Question about flying Southwest

[Mkrop]

That's very unusual. Your DH must have encountered two of the very few SWA FAs that would do that or two very unusual situations.

I have never seen a passenger forced to move from a seat in this situation. I have seen children and parents forced to sit apart in this situation.

We always fly SWand have never seen it happen. DH flys all the time for work and it has never been an issue. I am sorry it happened but it is rare.

I did contact SW about refunding EBCI, explained the entire story with names, dates, and flight numbers, and twice they told me tough luck. So, I am patiently waiting for JetBlue to release their May dates.

I would have called back and worked my way up the chain on that one.

 

[jelo]

That's very unusual. Your DH must have encountered two of the very few SWA FAs that would do that or two very unusual situations.

I have never seen a passenger forced to move from a seat in this situation. I have seen children and parents forced to sit apart in this situation.

I agree. We took our girls on their first trip last May on an airplane. I made a major gaff and forgot to call when I was supposed to(didn't sleep that night either, knowing I ruined the first part of the trip)
We got C 45-...so of course all four of us were separated, my six year old sat 5 rows back with two strangers and my 15 yr old 10 rows ahead and I didn't know where dh was since I couldn't see him. I sat with a man and son, and the man kept his legs open so wide for the whole trip I was being shoved into the aisle....that's a whole other story on bad manners though....
The attendant did make an announcement to see if someone would move, but no one offered.
All in all though, it didn't ruin the vacation, just got us off to a bumpy start!
I've paid the extra for our upcoming March trip....learned my lesson!

 

[2disneyboys]

Ok, so I have what is likely a dumb question. It's been years since I have flown southwest. Last time I flew with them you checked in, got ur boarding pass which said which slot u have and then went and got into line in your slot....a,b,c. What order u entered ur slot determined ur loading order for that slot. Am I understanding it correctly that ur boarding pass has ur actual slot and number on it? We paid for eb checkin. So southwest will check us in, I get to the airport, check my bags and go to the gate...I don't have to worry about getting to the gate 2 hrs early. Once I have my boarding number, I am good to go as long as I am there before they start loading right?

 

[Mkrop]

Ok, so I have what is likely a dumb question. It's been years since I have flown southwest. Last time I flew with them you checked in, got ur boarding pass which said which slot u have and then went and got into line in your slot....a,b,c. What order u entered ur slot determined ur loading order for that slot. Am I understanding it correctly that ur boarding pass has ur actual slot and number on it? We paid for eb checkin. So southwest will check us in, I get to the airport, check my bags and go to the gate...I don't have to worry about getting to the gate 2 hrs early. Once I have my boarding number, I am good to go as long as I am there before they start loading right?

Correct your boarding pass now we say...A36 or B3. They will call the As and you line up next to a pole that says a range of numbers. You do not have to be at the gate 2 hours early but they do line up as soon as the plane is ready.

 

[Svhadden]

We've never flown SW, so three nights ago, I called them with several questions. I spoke with a wonderfully pleasant and helpful cust svc agent, who told me specifially that I should consider paying for EBCI for one person, who would then board and save seats for the other three of us.

We're flying out very early on both legs so I think we'll be fine with 24 hr check in. Just thought I'd throw that out there though, after reading a few of the replies. I guess it's a personal decision, and who knows if the attendants on your particular flight would even allow it. But there it is, from a SW cust svc agent.

 

[goofy4tink]

Just a note: Even with EBCI and getting on the plane early, it doesn't mean you'll be able to keep the seat you chose. On both of DH's flights in August he was forced to move by flight attendants for people with children who didn't pay EBCI and got on the plane at the end of boarding. So, instead of the window seat he wanted and sat in when he got on the plane early (a privilege for which he paid), he was forced into middle seats for both flights. SWA refused to refund the EBCI fees after making him give up his seat. (We won't be flying them again.)

In your case, if you sit two and two instead of 3 and 1, you'll probably be better off.

