Pre boarding Medical - Southwest

[Veggie]

My daughter will just be turning six years old on our first flight to Disney. We are flying Southwest Airlines. My husband and oldest daughter could sit anywhere on the plane. However, I'm concerned about being seated separate from my six year old due to medical reasons. I can't imagine they would have her sit by herself. But how does this work? Is there a medical preboarding? I know they have preboarding for families with children under the age of four. But she will be six, although is quite small for her age. Any advice? I also have an eight year old who could sit with me or my husband and older child.

 

[intheshadows]

Tell the ticket agent that you have a medical need and they may* issue a blue sleeve which is medical pre-boarding. However, you cannot sit in the exit row seats if you pre-board. They may also ask you not to sit in the bulkhead (first row), as those are usually held for wheelchairs.

*I say "may" because I do not work for SWA and I do not know if the medical condition would qualify.

Also, you can pay for "early access" boarding which should guarantee you an "A" or early "B" boarding group.

 

[2tinkerbell]

I fly all the time with my DD and we do the pre-boarding. Just check at the desk by your gate and request to pre-board. Families board between A and B. The best way to assure you are all together is to check in right at the 24 hours before your flight or to pay $12 per ticket for them to do the Early Bird Check in.

I have found that if you are in the A boarding group or the early B boarding group, that you have a great chance of a parent being able to sit with your 6 year old. This last time we didn't check in until later for our return flight and we were still in the A boarding group.

Just to give you a little information as far as the seating patterns. I was told this by a flight attendant and have found it to be true. The plane will fill up window and aisle seats front to back first until the seats are over the wing. Then the seats fill up window and aisle seats back to front. The middle seats follow the same pattern. We always just enter the plane and go for a couple of rows in back of the wing. We have always been able to sit together.

 

[redberyl]

When we last flew there were no seats together . We simply explained that she had medical needs i had to attend to, and they had people move around so we could be together.

 

[cgncga]

My daughter will just be turning six years old on our first flight to Disney. We are flying Southwest Airlines. My husband and oldest daughter could sit anywhere on the plane. However, I'm concerned about being seated separate from my six year old due to medical reasons. I can't imagine they would have her sit by herself. But how does this work? Is there a medical preboarding? I know they have preboarding for families with children under the age of four. But she will be six, although is quite small for her age. Any advice? I also have an eight year old who could sit with me or my husband and older child.

My family has flown with Southwest several times. My youngest daughter, now 11 but 10 the last time we flew, has various medical issues and we always travel with a medical stroller for her. We have never had a problem with her stroller being recognized as a wheelchair and she and I are always allowed to board first with the other wheelchairs, etc. We board before the A Group giving me time to get her settled in her seat, but my husband and my elder daughter always board with their regular boarding group.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I feel the need to sit beside my 17yo autistic daughter so that I can be there to mitigate potential meltdowns. What I do is pay for EBCI. In the rare event that I don't get an A boarding position with EBCI (or in the days before EBCI when we had to be online at T-24 and I wasn't fast enough or would have a computer problem) I have gone to the gate agent to get the blue sleeve. In our home airport they have our family of 4 board together with the preboards (I've never asked for this; the gate agent volunteers the info that we should all approach the gate when preboards are called) but in Orlando only the two of us can preboard together.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I always pre-board with DS on SW, who is 25, autism, non-verbal, and Down syndrome among other things. We also have a Convaid chair to gate check. It is usually just the two of us.

 

[bookwormde]

For non disability medical needs there is no guarantee you can preboard, but southwest is one of the best airlines for accommodating this. For ADA qualified disabilities including medical conditions southwest is required to provide accommodations, and preboarding is the standard one that southwest provides. Just go to the SW customer service desk or check in desk and explain your situation and ask to pre board.

 

[buffettgirl]

Best option - pay for the option to get an early boarding group. In A or B groups you're pretty likely to all be able to sit together, but two together will be absolutely doable. Just pay for the early option and you won't have to worry about it.

And no one is required to move. southwest cannot make anyone change seats so don't rely on that being an option.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

....... However, you cannot sit in the exit row seats if you pre-board. They may also ask you not to sit in the bulkhead (first row), as those are usually held for wheelchairs.

*I say "may" because I do not work for SWA and I do not know if the medical condition would qualify.

Also, you can pay for "early access" boarding which should guarantee you an "A" or early "B" boarding group.

Sitting in the exit row won't be an issue with a six year old.

I believe you are referring to Early Bird Check-in (not early access boarding). You are not guaranteed an A or early B boarding group with this.

