Never flown Southwest--are there really no seat ressies?

[chamonix]

Due to American Airlines pulling out of St Louis (well, mostly--they buy TWA and then drop STL as a hub and cut all the flights) we are having to fly out of Nashville on Southwest. I haven't booked them yet, (am not entirely sure I want to!) but wanted to know what to expect at the airport. How do we get our seats?

 

[NotUrsula]

You essentially get a line ticket (a more refined version of camping out overnight for concert tickets, if you will.)

When you check in for the flight, you will receive a boarding pass with a large A, B, or C on it. Each letter is a boarding group, representing 1/3 of the capacity of the aircraft. A's get to board first, then B's, then C's. (If you are disabled or have a child under age 5, you normally get to board before the A group, regardless of what letter is on your boarding pass.)

The earlier you check in during the allowed window of time, the greater your chances of getting an A; each possible check-in position (skycap, terminal kiosk, gate agent) has a certain number of each letter to give.

When you are allowed to board (based on your letter) you just sit whereever you like that is open. FA's will be hovering near to the exit rows, if they don't think you can handle the door, they won't let you sit there. Quick, simple, pretty much painless unless you have a thing about waiting in airports.

BTW, STL is my home airport, and we have always preferred SWA over both TWA and AA. MUCH better on-time record and baggage handling.

 

[Bonny544]

Hi.....It's true...no specific seat reservations for Southwest. I've flown them a lot and really like them! It has been consistently on time and the crew have great personalities! In fact I flew on them shortly after 9/11, and they were wonderful! As for seating.....when you arrive at the gate area you are given a card with a number on it. Prior to boarding there are 3 or 4 areas to line up by (divided off by numbers). Each group then goes (1 group at a time). It's really quite easy. So....book that trip!!! Have fun!

 

[seashoreCM]

(I haven't flown Southwest but I was told they used to issue numbers like the numbers you pull to get service at the meat counter. They switched to the letters A, B, and C although it is possible some airports may still use numbers.)

Slight commingling may occur among the last passengers of one group and the first passengers of the next group, especially if groupos of passengers come forward again to find seats because they didn't find enough consecutive aisle (or window) seats back there. Others (more smartly) take the first suitable seats they see.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Bonny544
Hi.....It's true...no specific seat reservations for Southwest. I've flown them a lot and really like them! It has been consistently on time and the crew have great personalities! In fact I flew on them shortly after 9/11, and they were wonderful! As for seating.....when you arrive at the gate area you are given a card with a number on it. Prior to boarding there are 3 or 4 areas to line up by (divided off by numbers). Each group then goes (1 group at a time). It's really quite easy. So....book that trip!!! Have fun!

No more numbers, they issue boarding passes with a letter on it, A, B, or C. If the computer goes down, then they had out cards with numbers or letters on it.

http://www.southwestair.com/travel_center/checkin.html

 

[Alison Wonderland]

You will see people standing in lines at the boarding area LONG before it is even time to board. -Just be prepared. Obviously, this aggravates me. Other than that, I do like Southwest. I just try to get there earlier enough to get in the A group so I can be assured of sitting by my child without a bunch of hassle.

 

[EdDome]

The open seating takes a little getting used to but we've never had a problem getting seats together. Yes the lining up early is a bit of a drag but it's worth it. SW has deplaning and boarding down to a science so there's no wasted time.

 

[chamonix]

Well, I am glad to hear that most eveyone seems to like them, even with the open seating. I have to say, it is not appealing at all to me. I am a very tense flier, and I usually fly first class, and then board absolutely last, so as to have less time on the plane before take off to get "nervous". I am so bad that I also take a rather large dose of xanax too, so am not always too coherent, LOL. It would not be a good thing if dd and dh are not able to sit with me. I need all the help I can get to not freak out. (well, dd is only 6yo, but having her near keeps me from freaking out since I would never let her see my fear)
Can you tell I am a basket case when it comes to flying!

I am just ticked off that the only flight out of STL is at 7am, (which is a 2 hour drive from my house), and the only flight from Nashville that isn't Southwest is on one of those little Embraer regional jets. Can you feel my dilemma, lol? thanks for all the reports on SW though! It is probably my best option at this point.

 

[kda]

Did you consider going to the airport the night before ---- start the vacation early --- and stay over in a motel. Many airport motels have their own shuttle service and some offer a 'stay, park, and fly' rate that includes leaving your car in their unattended lot or parking in an attended lot. You're still getting up early, but it's not as bad as a 2 hour drive from home and you don't have as much time to worry.

 

[Terk-1]

I only fly Southwest and have never once had a problem. My family & I swear by Southwest and use them for 99% of the flying we do. I like that it's no frills and that it is open seating. I'm an early arriver at airports and really prefer to sit as close to the front as possible. The earlier you arrive, the better chance you have in getting an A card (or at least a B).

