I really dislike flying with SWA due to their boarding process

I agree with you. Unfortunately SW is the only airline that flies direct to Orlando from our local airport. We continue to fly SW for that reason. We have flown SW to Orlando on 16 separate trips. I cannot remember a trip where there was not seat saving. I am so surprised how many people say they have never seen it. We always purchase EBCI for our family of four and have gotten an A position every time, except once. Even with boarding early we always encounter seat savers. We just go to the back so we can sit together. It is just very frustrating to see people with things spread out over the seats. I am glad they enforced the family boarding rule. I constantly see them let entire families board during family boarding, grandparents, etc. One trip we saw a family of 16 (in matching shirts, that is how we knew they were family) board during family boarding. I don't know if it is because I have only flown SW to Orlando if it is that way because there is so much family traffic. I wonder if it different flying to other places.


I've flown Southwest many times, with the most recent being less than a month ago, and I can't recall any seat saving.
 
I don't typically do EBCI, I usually fly solo. I usually get low B numbers at 24 hours. I always see seat saving, I usually end up behind the exit row.

I don't understand why SW isn't more strict on the seat saving, I think more people would be buying EBCI instead of buying 1 and saving seats for the others. I'm not saying they should police seat saving, but at least make an announcement that there are no saved seats, sit wherever you choose. That may make people think twice about saving multiple seats.
 
Wel like southwest because even with EBCI it is usually cheaper especially with free luggage. I honestly haven't paid attention to seat savers because we always have a really good boarding number. I do think they should have apology on that though but they have chosen to pick their battles and that isn't one. I think boarding is so much more civilized than when large groups crowd the gate. But to each their own.
 

I am glad they enforced the family boarding rule. I constantly see them let entire families board during family boarding, grandparents, etc. One trip we saw a family of 16 (in matching shirts, that is how we knew they were family) board during family boarding. I don't know if it is because I have only flown SW to Orlando if it is that way because there is so much family traffic.

I absolutely agree that 16 is too many, but I do wish it was higher than 1 adult. Our family of 4 will probably be something of a nuisance on a long flight if we're not together as the 3 adults will probably rotate duty with the little one. We're flying cross country as seats together would be a blessing. I'm not so fussed about where they are, just that they're together.
 
Wel like southwest because even with EBCI it is usually cheaper especially with free luggage. I honestly haven't paid attention to seat savers because we always have a really good boarding number. I do think they should have apology on that though but they have chosen to pick their battles and that isn't one. I think boarding is so much more civilized than when large groups crowd the gate. But to each their own.
We notice seat savers as a party of four because my husband and two children sit together in a row and I sit in the aisle directly across from them. My husband always goes on first with the kids and in the past he would just plunk himself down in a row when he saw an aisle seat available directly across the row for me. However, if there was a person sitting in the middle seat, beside the aisle seat I wanted, they always tell me the aisle seat I want is taken.

Now we notice the people sitting by themselves in the middle seat. Generally, they are seat savers and we have learned to avoid them. It's not worth the stress, arguing with them over a seat.
 
Our flight on swa this summer, I checked in at exactly 24 hrs. We all were on one confirmation number. 3 of us had late As and the other 3 late Bs. I couldn't figure out why but was told someone with the A boarding position must have canceled and we got those three spots. If I fly sw I will book EB from here on out.
 
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I've noticed seat saving on SWA and have done it myself for other's in my party and others have done it for me. I don't see the problem with it but I understand why newbies to SWA get upset about it. I don't think saving any more than a row is appropriate. (Thought I saw that people were saving multiple rows in a previous post on this thread)
 
I don't recall seeing seat saving, but we usually get to sit in the front part of the plane, probably first 7 rows. We don't like to sit in the back because, for one, it's farther from the front exit and it makes me feel more closed in and claustrophobic, and second, when I have been in the back, it sometimes bounces around a bit more and I get an upset stomach. Neither myself or my DD25 likes to fly too much, so we prefer getting to sit closer to the front for those reasons. Sometimes we buy EBCI, if I pay, (DD25 doesn't like having to spend the money), but we've still always been lucky enough to sit more in the front and always together. We could have been in the most front row, which would be great, but there is no table there since there are no backs of a seat in front of you(that's correct, right?), so moved back a row.

Did you book on points? If not, why didn't you all share one confirmation number?

Just wondering, why would it matter if all were on the same confirmation number? I almost always book my DD25 and I, on points. But, I thought when I changed them to save points, I had to have each confirmation number for each of us.
 
