My experience with SWA COS seating

[Marseeya]

I debated on posting this because it IS embarrassing, but what the heck. I've had two different PMs asking me about it, and I'd just like to share my experiences for anyone who might be too embarrassed to ask out loud.

Anyway, after I bought my tickets for SWA, I found out about their COS policy, which you can read here: SWA COS policy I'm pretty overweight, but I wasn't all that sure if the policy would apply to me or not. For comparison's sake, I wear size 22. So, I went ahead and bought the extra seat for our flight, since if the flight isn't oversold, you can get a full refund on the seat.

When I got to PIT, we went to SW's counter and I got a boarding pass, plus a little placard that would reserve the empty seat next to me. It also entitled me to preboarding with one of the girls (it was me, DH, DD 10 & DD's friend 9) so that I'd have someone to sit with. The gate agent was telling people in preboarding that we could save seats for our other family members. It was all very simple and nobody batted an eyelash.

I went through a similar situation at MCO, although the differences between MCO and PIT were pretty surprising. At PIT, everyone was relaxed and in no big hurry to wait in the lines. At MCO, people were jockeying for position in the lines and everyone seemed so stressed about it. I'll talk more about this whole experience when I write up my trip report, but I just couldn't believe how different the two airport gates were.

I did have a bit of a negative experience on the plane, but it was certainly not SW's fault. My DH and I were seated with my placard on the empty seat between us, and the girls were seated in the row across from us in the window seat and middle seat. At the very last minute, a man and his wife with two toddler twins came on the plane and the man wanted me to move over so he could sit in the aisle and his wife across from him. When I explained that I purchased the seat, he got really ticked off and just stood there for a few seconds glaring at me before moving to the back of the plane. Heh, even if he'd handed me the $150 for the seat then and there, I sure as spit wouldn't have wanted to sit next to my fat husband with my fat butt in the middle, next to a man with a lap child. No thank you! That baby cried for half the trip too.

After I got home, I called SWA, and getting my refund was as easy as them looking up my name and that was it! I should get my refund credited to my Visa in 15-30 days.

Oh, and one other thing. I got brave and went up to the gate agent at MCO to ask her if she thought I really needed that second seat. She looked me up and down and said NO. Even as a size 22, I didn't have any problems lowering the armrest, and my butt didn't spill into the next seat.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[tmt martins]

I edited my Opinion because yes you are just following SWA policy .

I don't agree with it but as it is their policy .

I'm glad all worked out for you and your family

 

[georgina]

Thanks so much for sharing your story. I know there are a lot of people who have anxiety about this and it helps to have someone else's experience to consider. It sounds to me like you followed SW policy and got a refund on a non-full flight.

 

[Marseeya]

I edited my Opinion because yes you are just following SWA policy .

I don't agree with it but as it is their policy .

I'm glad all worked out for you and your family

Which policy are you referring to?

 

[Marseeya]

Thanks so much for sharing your story. I know there are a lot of people who have anxiety about this and it helps to have someone else's experience to consider. It sounds to me like you followed SW policy and got a refund on a non-full flight.

The first flight had about 12 open seats, and the flight back had 5 that we could see.

I was pretty anxious about it myself, which is why I'm putting myself out there now. One thing I was worried about was that getting that extra seat might call a lot of attention to myself, either at preboarding or in sitting on the plane. Except for the incident with the man and child, everything was done very discreetly and nobody batted an eyelash.

 

[tmt martins]

Which policy are you referring to?

I don't like a policy that lets you claim to buy a seat ( knowing you are getting a refund) be smug and deny a person who paid for a seat the right of that seat.Then talk of how inconveinent it would have been because that paying customer wanted the seat.

The policy also states that COS is one that can't put down armrest and over fills the seat .You admitted you didn;t do that.

What if on the return trip a family of six wanted to buy seats and were denide because of your extra seat that you knew by then you didn't need but knew you were getting a refund for anyhow.

Thats the Policy I don't agree with and that you were just sort of following.

 

[pearlieq]

I'd never thought of it as denying another passenger a seat. I don't think I buy it. There's no guarantee of getting the refund (though it does happen pretty often) so you have to go in fully expecting to pay for the seat.

Plus, first come first served. If a family of 6 wants to walk up at the last minute and try to buy seats, they should know that they might not get on. And if they got bumped/missed their flight, well, that's the breaks. Life isn't always fair. Frankly, I think the guy the OP described on the plane was very rude and I would have had no problem telling him to kiss my buns! If he wanted to have his pick of seats he should have gotten there early!

