Originally posted by megnsamsgrace
Have you flown out of BDL? Do you know what their preboarding rules are? I have flown with them 4 times in the past 2 years! They have plenty of room for preboarding and I have preboarded EACH and EVERY time. I would be more than glad to let all those seniors (or disabled) who need to preboard do so before me. BUT I do have 4 children that I put in their car seats for safety reasons. It gives me plenty of time to buckle EACH seat correctly when we fly. I am NOT taking advantage of the system by no means! But when I am flying with 4 children (6, 4, 2 and 2m when we go again in October) I will by all rights expect to preboard. If its just me and the baby or the 2 y/o then fine, but I will try and save seats for all of us to sit together. There is no reason for you to get nasty with me... I know that MCO is a CHILD route for the most part but with all the times I have flown with SWA I have ALWAYS been told over the phone about preboarding and telling me my family "qualifies". I am not expecting to preboard because of my dad being a senior but because of my children. Every time I have flown SWA (to MCO AND on return flights) I have always seen families kept together, not once (on 8 flights total) have I seen families separated. This OP is flying out of the SAME airport I do so I am giving my experience with THIS airport! Stephanie
People with disabilities or special needs always preboard before families with little ones. Only the immediate family of people with children are allowed to preboard (immediate meaning mom, dad, and sibs, not grandparents, cousins, uncles or aunts). They made that completely clear more than once in both BDL and MCO.
I have seen them not preboard families with children at BDL, guess it depends on the time of year. I have also, NEVER seen them NOT preboard families with children out of MCO.
This is the "official" word on this from the SWA website.
Southwest Airlines Checkin and Boarding Procedure
Southwest Airlines' Customers will need valid state or federal government-issued picture identification to travel (passport, driver's license, state-issued identification card, or military identification are acceptable).
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Checkin Procedure
Customers may check in for their flight and receive their boarding pass and Rapid Rewards credit at the Skycap Podium (in select locations), Ticket Counter, Departure Gate, or RAPID CHECK-IN Kiosk (where available).
Customers may check luggage and receive boarding passes at the Skycap Counter (in select locations) or Ticket Counter up to four hours prior to scheduled departure.
To determine the best time to check in for your flight, please refer to the Airport Arrival chart. The Departure Gate opens for checkin and boading pass distribution one hour prior to departure.
At 20 minutes prior to scheduled departure you can get a boarding pass only at the Departure Gate.
Customers checking in less than 10 minutes before scheduled departure may lose their confirmed reservation and will not be eligible for denied boarding compensation.
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Boarding Procedure
Each Customer will be issued a boarding pass grouped by A, B, or C (in that order) based on when the Customer checked in at the Skycap Counter, Ticket Counter, Departure Gate, or RAPID CHECK-IN Kiosk (where available).
Prior to general boarding, Customers with disabilities, unaccompanied children, and families with small children will preboard. Customers holding boarding pass "A" will begin general boarding, followed by Customers with boarding pass "B," and then "C."
Because Southwest Airlines maintains an open-seating policy, Customers may sit in any open or unclaimed seat. Customers who choose a seat in an emergency exit row must meet all requirements set forth by the Federal Aviation Administration and Southwest Airlines.
Additional information on Automated Boarding Pass