I don't recall seeing seat saving, but we usually get to sit in the front part of the plane, probably first 7 rows. We don't like to sit in the back because, for one, it's farther from the front exit and it makes me feel more closed in and claustrophobic, and second, when I have been in the back, it sometimes bounces around a bit more and I get an upset stomach. Neither myself or my DD25 likes to fly too much, so we prefer getting to sit closer to the front for those reasons. Sometimes we buy EBCI, if I pay, (DD25 doesn't like having to spend the money), but we've still always been lucky enough to sit more in the front and always together. We could have been in the most front row, which would be great, but there is no table there since there are no backs of a seat in front of you(that's correct, right?), so moved back a row.



Just wondering, why would it matter if all were on the same confirmation number? I almost always book my DD25 and I, on points. But, I thought when I changed them to save points, I had to have each confirmation number for each of us.

If they are all on one conf number, you only have one check-in. You will then (normally) get 4 consecutive boarding positions. If you book with points, you will always get 4 diff conf #'s. If you book all with cash at the same time, you will get 1.
 
There are tables in the front row. But they come out of the armrests (I think).
Also, when you book with points, everyone gets a separate confirmation # and must be checked in separately. When you pay, everyone is on the same confirmation # and you check everyone in at once. Theoretically you should have consecutive boarding numbers but many have reported this not to always be true.
 
There are tables in the front row. But they come out of the armrests (I think).
Also, when you book with points, everyone gets a separate confirmation # and must be checked in separately. When you pay, everyone is on the same confirmation # and you check everyone in at once. Theoretically you should have consecutive boarding numbers but many have reported this not to always be true.

Usually, the only time you will not have consecutive on on conf # is when there is a cancellation earlier in the order. If the person that had A48 cancelled you could end up with A48, B11, B12, B13.
 
I fly SW (WN) a lot. Have I seen seat saving? Yup. Why is it an issue? If I have paid for EBCI, I tend to get miffed if I see 5 rows with seats with one person in each row and jackets on the empty seats. This means that at least 10 people who didn't pay for EBCI are going to have a better seat choice than I am. That's really not fair. Am I going to make an issue of it? Nope. I've been lucky in that I've never been in either the B or C grouping. I do see a lot of passengers, boarding after me, trying to take these seats and arguing with the one person in the row. And no, the FAs do nothing to assist.
If SW is going to charge people to get a better boarding spot (by being checked in at the 36 hr window vs the 24 hr one) then they should be prohibiting the practice of seat saving. If someone gets on the plane and their partner misses their assigned slot, then sure, save that seat...more than likely it's going to be a middle seat...unless that one person that has boarded (while their partner was in the restroom or sprinting to the gate) is trying to save the aisle seat in hopes that no one will take the middle seat....thereby having an empty seat in between them so they have more space.

I've said it before.....the funniest thing I've ever seen was a flight on SW, about 10 years ago...I had A16 slot...and there were only a few medical preboards prior to me and no one in the 1-15 slots...so I was about the 9th person on the plane. I took a seat in about the third row, window. I watched as each of the rows around me had just one, or possibly two, people in them, with jackets on the empty seats. This covered about 7 rows total....it looked like it was pretty much one group since they were all chatting to each other over the seat backs. Well, by the time the mid-C group was boarding, it was obvious that there weren't going to be many empty seats. The FA made the announcement that it was a completely full flight, so no empty seats would be available...if anyone wanted to move their seats around to be with family, they should do it immediately. Well...you should have seen the upheaval! All those people, in those 7 rows, starting grabbing stuff and moving around. Yes, they had been trying to get rows with just two of them, in their family, in each row!!! Now, when faced with having a stranger in-between them, they panicked and started changing up seats/rows. Imagine the surprise of the few families that boarded late in the C group that got front of the plane rows to themselves!!!!

I'm flying to London next week, on BAs (actually an AA flight which I'm not happy about). I have to wait until 24 hrs prior to departure to choose our seats, unless I want to pay close to $50 each for us to choose them now. So, I'm going to book a window and an aisle seat for us..hoping that no one chooses that middle seat. If they do, they'll get an aisle seat....my friend will just move to the middle seat since she really doesn't care where she sits.
 
I've noticed seat saving on SWA and have done it myself for others in my party and others have done it for me. I don't see the problem with it but I understand why newbies to SWA get upset about it.

This is what the problem is:

Why is it an issue? If I have paid for EBCI, I tend to get miffed if I see 5 rows with seats with one person in each row and jackets on the empty seats. This means that at least 10 people who didn't pay for EBCI are going to have a better seat choice than I am. That's really not fair.
 
This is what the problem is:

Unfortunately life isn't fair. There are other options for most people, other airlines, flying out of a different airport. Now OP knows SWA is not for her and her family.

