Flying SW and my aspie DS

[Brer Shay]

All five of us will be heading to our happy place in June! This is our first time to fly on SW. I incorrectly thought that at the 24 hour check-in point I would be able to make actual seat assignments like on AirTran. I now know that it's just a boarding order. I'll do the check-in as early as possible and hopefully head off any problems, however I want to have my bases covered. DS HAS to sit beside me on the flight or we might end up kicked off the flight. (We also have DDs age 5 & 8 that I'm not keen on having sit with strangers, but one problem at a time.) Is there some way that I can ensure that DS and I will be seated together? Should I have a doctor's note? Just let them know at the boarding gate? Something else? It's not as if they can "see" his disability. Experiences anyone?

 

[chaospearl]

When you arrive at the gate, go to the desk and explain the issue to the SWA employee, and ask to be pre-boarded. You'll get a special little ticket folder of a blue color that lets you go on board first regardless of which group you were in. Families traveling with small children or anyone with medical needs are always pre-boarded anyway. You still won't have an exact seat assignment but you'll be the first people on the plane, so you can sit anywhere you choose to.

Jenni

 

[stitchlovestink]

When you arrive at the gate, go to the desk and explain the issue to the SWA employee, and ask to be pre-boarded. You'll get a special little ticket folder of a blue color that lets you go on board first regardless of which group you were in. Families traveling with small children or anyone with medical needs are always pre-boarded anyway. You still won't have an exact seat assignment but you'll be the first people on the plane, so you can sit anywhere you choose to.

Jenni

unaccompanied minors and medical needs are the only ones that are now pre-boarded. Families traveling w/ small children are no longer pre-boarded (but depending on airport and the like) but are boarded between groups A and B. Small children are those UNDER age 5. so if you have a small child and have an A boarding pass, you will board in the A queue were you belong. According to other threads lately, it appears that many airports are also enforcing the boarding policy for small children which states child and 1 adult may board between groups A and B. Exceptions to this rule may incl things like there are 2 children under age 4, then they would allow whole family (meaning Mom, Dad, and their children... but not Aunt Jane and Uncle Jack too or there is only one adult travelling with multiple children, then all would be allowed to stay together. This boarding will only benefit you if you have a B or C group boarding pass, but hopefully you'll get an A boarding pass. HTH
Have a great trip.
BTW, I'm sure that there will be other Dissers' whose experiences have been varied. I think I would go by SW's policy which is stated above and if it works out better to your benefit, then great. But if not, you're not disappointed or angry.

 

[BeckyScott]

I logged into the website exactly 24 hours ahead of time. I can't remember what numbers we were, I think in the 50's.

And we found seats together no problem. I headed toward the back (I don't know any "statistics" I just wanted to be close to the bathroom and flight attendants) and on our flight at least, nobody was rushing to the back seats so no problems at all getting us together.

What we did, four of us, was I sat with youngest DS, and then DH and older DS sat in the row in front of us. Both kids wanted window seats, and then we had a stranger on the aisle but one of us as a buffer. I am thinking that there is one row (is it in the back? on some planes) that only has two seats?

 

[clanmcculloch]

All five of us will be heading to our happy place in June! This is our first time to fly on SW. I incorrectly thought that at the 24 hour check-in point I would be able to make actual seat assignments like on AirTran. I now know that it's just a boarding order. I'll do the check-in as early as possible and hopefully head off any problems, however I want to have my bases covered. DS HAS to sit beside me on the flight or we might end up kicked off the flight. (We also have DDs age 5 & 8 that I'm not keen on having sit with strangers, but one problem at a time.) Is there some way that I can ensure that DS and I will be seated together? Should I have a doctor's note? Just let them know at the boarding gate? Something else? It's not as if they can "see" his disability. Experiences anyone?

I always fly SW to Orlando and here's my experience. I get online a few minutes before the 24hr check-in time and have my confirmation code already entered on the website. Then when it's right at the 24 hour mark, I hit the enter button. Sometimes it'll tell me that I'm too early and I just keep repeating until it lets me check in. Every single time I've done this, I've gotten boarding group A. In boarding group A, you're pretty much guaranteed of getting seats together.

