Ever been at the end of the A boarding queue?

[nuke]

And not found seats together?

I'm wondering if I get an A Boarding card should I even bother standing in line. It will be my family of three and my parents. My mom gets a disability pre-board card for herself and dad so it's just us three. It doesn't matter if we are by my parents or not I just want to be all three together.

Any thoughts?

 

[salmoneous]

Unless I am shooting for an exit row seat, I never wait in the A line. Going at the end of the A's means (1) I don't have to wait in line and (2) I get to choose who I sit beside/near. Except in one odd situations, there will always be 3 seats together.

The weird situation is a connecting flight where a ton of people stay on the plane. Not common, but it can happen on certain flights. You'll know something weird is going on if there are few/no people in the B and C lines. But it's not something I would worry about.

 

[javamom]

I have no idea what you are talking about. The last time I flew, they did not board folks by row. It went like this:

People with babies in strollers
First class passengers
everyone else

Are you telling me that they board you by row?


Am I a complete ignorant n00b?

 

[goofy4tink]

I have no idea what you are talking about. The last time I flew, they did not board folks by row. It went like this:

People with babies in strollers
First class passengers
everyone else

Are you telling me that they board you by row?


Am I a complete ignorant n00b?

Most airlines now board by 'zones'. But Southwest uses a different approach. They have A,B and C sections. Yes, those with disabilities or that are flying with a child under 5, get to preboard. There is no first class section. So, depending on when you checkin for your flight, you will get either an A, B or C spot. Since you can check-in 24 hrs. before your flight, a lot of people like to check in early and get themselves an A spot. Those in the A line board before the B people, and the Bs before the Cs. It's only an issue if you have a large group, that doesn't want to split up. I found that even though I was number 8 in the A section (and you do stand there, in each line in order to hold your spot if you want), my dd and I ended up about 4 rows behing the wing before we could find a middle and a window seat together. There were a ton of those who had preboarded that took the aisle and the window seats, hoping that no one would sit in between them. But that didn't work. As soon as the plane starts to fill up, people take those middle seats and then those in either the window or the aisle seat scrambles to change with the person in the middle in order to sit next to the person they are traveling with.
It can be a chaotic system but there are many, many people that love flying this way.
If you only have 3 or fewer in your party, you should be fine, even at the end of the A line. Any further back than that, and you may have to have someone sit by themself.

 

[jiminy14]

We had just that situation (connecting flight) happen on our first flight with SWA. I did not know when I booked the flight that it was a flight from Hartford that connected in Philly. I thought it was kind of odd that there were no passengers in the B or C lines and that very few people deplaned in Philly but I went on the assumption that it was not a full flight. Boy was I wrong! When we boarded the plane, we found that it was almost 3/4 full and that all of the Hartford passengers had moved to the front. We were able to get seats together but they were near the back of the plane. People near the end of the A line were not able to find seats together and had to split up.
Anymore I check with the gate agent to see if it is a connecting flight and if it is, I make sure that I am near the front of the A line.

 

[javamom]

Ok, I get it, this is a SWA thing then. Sorry, I was way confused for a bit there.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We have never had a problem getting seats together even when we had B passes. It might happen if your flight originates from a different location and not many people get off where you are.

 

[GAM]

Is there any way to find out if you are going to be boarding a connecting flight before you book? I was planning on trying Southwest for the first time this year boarding in Philly and I thought if I booked online 24 hours ahead we would have no problems but now I am concerned. I suppose you have a good chance if you book the earliest flight but I was looking at an afternoon or evening flight. Thanks.

 

[bubba's mom]

Depends when/where you're flying. We flew SW last Wed. of June last year...very first flight (7am) out of Philly to MCO. We got B passes and were first in line. Good thing....There were only 3 or 4 sets of 3 seats together left by the time we boarded.