Some people don't like SWA and their policies and that is okay, they don't have to fly with them.
 
every single time I fly (swa) there are people saving seats. In fact, my last trip I was behind some annoying cheaters who tried to cut in line, but got sent back to 'c' to baord with their group, then their friend who had 'a' sat in the row next to me and loudly proclaimed that her row was 'saved'...a couple of people questioned her,etc etc. I don't like when people behave like that,shame on them. That said, we found seats easily and we all arrived at the same time.:rolleyes1 Personally I find the boarding pass groups pretty easy and non stressfulsince there's nothing to stress over- you simply get in line according to your bp number. it's simple. (unless you are a cheater-cheat like my last example lol) What I dislike and can't understand is the luggage problem.... just check your bags people,it's free!!! In contrast to other carriers, who charge to check a bag,I just don't get it....
 
@bbak30 we flew SWA once. I hated it too. Complete cattle call. Flight out was tolerable, but the return flight was horrible. The FA's on the flight down thought they were part of a vaudeville act and kept a constant monologue on the loudspeaker the entire flight. No one could doze, read or relax. More than one eye was rolling.

On the return flight SW changed our flight times, so that we had trouble catching our connecting (SWA) flight home. The gate agent made a snide comment about us boarding so late (um, SWA's fault, not ours). When onboard, the FAs were rude and protesting when I asked for a second cup of coffee. They lost our bags both directions. Ugh!

Unfortunately for us, SAW bought out AirTran which was the third direct option for us out of Detroit. We used AirTran quite often. Fortunately for us, we still have Delta & Spirit for directs to MCO. Occasionally I price SWA out of Flint to MCO, but their flight times stink nearly as much as my memories of them do.

I suppose if SWA had a direct out of DTW to MCO, I might learn their system so I could fly them. But, all things considered, it's just not worth the hassle...
 
We fly SWA frequently and have seen many seat savers. Sometimes we purchase Early Bird, sometimes not. As long as we are close (meaning within 2-3 rows) of each other, it's okay with me. My oldest is accustomed to flying and doesn't mind sitting with a "stranger" provided she can see Mom and Dad. Plug in the iPad and headphones and she's good to go. Truthfully, my middle (about to turn 7) would probably be okay too. Either my husband or I would search for two seats together for one of us and our youngest. I just try not to get too twisted about sitting together. I don't like the seat savers, but if the FAs don't say anything, what good does it do to fuss? I'm non-confrontational by nature, so I'll just keep heading toward the back of the plane. SWA sends us free drink coupons on the regular so (if necessary) a cocktail can take the edge off - LOL!

My experience with other folks is that they either Love or Hate flying SWA. It's our best option (budget-wise) and since we have the Companion Pass, it's our GoTo company. However, I have a sister who would rather pay a bunch more $$$ and fly on another airline rather than deal with the seating process on SWA. To each their own...we just generally meet her at the location when we vacation together.

OP - Sorry your experience was less than stellar. We all have different likes/dislikes, that's what makes the world go 'round. At least you know what to expect if you should ever book SWA again. Have a happy day everyone! :)
 
I agree with the OP, I hate the SW boarding process. But we've been flying them for years and will continue to do so because I like the rest of their policies. Particularly the ease of changing flights. I have also seen lots of seat saving and saved many seats myself, because that's just how it is on SW. They also have nonstop flights to FL from our small, local airport, so i'll deal with the (IMO) horrible boarding process until a better option comes along. :-)
 
Back of the plane is not the same as the front for many people. I hate that false argument. But you are correct that if you want to guarantee you are close to front, SWA is not for you.


I do fly SWA and have the highest status level on the airline.

I will say that it is absolutely ridiculous that SWA doesn't take a stand, one way or the other, on the seat saving. Their only stance is essentially work it out on your own.

They really should post on their site either Seat Saving not allowed or Seat Saving is allowed for X places.

Otherwise, why could I legitimately save the first 3 rows of the plane? It's cowardly of them to not take a stance.

Worse than the ones saving a row, are the ones who try to save multiple rows... Of which I used to ignore and sit anyway.

We don't save seats on SWA. I'm against it. But if SWA actually adopted a policy for or against, then I'd at least respect it.


I agree its stupid that they don't take a stance... I fly SWA often and like it for DH and I but that is because I am for a bit longer A list preferred (work travel was low this year so I won't get it back this year) and we don't have kids so flying seperate would not really be an issue. Oh and I have never even had to try to save the middle seat next to me for DH anyway since although I'm not a customer of size in that I can easily buckle the seatbelt I am not tiny so its rare anyone chooses to sit next to me until towards the end.

However part of is it they dont' want to have to figure out all their other policies if they make this decision. If they say you can save seats then they get alot less EBCI revenue as no one is going to buy more then 1. Seat saving is allowed now.

If they say its not allowed then they have to figure out something for all the A listers when they are on leisure travel and are with family. I think alot of us that were A list would give up the airline and pick another one if they didn't have something in place to make it likely that my family would sit near me the times they are with me. Right now seat saving is it.
 













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