While SWAs COS policy does influence my decision, I also need to take into account my comfort. Even if I "technically" fit (which I actually think I do), I wouldn't want to be smushed in next to someone for the whole flight. Buying that extra seat is my perrogative and I won't fly without it.

Wow--you really can't win as a large person, can you? First you're villified for taking up extra space, so you go ahead and buy an extra seat. Then people rag on you for taking up a seat that could go to another passenger? Holy unreasonable!

 

[Marseeya]

I don't like a policy that lets you claim to buy a seat ( knowing you are getting a refund) be smug and deny a person who paid for a seat the right of that seat.Then talk of how inconveinent it would have been because that paying customer wanted the seat.

The policy also states that COS is one that can't put down armrest and over fills the seat .You admitted you didn;t do that.

What if on the return trip a family of six wanted to buy seats and were denide because of your extra seat that you knew by then you didn't need but knew you were getting a refund for anyhow.

Thats the Policy I don't agree with and that you were just sort of following.

I had absolutely no way of knowing I'd get a refund until the day of the flight, actually. SWA can't guarantee a refund if they oversell the flight, and they seem to do that quite frequently. So I went into this thinking that the money was gone. That seat was paid for at the time I was using it.

I'm not sure where you're getting "smugness" from. Someone came and wanted my seat, when there was a clear sign on it stating that it was reserved. I was put in an awkward and embarrassing position of having to tell this man that I purchased the seat, and he got angry. There were at least 5 other seats on that plane for him to choose from, so the only inconvenience to him was to find one. If it was so important to him to sit next to his wife, then he should have made sure to get himself to the airport with enough time to preboard. I didn't see anyone else in that plane jumping to offer the guy their aisle seat either.

The COS policy is extremely subjective. I would have preferred NOT to have spent that extra $300, not knowing whether or not I'd ever see it again. I would have preferred to have that money to spend on my trip on souvenirs. However, SWA can't give any size guidelines other than the ability to lower the armrest. Having done a lot of research before my flight, I found that gate agents would question passengers and have them demonstrate their ability to sit in a seat. I wanted to avoid that humiliation.

I wasn't "sort of" following any policy. I followed their policy to the letter, even speaking with numerous customer service representatives prior to my flight to make sure I was doing the right thing.

I'm sure, though, that if you were stuck sitting next to a COS, you'd probably gripe that they DIDN'T buy an extra seat.

 

[Marseeya]

Wow--you really can't win as a large person, can you? First you're villified for taking up extra space, so you go ahead and buy an extra seat. Then people rag on you for taking up a seat that could go to another passenger? Holy unreasonable!

That's the truth!

I can tell you, if the four of us (I'm counting that lap baby) would have had to sit together, it would have been the most miserable trip imaginable. My husband's a big guy, especially through the shoulders. I'm big. The guy who wanted the seat was tall and not fat, but big. Add a baby to the mix.

I don't mean to be unsympathetic (well, I confess that his attitude did make me unsympathetic when I normally would have been more sympathetic), but knowing his special needs, they should have arrived at the airport with enough time to find good seats for themselves. I also won't go into what I think of having lap babies on a horrible flight like that -- we flew over the tropical storm, plus over thunderstorms over the Carolinas. Oh my, what a bumpy, scary flight.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

Thanks for sharing your story.

I have no problem with the last empty seats being next to people willing to pay for an extra seat. It really would work to keep it the most comfortable for everybody.

The other passenger probably had no idea why the seat was reserved and was just in a panic to get a seat, any seat! He was actually getting a special break himself for not having to buy a seat for his toddler children.

 

[MickeyCrazed]

I don't like a policy that lets you claim to buy a seat ( knowing you are getting a refund) be smug and deny a person who paid for a seat the right of that seat.Then talk of how inconveinent it would have been because that paying customer wanted the seat.

The policy also states that COS is one that can't put down armrest and over fills the seat .You admitted you didn;t do that.

What if on the return trip a family of six wanted to buy seats and were denide because of your extra seat that you knew by then you didn't need but knew you were getting a refund for anyhow.

Thats the Policy I don't agree with and that you were just sort of following.

These boards continue to amaze me.

If a COS didn't buy an extra seat, someone would complain because they need to sit next to them.

If a COS buys an extra seat, people complain about the refund policy.

You can't have it both ways! SW's policy is very considerate to COS in my opinion. It is the only reason I fly with them, because I surely don't love the cattle call.

