help me with swa

[dimoe]

Okay I have a serious question so please someone answer it for me... I booked my flights to disney last week.. we leave out of Buffalo on May 1st at 7:45 in the morning. I need to first know of a good or reccommended hotel to stay at overnight and leave the car for the week we are away. It would be my husband and myself and my daughter. Also here is where the worry sets in for me is that the tickets I got you need to print out at home. Well it says they wont be up till midnight the day we are leaving? I am worried what do I do I will be in Buffalo then? Can I check into the airport the night before ? Or what time do I need to be there to board at the day of? Please someone help me I so worried what to do now?
thanks Diane
I sure hope this makes sense

 

[cabmom]

The email you got back from Southwest are your ticket confirmations. What people can do at midnight of the day before their flight is preprint their boarding passes. If you don't have access to a computer at midnight, arrive early enough at the airport to get "A" passes. Once you get to the airport you can do curbside checkin or go to the self serve kiosk and swipe the credit card you used to book your airline tickets. It prints out the tickets and asks you how many bags you want tags for. It's really easy. There are loads of hotels right at the airport. I can't remember the one we stayed at. It was further down the road on Gennesse St. Don't stress out, trust me it is a really easy process. If you park at the airport it's $38 US plus tax to park in the long term parking lot or $48 US plus tax to park in the preferred parking lot for one week.
Arrive at the airport at least by 6:00am. Some people might tell you different.
Enjoy your trip! And watch the CFTO news special tomorrow night if you are in the GTA area.
Marilynn

 

[kington]

We just got back last week - we also flew out of Buffalo. We stayed at the Comfort Suites near the airport (Dick Rd. I believe). Left the car there - no problems - no charge. They were very good about transporting us and picking us up when we got back. Our flight left at 6:30 am and we left the hotel at 5:00 am and had no problems with check-in and security. Actually going in and out of Buffalo was a breeze - a lot easier than Toronto!

 

[dimoe]

So when you checked in with swa did you just give them your confirmation number or did you print something out off the computer?
thanks Diane

 

[dimoe]

Can I check in at midnight or even before at the airport before going to my hotel the night before?
I am leaving on my flight at 7:45.
Thanks Diane

 

[dimoe]

So it is first come first serve? So the first ppl get a passes? What do these passes mean? GEtting on first to get your seats? What are the best seats?
thanks for all your help
Diane

 

[talicskai]

When you check in Southwest will give you one of three boarding cards. either A, B or C. After security you head down to the gate and there are "queue" lines for each letter. If you have children under age 5 or a medical condition you will board first - so it doesn't matter what letter you get. Otherwise the first people to check in get an A boarding card and can board the aircraft first. Seating is open so you sit where you want. It is a great system because the early bird catches the worm!

They are a great airline and a lot of fun.....by the way this is another vote for the Comfort Suites. $89 includes, parking, shuttle and breakfast.
Great deal!

Have fun! Teresa

 

[princess aurora]

We did this a few years ago and plan to do it again for our trip in April. We're not flying SWA byt we did last time.

There are a few inexpensive places right across from the airport and they include in the price the parking of your car for up to 14 days. We stayed at the Radison I believe it was but I think it might be gone now. We are currently looking to book at the Quality Inn (Comfort Inn etc) are all in the same family I believe.

They have a free shuttle that will take you to the airport. The seating on SWA is just like any other plane. It's your preference where you like to sit but there are no assigned seating just pick a spot where you can have a window seat for your daughter. We sat 2 in one seat section and 2 directly behind but since plane was not full we had 3 seats for two ppl in each case but we were on a much earlier flight.

Sounds like you have an Eticket. You purchased the tickets on line. There should have been a confirmation number when the transaction was complete. Take this print out along with the itinerary of your flight (the flight number name of airline flights times) with you. You can do your own check in (at the kiosks) sounds like they have these at Buffalo now, with the credit card you used to purchase the tickets or just take the info to the reg check in counter.

Hope that helps a little. Looks like we'll be crossing paths in the airport. Your leaving as we are returning

check out this link:
http://www4.choicehotels.com/ires/e...10186767578&schain=Q&exp=&scity=Buffalo&sort=

 

[TimNDansMom]

Just to clarify dimoe, you can obtain your boarding passes, online, any time after 12:01a.m., the day of your flight. But you can only do this for Adult fare types. I was just checking the SW website and it says "Customers holding reservations for group, senior, infant, youth, or military fares, and those requiring an additional seat must proceed to the airport for checkin".

Depending on the age of your daughter, you may be able to Pre-board.

Basically, SWA has Open Seating and you are issued an A, B or C boarding pass depending on how early you check in ahead of the other passengers.

We have stayed at the Quality Inn across the road from the airport, using their Room and Park rate of US$99. There is a particular spot in their parking lot where you are to park your car for the week. We found it a clean, basic hotel, serving a continental breakfast and has an on demand shuttle for the 2 minute ride over to the terminal.

 

[alohamom]

If your daughter is 4 and under you are eligible for the pre-boarding process which means you are before the A group of people who board the plane. If she is indeed 4 or under just make sure you give yourself enough time to check any bags and get through security, approx 1 hour so get there for 6:45. If you are staying across the street at Quality (89usd including the parking as everyone else has mentioned) they ask you call them about 10 minutes before you want to go to the airport and it takes about 10 minutes to load your bags and get to the SWA check-in from the lobby as it is right across the street. If your daughter is over 4, you have a couple of options. First call the day before to find out how full the flight is.(1-800-IFLYSWA).If it is only 1/2 full then you don't really have to worry too much about the boarding because you know you will get seats together or however you want to sit.If it is a full flight, then you can either do the electronic boarding pass printing(which is VERY easy, I did it recently on my return trip from Orlando at a UPS store with internet for 3 bucks and got the A group) or go really early to the check-in at the airport. The Buffalo airport is so cute and very easy to navigate that one I had done it for the first time a few years ago, I found myself wishing Pearson in TO to be easier! Anyway, I know it sounds very confusing but this board is the best place for info and it truly is easy to do.I found the E-ticket a little weird at first, not really having a physical ticket in my hands but your confirmation number is all you really need. Have a great time. Just as an aside, I am considering trying the newer Holiday Inn across from the airport next time as it looks maybe just a tad nicer and newer. The Quality seemed a little run down and drafty to us this time. It is a great place to just lay your head but my son insisted he had something crawl on his leg under the covers in bed so I am now thinking of other options for next time, although it is generally o.k.