Couple Southwest/Airport Questions

[JustAKid]

Even though I have purchased the Early-Bird Check In through Southwest Airlines I am wondering if I MUST print - or send to my phone - our boarding passes? It is my kids' first time on an airplane and I would like to have the "normal" boarding passes they print out at the desk as keepsakes. We have to check luggage anyway.

Also, does anyone know if it is common practice at airports to have carriers all dock in the same section of the airport? So if I am flying SW, my gate to my connecting flight will be near the gate I deplane from? We are flying into large airports that we are unfamiliar with and I want to prepare if the plane change is going to be stressful because we have to run across the airport.

Thanks for the help!

 

[JessM]

You can go to the check in counter or a kiosk and get your boarding passes printed.

At most airports all of the gates a particular carrier uses are in the same terminal but not always. Which airports are you flying through? The SW gates in Baltimore, for example, are located in Terminal A, B and C. In Denver, however, they are all in Terminal C.

Download the SW app before you leave and your gate information for your connecting airport will be available on the app. Gates can change so make sure you check back throughout your travel day. I find it easier to know which gate I'm coming into and which flight my next flight is going out of before I exit the plane. That way I know if I have a long trek across the airport or not.

 

[DebbieB]

In my experience, SW collects the boarding passes, you don't keep them. So you may want to print an extra at home.

 

[JustAKid]

You can go to the check in counter or a kiosk and get your boarding passes printed.

At most airports all of the gates a particular carrier uses are in the same terminal but not always. Which airports are you flying through? The SW gates in Baltimore, for example, are located in Terminal A, B and C. In Denver, however, they are all in Terminal C.

Download the SW app before you leave and your gate information for your connecting airport will be available on the app. Gates can change so make sure you check back throughout your travel day. I find it easier to know which gate I'm coming into and which flight my next flight is going out of before I exit the plane. That way I know if I have a long trek across the airport or not.

Thank you for this information. On our flight to MCO we actually switch planes in Denver, so that is super helpful to know! On the way back we switch planes in Phoenix, AZ. Happen to know the terminal situation there?

In my experience, SW collects the boarding passes, you don't keep them. So you may want to print an extra at home.

Am I able to do that? Print boarding passes at home and then ask them to print more at the check-in counter?

 

[goofy4tink]

Actually I would print them at home, then get others at the checkin counter. No need to explain. Just keep the ones from home tucked away. Then, just hand the ones from home to the TSA person at security and then to the gate agent when boarding. That way the ones you got at the airport can stay in the bag and you can keep them for the kids.

 

[ibob52]

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[karly05]

OP, have you checked online for official websites for the Denver and Phoenix airports? I don't know how good their sites are, but when I flew through ATL for the first time a few years ago, I studied up on their website so I knew how the airport was laid out, and how to get from one point to another. I'm flying Delta through ATL this year, and have found the ATL website very helpful.

You can also look at your flights (or flights from-through-to your destinations) for the current day(s) and see what gates they're going in and out of. Your gates won't necessarily be the same, but you'll get an idea if they seem to be concentrated in one part of the airport.

 

[bumbershoot]

I've never experienced SW collecting my paper ticket.

Half the time we end up with more than one boarding pass per person, whether it's electronic and printed-at-the-airport, or printed-at-home and printed-at-the-airport.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Thank you for this information. On our flight to MCO we actually switch planes in Denver, so that is super helpful to know! On the way back we switch planes in Phoenix, AZ. Happen to know the terminal situation there?

Am I able to do that? Print boarding passes at home and then ask them to print more at the check-in counter?

SWA flies into terminal 4 in Phx. It's a large terminal, but do-able. If the gates are in different parts of the terminal, they have moving walkways and large carts (think of a golf cart on steroids) to get you where you're going.

The people at the check-in counter have no idea who's printed boarding passes at home. It's just a copy of your reservation.

 

[AngiTN]

Thank you for this information. On our flight to MCO we actually switch planes in Denver, so that is super helpful to know! On the way back we switch planes in Phoenix, AZ. Happen to know the terminal situation there?



Am I able to do that? Print boarding passes at home and then ask them to print more at the check-in counter?

Just print 2 copies at home. You can print as many as you want. That way you can skip having to print at the airport completely

 

[tjmw2727]

I've never experienced SW collecting my paper ticket.

Half the time we end up with more than one boarding pass per person, whether it's electronic and printed-at-the-airport, or printed-at-home and printed-at-the-airport.

Agree- SWA only collects the boarding pass from the first person to board. In your situation I would probably just print 2 at home and leave one at home for the scrapbook.

As far as connections I would research your flights a few days prior to your departure to see if it consistently lands at the same gate and then see where the next flight leaves from. You can do this on the SWA website under check flight status (or something like that). The go to the official site for the airport involved and check the terminal map to see where the gates are in relation to each other. Things can change of course but you will have a rough idea of the scenario before you go.

 

[LisaS]

Actually I would print them at home, then get others at the checkin counter. No need to explain. Just keep the ones from home tucked away. Then, just hand the ones from home to the TSA person at security and then to the gate agent when boarding. That way the ones you got at the airport can stay in the bag and you can keep them for the kids.

I agree. The ones you print at home are larger than the ones you print at the airport kiosk. Use the home-printed ones to go through security and to board the plane, keep the smaller kiosk-printed ones as souvenirs.

And as others have stated, when printing them at home you can print them as many times as you like. They have to allow you to print multiple times in case something happens the first time you print them (printer low on ink, paper jam, etc.)

 

[JustAKid]

Thank you all so much for your advice! I went through the process of researching all of our carriers, airports, terminals and gates. I not only found the information I was after but also formulated some great plans for quickly getting all of us to the bathroom and grabbing a meal during our layover so we can munch on the plane, AND found the routes our planes are taking so I can have conversations with my kids about what they're seeing our of the windows.

 

[quagmire0]

If your airport has the skycab option, I highly recommend it. You just pull up and check your luggage outside. They will print you out your tickets and that way you don't have to wait in a long line or haul your luggage into the airport. Usually you tip the attendants a few bucks. (Some airlines charge a small fee as well, YMMV)

 

[kamik86]

Another thing that might help with the airports.

If you have a tablet, phone, or anything else that goes online connect to the Southwest wifi on your plane if they have it (most do but sometimes it won't be working etc) when you try to go anywhere you will get to the page where you can pay for wifi or browse TV, but instead of paying for that just go to the flight tracker, this is cool as it lets you know if it looks like you will land on time, how much longer, how high you are, how fast your going etc.

Then at the bottom there is connection info. If you go there it will tell you what gate they are planning to use to deplane and what gate all the connections are.

If you find yourself on a plane without wifi you can also ask the attendant as they do print those before you get on too... but the one with the wifi will update if something happens (if a plane is late they will move gates around) so its generally more accurate.