Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

[TinkAgainU]

I get why people didn't like SW seating policy, but I loved that other than the $5 tax or whatever it is, the price you saw when picking your flight was the price you pay for the whole thing, unless you wanted ECBI. I HATE when I look at Frontier or Spirit and they say $69 flights! but by the time you pay for a seat and a bag and a carry on it's more expensive than SW. And no matter how hard I try, I will never, ever be able to travel with just a backpack lol.

I actually have different size carry on suitcases for different airlines. What a pain. But like you, traveling with a backpack will never work for me - I want to be sure I have enough in my carryon to get thru at least a day at wherever I'm going. Never had a suitcase lost (knock on wood) but I've flown a lot, and had many a suitcase miss a connection - to turn up a day later. Pretty sure that's why SWA still has a lot of people with larger carry on baggage even with "free" checking, with their connections a lot of people don't entirely trust their bags will get there when they do

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I get why people didn't like SW seating policy, but I loved that other than the $5 tax or whatever it is, the price you saw when picking your flight was the price you pay for the whole thing, unless you wanted ECBI. I HATE when I look at Frontier or Spirit and they say $69 flights! but by the time you pay for a seat and a bag and a carry on it's more expensive than SW. And no matter how hard I try, I will never, ever be able to travel with just a backpack lol.

Right there with you. And with having recent experience with other airlines it made me miss not having to worry about that.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I'm gonna be so mad if it makes the A list thing useless, because we earned that and the CP for next year already lol

Ditto!

 

[SkyGuy]

I'm gonna be so mad if it makes the A list thing useless, because we earned that and the CP for next year already lol

I did too… yesterday.

 

[han22735]

There are people who never flew SWA because of their open seating policy. There are people like me who almost always flew SWA because of the pricing and free luggage. Some of us will continue to use SWA because it is the major carrier at their airport. Chicago-Midway is an example.

Bottom line - I think this will level the playing field with other carriers. I am thrilled that they are dropping the unassigned seating. I personally found the increase in pre-boarders to be a negative.

We love SW and hopefully this change won't increase costs too much. Our home airport of PVD is a major carrier hub for SW and would stink if we have to choose a different airline.

 

[dobball23]

We love SW and hopefully this change won't increase costs too much. Our home airport of PVD is a major carrier hub for SW and would stink if we have to choose a different airline.

We're in the same boat. We don't want cost to rise since BWI is a (the?) major hub for Southwest and provides us with a lot of options.

 

[jkelly86]

Interesting timing on this offer (with the announcement of reserved seating during 2025):):

 

[yellowfish78]

We got our boarding passes for our upcoming flight for our family of 4 - kids are 9 and 14. Boarding A59, A60, B1 and B2. Sigh. This is one reason I'd like assigned seating...with this being a nonstop to MCO from our home airport there will be many families boarding between me and mine.

 

[LoveToDisney]

Interesting timing on this offer (with the announcement of reserved seating during 2025):View attachment 880320):

Interesting that this promo ends on the day the March 2025 schedule opens….

 

[Tink3815]

It will be interesting to see if family boarding goes away. Will they make familes choose the option where you have to buy the seat type that you can pick your seats right away at a higher cost. It will ensure familes are sitting toghether but with more profit for Southwest.

 

[mmouse50]

I am assuming that they will pattern off of United - Basic Economy, Extra Legroom, and Business. Since all will be with assigned seats there will be no need for Family boarding. My assumption is that the plane will be divided into 3 sections: Basic Economy will be the back of the plane, Extra Legroom will be the middle of the plane and the Business (A-List) the front of the plane. The new fares would include the current fare + early bird added in since there is no need to have early bird if there is assigned seating.

 

[DanceDisney23]

I am assuming that they will pattern off of United - Basic Economy, Extra Legroom, and Business.

There is regular economy, too. Basic economy gets whatever is left after all eligible fare classes have picked their seats. Usually that’s the middle seats.

 

[Tink3815]

There is regular economy, too. Basic economy gets whatever is left after all eligible fare classes have picked their seats. Usually that’s the middle seats.

I have been researching the other airlines since this came out, as we were Southwest fliers. Below is for United.

Basic economy tickets don't provide complimentary seat selection in any cabin. In exchange for cheaper tickets, you can either opt to pay for a seat assignment or wait until check-in and be randomly assigned a seat.
Families with children under 12 can book Economy and Basic Economy seats next to each other for free. Sometimes, seat assignments change because of last minute bookings or unscheduled aircraft changes.

 

[DanceDisney23]

Families with children under 12 can book Economy and Basic Economy seats next to each other for free. Sometimes, seat assignments change because of last minute bookings or unscheduled aircraft changes.

Yes, in theory, that’s how it works. Airlines try their best to keep children with ONE adult in their family. They will not seat a family of 3 or 4 or 5 together for free in basic economy if the flight is full. Airlines typically have a disclaimer saying they will try their best but can’t make guarantees, and families wishing to sit together should pay for seat selection.

Also from United on their basic economy description:
If you’re traveling with a child under 12, we have new tools that make it easier for them to sit next to a family member for free. Otherwise, we can’t guarantee your family or group will all sit together so consider buying a seat assignment in advance.

I flew United, regular economy this month. There were no free seats next to each other on either flight at time of booking. I know airlines block some seats from seat selection, presumably to accommodate passengers traveling with children.

 

[focusondisney]

I am assuming that they will pattern off of United - Basic Economy, Extra Legroom, and Business.

And I think they might pattern after Jetblue. All the planes have extra legroom rows in the front of the plane & include the exit rows. Those seats include priority security lanes & early boarding. Only some of their planes include first class (Mint) that they use for some long haul routes. I don’t see SW immediately having 1st class/ business class on all their planes, including just extra legroom will be a much quicker equipment turnaround for them.

 

[anricat]

I wonder how this will change the perks with the credit cards. All the cards come with some kind of early bird/upgraded boarding option as far as I know.

 

[TinkAgainU]

Interesting timing on this offer (with the announcement of reserved seating during 2025):View attachment 880320):

I did not realize you could "buy" A-List for the year. Never saw a link to do that.

 

[run_Disney]

From reading this thread I learned about checking flight prices to see if the fare has decreased since time of booking and modifying for a flight credit. I've actually amassed almost $2000 in credits that I never before would have thought to look for.

A big thank you to everyone who posts helpful hints here!

Any idea how this would work once we're selecting specific seats at time of booking? Would we have to switch seats to get a credit? That seems more complicated and also like something I'd be less willing to mess around with.

It was good while it lasted

 

[ultimatefans]

From reading this thread I learned about checking flight prices to see if the fare has decreased since time of booking and modifying for a flight credit. I've actually amassed almost $2000 in credits that I never before would have thought to look for.

A big thank you to everyone who posts helpful hints here!

Any idea how this would work once we're selecting specific seats at time of booking? Would we have to switch seats to get a credit? That seems more complicated and also like something I'd be less willing to mess around with.

It was good while it lasted

With JetBlue it's not necessary to switch seats to get a credit if the price goes down. I would hope that will be the same with Southwest once they implement this.

 

[run_Disney]

With JetBlue it's not necessary to switch seats to get a credit if the price goes down. I would hope that will be the same with Southwest once they implement this.

I've never used Jetblue. Do they have multiple different priced seating options as is being speculated for the SW change?
Honestly I had no idea other airlines offered price adjustments.