Flying with young children on SW

[dbalek]

I have never flown SW but I signed up for the $25 codes and have been looking into it. Without seat assignments how do I guarantee my 5 and 7 year olds wont be stuck sitting alone? Is this ever a problem?

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

You need to do the online check-in at exactly the 24 hour before mark. You type in your confirmation #, make sure to check the box that says check in all passengers and proceed. You will be given a boarding pass with and A, B, or C letter and a #. That is the order that people board. A1 first to C#. I have checked in and received A's and upper B's by doing this and we've always sat together with the kids and didn't have to search. If you are worried head towards the back, the front fills up first.

You will need to follow this for the trip home as well. If you don't have a way to check-in yourself at the 24 hour mark you can go to the conceirge at your resort desk or guest services at the parks and they will do it for you. Just make sure to have your confirmation #. HTH!

 

[dbalek]

Thank you so much for your help. Just one more ?. (and i wanted to see my new ticker )So the letter/number given to you is just the boarding order? So you can skip open seats to get seats together?

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

Thank you so much for your help. Just one more ?. (and i wanted to see my new ticker )So the letter/number given to you is just the boarding order? So you can skip open seats to get seats together?

When you get to the gate there will be 3 line up areas that are marked with numbers/letters. They will first announce A boarding and all A's will get in line based on their # and they will board, then family boarding for kids under 4, then B boarding (same format as A), and finally C. Once you are on board the plane you can choose any seat you want. The boarding pass letter/number does not coordinate with any seat #. Most people go for the front seats, aisle & window first. I have never had a problem getting our family 5 seats all together ever and we are generally in the middle to front of the plane. If you check in at the 24 hour mark and make sure you are at the gate 30 minutes before your flight you should have no problem at all being together.

Please ask any other questions. I am happy to help. I know how stressed I was flying SW with kid the first time. My upcoming trip is me alone with 3 kids (5,8, & 9) so I really need to be together with them. I am not worried though.

 

[horselover]

I have never flown SW but I signed up for the $25 codes and have been looking into it. Without seat assignments how do I guarantee my 5 and 7 year olds wont be stuck sitting alone? Is this ever a problem?

If you're really worried about it you should use their new early bird check-in. It will cost you $10 pp each way & SWA checks you in automatically at 36 hrs. before your flight. I've always had good luck checking myself in EXACTLY at the 24 hr. mark, but the EBCI is a good option if you want to be sure of getting a good boarding group. However keep in mind EBCI does not guarantee you an A or even a B boarding group, but the chances are good you'll get them.

 

[DebbieB]

I have never flown SW but I signed up for the $25 codes and have been looking into it. Without seat assignments how do I guarantee my 5 and 7 year olds wont be stuck sitting alone? Is this ever a problem?

There's not a 100% guarantee but most likely you will be OK if you get an A or low B boarding pass. Recently someone posted that they missed a gate change announcement and got on late and were split up.