If I have a child under 4 do I still need to check in with SW?

[wbarkhur]

I am just wanting to make sure I understood something I read in a different post. It was said that people with children under four get to board between A and B boarding numbers. My youngest will be two when we go in Nov., so does this mean we will get to board then? There will be 7 of us, my DH me and our 5 kids, will all of us board then, or just one of us with the baby? If this is true do I still need to check in at the 24hr mark? or does it matter because we already board early? hope this all makes sense first time flying, and want to try and understand everthing I can. thanks

 

[Johnson1220]

You will get to Board early with children. BUT definitely still check in at the 24 hr mark for the passes --- you may luck out and if you are early enough to logon to the website you may get section A! As long as you have your boarding passes printed out you should not have a problem. But to be safe talk to them at the Gate where you are boarding so that they are atleast aware of you. Most flights going to MCO have tons of kids on them so the difference in boarding time may not even matter. The stewards will be helpful in getting you seats together. Have fun !!!

 

[Jestocost]

It's still advisable to check in at the 24-hour mark. If you do, you have a chance of getting A boarding numbers that will allow you to board before you would be able to with your child.

While gate agents may allow an entire family to board together with one child, there also are times when only one family member is allowed to board with the child. If you fail to check in your party and wind up with high boarding numbers as a result, you could be in a difficult situation with regard to getting seats together in that scenario. The flight attendants may or may not be willing or able to help you get seats together if you board late.

 

[mamapajama]

you still need to check in because you need a boarding pass to get on th eplane. So check in at the 24 hour mark. Families board between A & B meaning that any family with a high boarding number still gets to board in front of the Bs. So even if you have a C pass, you will still get to board before the Cs. But you need a boarding pass so do checkin online at the 24 hour mark. You'll probably end up with a high A or low Bs. If you have A's you board with the As, if you have anything higher, you still board before the bs. 2 parents for 5 children will all board together.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Although I've never experience this myself, I have heard that there are times when they won't do family boarding between the A & B groups. This happens when a large portion of the plane is families with young children, a common occurrence on flights to Orlando.

Go ahead and check in online 24 hours prior just to be safe.

 

[Poohlovr]

Although I've never experience this myself, I have heard that there are times when they won't do family boarding between the A & B groups. This happens when a large portion of the plane is families with young children, a common occurrence on flights to Orlando.

Go ahead and check in online 24 hours prior just to be safe.

Yes! I have seen this happen at MCO. The gate attendant said since it looked like just about every family had small children, they were suspending family boarding and everyone would need to board according to the number on their boarding passes.
In other instances, I've seen family boarding limited to one adult per child. Definitely check in at 24 hrs prior to your flight or get EBCI.

 

[n2mm]

We flew out of Dulles on SW last month and they were enforcing the child plus one parent rule. (Also the blue sleeve plus one). There was a family with a baby and only the mom and baby were allowed to board. Originally the entire clan was in the line. I saw the FA go over and the next thing I saw was everyone went back to their seat except mom and baby. I'm guessing this group expected to board with the family because they were all the last to board, so I expect they had C's. Didn't really matter as mom saved seats for 2 of them, and they were traveling with a wheelchair person, so only the wheelchair person plus one extra was allowed to pre-board. Between the 3 of them, they saved the first 3 rows on the flight, so the rest of the party still got to sit with them.

OP, I certainly would get those boarding passes just in case the one-parent rule is being enforced that day.

This is from SW website:

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.

 

[tjmw2727]

I would, especially with a family of your size! You have to check in anyway to get your boarding passes so why not checkin at or as close to T24 as you can? This way you may end up with A boarding passes and board before famiy boarding as a group.

Depending on your originating airport the entire family "may" be allowed to board with family boarding but at MCO its likely to be limited to one adult plus the 4yo due to the number of familes.

If it is important to sit together then IMHO its worth making the effort to get to the computer at T24. On the way home you can check in via mobile cell phone, guest services at the parks or resorts, have a friend do it or pay for the early bird check in through SWA.

 

[Erin12303]

I have flown twice when they didn't allow family boarding between A and B since there were so many. I would check in at 24hrs prior and save yourself any issues. I love SW!

 

[MomRN]

That's why I love this site. I was wondering the same thing. In my case though I am travelling alone with my 4 yr old in November. Not so worried about going there, I'll have internet access at home, but was worried about the way back. I don't really care where we sit, as long as it's together.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

That's why I love this site. I was wondering the same thing. In my case though I am travelling alone with my 4 yr old in November. Not so worried about going there, I'll have internet access at home, but was worried about the way back. I don't really care where we sit, as long as it's together.

You might want to consider spending the $20 to purchase the Early Bird Checkin option. Then you don't have to worry about checking in 24 hours before. You can purchase it for both legs of your trip ($10 each way per person) or just for the return trip.

If you don't do the EBCI option, you can go to guest relations in any of the parks or DTD, or your resort's concierge desk and they will check you in. Just have your confirmation numbers.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You will get to Board early with children.

Personally, I wouldn't consider boarding between the A and B group boarding early. I agree that you should check in at the 24 hour mark and try to get in the A group.

 

[wbarkhur]

Thank you every one for your answers you guys are great!! I will be sure to check in as close as we can to our 24 hr mark. I didn't totally understand that we had to check in anyway, so 24hrs it is. thanks

 

[TDC Nala]

Yes, you need to check in. If the flight is oversold and they don't have you as checked in, you may not get to board at all. You couldn't just show up at the gate without having checked in somewhere - besides, you will need the boarding passes to get through security.

I posted without realizing that you have a large group and have mentioned only one eligible child. If you want the whole family sitting together, I'd suggest you buy EBCI, although at $10 per person it will be expensive for your family. As an alternative, if you don't care if the whole family sits close together, you could buy it only for one parent and the youngest kids.

Either that, or check in as close to the 24 hour mark as possible. It's also possible that only one parent will be able to board with the two year old at family boarding time.