Just wanted to give my opinion about Southwest

[Dizzyworld]

What I have always wondered is if you buy the extra seat next to you, how do you keep someone else from sitting there?

 

[Disneylvr]

What I have always wondered is if you buy the extra seat next to you, how do you keep someone else from sitting there?

From what I understand SWA gives the passenger priority boarding and a card to place in the 2nd seat so that no one else can occupy it. As a person of size I have been too afraid to fly SWA for the last several years. I have recently lost 50 lbs and still losing so I hope to someday fly them again since SWA is the only airline in my city that is nonstop to MCO anymore.

 

[seashoreCM]

What I have always wondered is if you buy the extra seat next to you, how do you keep someone else from sitting there?

If you are already occupying the seat next to you, then no one in his right mind should want to sit there. Since you have the card given to you at boarding, no one has the right to move your laptop or coat from the other half of the second seat.

 

[bedogged]

I am a large woman who was concerned about flying SW. I can honestly say that I have never had a problem. I am always concerned about taking up someone's space so I try to make myself as small as possible with elbows in and knees together. What I don't understand is why a lot of men seem to feel it is their right to sit with their legs splayed open, taking up part of the other people's leg room? I just don't get that?

 

[sln88]

ok, does anyone have any sizes on this? I am obese and plan on flying southwest back home next week

for those of you that fit, how big are you? like what sizes do you wear, or weight and height? you can pm me if you don't want to post(cause I know I don't want to post my stats here!)

 

[gigi1313]

Allow me to make a few corrections here. A person who is tall is not going to be more comfortable by purchasing an addtl seat...unless it is the seat directly in front of them and that seat is taken out. Sitting sideways, sticking ones legs over to the area beside them, is not more comfortable...believe me. I've tried it, dh has tried it and dd has tried it. You were just unlucky enough to get an inconsiderate person next to you. I have had perfectly 'normal' (oh, how I hate to use that word!!!) person sitting next to me and they encroached on my space. It's usually more about common courtesy than it is about size.
Also....those areas with addtl legroom?? Yeah, not just $10 addtl. That $10, for EBCI, gets you moved up in the line but does not get you the extra legroom seats, unless you are lucky enough to be among the first 10 or so people boarding...and assuming there are nomedical preboards, minors flying unattended or business class people.
You have to pay the huge fare for business class to be assured one of those seats..usually over $300 each way!!!

Medical preboards, unaccompanied minors, nor even a member of a preboards party is eligible to sit in emergency exit row... We fly SWA a lot and both of my boys are peanut allergic and SWA allows for preboard so we can wipe down their area, and the two boys and I sit together in a row and dh had been told that because he preboards (even though the medical issue is not his) he is not eligible for exit row...

 

[seashoreCM]

Airline crew need to take a more active role in resolving encroachment issues. This would include sanctions taken against prolonged or repeat offenders. One possibility is cancelling the continuing and return reservations of someone who does not cooperate.

Defuse, mediate, and placate should be verbs added to the flight attendant job description.

I'd like to get and idea of what percentage of person-flight experiences turn out to be unpleasant (gotta figure out a good descriptive phrase before I put up the poll question).

As a person of size I have been too afraid to fly SWA for the last several years.

When you buy a second seat there is nothing to be afraid of.

 

[gigi1313]

When you buy a second seat there is nothing to be afraid of.

That's not necessarily true... you can be afraid that the seatbelt won't fit (and yes, some people either don't know you can request an extender or are too embarrassed to do so -- my daughter cried when she had to request one on a flight, only to find out that there was something wrong w/her original seatbelt as she had no problem on any of her three subsequent flights that same weekend)... or afraid that people will be rude or unpleasant when they want the seat next to you and you say "it's taken" when there is clearly no person in it... maybe there is nothing to be "afraid" of, but there are certainly situations where a customer of size could feel uncomfortable or embarrassed... and some people are afraid to feel those ways!

 

[kamik86]

Honestly I'm glad I have always been flying with my husband as I encroach on the space next to me... not because of my weight (although i am obese but I fit in the seat fine)... its my elbows. I am doing work on the plane so because I'm typing my elbow ends up in his space. Oh and when I get a drink since my laptop is on my tray mine goes on his tray too. Lastime I flew down DH was glad to get the window for once because mom was with us too so I took the middle and only bothered them each a little bit lol...

Note I would be much more careful not to do ^ if I ever fly for work and DH isn't the one next to me... However he is used to me stealing his space since he sleeps next to me

 

[goofy4tink]

Medical preboards, unaccompanied minors, nor even a member of a preboards party is eligible to sit in emergency exit row... We fly SWA a lot and both of my boys are peanut allergic and SWA allows for preboard so we can wipe down their area, and the two boys and I sit together in a row and dh had been told that because he preboards (even though the medical issue is not his) he is not eligible for exit row...

Absolutely true!! Sorry I wasn't clear.
I was on one SW flight, and was lucky enough to have A16. And that was prior to EBCI!! Anyway....as I stood there, in my spot, I watched as an older couple preboarded. He had a cane, which he used, his wife hobbled along beside him. Then, 2 unattended minors boarded. The 2 kids were put in the first row, beside each other. But, the 'medical' preboard older couple??? They headed directly to the exit rows. Well, as I boarded, the FA was telling the couple that they weren't allowed to sit there. They argued that they were perfectly capable to help out in the case of an emergency. The FA pointed out that since they had boarded early, as medical preboards, they obviously weren't able to help out in an emergency, and did she have to call security??? They finally got up but weren't very happy about it. Now, I couldn't use the exit row since my dd wasn't old enough yet to sit there, so took seats right in front of the exit rows. I listened to that older couple moan and groan about having to take lesser seats...man, they were grumpy.

Then, there was the flight that we had paid top dollar for tickets....fully refundable fares. It cost us about $1000 for 3 of us to fly from Providence to Ft Lauderdale. But, since we weren't absolutely sure we were flying, we paid top dollar so we could get a full refund. Well.....you should have heard the comments behind us in the line at the gate. 'Wow, wonder who they are that they get to board up there', or 'I guess they think they're pretty special'. Yeah, you can be special too if you want to pay that kind of money.....$360 pp vs $150!!!

 

[seashoreCM]

But, the 'medical' preboard older couple??? They headed directly to the exit rows. Well, as I boarded, the FA was telling the couple that they weren't allowed to sit there. ... Now, I couldn't use the exit row since my dd wasn't old enough yet to sit there, so took seats right in front of the exit rows. !!!

Oh, tea! Oh, no! The seats that don't recline!

If the FA had extra seconds to spare she could have said, "Your boarding pass is B-9. If no one with boarding passes A-1 through B-8 wants those seats then you may have them.

 

[jelo]

On our last flight with SW I sat aisle seat, which you would think was better...but didn't work out that way!

There was a 10ish yr. old in the window seat and his dad in the middle. He wasn't overly big, or overly tall. He just sat with his legs opened as wide as he could keep them...for the whole trip! I had to sit sort of angling into the aisle to keep some personal space, he had both armrests. I really felt as though he was trying to push me off the seat into the aisle at times!

It would have been nice if the boy was in the middle, it would have given everyone more room.(he had the window blind closed for the whole trip, so he wasn't sitting there for the view!)