Flying SW with a 4 year old

[Lisha1979]

I read the following on SW's site:
An adult traveling with a child four years old or younger will board between the “A” and “B” boarding groups. If you have an “A” boarding pass, please feel free to board with that boarding group. With an all-jet fleet outfitted with comfortable, leather seats, our families with small children are easily accommodated together.

Does this mean that we don't have to check in online early if we have a 4 year old? how is this handled?

Thanks so much for the help! This is our first family flight and I'm trying to get all the details down. Any additional tips would be greatly appreciated! =)

 

[aimlyles]

That's my understanding but you might want to still try and possibly get an A boarding pass.

To add to your question as I'm sure someone with more knowledge than I will respond, will they let the entire family board b/w A & B with a child under 4 or just the child and one parent??

 

[rileyreese]

I was wondering this too, I have an 10 month old that I am not getting a seat for and then we have a 10 and 8 year old, my biggest concern is us not all being together!

 

[SilverMickey]

We have flown Southwest for a long time and you do need to either get your boarding pass and check in on-line at home or you can check in at the Airport. I would try to still get boarding in the A group however if you don't get to boarding between A and B is a nice option. It is for families with in reason. You your hubby and children should be able to go with you all inclusive. Now if you have Auntie and 4 cousins and Grandma trailing along you might get shut off. At one point they said anyone under the same confirmation number should be able to board with you.

Southwest has ALWAYS treated us great and with respect! Happy travels!

 

[crashbb]

I was wondering this too, I have an 10 month old that I am not getting a seat for and then we have a 10 and 8 year old, my biggest concern is us not all being together!

I'm pretty sure you don't qualify for family boarding.

The 10 month old doesn't have a seat, so no need to board early to ensure you two sit together.

The 10 year old and the 8 year old don't qualify (need to be four or under).

 

[NHdisneylover]

I'm pretty sure you don't qualify for family boarding.

The 10 month old doesn't have a seat, so no need to board early to ensure you two sit together.

The 10 year old and the 8 year old don't qualify (need to be four or under).

I am not 100% positive about this but I believe this is correct. I suggest you do try to check in online at the earliest allowed time since it is so important to you to be seated together.

 

[Green Tea]

So what exactly is the worst case scenario when boarding SWA? My group gets separated and maybe stuck in middle seats? We have direct but not nonstop flights. So once we stop the first time, we can move to wherever we want, correct?

 

[Wendy5055]

The pp is correct about the 8 & 10 year old scenario. Regarding the 4 year old, I would still check-in online at the 24 hour mark and print your boarding passes. It is a very simple and easy process.

I have travelled SW with my dd8 since she was 6 years old and never had an issue sitting together with her. BUT...

The only time I had an issue was when I forgot to check-in at the 24 hour mark and ended up with B boarding passes for me, dd8 (7 at the time) and my Mom. When we finally boarded, there were not any 3 seats together...I did notice a couple of young girls who were talking to each other from two different rows and asked if they would mind sitting together so we could sit together. They were helpful and did not mind at all. I learned my lesson and will never forget to check-in on time again! However, there WERE two seats together so the worst case scenario would be my Mom would have sat alone.
Moral of Story: Check-in online at 24 hour mark! Be nice if it is necessary to ask others to accomodate your seating needs.

 

[NHdisneylover]

So what exactly is the worst case scenario when boarding SWA? My group gets separated and maybe stuck in middle seats? We have direct but not nonstop flights. So once we stop the first time, we can move to wherever we want, correct?

Yes, worst case scenario is you sit apart in middle seats. Personally I am fine with that (yes even when my kids were younger. DD sat alone once at 3 and both have done it since age 4 every so often). Depending on your group size you can sometimes also find two and two but or two and one but not the entire group together, etc.
Our experience on a SWA flight with a stop was that we were allowed to move and changes seats after the other passengers left but before boarding began. One of the bluckhead rows was held back for a passenger needing assistance but everything else was fair game.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

With B boarding passes you will most likely be able to find at least 2 seats together, however, they may be near the rear of the plane. SWA doesn't want young children separated from their parents anymore than you do. The best thing to do is check in at 24 hours.

 

[Wendy5055]

I just wanted to add that I never had an issue getting 3+ seats together when I check-in directly at the 24 hour mark. I consistently get in the A boarding group. If you are super nervous about it, you might want to consider the extra $10 per person to ensure you get Automatic early check-in (before everyone else). I was considering trying this for me and dd8 on our April trip as it would only be an extra $20. But with a 4 year old...I don't see you having any major issues.

For your convenience, you can check-in while in the parks at Guest Relations and they will print your boarding passes right there for you, at your hotel, on your blackberry/iphone/cell phone. It is really easy.

 

[WDWjen]

Im nervous. We have a 4 yr old so I know one of us can board with him btwn A & B. But FYI we checked in online at 24 hours and got B49-53. I'm hoping that we can get 2 or 3 seats together somewhere in the back of the plane.

My check in time was 10:45 today so now I'm guesssing tomorrow's flight is full and lots of A-listers and people who paid for EBCI. I really do not want to ask people to move so I'm hoping there are not a lot of seat-savers because SW has 'no policy' on that so it might become an issue if there are alot of families on a sold out flight. I guess we'll wait and see.

I'm back to Jet Blue forever after this flight!