FYI....SW/Airtran Checking in at T24

[Mkrop]

Not an Orlando flight but DH checked in at T24 for his SW flight to Altlanta operated by Airtran and got a middle seat, he knew this could happen and he is traveling alone for work, but he is not a happy camper. He booked via SW bc he wanted the reward points.

He says there seem to be other seats open so he is going to see if he can switch.

Just wanted to pass this info along bc I know there are some people who were worried about being separated from the kids, so based on today I think this could possibly happen.

I am glad for our trip to MCO we decided to go completely SW even though the flight was later than we wanted.

 

[nervous1sttimer]

Not an Orlando flight but DH checked in at T24 for his SW flight to Altlanta operated by Airtran and got a middle seat, he knew this could happen and he is traveling alone for work, but he is not a happy camper. He booked via SW bc he wanted the reward points.

He says there seem to be other seats open so he is going to see if he can switch.

Just wanted to pass this info along bc I know there are some people who were worried about being separated from the kids, so based on today I think this could possibly happen.

I am glad for our trip to MCO we decided to go completely SW even though the flight was later than we wanted.

Thanks for sharing! We are flying Air Tran through Southwest for the first time in February and I am nervous about getting split up. We are three adults and a 5 yo and a 7 yo. I don't think all five of us will end up together, but I assume we will somehow be able to get either three seats somewhere or two pairs so the kids don't end up on their own. I have faith - however potentially misguided!

 

[MScott1851]

Haha! We booked through SWA on an Airtran operated flight because I had enough rapid rewards points to completely cover all three of us flying roundtrip plus the two checked bags apiece saves us $450. (I hate doing carryons with a toddler on top of a carseat and stroller.) I hope and PRAY they seat my daughter by herself. I am tired of entertaining her on airplanes, I'd love to let a stranger do it so I can enjoy my Xanax, have a cocktail, and read my Skymall magazine. I'm just not going to sweat it. When we check in, if we can't all sit together, we just can't. I am fairly positive that when we get to the airport they won't allow my 3 year old to sit six rows away from either one of us by herself, so I might end up in the last row, but that's ok. We are going to be together for the next 12 days non-stop.

Seriously, though, if they seat two of us together and one separately, the gate agents in Memphis are going to watch my husband and I fistfight over who has to sit next to my kid.

 

[letsgo!]

Pardon the dumb question, but does T24 mean 24 hours before the flight?

Our flight is Southwest on the way down to Orlando (not a problem to do the 24 hr check-in) and on the way back it's Southwest operated by AirTran. Wasn't sure if we still had to do the 24 hr check-in for boarding like you have to do on Southwest, or if you were given seats as you checked in at the airport (as we did before when travelling on Air Tran) I'm finding it very confusing! This is our first experience with Southwest/Air Tran.

 

[ktate82]

Haha! We booked through SWA on an Airtran operated flight because I had enough rapid rewards points to completely cover all three of us flying roundtrip plus the two checked bags apiece saves us $450. (I hate doing carryons with a toddler on top of a carseat and stroller.) I hope and PRAY they seat my daughter by herself. I am tired of entertaining her on airplanes, I'd love to let a stranger do it so I can enjoy my Xanax, have a cocktail, and read my Skymall magazine. I'm just not going to sweat it. When we check in, if we can't all sit together, we just can't. I am fairly positive that when we get to the airport they won't allow my 3 year old to sit six rows away from either one of us by herself, so I might end up in the last row, but that's ok. We are going to be together for the next 12 days non-stop.

Seriously, though, if they seat two of us together and one separately, the gate agents in Memphis are going to watch my husband and I fistfight over who has to sit next to my kid.

Love it! I'm thinking similar to you....if they give us two, two, and one, kids can sit together, BF and I will sit together, and Mom will be happy alone. I imagine the person sitting next to the kids will have an interesting flight as my son is quite chatty....

 

[Mkrop]

Pardon the dumb question, but does T24 mean 24 hours before the flight?

Our flight is Southwest on the way down to Orlando (not a problem to do the 24 hr check-in) and on the way back it's Southwest operated by AirTran. Wasn't sure if we still had to do the 24 hr check-in for boarding like you have to do on Southwest, or if you were given seats as you checked in at the airport (as we did before when travelling on Air Tran) I'm finding it very confusing! This is our first experience with Southwest/Air Tran.