OP - thanks for sharing. Your experiences will help others that are anticipating a flight feel a little more at ease about what they should expect.

 

[tmt martins]

Well I was going to let it go but you asked.

COS is one that the armrest doesn't come down or spills into the other seat.

YOU knew on the return trip that that was not a problem from the flight down.So you at that point KNEW you did not fit the guidelines of COS and yet you still took preboarding ,You still took the seat and you still took the refund .

Thats all I'm saying .So the Policy is broke in my opinion .I like to strech my legs so thats a size issue for me but I wouldn't think of tying up a seat to do this .But the policy says that I could in fact do this for comfort.I could just do it for $79 opening fares or even secure a ding.

Go ahead and rally around the wagons but this is not what the policy was intended for and in my opinion it's open to abuse.

 

[NCRedding]

The way I understand the policy, you don't get the refund unless the plane was not full. Therefore, the rude jurk in Marseeya post had another seat somewhere else on the plane where he could sit. It wasn't refusing him a seat; it was just refusing him that seat that Marseeya had purchased. Marseeya had no way of knowing at the time of his rudeness that plane wouldn't be filled, and she would then not recieve what she paid for, if she had allowed him to take the seat and then had not gotten the refund.

Marseeya; thanks for posting. In my opinion, the policy works--you were out the cost of the money for the extra ticket, until it is/was refunded; it isn't as though you didn't buy the seat.

 

[tmt martins]

These boards continue to amaze me.

If a COS didn't buy an extra seat, someone would complain because they need to sit next to them.

If a COS buys an extra seat, people complain about the refund policy.

You can't have it both ways! SW's policy is very considerate to COS in my opinion. It is the only reason I fly with them, because I surely don't love the cattle call.

OP - thanks for sharing. Your experiences will help others that are anticipating a flight feel a little more at ease about what they should expect.

Yes you can have it both ways .

I agree that a COS has the right to follow the policy COS has the right to a refund if flight is not FULL. COS has the right to the extra seat NEEDED for comfort to all.

BUT THE OP ADMITTED SHE DID NOT FIT THE GUIDELINES OF COS on the filght down so she should have nopt used the Policy for the return trip knowing that.

 

[tmt martins]

The way I understand the policy, you don't get the refund unless the plane was not full. Therefore, the rude jurk in Marseeya post had another seat somewhere else on the plane where he could sit. It wasn't refusing him a seat; it was just refusing him that seat that Marseeya had purchased. Marseeya had no way of knowing at the time of his rudeness that plane wouldn't be filled, and she would then not recieve what she paid for, if she had allowed him to take the seat and then had not gotten the refund.

.

Then your just jumping on HER bandwagon takeing her word on the rudeness of the JERK .You have no idea he may have been late because the toddler may have been a special need and they didn't want to distube the plane until the last minute possible. He may have nicely asked for her move but she was so self centered on getting her free seat she became defensive and called him a jerk ( how dare someone else have problems) .

Bottom line at that point she DID not fit the guildlines of COS and bought the seat as a conveinecne to herself So she should not get a refund under the policy.


This will be my last post on the matter my point has been made.

It's just another example of someone abusing a policy put in place to help those who really need it.

 

[Marseeya]

Well I was going to let it go but you asked.

COS is one that the armrest doesn't come down or spills into the other seat.

YOU knew on the return trip that that was not a problem from the flight down.So you at that point KNEW you did not fit the guidelines of COS and yet you still took preboarding ,You still took the seat and you still took the refund .

Thats all I'm saying .So the Policy is broke in my opinion .I like to strech my legs so thats a size issue for me but I wouldn't think of tying up a seat to do this .But the policy says that I could in fact do this for comfort.I could just do it for $79 opening fares or even secure a ding.

Go ahead and rally around the wagons but this is not what the policy was intended for and in my opinion it's open to abuse.

Yes, yes, yes, you're so right, I abused the system. I should have had my magic crystal ball to know I was going to fit in that seat, and to know that I was at just the limit where I would.

The fact is, 3 months before my trip, I didn't know whether or not I'd fit. I purchased my airline tickets with the intention of following their policy, according to their standards. There are plenty of cases where a COS had flown numerous times without issue, only to have a totally different gate agent force them to purchase an extra seat, and I wasn't taking that chance. As for me pre-boarding, that is what I was told to do at the airport. Believe me, I would have far preferred to stand in the A line with my entire family rather than standing out like a sore thumb like that.

