PLease don't shoot..another SW boarding question!!

[cra-z-4-dizney]

My mother will be in a wheelchair, but does not have to stay in it on the plane(she is having knee surgery and cannot walk long distances), I was just wondering if I would still have to print a boarding pass online, or would we get to pre-board?????

PS Pre-board is a funny word.....do you actually board before you board??? LOL

 

[NotUrsula]

She will be able to preboard, and you can go with her to help her with her things. This will be allowed so that she can roll down the ramp and then let them stow the chair for her before other passengers start to board.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

PS Pre-board is a funny word.....do you actually board before you board??? LOL

Back in the day, George Carlin did a lil bit about that word... lol

 

[gw_lit]

PS Pre-board is a funny word.....do you actually board before you board??? LOL

Kind of like self-addressed, stamped envelope... the envelope addressed itself?

 

[Disney Planner Mama]

When we went in February it was families with children under 4 and people with disabilities -- and they let the people with disabilities board first (which makes perfect sense -- Southwest does seem to run their airline with a lot of common sense)

 

[inkkognito]

I dunno...I was wondering about the common sense on my last flight! I agree that it makes sense to pre-board the wheelchairs first and give them time to get settled in, but they don't seem to adjust the boarding start time when there is an inordinate number of wheelchair passengers. On that flight, there were a LOT of wheelchair passengers, and as usual, they were taken down the jetway one at a time. By the time that was finished, it was already five minutes to take-off time and the child pre-boarders hadn't even started yet. It surprised me that they didn't start boarding a little earlier, since the plane was there and you could easily see all the wheelchairs.
But I can't complain because the wind must have been with us...we still landed 15 minutes early.
Barb

 

[deltachi8]

Back in the day, George Carlin did a lil bit about that word... lol

"I'm getting IN the plane, let evil kanevil get ON the plane"

(of course, expletives deleted )

 

[cra-z-4-dizney]

She will be able to preboard, and you can go with her to help her with her things. This will be allowed so that she can roll down the ramp and then let them stow the chair for her before other passengers start to board.

OK, so I do NOT need to print boardin passes @ 12:01am??? Also there are actually three of us going would we all be able to pre-board, or can I save the third person a seat and print out a boarding pass for her???? Thanks for all the help, this is the first time we are going with a wheelchair so this is all new to me and I want to make sure everything goes smoothly.

 

[jetfxr69]

your whole party will pre-board with you. If you have your own wheelchair they will check it at the gate and bring it up to you when you arrive. although you will pre-board, if you have your own chair you will have to wait until last to get off. it usually takes a few minutes for them to fetch your chair out of the bag bin and bring it up. If you use an airport chair instead of your own, then SWA will have one waiting for you in the jetway when you get there. Good luck.

 

[kda]

If there are a lot of pre-boarders, SWA may only allow one person on with the disabled passenger or the child under four. They have definitely restricted this at certain times, in certain airports. Otherwise, a number of people would be pre-boarding when they don't really need to.

Of course, I've also seen SW staff allow the ENTIRE line in Group A that was behind me to peel off and follow the pre-board group on. I started out 6th in line in Group A and the last one to enter. I don't count on anything any more.

 

[disneyldwjr]

OK, so I do NOT need to print boardin passes @ 12:01am??? Also there are actually three of us going would we all be able to pre-board, or can I save the third person a seat and print out a boarding pass for her???? Thanks for all the help, this is the first time we are going with a wheelchair so this is all new to me and I want to make sure everything goes smoothly.

No, only one person is allowed with the one needing assistance. Do the after 12:01 for the others in your party.

 

[disneyldwjr]

your whole party will pre-board with you. If you have your own wheelchair they will check it at the gate and bring it up to you when you arrive. although you will pre-board, if you have your own chair you will have to wait until last to get off. it usually takes a few minutes for them to fetch your chair out of the bag bin and bring it up. If you use an airport chair instead of your own, then SWA will have one waiting for you in the jetway when you get there. Good luck.

That is not correct. Only one assist is allowed with the preboad.

 

[jetfxr69]

as an employee of SWA i can tell you it is our policy to afford our passengers with special needs the right to board together. Many times these people need someone to sit with them to assist them during the flight. I dont doubt there have probably been times that gate agents have said no, but almost always, unless your talking about an excessive number(4 or more), all in the group can pre-board.

 

[cra-z-4-dizney]

Thank you very much...I will print the boarding pass just in case we are all not allowed to board, but if I board can I save my third person a seat if they do not let us all board????? TIA

 

[poohbear7]

When I preboard on SWA they only allow one person to board with me.
Yes you can save a seat for the 3rd person in your party.