The day before leaving WDW, go to the concierge desk around 24.5 hours before take-off time. The concierge will do the check in for you as long as you have your confirmation number. I said 24.5 hours because that gives you time to allow for lines. Bring your refillable mug (I love those) so that if there's no line you can take a detour to get a drink to kill that half hour.

Last time we were at WDW, we couldn't get back to the hotel in time to do the 24hr pre-checkin. We checked in around 20 hours before. We got boarding positions B1 - B4. Even with the family boarding between A and B, we still had no problem getting seats together, and there were still plenty of empty rows left. This is on a flight that was so full that they asked for volunteers to get bumped to another flight.

On this same flight, there was a mom with a daughter who suffers from epilepsy. She said she had to sit beside her daughter just in case of a seizure. She was one of the last to board and started yelling at a flight attendant how she had to sit with her daughter for medical reasons and how the flight attendant HAD to figure something out and how she had a doctor's letter stating this. For the life of me I can't imagine why this woman didn't make sure to get an earlier boarding spot (uh, it's her responsibility to get checked in earlier if she knows she has a special need; that's what you're doing and that's what the rest of us with special needs do, we take personal responsibility). There was a very nice woman who changed seats so they could sit together which was great for the daughter, but the mom made me mad. Sorry for venting. People like you go out of your way to do the right thing and then you see people like that woman and they give all of us parents of special needs kids a bad name. I guess my point in this vent is to say that even if you don't immediately find seats together, there are wonderful people who will swap seats for people who need it. The world really does have a lot fo wonderful people in it.

If you don't get boarding group A, I would discuss the issue with the person at the gate when you arrive. They don't want a child who will be upset or disruptive on a flight any more than you do (for them it's a safety issue). I would imagine that they would let you pre-board or board with the families with small children in order to guarantee that you sit together. If you're in boarding group A then I wouldn't even worry about it. Then again, if he'll have trouble with the boarding procedures with others boarding at the same time then you might want to consider asking about pre-boarding for medical reasons. Boarding with group A might be easier if you go straight towards the back of the plane so that there aren't as many people moving around you while you're settling into your seats.

 

[Brer Shay]

Thank you everyone for the input. It does ease my mind somewhat. I don't think we'll have a problem getting in the A group on the way down. I'll be ready just before the 24 hour mark. Coming home, I'm less sure.

clanmcculloch, you made a good point - it's not as if SW wants a disruptive child on the flight either. (I'm also with you on the hotbutton issue of personal responsibility!)

I love how helpful (and informed) so many DISers are!

 

[chaospearl]

If you don't get boarding group A, I would discuss the issue with the person at the gate when you arrive. They don't want a child who will be upset or disruptive on a flight any more than you do (for them it's a safety issue). I would imagine that they would let you pre-board or board with the families with small children in order to guarantee that you sit together.

Yes, this.

I apologize for not realizing that families with small kids are no longer pre-boarded -- but the rest of what I said still stands. No matter which group you're in, when you arrive at your gate, talk to the SW employee at the desk about the fact that you're traveling with an autistic child. You can be pre-boarded to ensure that you get the seats you need.

I have to do this every time I fly and in a dozen+ trips over the past five years, I've never once had a problem asking at the gate to be pre-boarded. I generally use a knee brace when I'm traveling through airports, and there's no way to let them know in advance that I need to pre-board -- when you buy tickets you can specify in advance that a member of your party is in a wheelchair, or is blind, or on oxygen, or a number of other issues, and needs assistance. There's no little box to check for "doesn't need assistance, but does need a particular seat due to disability". In my case I need to sit on the aisle so I can stick my leg out a bit. With the brace on it, I can't bend my knee far enough to crunch into a window or middle seat. I'm almost always in the A group anyway, but when I explain the situation at the gate, they still ask me to pre-board just to be totally sure there isn't a problem.

Jenni

 

[bookwormde]

I flew down last year with my DS9 Aseprgers (first flight since he was 1) last year and did lots of research, preparation and worrying.

