Please ease my SW anxiety!

[Pirate Dad]

We've booked our next trip to WDW! We are flying SW for the first time (me/DW/DD/DD). After I booked my flights (for a good rate my neighbor scared me about flying SW. I know they use a non-assigned seat policy (which I'm fine with). What I was told was that SW often overbooks their flights and we may not get on a flight we have tickets for. Is this true??? : (I certainly hope not!). My daughters are 9 and 6. Please put my mind at ease!

 

[pamjb]

I believe that ALL airlines overbook, not just Southwest. I have flown SW several times, and and there have been very few times where they have looked for volunteers to be bumped. Just make sure you checkin at the 24 hour mark, and make sure you are at the airport well before your flight.
And frankly, those are things you should do regardless of the airline that you fly.

 

[Manda]

Every airline overbooks. And every hotel and rental car agency. I fly SWA several times a year (for years) and have only had a full flight where they ask for volunteers to be bumped maybe 2 or 3 times. And in those instances, people practically raced to the agent to volunteer to be bumped. I've never seen someone involuntarily bumped on any of my flights. I'm sure it happens. But it's no more likely than on other airlines, I'm sure.

 

[Pirate Dad]

Thanks! I feel much better.

Can't wait for our trip!

 

[TheWog]

Nice neighbor. Be sure you check in at the 24 hour mark to try to get the "A" boarding passes. You would be fine with "B", but I know having "A" puts your mind at ease as well. You can register for the service they have while you are in Orlando and enjoying your vacation or have someone responsible at home do it for you. Good luck.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Thanks! I feel much better.

Can't wait for our trip!

great airline, and yes they all overbook...you should always check in timely as the last person is the one who is at risk. By the way, we have been there twice when SW asked for volunteers to take the next flight (both were on our way home) and they offered full free flight, overnight hotel and refund on original. another time they offered a free flight, we did not take it as they both involved a stop and we only fly non stop...
we only fly sw and we really like them

 

[Pirate Dad]

Nice neighbor. Be sure you check in at the 24 hour mark to try to get the "A" boarding passes. You would be fine with "B", but I know having "A" puts your mind at ease as well. You can register for the service they have while you are in Orlando and enjoying your vacation or have someone responsible at home do it for you. Good luck.

great airline, and yes they all overbook...you should always check in timely as the last person is the one who is at risk. By the way, we have been there twice when SW asked for volunteers to take the next flight (both were on our way home) and they offered full free flight, overnight hotel and refund on original. another time they offered a free flight, we did not take it as they both involved a stop and we only fly non stop...
we only fly sw and we really like them

Thanks for the quick replies folks. I feel much better. I do always check-in online, get boarding passes and such as soon as the window opens, and arrive plenty early for flights, so hopefully it will all be smooth sailing.

I am thinking of doing the Early Bird Check-In for our flights home as I'm not sure I'll have access to a computer/printer 24 hours before our trip home. (In fact, ideally we'll be in the parks at that time). $40 for all 4 of us seems like a reasonable price to pay for that convenience and piece of mind.

 

[pamjb]

You can have guest services at any of the parks or resorts check you in at the 24 hour mark. You can always print your boarding passes when you get to the airport.
You can also check-in from a web-enable cell phone or have a relative do it.

Just a few alternatives if you don't want to spend the $40.

 

[DaniB]

By the way, we have been there twice when SW asked for volunteers to take the next flight (both were on our way home) and they offered full free flight, overnight hotel and refund on original.

For that I can see why people are eager to volunteer to stay behind! It sure would temp me for a free flight with my original being refunded as well

 

[gillep]

I have flown SW dozens of times and only once have they looked for volunteers due to overbooking and people were running to volunteer I swear It sounds like the earlybird check in would be perfect for your family, I have never used it because it is usually just me so I can just squish into the first available seat I see but I think it will really be of value to you. Have a safe and happy flight no worries

 

[Pembo]

We've flown SW many times with no problems. Just check in at 24 hour mark. For our return flight, I usually have somebody at home check us in. My brother in CA did for me the last time. I called him 5 mins before the 24 hour mark, we chatted on the phone until he had us checked in and we were on our way.

 

[Bobo912]

I fly SWA pretty often and I've never been bumped from a flight. I think maybe twice in the last 5 years I've heard them ask for volunteers to take a later flight because they had overbooked.

 

[dopeynme]

SW is our favorite. We gripe if we fly another airline! The staff are very friendly and helpful, the bags are free, and we find that the luggage seems to come out faster than on other airlines (our imagination????)

