Question about Southwest

[NYDisneyMom]

I just have no idea what to expect when we get there----on the day we fly in--can we visit all the disney resorts if we are staying off site? this is beyond imagining for me right now!! i just need a night of not dreaming disney1!!

I think if you are getting up very early, getting to the airport 2 hrs early and traveling with three kids under 7, you may want to just relax and hang at your hotel for a while...maybe let the kids nap and have an early dinner (at DTD maybe). Let the kids get a good night's sleep so they're fresh for the first full day at a park.

 

[Forevryoung]

In my family either my sister and I sit together or more often my mom and sister sit together and my dad and I sit together. This is because my sister is the most bouncy rambunctious "child" in the world (17 currently) and needs to be entertained constantly . My dad usually sleeps and if I am not sleeping I enjoy looking out the window . Think about who is going to be doing what on the plane and let the kids decide. Let them know that they will be "stuck" with their decision for the trip there but can change their minds coming home.

I also agree with putting the parents in front of the children (aside from the kicking the seat). If the parents are in front of the children, they can see them through the slits in the seat without having to stand up (important when the seatbelt sign is on). It is also easeier to hold hands if the adult with the longer arm is the one reaching backwards and the child is leaning fowards.

 

[krb6386]

I almost always fly Southwest due to the low ticket pricing. If you get to the airport and check in early and get an "A" or "B" boarding pass, more than likely you will not have a difficult time sitting together as a family. My family usually arrives at the St. Louis airport 2 hours ahead of departure. We then go to the gate and if there are many sitting around the gate area waiting for the same flight we go ahead and line up/sit down under the "A" or "B" line. Even if you don't arrive early enough to get an "A" boarding pass, but you get a "B" and you are one of the first in line under "B" you will still be able to find seats together.

Assigned seats are nice, but Southwest offers great pricing and they seem to run close to the scheduled departures / arrival times! And when I'm buying tickets for my family, $$$ matters!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

We just flew Southwest last weekend for the first time. For the trip to MCO, I stayed up past midnight and printed the boarding passes from my home computer. We all got 'A' boarding passes and had no problems sitting together on the plane.

On the return flight, I went to the business center at CSR when it opened at 7am the day of our departure. I was able to use their computer and printer for free to check in and print our boarding passes. Again we were in the 'A' boarding group and again, we had no problem finding seats together.

Pre-boarding was limited to handicapped and immediate families of children 4 and under. That was true in both PHL and MCO. Members of extended families (grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins) had to board with their boarding group and not with the young children unless they were the caretaker for the child.

SWA provided one complimentary beverage and a snack bag of Ritz crackers during the flight. The cabin pressure was good and I had very few "ear pops". The cabin was a little chilly, so it's a good idea to bring a light jacket or sweater for the flight. We arrived early at both MCO and on return to PHL. Our luggage was on the baggage claim carousel within minutes of our arrival in baggage claim.

In all, we had excellent service from SWA and I'd readily fly them again. In fact, I'm dreading our flight to the Bahamas next month, when we fly USAir again.

 

[Mister Disney]

You can also get your boarding pass online after 12:01am on the day of departure. This means you can get it before you leave for the airport, and most likely be in the "A" boarding line.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I fly Southwest frequently. I love this airline. I've encountered delays, but overall their track record is one of the best.

First of all, the risk of not sitting together will ONLY come into play if the flight is full or nearly full.

It does depend on the airport a little, but unless you are already planning on staying up past midnight, I wouldn't bother to do it just to check-in online. If you do it any time before you leave for the airport, I almost guarantee you'll still get group "A." However, if you have to check any bags, they will redo your boarding passes at the airport anyhow. If you plan on checking bags, just get to the airport about 1 and 1/2 hours ahead of your departure.

Are you planning to park your car? If you plan to park at an economy lot, where you take a shuttle to the terminal, I'd allow an extra half hour for that too - but again it depends on the airport. Also, some airports have a shuttle thing within the airport, but smaller airports don't usually have this. (MCO, my favorite airport - has a fun monorail to get to the main area) I don't mind waiting a little while in an airport over stressing about missing the plane, but then there is lots of traffic between me and the nearest airport.