I'm just curious what you would have had me do with my seat on the flight back? Just toss that $150 away? I'll say this to you one last time, because you're not seeming to understand the concept -- at the time of that flight, that seat WAS purchased. It was NOT a free seat.

And for the record, I'll be free to purchase an additional seat for my comfort, and the comfort of those around me, any time I fly SWA. Instead of berating a person of size for doing so, you should be thanking them, because I'm sure you'd be having coniptions if you had to *gasp* actually sit next to and touch a fat person.

 

[NCRedding]

I stand by my analysis that someone who enters a SOUTHWEST plane late, with two kids, and then asks a person ALREADY seated to move is a JERK. You should know what you are getting when you book SW; if you can't handle it, then book another flight on a carrier with assigned seats.

Yes, the person could have had a special needs child, but the person is just as likely, if not more likely, to be running late because they always run late, or fail to budget the required time. She bought the seat because she didn't know whether she meet the guidelines, and she wanted to save herself the embarrassment of having to buy one when she got to the airport. She didn't abuse the system!

 

[Disney Ella]

You paid for those seats both ways and were entitled to use them any way you wanted. Other passengers are not your responsibility or problem, especially since you were following SWA COS policy. I'm glad to hear that it was so easy to get your money refunded.

 

[CarolA]

I don't like a policy that lets you claim to buy a seat ( knowing you are getting a refund) be smug and deny a person who paid for a seat the right of that seat.Then talk of how inconveinent it would have been because that paying customer wanted the seat.

The policy also states that COS is one that can't put down armrest and over fills the seat .You admitted you didn;t do that.

What if on the return trip a family of six wanted to buy seats and were denide because of your extra seat that you knew by then you didn't need but knew you were getting a refund for anyhow.

Thats the Policy I don't agree with and that you were just sort of following.

Guess what ANYONE can buy an extra seat on ANY airline "denying" you a seat?? If a paying customer wants a seat they PAY for it... OP or anyone buying a second seat didn't DENY anyone a seat...

If you take a second seat and don't pay for it that is denial... PAYING is a whole new issue. I bet the person who "told" OP to move had probably planned on the "There will be an empty seat for my baby" method. You know don't pay, but take the seat anyway.... I see that plan posted on here all the time and those posters aren't accused of taking a seat someone else might want. (Which they do, they sit in the front and take up the seat for thier infant, I have even seen them attempt to REFUSE to give up the seat when the plane is FULL!! Talk about RUDE!) Personally I think SW should tell you that lap children MUST remain in your lap until the plane is FULLY boarded. If you don't get your "extra" seat, too bad... you didn't pay for it.


Business travelers like me routinely miss planes. I don't think I am "stealing" a seat. The airline got my money and will probably get more when I have to rebook LOL!


SW will allow ME to buy a second seat.... I won't get the refund since I am not buying for the same reason as OP which is a little strange, but I have known some folks on overseas flights who bought two seats each allowing them the entire row on a widebody.. Guess you were "denied"? The airline didn't care they got CASH LOL!

If you want seat X you should NOT fly SWA....

The person who asked OP to move was a jerk. Let's get real if he had a LAP child had he arrive ON TIME he would have boarded with OP and had his choice of seats... Instead he used the "people will move because I have a baby plan" (Otherwise known as "the rules don't apply to me" Plan) OP should be celebrated for being a card carrying member of the "I play by the rules" plan....

 

[kaytieeldr]

Well I was going to let it go but you asked.

COS is one that the armrest doesn't come down or spills into the other seat.

YOU knew on the return trip that that was not a problem from the flight down.So you at that point KNEW you did not fit the guidelines of COS and yet you still took preboarding ,You still took the seat and you still took the refund .

Given that she had PURCHASED THE EXTRA SEAT BOTH WAYS IN ADVANCE, what would you have suggested she do at/before boarding her return flight?
In addition, while Southwest's policies require that a COS purchase an extra seat, they allow ANY passenger who wants to purchase an additional seat for whatever reason to do so.

Then your just jumping on HER bandwagon takeing her word on the rudeness of the JERK .You have no idea he may have been late because the toddler may have been a special need and they didn't want to distube the plane until the last minute possible. He may have nicely asked for her move but she was so self centered on getting her free seat she became defensive and called him a jerk ( how dare someone else have problems) .

Prior to and while she was on the flight, she did NOT have a FREE seat. She PAID for five seats (one for DD, one for DD's friend, one for DH and two for herself). As she PAID for five seats, her party of four is ENTITLED to five seats. Had either flight ended up full/oversold, she would NOT have gotten a refund on that flight.