In the end it all went fine. We did do a disability preboard which allowed us to get settled and pick the optimum seeing configuration for our child’s needs (DW DS6 and DS9 sat in one row and I sat in front of DS9 in the next forward in case he bumped of kicked the seat. We also briefed the flight attendants as to his neurovariation (not required but just makes common sense). In the end the talkative passenger next to me was much more of an issue than DS9.

To get the “Blue” preboard pass you have to either go to the SW customer service counter in the concourse or sometimes they have them at the check in counter for the gate. All you have to do is self-identity your child as an individual with a disability, there is no need for a doctors note. Once you have it you (your family) board along with the other passengers with disabilities before any of the other passengers.

There was and unfortunate incident with a AS family just before we were to fly so I took the time to contact the SW disability compliance department and was able to talk with one of the 5 managers who handles this area and do all the field trading of the employees (I actually have his direct number if you ever run into a major problem). He reviewed all the SW policies and training in this area and they have a very good program so as long as the crew knows what the situation is you will be fine.

This whole area is governed by FAR title 14 part 382, there is a link to a synopsis of the regulation on SW’s site if you want to look at it. If you ever do run into a problem just ask for a complaints resolution official and SW will make one available to you to help you. SW actually trains a large percentage of their gate agents to this level, which is much better than most airlines.

FYI I still get a standard boarding pass at 24 hrs before flight time just in case we want to “try it” with out the preboard pass.


bookwormde

Was counting days, we are flying out of PHL on the 9th, flght 324, any chance that is your flight also.

 

[arminnie]

I get online a few minutes before the 24hr check-in time and have my confirmation code already entered on the website. Then when it's right at the 24 hour mark, I hit the enter button. Sometimes it'll tell me that I'm too early and I just keep repeating until it lets me check in. Every single time I've done this, I've gotten boarding group A. In boarding group A, you're pretty much guaranteed of getting seats together.

Good advice. I fly in/out of Dallas (busiest SW airport) about 3-4 times a month. I never remember to sign in at the 24 hour mark. At best I sign in an hour or two later (sometimes several hours later). I almost always still end up in the A group. A couple of times I've been in the early B group.

You really shouldn't have a problem. I'd still try for 24 hours check in (I always mean to) but don't fret too much if you end up being a few minutes later.

 

[Brer Shay]

bookwormde - Thanks for your experienced answer. That gave me exactly what I needed-both information and experience. Good to hear that SW trains their agents well. I think we'll be fine. I hadn't thought about the whole family seating configuration, that's probably a good thought also.

We're out of Baltimore on 6/10.

 

[bookwormde]

You are welcome,

I did not think the odds of us being on the same flight were good, Baltimore in my opinion is a little easier airport to fly out of because of the size, not to mention it is typically $5/ticket less, it is just a little to much further for us.

bookwormde

 

[anonymousegirl]

If you are in the parks when your 24 hr window opens, just go to guest relations. As long as you have your confirmation # or whatever the particular airline requires as check-in (sometimes your cc, or itinerary #) the CMs there will check you in.

I just did this last week at DHS for Delta.

 

[PatMcDuck]

Just an FYI, for the flight home. We once did the checkin from MK. I think it must have been at guest relations........ so, maybe from any park you can do this?

 

[Nik's Mom]

All five of us will be heading to our happy place in June! This is our first time to fly on SW. I incorrectly thought that at the 24 hour check-in point I would be able to make actual seat assignments like on AirTran. I now know that it's just a boarding order. I'll do the check-in as early as possible and hopefully head off any problems, however I want to have my bases covered. DS HAS to sit beside me on the flight or we might end up kicked off the flight. (We also have DDs age 5 & 8 that I'm not keen on having sit with strangers, but one problem at a time.) Is there some way that I can ensure that DS and I will be seated together? Should I have a doctor's note? Just let them know at the boarding gate? Something else? It's not as if they can "see" his disability. Experiences anyone?

We have flown on SW a few times with our 2 autistic sons. I would encourage you to pre-board. Even if you check in at 24 hours, you still have to stand in line during the boarding process. Our sons get very nervous in that line. With pre-boarding, we just wait for them to call out for us to board.