 

[cg1200]

Does anyone know why Southwest does their seating this way? I assume it must be cheaper in some capacity but if it were why haven't the other airlines followed suit? I live in CT in the Danbury area so Hartford isn't too far for us. Southwest flies out of Bradley but I've generally avoided them due to the seating policy. We're going to Disney over Thanksgiving this year so I may have to resort to other airlines (like Southwest) if airfares are very high.

I definitely prefer jetBlue over just about anyone but at some point I'd like to try Southwest.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Does anyone know why Southwest does their seating this way? I assume it must be cheaper in some capacity but if it were why haven't the other airlines followed suit? I live in CT in the Danbury area so Hartford isn't too far for us. Southwest flies out of Bradley but I've generally avoided them due to the seating policy. We're going to Disney over Thanksgiving this year so I may have to resort to other airlines (like Southwest) if airfares are very high.

I definitely prefer jetBlue over just about anyone but at some point I'd like to try Southwest.

I think it has a lot to do with how fast they can turnover the gate for the next flight. SWA has one of the most consistant on-time performances among the airlines. SWA has always been "different" and it works for them.

 

[ratmaster]

Does anyone know why Southwest does their seating this way? I assume it must be cheaper in some capacity but if it were why haven't the other airlines followed suit? I live in CT in the Danbury area so Hartford isn't too far for us. Southwest flies out of Bradley but I've generally avoided them due to the seating policy. We're going to Disney over Thanksgiving this year so I may have to resort to other airlines (like Southwest) if airfares are very high.

I definitely prefer jetBlue over just about anyone but at some point I'd like to try Southwest.

In the past, Southwest has cited the cost of purchsing, setting up and maintaining a seating program in their computer system. But I'm sure it's also about the boarding process, use of their ticket/gate/res staff and any other money saving ideas you can imagine. Southwest did experiment with assigned seating for a short time out of selected cities but now that they have found a revenue stream (EBCI) equal to those airlines that charge for "premium" seats or even just to reserve a seat, it's not changing.

 

[cg1200]

In the past, Southwest has cited the cost of purchsing, setting up and maintaining a seating program in their computer system. But I'm sure it's also about the boarding process, use of their ticket/gate/res staff and any other money saving ideas you can imagine. Southwest did experiment with assigned seating for a short time out of selected cities but now that they have found a revenue stream (EBCI) equal to those airlines that charge for "premium" seats or even just to reserve a seat, it's not changing.

Just odd that no other airline (that I'm aware of) has jumped on this bandwagon. I don't personally care as I have many other options but I do find it interesting from a business persepctive. More power to them if they've figured out a way to keep costs down. People seem to be very loyal to them so they must know something.

 

[Virtucomp]

Not only have I flown SW every time we go to Disney the travel person at work selects SW over other airlines for company travel because they, in her experience, are the least likely to cancel or reschedule a flight.

We have never had a problem with an overbooked flight. My DSis did once get offered a different flight to give up her seat but she turned it down. The offer was a flight at a later time that day (on the way home) and i think an additional $200.

The woman at work that schedules all travel for all employees says SW is the most reliable for her. She can't have sales or service people stuck because the airline changed the flight time or cancelled it alltogether.

The no seat assignment is not that big a deal.

 

[dburg30]

Just odd that no other airline (that I'm aware of) has jumped on this bandwagon. I don't personally care as I have many other options but I do find it interesting from a business persepctive. More power to them if they've figured out a way to keep costs down. People seem to be very loyal to them so they must know something.

The now defunct skybus (that was based here in Columbus) had open seating. They also had different boarding groups, but it was more like the old SW where you didnt have a place in line. They did offer $10 to get in the 'priority boarding' line, and the times we flew with them, we did take it.

This was also the airline that everyone said 'people wont put up with..' as far as charging for checked bag fees, charging for beverages, charging for pillows etc etc. Basically things that are being done on legacy carriers now (especially the checked bag fees). Granted the rest of their plans pretty much blew up in their face as they started flying shortly after fuel prices rocketed WAY up and pretty much doomed them if something else wouldnt have. They also had such a small fleet that if anything bad happened, it would really mess up the schedule as they really didnt have extra planes to reroute or to help cover, so it would have taken everything to go perfectly for them to have a chance.

 

[momofsamandeden]

Really I like the idea of choosing your own seat. Basically how reliable is your seat assignment on a major carrier anyway. We still go to the movies and sit where we can for two hours so what is the difference on a plane. We are still considering SW for our trip but not crazy about the time options left