Boarding/Layout Questions For Southwest

[HLAuburn]

We will be flying SW in a few weeks. We have a "kid under 5", so I know we should be in the first group to board, but is it usually the case that A LOT of people on flights to Orlando also have kids under 5?? Is it a mad rush of families to get the best seats?

And speaking of "best" seats..what's the layout of the SW planes? When I flew them years ago, I remember a bulkhead of maybe 6 in a row, with 2 rows facing each other...do most planes still have that? Do those areas fill up quickly? And would it be really "uncool" of us to sit with an empty seat between us in hopes of having the row to ourselves? Who would want to sit next to a wild 18 month old anyway!?

Thanks!

 

[Indea88]

Were traveling on Southwest in a few weeks as well.Our youngest is 2years. We will qualify to preboard but I will still print an A pass online 24 hours prior to departure. This is our first time on Southwest so I have the same questions about cabin layout etc...

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

No they dont have the two rows facing each other. I was thinking that was only on the older 737-300's which SW very seldom uses any more as most of them are replaced with 737-700. The 737-700 is a typical 737 layout with 3 seats on each side of the plane. Both of you can preboard because your kids are young. Hope this helps.

Matt

 

[2infinityandbeyond]

3 seats/aisle/3 seats

We like to sit a few rows from the front. It's close to the bathroom and we don't have to wait long to get off the plane.

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

Also it might be kinda uncool espically if its very full flight. But if you and your husband dont want to sit together and dont mind sitting apart with someone in the middle then you can. Just dont expect the seat to stay empty if the flight is full.

Matt

 

[Pinnie]

Don't plan on having an "empty" middle seat on a flight to MCO on SWA! Also, still plan on checking in online and getting to the airport early. I have been on a few SWA flights out of MDW that have suspended preboarding families with young children because there were so many of them.

Don't forget that business travelers are using SWA more frequently now and that they are up to the "middle seat" trick!

pinnie

 

[chipper10]

Quick question. I've have only flown once before and that was on American Airlines. First time flying Southwest. I didn't realize that we didn't have any seat numbers on our tickets. How do I make sure my DH and I will sit next to each other. I am terrified of flying (hyberventiated last time) and I don't know what I would do if he was not next to me to take care of my hysteria. Do we just need to get there early to sit next to eachother?

 

[HLAuburn]

chipper-
I do know this much...you can check in online 24 hours before your flight departs. By doing this, you will more than likely get boarding passes in the "A" group which boards just after the pre-boarders (ppl w/ young kids, ppl who need extra time/assistance boarding etc.) From what I gather, people in the A group should be able to sit together, especially if its just the 2 of you.

You can check in online and then just check your bags at the airport.

HTH

 

[Pinnie]

Quick question. I've have only flown once before and that was on American Airlines. First time flying Southwest. I didn't realize that we didn't have any seat numbers on our tickets. How do I make sure my DH and I will sit next to each other. I am terrified of flying (hyberventiated last time) and I don't know what I would do if he was not next to me to take care of my hysteria. Do we just need to get there early to sit next to eachother?

You can check in online with SWA 24 hours prior to your flights. I highly recommend doing that to snag an A or B boarding pass.

Keep one thing in mind. SWA flights to MCO sometimes originate in other cities. For instance, my flight in April originates in Detroit and then stops in Nashville (BNA) those of us continuing on to MCO, remain on the plane and then the boarding BNA pax get on. Therefore a lot of seats will already be taken even if you have an A boarding pass.

pinnie

 

[DebbieB]

If you want an empty middle seat and the flight is not full, your best bet would be to go to the back. I do this on long flights with airlines that assign seats. I look at the chart and pick a window seat in the back with an empty middle seat, it usually stays empty.

 

[salmoneous]

Let's see

1) Is there a mad rush for the preboards? Well, there are no rushes with Southwest, just orderly lines. Pre-boards do start lining up early. I'm not really sure why.

2) Are some seats better than others? Well, the exit row seats have more room, but preboards can't sit in them. Otherwise, they all get to the same city at about the same time. People sitting in the front often get off the plane a minute or two before everyone else, but parents with small children often let other people out first so you might not even get that benefit. As someone pointed out, your best bet for not having a middle seat unfilled is to sit all the way to the back - no need to line up for that.

3) Note - you can usually tell how full the plane will be by looking at the C line. It will always be shorter than the A or B line. If it's empty or a *lot* shorter, there's a chance for empty seats so it's worth trying to get a full row for just two people.

4) It is perfectly "cool" to take the aisle and window and hope nobody takes the middle. If somebody does want the middle, then you can offer to take the middle and give up your aisle seat. Tons of people do it. However, it is *not* cool to put stuff - especially a baby! - in the middle seat to make it look occupied. My opinion here, others may disagree.

5) To the person scared of flying - one thing not to worry about is getting 2 seats together as that won't be a problem. By logging in at the 24 hour mark, you'll get A passes which can always get seats together. If for some reason you end up with B passes, you still should have no problem. To make sure, you might want to line up early to be at the front of the B line. And if everything goes wrong and for some crazy reason there aren't two seats together, explain your situation to the attenendts and they are good at asking people to move around to help people out. (I seen this happen a few times - usually parents with kids, but on the last trip there was a 16/17 year old girl who really wanted to sit next to her boyfriend.)

 

[NotUrsula]

3) Note - you can usually tell how full the plane will be by looking at the C line. It will always be shorter than the A or B line. If it's empty or a *lot* shorter, there's a chance for empty seats so it's worth trying to get a full row for just two people

Not always if you're not on the first leg of the flight. If the flight has come in from elsewhere, there may be only 30-60 empty seats on the plane, so there won't be any C's then, either, but the plane is likely to be quite full. In that case, the only way you're surely getting seats together is if you have A's; the B's are likely to face the dreaded single middle seat dilemma.