 

[kaytieeldr]

For non disability medical needs there is no guarantee you can preboard, but southwest is one of the best airlines for accommodating this. For ADA qualified disabilities including medical conditions southwest is required to provide accommodations, and preboarding is the standard one that southwest provides. Just go to the SW customer service desk or check in desk and explain your situation and ask to pre board.

The ADA doesn't apply on aircraft. The ACAA does. These regulations provide for accessibility to aircraft carrying 19 or more passengers, but nothing about preboarding. That's an airline decision, for the passenger's, but primarily its own convenience. And no airline differentiates between disability medical needs a nd non-disability medical needs.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I fly all the time with my DD and we do the pre-boarding. Just check at the desk by your gate and request to pre-board. Families board between A and B. .....

This isn't quite correct. Family boarding is for one adult and one child aged 4 and under. Of course, this is not always enforced.

 

[Hrhpd]

Sitting in the exit row won't be an issue with a six year old.

I believe you are referring to Early Bird Check-in (not early access boarding). You are not guaranteed an A or early B boarding group with this.

Not sure what you mean here, but on SWA, you need to be 15 or older to sit in an exit row. A six year old would not be permitted to sit in the exit row.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Not sure what you mean here, but on SWA, you need to be 15 or older to sit in an exit row. A six year old would not be permitted to sit in the exit row.

Yes, already mentioned.

On British Airways, you only have to be 12 to sit in an exit row, the youngest age I have seen.

 

[bookwormde]

The ADA doesn't apply on aircraft. The ACAA does. These regulations provide for accessibility to aircraft carrying 19 or more passengers, but nothing about preboarding. That's an airline decision, for the passenger's, but primarily its own convenience. And no airline differentiates between disability medical needs a nd non-disability medical needs.

YES ACAA is the governing law specifically Title 14 Chapter 2 Subpart A part 382 and the qualifying criteria is based directly on ADA and part 504 of the rehabilitation act. The part applies to all air carriers providing air transportation (382.3). Many but not all airlines extend the same benefits to individuals with non qualifying medical conditions but that is by their choice and those individuals do not enjoy the same protections.

The nature of the accommodations is individual though the preboard is by far the most common, the airline can offer other accommodation's if they have the same effect though preboarding has become the standard.

Actually reading the regulation, the related court decisions ant talking with the FAA if there are questions is the most accurate way to understand the rights provided under this part.

 

[wishin' on a star]

We just flew on SW last week to Orlando. When we checked our bags, I asked the agent about pre-boarding for medical (my daughter has multiple medical disabilities, not wheelchair dependent, but her primary issue is anxiety and panic, as related to the need to pre-board). The agent printed a card allowing for pre-boarding and our family of 5 (kids ages 13, 11, 10) were able to board prior to the A group. Both flights were full, and the process worked exactly the same way from Orlando home.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Please note that Southwest at most airports only allows 1 other person to board with the person pre-boarding unless they are under the age of 4. So if you are boarding with your child the rest of your family will board based on their assigned letter/number. I would highly recommend paying for at least the two of you if you must sit together. Depending on agents, blue cards can be denied, and I have seen it first hand.

 

[Donald - my hero]

When we flew home at the beginning of November no one other than those who had pre-paid was given the option to use the "whatever age is today's cut-off to be considered family boarding" or "medical needs if not in a wheelchair". The two poor souls who were working the check-in counter were treated terribly. It was the last flight of the night and the majority of the flight was, of course, families with young children. It they had allowed the pre-boarding the entire plane would fall under that. It took FOREVER to actually get on the plane due to the number of adults melting down Hubby and I chose to be one of the last to board the plane, fully aware that we wouldn't be seated together. Interestingly we sat on our own in the 2nd last row ... yup no-one beside hubby, nor across the row OR behind us. Flight attendants offered the seats to a few of the more upset parents and they refused

 

[Veggie]

Thanks everyone! My hubby might pay extra for the preboarding. As long as at least one of us is sitting with her, it will be ok. She has a rare disease that needs medication to stabilize. Her skin reflects this condition, so I doubt anyone would question us or even want her by herself with her medicine bag.

 

[blondietink]

I travel with 2 disabled young adults; one has Autism and one has Down syndrome and uses a travel chair.. We always pre-board. The easiest way I have found to alert the airline of their needs is when purchasing a ticket online and filling out their information is to check the area on the screen that lists disabilities and specify wheelchair, or developmental disability, etc. Then when we get to the airport, they are already flagged in the system and they label the travel chair right there and give us the instructions for pre-boarding. They might give you the blue slip right there or at the gate check-in, depending on the airport.