Flying Southwest. Need opinions

[fireman17]

Okay, we are taking our secnd trip to the world in Sept. .We flew on Song on our first trip and loved it. ON this trip though we are flying Southwest due to Song not having availability in the time frame we need.
Now I've never flown Southwest and have seen the horror stories on the TV show(Yes I know they pick the worst of the worst).Could anyone help that have flown on Southwest and ease my nerves. We are traveling with our three children and know that we can preboard with our kids seeing that our youngest will be in a car seat.

Been There, Done That, Going Back. YAHOO!!!!!
ARE WE THERE YET?!?!

May 03 CBR
May 05 Pop
Sept 05 ASSP
Dec 06 10 year wedding anniversary

 

[MandM-Mom]

We love Southwest. I would still preprint your boarding passes at home at midnight the night before you leave to just be sure about the boarding thing. Sometimes different airports do things differently. Once when flying out of Vegas we didnt get to preboard with our little one. If you preregister you get A boarding passes anyways. At least we always have.

We love southwest for the customer service and the cheap flights. Whats funny is the flight staff on every flight always seems to have such a sense of humor, it makes for a nice flight. They can be a bit "goofy" at times, I think that would help me if I was someone that may not like to fly or if I was just an axious person. Every time we fly with them me and DH always end of talking out how comfortable they make you feel. Good luck! Have a great trip.

 

[llb]

I have always flown Delta and I one occassion flown SW. I had no problem and enjoyed the trip. I am flying this year with SW as that Delta was about $1200. more to fly, same day, same hours. I have never seen in the airport what I have seen on TV. I think you'll be fine.

 

[califred]

Southwest is my faVorite airline! I think the best airline customer service I've receieved has been with them, the crew is fun and they tell you what's going on if your flight gets delayed.

They will definitely let you preboard with your carseat and children, anyone with children under 5 is allowed to preboard (they do take the wheel chairs and children flying alone on first).

 

[zurgswife]

I fly SW every chance I get. I also recommend doing the after midnight check in just to be sure. I've heard that in some cities due to the fact that over 50% of the plane could preboard they don't preboard families.

 

[Mich Mouse]

If you look on the Transportation board, there are quite a few posts about South West.

We flew with them in February (Great Price) but the company is just not on the same level as Jet Blue/Song.

 

[MandM-Mom]

When you fly out of Orlando they take preboard w/children inter mixed with the A group because pretty much every body has under 5 kids. So this is where preregister the night before is important.

 

[mking624]

My DH & I pretty much exclusively fly SWA...we've never had a problem with them. I have yet to hear a "horror story" that even slightly convinces me to fly another airline.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Like you said - the problem with Airline! is that they DO pick the worst of the worst.

When they have backups like you see on the show, chances are the entire airport is on a seriously delayed schedule. And as long as you're not drunk or beligerent, they'll let you on board!

JetBlue is my preferred airline. I like the DirecTV and reserved seating. But if JetBlue is too expensive, or booked to capacity, Southwest is my immediate second choice!

 

[Stimpy]

They will definitely let you preboard with your carseat and children, anyone with children under 5 is allowed to preboard (they do take the wheel chairs and children flying alone on first).

Depending on the amount of children, pre-boarding can be under 4 now. We've been on several SWA flights recently where the child had to be younger than 4 in order to preboard.

 

[inkkognito]

Not only do they pick the worst of the worst, but they "enhance" the situations on the show by encouraging the people to act even worse. My husband and I fly out of Midway a lot and have seen it filmed many times. The last time, there was a drunk who had been denied boarding, and they were filming him in the airport bar ranting and raving while they served him more drinks! Normally, a person like that would be escorted out, but I guess it makes for "good" t.v.

In reality, SW is fine. I wasn't thrilled to have to switch to cattle call seating when ATA bailed from Chicago, but now I am fine with it. I just print my boarding pass at 12:01 a.m. and get to the airport early enough to be one of the first in the A line, and I've never had a problem getting a decent seat (for me, that means exit row or towards the front, since I only bring carryon so I like to get off as quickly as possible). I've never met any psychos like on the show; for some reason, people tend to be friendly and chatty. I experienced one major delay that included a last minute gate change and then having to get off one plane because it had a mechanical problem that cropped up as we headed to the runway. Even with all that, the passengers took it in stride. Other than that, delays have been relatively minor.

I have seen two "Airline" situations, although the cameras weren't there either time. One was a man who was so filthy that they made him change clothes and wash in the lavatory before they'd let him take a seat. The other was a transport of Sea World animals, which they had up in the cabin. While we were in flight, they brought a toucan down the aisle...pretty cool!

Barb

 

[melindaandrob]

We have flown Southwest 8X's now with 3 kids, starting when my youngest was 4. Now we can't pre-board with him because he's 7. I was talking to a flight attendant about how I worry every flight that we will get separated all of us spread out through the plane and one of my kids will be left alone.
She said (in a lovely Southern accent) "Oh honey, no one wants to sit next to your children" I laughed and she proceeded to assure me that the flight staff would ask people to move around so this wouldn't happen.
I have seen on these flights people offer to move so families can sit together. So, No worries!
I don't worry anymore and sit back and enjoy my cheap flight!

 

[chesirechik]

Just got back from a trip flying Southwest and we loved them. Everyone was friendly and the flights were on time. We printed our boarding passes right at 12:01am for both flights (went down to the desk at AKL and they did mine for the return flight) and had A's both times and our choice of pretty much anywhere on the plane. I'll definitely fly them again.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I really dont like southwest airlines and they just expanded their terminal here, yeah , its really close to our house but for our upcoming trip their seats were over $300 more total than american at the next closest airport. We are going american, but I dont like southwests cattle car mentality of lining you up in A, B, and C fashion and they dont even give you a whole can of soda as one of the ds would say. If its cheaper for our dates we would choose it, only because the airport is closer to our home, but this time they were more expensive.

 

[karrit2000]

I choose SWA over Song. I've flown both. My first experience with SWA was really bad but I've had no trouble since then. I always get to the airport really early so I don't have a problem with the lining up. I can't figure Song's boarding group seating method because I always have to climb over someone to get to my window seat. And Song nickle & dimes you for every little thing. I mean really, $2.00 for a cookie?

 

[fireman17]

Thank you all for your positive responses. I kind of figured the show only made this seem worse than what it really was. I will take all of your recommendations and preprint our boarding passes the night before we leave.
Again thank you to all my Disney helpers out there.

LOOKOUT WORLD HERE WE COME!!!! September can't come fast enough