 

[riu girl]

How do other SWA passengers deal with seat saving? I am planning on pre-boarding with DD8 (I assume they won't also let DH and DS board with us). If I sit in an aisle sit and sit DD8 at the window, will I be able to "save" the middle seat (between us) as well as the aisle seat across from us without being given a difficult time by other passengers?


Suzy V.

 

[NotUrsula]

Presumably your daughter has some sort of disability? Since you are a nuclear family party, they may just let all 4 of you preboard, but if family preboarding is suspended, only one adult will get on with her. That is sort of
likely to give you some difficulty with saving two seats.

There is no actual rule about saving seats that I know of, but there is a sort of commonly-accepted etiquette that has evolved over the years. One of the understood rules is that an aisle with no one in it is an open seat; one of the other understood rules is that you cannot save seats with belongings; you have to put your body between the aisle and the seat in question, and then verbally defend the seat by telling boarding passengers who will be sitting there. (You need to reassure people that you are not simply trying to keep the seat open so that you will get the space of two seats. Saving for "phantoms" is really bad form.) What this boils down to is that sitting in the aisle and saving the middle and window is considered acceptable; but sitting in the window and the opposite aisle will not be considered fair for saving the aisle and center in the row where the window is occupied. The proper way to save 4 across would be to sit in both aisle seats, but the FA's do not like to see a lone child sitting on the aisle, especially if that child has reason to preboard (they are concerned that kids may get hit or pinched by the drink carts if they sit on the aisle.) You could explain to the FA if you get questioned about it, but luck of the draw means that the FA could very well then tell you to scoot over into the aisle on the other side and let your DH take his chances.

 

[Ms. Belle]

I'm here at WDW!!! I flew SW from PVD and pre-boarding was a bear. I had an A ticket, but 40 people preboarded before us. There were entire families with ONE child under five and they all walked on. This is the first time I've flown SW and I hope I never have to do it again due to the pre-boarding and sitting in line waiting for your turn to board. I have a son (11) who is scared to be split up from me on the plane, and I found it very stressful getting my A pass at 12:01am, then getting to the airport and being close to the beginning of the line, etc. It's way too much work.

 

[Corryn]

The last time we went (of course on SW) we got to the airport and ate lunch there. A man and his friend were eating next to us. We saw the guy the whole time we were there, walking around with no assistance. When we decided we should get over to the gate an hour Before boarding, we see this same able-bodied man stop, put his briefcase down, open it, pull out a folding cane, extend it, close his brief-case, and stand on line in the Pre-Boarding Section!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't want no flames.....My husband had two knee surgeries - one a total reconstruction. He's got a thick pretty scar running down his leg. He has trouble with it, but refuses assistance. He could have well brought his cane and done the same. Some may think it was smart of the man to bring a folding cane, I say that is sneaky and it was wrong.

As far as the 40+ people pre-boarding, I personally think it is ridiculous. I also think people "Push" their kids' age back. Sometimes it's obvious that certain kids are not 4 and below - And don't flame me on that one, with kids being big these days....

Also, I can't Stand It when everyone is sitting down nicely in the provided seats. You're just sitting there relaxing and there's another 30 people relaxing with you. You know that you would rather relax in a seat than stand up on the A Line and so do those other 30 people. Then, someone comes along and looks around and decides that instead of sitting down relaxing, he/she's gonna stand on line.....Whooo Hoooo!!! Hey, check this out, we're first on line Welllllll, that means now that You've got to Stand On Line, even though there is 45 minutes left until you board, and the plane still isn't even there! C'mon people, If you've got an A, you're gonna get on board, so you might as well just relax until the plane pulls up!!!

A Word Of Adviceon't be the one everyone calls an Idiot for ruining it and standing on line. Just Sit Down And Relax!!!! It's not only me that feels this way. I've heard on ALL my flights people using that word to describe the first person on line who decides to stand there 45 minutes before the flight....

 

[riu girl]

Not Ursula:
Thank you for all of the information. She is a special needs child that I assume SWA will allow her to pre-board. I am planning on calling SWA ahead of time and having it listed on the passenger list that she can pre-board. Plus I will bring a note from the doctor.

Another question to not Ursula (or anyone else):
Will she (and I or hopefully our whole family) be able to pre-board with the guests in wheelchairs (physically she DOES NOT have any issues) or will we have to wait and pre-board with the families with young kids? Has anyone seen special needs children pre-boarding with the individuals who have physical difficulties?

She has only flown once before (assigned seating) and it worked out very well.

Any info. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Suzy V.