I would not have been a happy camper. I fly SW a lot and have never seen that happen. The only time we came close to that situation was way back when you had to be at the gate, in line, two hours early. I watched a woman walk around the gate area with her young son, about 5/6. When she would disappear for awhile, I thought she must be on a different flight. Boarding time came, I boarded, and took my window seat. Everyone got onboard and we figured, terrific, we were leaving a bit early. Nope....that woman and her son came running up the jetway just as the door was about to be closed. And of course, there weren't two seats together..the plane was almost completely full..a few middle seats available. The FA asked if anyone would give up their seats so the mom could sit with her child. No way was I giving up my seat, even though the middle was empty. I did what I had had to go to enable me to get the seat I wanted. And evidently everyone else on the plane felt the same way...not one hand went up. So...the FA then announced that the plane was not moving from the gate until that mother and child were seated together!! Finally a man and his wife gave up their seats together to that mother and child and then they each had to fly seated next to a stranger. Fair? I think not.

We've never flown SW, so three nights ago, I called them with several questions. I spoke with a wonderfully pleasant and helpful cust svc agent, who told me specifially that I should consider paying for EBCI for one person, who would then board and save seats for the other three of us.

We're flying out very early on both legs so I think we'll be fine with 24 hr check in. Just thought I'd throw that out there though, after reading a few of the replies. I guess it's a personal decision, and who knows if the attendants on your particular flight would even allow it. But there it is, from a SW cust svc agent.

That's certainly not what we want to hear. The gate agents will tell you that you can save two seats, in your row. At least that's what I have overheard. It would seem that SW CSRs are getting the same type training Disney CMs are getting...say anything to make the customer happy, even if it means another customer is going to be unhappy down the road.
SW tells us that it is first come, first served. If you board a plane and the seat is emtpy, you can sit in it. It's not fair for someone to pay EBCI for their entire group and then have to take seats split up from each other, while someone else pays just one EBCI and then saves multiple seats, outside their row of three.

 

[budafam]

Great info in this thread! I'm flying for the first time "by myself" with my DS5 (his first flight ever and only my second ever). I purchased the Early Bird Check In so correct me if I'm wrong but I do not need to worry about checking in at all? Southwest does it all for me? All I have to do is print our boarding passes 24 hours prior to our flight, right? Sorry, my questions are probably really dumb but I want to make sure. I'm so nervous!

 

[Mkrop]

Great info in this thread! I'm flying for the first time "by myself" with my DS5 (his first flight ever and only my second ever). I purchased the Early Bird Check In so correct me if I'm wrong but I do not need to worry about checking in at all? Southwest does it all for me? All I have to do is print our boarding passes 24 hours prior to our flight, right? Sorry, my questions are probably really dumb but I want to make sure. I'm so nervous!

Yes SW will check you in at 36 hrs if you bought EBCI for both legs of your trip. Then at the 24hr mark of later you can print your BPs.

 

[LWQuestie]

I purchased the Early Bird Check In so correct me if I'm wrong but I do not need to worry about checking in at all? Southwest does it all for me? All I have to do is print our boarding passes 24 hours prior to our flight, right?

Yes SW will check you in at 36 hrs if you bought EBCI for both legs of your trip. Then at the 24hr mark of later you can print your BPs.

When you've purchased EBCI, you don't need to do anything at the 24 hr mark. Southwest checks you in 36hrs before your flight. You can print your boarding pass any time at or after the 24 hr mark, including waiting till you get the airport and printing them at the kiosk there. You could also print them right before you leave the house to head to the airport.

 

[Mkrop]

When you've purchased EBCI, you don't need to do anything at the 24 hr mark. Southwest checks you in 36hrs before your flight. You can print your boarding pass any time at or after the 24 hr mark, including waiting till you get the airport and printing them at the kiosk there. You could also print them right before you leave the house to head to the airport.

My point was that you cant print them until after 24 hour mark even if you were checked in at 36.

 

[LWQuestie]

My point was that you cant print them until after 24 hour mark even if you were checked in at 36.

Yes, and that's an excellent point. Based on the frequency of questions about this process (particularly today!), I don't think it can be overstated that people who use EBCI don't need to do anything at the 24 hr point. The boarding pass can be printed at any time after that time.

It was hard for me to break the habit to check and see what happened at the 24 hr mark when using the EBCI service!