Pre boarding on SW

[ROSR]

Hi! Please help. We will be traveling on SW in 2 weeks. There's me, DH, DD17, DD13, and DD2. (The answer to your question is " I wasn't thinking " ) Do I try to get an A and print out boarding passes? Do we stand in the A line or sit and wait to be called to pre board? The first 4 of us have one confirmation number and the baby has her own confirmation number (wasn't sure if she needed a ticket- it's been so long since I had a toddler) - does it matter? Can we all board together? I'll take any other tips you have. Thanks

 

[LegoMom3]

Your best bet is to check in on-line, which you can do starting 24 hours before your flight time. I've heard that the sooner you do it, the better chance you have of getting an "A."

Worst case scenario and you get a "C," with a 2-yr. old you may get pre-boarding privileges (haven't flown SW with a little one so I'm not sure).

So either way, I would think you'll be ok getting on. Hey, with the two older ones, you've got extra hands to help with DD2!

 

[MAGGIED]

Question about preboarding - my mom had cancel and as a result of all the surgerys retains a significant amount of fluid in the left side of her body which makes it almost impossible for her to bend her leg...should I have told SW this or do you think they may let us preboard because of it.....

 

[Love2BinDisney]

When we traveled in April on Southwest we were allowed to preboard because we were travelling with young children.

 

[autumnsmommy]

Usually preboard :disabled needing assistance (your mom), children under 4 with 1 adult of the party, then A,B, then C.

 

[Lisa0503]

Usually preboard :disabled needing assistance (your mom), children under 4 with 1 adult of the party, then A,B, then C.

Hmmm, when we flew SW last September the pre-board announcment said Families traveling with children (under 5 I thought but could be wrong on the age...) DH & I both preboarded but our children were 4 & 22 months at the time (both traveling as Infant in Arms) so I am sure that was not an issue.

This year we are traveling again but this time with a close family friend. We were going to have her sit with DD (2) and DH & I sit with DS (1). I hope there is no problem with 3 adults pre-boarding with 2 small children. I figured myself & my friend could manage a child and DH can deal with the stroller/diaper bags we need to travel with...

 

[connorsmom911]

We have flown twice with ds being a "fastpass". Both times down and back they were very strict about who could board with the toddler, only mom and dad. Any other siblings, family members etc had to line up according to boarding pass. We had extended family travelling on both times, and we just pre-boarded and saved them seats around mid-plane. Never had a problem.

 

[Gary M]

I think the preboarding depends on the airport or who is working the gate. The couple of times I flew from IND to MCO the preboarders were over 1/2 of the plane. The few of us left in the A, B and C corrals looked at each other and laughed about the situation. I love it when the "old" people are preboarding and carrying on everything, but the kitchen sink and then argue with the FA about sitting in exit row seats.

I won't fly SWA to MCO anymore, but the preboarding to other destinations has been minimal and I will fly SWA to those places. I think SWA is a great airline except for the cattle call boarding and no assigned seats. They are making money, so they must be doing things right. I'm flying NWA to WDW in December with a good fare and will not worry if SWA is a few dollars cheaper.

 

[boxer]

I have flown SW probably about 5-6x in the last couple years, and I can say most DEFINATELY that they allow you to pre-board the IMMEDIATE family if you have a child 4 or under. Immediate family includes mom, dad, and siblings.

This was BWI, PIT, and MCO that allowed this.