The seating is open seating, which means when you check in, you will be given an A, B or C card. You stand in the line that matches your card. They board families with little kids & people who need more time (i.e. older passengers in wheelchairs or walkers, etc.), then board those with A cards, then B, then C. If you are not checking any bags, there are kiosks at most airports. You put the credit card in that you used to purchase the ticket and it prints out your boarding pass(es). Some people consider this type of seating a "cattle call", which I guess is a little right, but once I get to the gate, I find my line, plop myself down and wait to board.

This is a no frills airline and they use only one type of plane (737 I believe). You do get snack packs (which are pretty good (Oreos, crackers, cheese, cereal bar, and a few other things I can't remember), as well as drinks. There are no movies or headsets for music. You can bring your own meals on board if you wish. We have always had a pleasant crew on our trips.

To cut down on the stress of getting to the airport, why not stay at a hotel close to the airport the night before OR have a car service pick you up at home and drive you to the airport. This way you can sit back, relax, and get ready for your trip. What about making some music cd's of some relaxing music or even Disney music (get yourself ready to get there) and bring them with a portable cd player. Besides take off and landing, you can use this electronic device most of your trip.

Hope this helps!

 

[jtbdas]

The Nashville to Orlando flight is a very easy direct flight it is about 1&1\2 from gate to gate. I have flown this route a couple of times and it is made easy with Southwest.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Alison Wonderland
You will see people standing in lines at the boarding area LONG before it is even time to board. -Just be prepared. Obviously, this aggravates me. Other than that, I do like Southwest. I just try to get there earlier enough to get in the A group so I can be assured of sitting by my child without a bunch of hassle.

I had to chuckle at your post. Why does it bother you that people line up early? As long as they are in the correct line, what difference does it make where they wait? I am just curious, not attacking.

 

[NotUrsula]

Well, I do get a BIT aggravated at the the lines, too, but I can't fault SWA about it; they don't create the situation. They are always making announcements that it isn't necessary to line up before the aircraft arrives, but very few people listen.

At STL, even before the kiosks, if you wanted to get into the first boarding group, you had to arrive at least 3 hours early. (Especially for the direct MCO flights, b/c they originate in Chicago, so they always have some people on board already.) Before the kiosk/skycap distribution, the line formed at the gate desk, now that people can get the passes before security, the lines form at the actual gate railings. The lines have a tendency to block the seats in the gate area, and it does get a little old trying to sit in a chair with someone's posterior less than a foot from your face. For some reason, many people here feel compelled to try to be first in line for their boarding group, so they arrive 3 hrs. early and spend the entire time standing in line at the actual gate railings. (Just FYI, I flew to MCO on the mid-afternoon flight on 9/11/03, which was a Thursday. We arrived 1 hr & 45 minutes early, and I got the last A pass. DH & DS got B's. I saved them seats and we got a full row near the back.)

Also, as far as I can tell, AA still has 2 direct flights to MCO, one at 6:30 am, and the other at about 3 pm. SWA has 5 flights per day, 3 direct, and 2 that stop, one in Birmingham, and one in Louisville.
(If you're in Southern Illinois, wouldn't Louisville be closer than Nashville?)

 

[erikthewise]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
I had to chuckle at your post. Why does it bother you that people line up early? As long as they are in the correct line, what difference does it make where they wait? I am just curious, not attacking.

Gail,

My guess:

The reason people line up early, and others are bothered by it, is the fear of "line crashing". By this I mean people on airlines with reserved seating who board before their row is called.

I don't fly a LOT, but out of 200-300 boardings I don't remember ever seeing anyone turned away for boarding before their row was called. I don't think this practice is as common as it used to be, but I'm sure it still happens a lot. (I remember well one time many years ago I was the last person to board the plane because my row was never called. Everyone else had already boarded before being called!)

With reserved seating the only thing line crashers really gain is space in the overhead bins. But without a seat number on your boarding pass, line crashers would be taking your seat! Perhaps Southwest does a good job of enforcing the A-B-C system against line crashers, but apparently a lot of people don't want to take a chance. They may see lining up early as a way to defend their A or B pass. This may be purely paranoia, or it may be a sensible precaution -- as I've never gone through a SW boarding, I wouldn't know. But first time SW flyers are in precisely this situation.

 

[Sarahsmom85]

I just flew Southwest to and from Vegas. What I like was non-stop $99 each way. We got 2 snacks and lots to drink. No movies to entertain us so we had time to read our travel guides.
Now I'm checking every day for the $79 each way special for May.
Hope to jump on it as soon as I can.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by erikthewise
Gail,

My guess:

The reason people line up early, and others are bothered by it, is the fear of "line crashing". By this I mean people on airlines with reserved seating who board before their row is called.