Yes that means the 24 hour mark. He wanted to checkin as early as he could in hopes of a better seat, but no such luck, he got a middle seat. He tried to call to change it and they said no, he could try at the gate. He said he might try, it is a short flight and it is just him, not us as a family, so he is not too worried about a middle seat although he would prefer a window

 

[goofy4tink]

There is no way in 'you know where' that I would book a flight with either SW or Airtran until they get all this stuff figured out.
when you fly SW, you get to check in at the 24 hr window and then choose your seats when you board. When you fly Airtran you can prepay a small amount and get to choose a seat when you book. Or you can wait until you get to the gate to get a seat assigned to you.
I hate the way this is all working out now...it seems to be this miserable hybrid of the two airlines..and it doesn't work well.

 

[Mkrop]

There is no way in 'you know where' that I would book a flight with either SW or Airtran until they get all this stuff figured out. when you fly SW, you get to check in at the 24 hr window and then choose your seats when you board. When you fly Airtran you can prepay a small amount and get to choose a seat when you book. Or you can wait until you get to the gate to get a seat assigned to you.
I hate the way this is all working out now...it seems to be this miserable hybrid of the two airlines..and it doesn't work well.

I think if you book on one or the other you are ok bc you can buy EBCI or pay the $6 seat charge, it is "operated by" stuff that I dont want any parts of for a family vacation, that's for sure!

 

[Minnesota!]

Haha! We booked through SWA on an Airtran operated flight because I had enough rapid rewards points to completely cover all three of us flying roundtrip plus the two checked bags apiece saves us $450. (I hate doing carryons with a toddler on top of a carseat and stroller.) I hope and PRAY they seat my daughter by herself. I am tired of entertaining her on airplanes, I'd love to let a stranger do it so I can enjoy my Xanax, have a cocktail, and read my Skymall magazine. I'm just not going to sweat it. When we check in, if we can't all sit together, we just can't. I am fairly positive that when we get to the airport they won't allow my 3 year old to sit six rows away from either one of us by herself, so I might end up in the last row, but that's ok. We are going to be together for the next 12 days non-stop.

Seriously, though, if they seat two of us together and one separately, the gate agents in Memphis are going to watch my husband and I fistfight over who has to sit next to my kid.

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

I think the hybrid they have going right now is ugly, too. Either let people pick their seat in advance or don't. The model they have going with the "operated through" is ridiculous and frustrating.

That said, we are flying Airtran next week (bought THRU Airtran) with seats paid for ahead of time. I am fully anticipating anyone flying on there that bought AT THRU SW is...going to be cranky.

 

[Mkrop]

Once again this is NOT a MCO flight....but DH was able to get his seat switched at the gate to a window seat in the back of the plane...and the cherry on the sundae....the middle seat was empty!

 

[keishashadow]

Haha! We booked through SWA on an Airtran operated flight because I had enough rapid rewards points to completely cover all three of us flying roundtrip plus the two checked bags apiece saves us $450. (I hate doing carryons with a toddler on top of a carseat and stroller.) I hope and PRAY they seat my daughter by herself. I am tired of entertaining her on airplanes, I'd love to let a stranger do it so I can enjoy my Xanax, have a cocktail, and read my Skymall magazine. I'm just not going to sweat it. When we check in, if we can't all sit together, we just can't. I am fairly positive that when we get to the airport they won't allow my 3 year old to sit six rows away from either one of us by herself, so I might end up in the last row, but that's ok. We are going to be together for the next 12 days non-stop.

Seriously, though, if they seat two of us together and one separately, the gate agents in Memphis are going to watch my husband and I fistfight over who has to sit next to my kid.

We've flown 4 flights on AT since May, two of them international to Mexico, and had no problem with two people sitting together when checking in a T-24 for SWA flights reserved on AT site and vice-a-versa.

There were some parents with problems on our RT flights to/from MCO early June but it appeared to work out once they moved to back of plane. Note that we didn't do EBIC but still managed to get high "A" at T-24 hours.

If you're locked into AT/SWA as we are for rewards/schedules, and absolutely must sit by your chlild either: book on AT flights & pay for your seat or purchase EBIC on SWA, at the very least check-in ASAP. It's all comes down to your comfort level imo. We could've booked cheaper seats thru SWA on AT for extended family trip in January but have a 3 y.o. and just didn't want the hassle of even the remote possibility of haggling for a seat, so we'll make up the difference somewhere else in the trip to keep our budget intact.

AT/SWA indeed were very vague early on in the process, the employees were obviously not well-trained on the switchover. It's been some time, unless somebody doesn't do any sort of research it's hard to miss the current reality since it's clearly stated before you book that you cannot select seats when booking AT thru SWA.