Having some sort of ID for the kids is always a good idea when you travel, but I think you only need it for Southwest if your child is a lap child (under two, and flying for free, sitting in your lap). I suggest always having a picture of your child on hand too. For a kid's ID, an immunization record qualifies as an ID. I've never seen them check for ID when it comes to being in the preboarding group, but they get a little strict when it comes to Orlando flights with lots of kids.

Worst case scenario - if everything goes wrong and you are the last people to board a full flight - politely tell the flight attendant your situation, and they will ask if someone is willing to move to help you. I've seen it done before, and someone was willing to move. Trust me, most people would rather move to an aisle seat than hear a six year old screaming all the way to Orlando. There are enough adults out there who have a mild fear of flying themselves that they will understand that a child might be afraid too.

Ina side note, you are allowed to bring your stroller right up to the plane. It is called a gate check. Gate checking two strollers is a probably more than you would like to be bothered with, but if you want to use one while you are in the airport, so your kids don't have to walk/don't get lost - it can be done.

Last, Southwest has recently started a new policy about bags not weighing over 50 pounds - or they charge - and I think they only allow 2 checked bags per person. My regular sized suitcase was around 40 pounds - our carry-on sized bags were about 25 pounds. I don't think they counted car seats as limited items. Just know it might be better to have two smaller sized bags than one huge one.

 

[cwnhokie]

I can't imagine any passenger in their right mind would want to sit with an unattended young child. I'm sure they will work with you. I would love to see how long a stranger would sit next to my boys before begging for a parachute! Anyway mine are 4 and 2 so I guess I'm stuck sitting with them. (just kidding). Does that mean I don't have to worry about printing a boarding pass at 12:01, we will board first regardless?

 

[mickeyluv'r]

If your boys are 2 and four, you can board in the preboard group. You just have to be there before they start boarding the plane. It depends on the flight. Sometimes they start boarding about 1/2 hr beofre the flight leaves, sometimes the flights are a few minutes late, and they don't start boarding until the flight time (and yet somehow they are often able to make up the time by flying faster - cool). Once, I was so late to the airport, I almost missed the preboard. The rest of the passengers did not too happy to see me, who had arrived last, board the plane first. If your child is two, you will have to pay for his ticket, but you can bring a carseat on the plane for him. I don't know if you'll want to lug two carseats on the plane though.

Also, they tend to want the carseats to be on the window seat.

 

[the4hartranfts]

Thanks for the tip about car seats being at the window. My two boys are both claiming windows (ages 3 & 7). One may have to sit with me and one with DH. Are Orlando flight from BWI generally full on Southwest? Hoping we can board early so nearby passengers don't get rammed with a car seat going down the aisle. Also hoping to allow a space between us, but if it's full we're out of luck on that one! We won't have access to a computer in the morning (unless the hotel will let me use one), so we'll most likely do the boarding passes at the airport. I've never flown Southwest before, but got a good deal and used my Amex points for a free ride for me

Are we there yet?! I'm at work today and as you can tell, not being very productive!!

 

[cwnhokie]

the4hartranfts - when are you heading down? We are going leaving on May 7th out of BWI.

I think we are going to try DS4 and me and DS2 and DH in front. That way both kids will have a window seat. We haven't decided yet if we are taking 2 carseats or 1. Last night I said, "I call Christopher to be my plane partner." Our youngest is soooooo 2 1/2 right now (need I say more?) and I'm allowing DH the pleasure of being his travel partner.

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

Also, they tend to want the carseats to be on the window seat.

What if you have more than 1 seat? We will have 2(at home DD8 rides in a booster seat, but we won't be taking it with us.)

 

[the4hartranfts]

cwnhokie-

We are flying down May 2 out of BWI, coming home May 6. Short trip this time, but next time we're gonna do it right! Luckily we'll only need one car seat for the 3 year old. He's as big as a 4-year old, but we'll play it safe (he's also VERY active, so keeping him strapped into a car seat will be a good thing to keep him from bouncing off the walls! . DS 7 still has a booster at home, but won't need one in Florida since we won't be renting a car.