I don't fly a LOT, but out of 200-300 boardings I don't remember ever seeing anyone turned away for boarding before their row was called. I don't think this practice is as common as it used to be, but I'm sure it still happens a lot. (I remember well one time many years ago I was the last person to board the plane because my row was never called. Everyone else had already boarded before being called!)

With reserved seating the only thing line crashers really gain is space in the overhead bins. But without a seat number on your boarding pass, line crashers would be taking your seat! Perhaps Southwest does a good job of enforcing the A-B-C system against line crashers, but apparently a lot of people don't want to take a chance. They may see lining up early as a way to defend their A or B pass. This may be purely paranoia, or it may be a sensible precaution -- as I've never gone through a SW boarding, I wouldn't know. But first time SW flyers are in precisely this situation.

That makes sense. We usually sit till the plane at least lands and people are almost all off the plane. SWA is very good at telling people in the wrong line to get to the BACK of the appropriate line.

 

[chamonix]

Also, as far as I can tell, AA still has 2 direct flights to MCO, one at 6:30 am, and the other at about 3 pm. SWA has 5 flights per day, 3 direct, and 2 that stop, one in Birmingham, and one in Louisville. (If you're in Southern Illinois, wouldn't Louisville be closer than Nashville?)

notursula, the morning flight from STL is at 7:25. Even if we stay at an airport hotel, we will have to get up at 4am for that flight. I'm afraid we would be dead tired when we got there after getting up that early! Unfortunately, the 3pm-ish flight is not scheduled on Thanksgiving Day, and we were really hoping to arrive earlier than that on Friday.
Oh, and we are at least four hours from Louisville, St Louis is only 2 hours, and Nashville is just over three. We were considering Nashville only because my best friend/college roommate lives there and we could spend Thanksgiving with them, and then fly out on Friday.
Still not sure what we will do, but I have to decide today so I can still get the 7 day advance ticket prices! LOL
thanks everbody!

 

[NotUrsula]

"I am so bad that I also take a rather large dose of xanax too, so am not always too coherent, LOL. "

If you are such a nervous flier that you actually have Rx drugs for the anxiety, I'm wondering if you might be able to preboard as a disabled passenger.

I'm thinking that if you have your Rx, and a doctor's note that it is prescribed for fear of flying, SWA's gate personnel might give you a preboard sleeve. That way your DH and child could probably board with you so that you are all together. Of course, you would have to board first if you did that.

Another possibility is that, regardless of what is on your pass, let your DH and DS board first and save you a seat, then you hang back and get on last. Seat-saving is usually not a problem as long as you are not trying to save more than 2 seats.

 

[denisenh]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
That makes sense. We usually sit till the plane at least lands and people are almost all off the plane. SWA is very good at telling people in the wrong line to get to the BACK of the appropriate line.

I got in the wrong line once. DH, although not exactly a control freak, always puts our (his, mine and kids) boarding passes in his shirt pocket until it is time to board. We were "B's" so we were all in the "B" line early. Yes, we wait in line. Anyway, DH hands out the boarding passes at the last moment and we all board. On the way to the plane, I happened to notice the "C" on my pass! Apparently, I was the first "C". The boarding agent did look up at me as he received my boarding pass and now I knew why! But he didn't say anything, thank goodness. It really was a complete accident and I felt totally dumb.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

As a family we just used southwest in aug to get to the world. DH has used them for business and never had a problem but for our family I really didnt like the cattle car mentality. I am a planner and organizer so I like things just so. We always get at the airport early so we got the A cards both time.
This time I insisted our Tiffany towncar guy be at the swan 3 hours early for our pick up. I told them on the phone we had southwest and one of our ds has asthma so there was no way I was getting there late and chance getting split up.
Also I guess it depends on your flight, but our flight had so many families with kids who wanted to preboard that they insisted only parents and made all the grandparents get out of the line.
Yes there jokes and songs are funny and really appealed to our 3 ds.
Another thing I saw from posters here is that if you have skycaps and can check in at curbside with southwest, then do it because they do not weigh the luggage and charge you extra. I did see when we got our luggage in orlando it had some red heavy tags on it. American and Delta have weighed all our stuff and american even made us take stuff out and rearrange it while others were behind us. I always weigh before I go, but on the way back things might get shuffled around. And no, we did not buy lots of souveniers. My ds know better than to ask for that.
You will like southwest if you have a good mind set. All I kept thinking to myself was, we will be there soon, well we did get a direct, early flight etc. My pain was over in less than 3 hours.
Poor dh and one ds got a very huge lady between them who could not even get the seat belt around her and it was her lst time flying. oh gee...