..???

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Hi lawgs,
According to the woman I spoke with at SWA, they are trimming all areas down to 60 mins. for the boarding passes, but, you will still be able to check the luggage at the curb or counter 4 hours prior to your flight. Of course, as we all know, this could be subject to change or interpertation. Just like Disney. LOL

 

[DVC-Don]

In todays paper, the Albany County Airport stated they are going to install more ramps at the Southwest gates. Once installed Southwest will load and unload planes from the front AND rear of the plane.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
You can check your luggage 4 hours prior to the flight at the curb or ticket counter, but you cannot receive a boarding pass until 90 (soon to be 60) mins prior to the flight. This is according to the skycaps and SWA customer service.

Hrrmmm.... My flight was at 3:05... and I checked my luggage at 1:25... which is 100 minutes before my flight... and, I received a "B" pass... The way the person explained to me, was that I could recieve a boarding pass at the ticket counter up to 4hrs in advance, but just not the gate until 90, soon to be 60. *shrug* I'll find out on my return flight!

 

[Figaro]

Thank you for the information, Gail. We've wanted to try Southwest for some time, but I couldn't figure out how the boarding in a wheelchair would work. It's good to hear that they have pre-boarding the way they do.

Thanks again!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Chip 'n Dale Express,
Well, I guess they are like anyone else, one person says one thing and another does something different. Go figure!!!!
Glad you were able to get a B pass that much in advance.

Figaro,
I am really glad I could help.

 

[dcedwards]

Gail - I had a very long conversation with a SWA customer service rep (on my dime of course ) and I found out that the implementation of their policy is actually different from what the web site says (as well as what the phone customer service reps are saying). I wasn't happy and let them know. Just as an FYI.

Anyways, this was the most recent "scoop" on how it really works...for those of you flying soon.
They said that you can now have your boarding pass issued up to 4 hours prior to boarding. The skycabs, the luggage check in desk and the gate are all allotted a certain amount of "A" and "B" and "C" boarding passes. So, you may check in at skycab 90 minutes prior and receive an "A" group and if you had checked in at the main desk you might receive a "C" even though you checked in at the same time. The only place you can not get a boarding pass issued until 90 minutes prior to the flight is at the gate itself (and they are going to cut it back to 60 minutes). They said this was all a "test" and that things could change dramatically in October (right around the corner). But for now, the posts I was reading on the internet were correct in that people could obtain a boarding pass 4 hours prior to flight departure at both the main check-in counters and the skycab.

Needless to say I was not pleased with the policy and let them know that. I don't mind playing by the rules but for goodness sake...tell me what they are...in essence the SWA customer service rep said that if people were that concerned about getting good seats then they should probably get there as early as they can. I just can't imagine arriving at the airport that early but I guess there are a lot of people who are doing that. The SWA rep said if anyone is unhappy with this new policy that they should either call or write SWA and let them know. It is all in the trial stage right now but is currently how it is being implemented.

 

[eddiemal]

I've read where people have gone to the airport 4 hours before the flight to check their luggage (and get their A pass) and gone back home for a couple of hours.

 

[Barb D]

I wonder how flexible they are about the grandparents' issue? My mom and I are traveling with my 3 kids (youngest will be 3yo). One of them will have to sit with Grandma. Will they allow all of us to pre-board together, or will Grandma have to wait for the general boarding time? Can we save her a seat?

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by Barb D
I wonder how flexible they are about the grandparents' issue? My mom and I are traveling with my 3 kids (youngest will be 3yo). One of them will have to sit with Grandma. Will they allow all of us to pre-board together, or will Grandma have to wait for the general boarding time? Can we save her a seat?

I know on my flight, there was this lady that boarded just ahead of me, and I think the rest of her family must have had "C" passes. She needed a total of four seats, so she requested that I help her save one of the seats in my row. (It was just myself).

It worked out great for me, because the seat between us was empty, so I didnt have to worry about someone squashing me.

 

[dcedwards]

Barb D - Yes - they will let Grandma board with you. Just explain it to the person at gate check-in (even if you don't stop there to get a boarding pass).

Several times, when traveling with my parents, we go to pre-board and they have waited to go with their group - the SWA person has told them to go ahead and board as they know that we will more than likely save them a seat, anyways. So what do ya do -- they boarded with us after declining the first offer -- and then being asked again to board with us (by a SWA person).

They told me it is easier to just get them on the plane rather than having them board with their group. Typically they have "A" group boarding passes (used to be 1-30) as they are always early to the airport. But that all depends on the person at the gate. If you stop and explain the situation SWA is ALWAYS very nice, I've found, if you are nice in making the request ... and it makes sense.