We have a trip planned to NC in June and will be flying a tiny little plane (50 seater). I wonder which one the kids will like the best? I favor the big ones, that's for sure!

 

[the4hartranfts]

THESCHULTZFIVE-

How old are your kids? Only the 5 point harness type seats are approved by the FAA, so if you have a 4+ aged child they can ride without a seat.

 

[ckoncurat]

One more comment.. seating is not really first come, first serve. WITHIN those A, B, And C groups, people line up at random. So make sure you LINE up as ealy as possible.

That said, I'm sure people would shift around to accomadate you. We have 5 kids, so one or more of our kids always has to sit alone. On our last flight, my DDs 7 and 2 sat together across the aisle from me, and they did fine.

 

[skeeterpop]

Now there is a service that guarantees that they will get you an A boarding pass every time.

www.earlyboarding.com

They will check you in at 12:01am and email your boarding pass to you. They guarantee you an A, if you don't get one, they will issue you a credit for another check-in.

 

[NYDisneyMom]

It does depend on the airport a little, but unless you are already planning on staying up past midnight, I wouldn't bother to do it just to check-in online. If you do it any time before you leave for the airport, I almost guarantee you'll still get group "A." However, if you have to check any bags, they will redo your boarding passes at the airport anyhow. If you plan on checking bags, just get to the airport about 1 and 1/2 hours ahead of your departure. .

????? I've never had my boarding pass redone. I fly SW all the time -- print my passes online and always have bags to check.

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

THESCHULTZFIVE-

How old are your kids? Only the 5 point harness type seats are approved by the FAA, so if you have a 4+ aged child they can ride without a seat.

We have a 3 y/o and 1 y/o.

 

[mickeyluv]

We are flying SW to MCO in May. This will only be our second flight in our lives so I am a little worried about the boarding process. We live about 2 hours away from the airport and our flight is at 6:30am, so we are spending the night before at a hotel near the airport. We do not have a laptop and the hotels in the area of the airport do not have any policy that lets you check in online for boarding passes. Our DD is 7 years old. A really good friend of ours has offered to check us in online at 12:01am on the day of our departure for us. I am give her all of our flight information so that all we've have to do is get our luggage checked and then go to one of the kiosks and print our boarding passes. I am very hopeful that we will have an A boarding pass. We probably wouldn't have a problem anyway with the flight being so early in the morning like that, but I don't want to take that chance!

 

[LeftCoaster]

Thank you!! Guess my dd who will be 6 will just miss that requirement by 3 mths when we leave----so now I will have to stay up till after midnight to book a flight and be up by 4am to make our flight..........im not sure im a fan of the open seating deal. I love the rates I got--but w/ 3 kids--all under 7--I want them near me when we fly!

Don't panic and don't stay up till midnight. Keep your computer on, set your alarm to go off 5 minutes earlier and check in online right when you get up in the AM. I do this all the time with Southwest and never had a problem getting in the A group.

 

[minnie1928]

Are Orlando flight from BWI generally full on Southwest?

I've used SWA exclusively to get from BWI to MCO for the past 8+ years (if memory is correct ) and the flights are usually pretty full. Maybe not completely booked, but usually very full. Most of the times I have flown I have flown with children that were under the age limit so we could pre-board. I've never had a problem with a carseat and the SWA staff is fabulous.

One year it was a complete comedy of errors, we took the wrong exit off of 95(?) ended up having to go north to Baltimore so we could turn around and head south again. Got to the satellite parking lot, drove around until we found one of the last 10 spaces in the whole lot. Went to the airport, at the time SWA had check-in lines depending on where you were going to and of course we got in the wrong line. RAN (and I do mean RAN!) to the terminal and at this point all of the passengers had boarded and there we stand....me, DH and son (3) with car seat! The staff asked if there was anyone willing to trade seats with us because his car seat had to be at a window. 3 VERY nice people gave us their seats and my husband went to install the car seat. Meanwhile, the pilot takes my son into the cockpit and lets him sit in the pilot's seat to keep him entertained. Not once did we hear SWA staff make any comments, I kept apologizing and they kept saying "Don't worry about it!" with a sincere smile on their face. They got a customer for life that day!

You'll have a great trip!