RANT: I don't care if you want to sit next to your kids on the airplane

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I wonder if DancesWithDisney ever thought we'd be discussing his/her thread over 3 years later? That's some serious staying power right there.

lol it's a thread that gets bumped every so often then dies back down again. But you're right it's a topic that has staying power.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I have a different perspective on SW. The issue of saving seats on SW is not always cut and dried. My husband is an A-lister, so boards early. He spends a huge amount of money with SW each year, flies constantly, and has earned the privilege of picking out his preferred seat. Even when I pay for an Early Bird seat, I almost always still need to board significantly later than he does.

Should he be expected to give up his right to board early and hang back with me so that someone who flies once a year on SW, but has bought an Early Bird ticket and happens to be in line ahead of me, has priority over the two of us? Or should he board early, as is his right, try to save a seat for me, and then graciously accept it when the Early Bird who just happens to be ahead of me in line insists on his/her right to sit in the seat he is saving? Or should we both be penalized because he is an A-lister and so we need to learn to sit apart, unless no one happens to sit next to him before I get down the aisle?

In the case the poster sited above, it is possible that the woman saving the seat for her mom was also an Early Bird, but just happened to get a lower boarding number than the person who insisted she move. For all she knew, her mom could have been an Early Bird too, but bought her ticket at a different time than the daughter, so they were not standing in line together. Or the poster could have been correct in assuming that the seat was being saved by an Early Bird for someone who didn't pay the Early Bird fee. My point is that it can be very hard on SW to know exactly what the individual situation is when you insist on your "rights." "Fair" can sometimes just be in the eye of the beholder.

So there are a couple of options available to him.

1) SWA always tells you if you have Boarding positions that vary you can all board together. This is the case no matter what. You would however Board at that furthest boarding position. So let's say he's A23 but you're A50. You both can board at A50 if you want to.

2) For the time being SWA has a policy neither for nor against seat saving. FAs though at times will announce seats cannot be saved. This is their discretion. As such while your husband can technically save you a seat you have to go in understanding that anyone can rightfully sit in that seat he is saving. Now if that happens you can opt to sit elsewhere if there are 2 seats together OR you can sit separately.

Try not to think about it in terms of rights. He earned the status of A-list but that does not give him any actual rights to a seat on a plane. In whatever way it was done he/you/both earned the status of Companion but that does not give you any actual rights to a seat on a plane. Just look at it from a practical standpoint.

 

[neverlandsky]

Love SW! In fact driving 3 hours to fly out of an airport so we can fly SW nonstop. As a family of 4. We already have a plan without seat assignments. DH will pair up with youngest and oldest will be with me if we have to separate. Been on other airlines where we purchased our assigned seats months in advance only to be forced by the airlines to change them and be extremely separated by rows. No thank you. SW for the win!

 

[Darcy03231]

Every time someone asks me to move it's to a less desirable seat. We book early and pay for upgraded seats. It completely boggles my mind that some people think that I should trade my upgraded aisle seat for a middle seat in the back of the plane for whatever reason they've come up with. I always decline.

 

[Erzengel]

We always get the aisle and window seats whenever we fly so that I will move to the middle seat in case someone is seated in the middle seat.

Last time we came back from Florida, a couple with 2 kids were seated near us and the husband was exasperated and vocally expressed his dissatisfaction when he saw they weren't all seated together (even though how wouldn't you know if you already had your tickets seats). He was probably looking for sympathy, luckily a woman took pity on them.

 

[Hrhpd]

I have a different perspective on SW. The issue of saving seats on SW is not always cut and dried. My husband is an A-lister, so boards early. He spends a huge amount of money with SW each year, flies constantly, and has earned the privilege of picking out his preferred seat. Even when I pay for an Early Bird seat, I almost always still need to board significantly later than he does.

Should he be expected to give up his right to board early and hang back with me so that someone who flies once a year on SW, but has bought an Early Bird ticket and happens to be in line ahead of me, has priority over the two of us? Or should he board early, as is his right, try to save a seat for me, and then graciously accept it when the Early Bird who just happens to be ahead of me in line insists on his/her right to sit in the seat he is saving? Or should we both be penalized because he is an A-lister and so we need to learn to sit apart, unless no one happens to sit next to him before I get down the aisle?

In the case the poster sited above, it is possible that the woman saving the seat for her mom was also an Early Bird, but just happened to get a lower boarding number than the person who insisted she move. For all she knew, her mom could have been an Early Bird too, but bought her ticket at a different time than the daughter, so they were not standing in line together. Or the poster could have been correct in assuming that the seat was being saved by an Early Bird for someone who didn't pay the Early Bird fee. My point is that it can be very hard on SW to know exactly what the individual situation is when you insist on your "rights." "Fair" can sometimes just be in the eye of the beholder.

First of all, if your husband flies so much with SW and is an A-lister, how come you are not flying on a companion pass? Heck, just with my SW CC I earn a companion pass every year. I purchase EBCI on both tickets and I have never had my companion not board with me.

And second, if your boarding passes are so far apart, when you get to the gate, why don't you just purchase priority boarding so that you are in the A1-A15 group so you can board with your husband. Since you are most likely flying for free on a companion pass, spending $40 to upgrade your boarding really is not a big deal.

Nobody needs to be penalized.

 

[Hrhpd]

I wonder if DancesWithDisney ever thought we'd be discussing his/her thread over 3 years later? That's some serious staying power right there.

Sad she doesn't post anymore. I was in awe of her escapades; 26 years old, 13 year old daughter, independently wealthy because dad sold her teenage company, traveled around the world every month.

 

[Floridaman999]

Sad she doesn't post anymore. I was in awe of her escapades; 26 years old, 13 year old daughter, independently wealthy because dad sold her teenage company, traveled around the world every month.

Could certainly tell a tale, that's for sure.

 

[Hrhpd]

Could certainly tell a tale, that's for sure.

Chuck did like to tell tall tales.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

First of all, if your husband flies so much with SW and is an A-lister, how come you are not flying on a companion pass? Heck, just with my SW CC I earn a companion pass every year. I purchase EBCI on both tickets and I have never had my companion not board with me.

And second, if your boarding passes are so far apart, when you get to the gate, why don't you just purchase priority boarding so that you are in the A1-A15 group so you can board with your husband. Since you are most likely flying for free on a companion pass, spending $40 to upgrade your boarding really is not a big deal.

Nobody needs to be penalized.

To get Companion it's either 110,000 PTS or 100 flights.
To get A-list Preferred you need 75,000 PTS or 50 flights.
To get A-list you need 35,000 PTS or 25 flights.

All are from Jan 1-Dec 31.

There was/is a CC option that does come with Companion SWA released fairly recently but I forget all the rules and whatnot for it.

Everyone's situation is different (how they spend their money, when it has to be paid for by some other means like corporate credit card, etc) but just flying enough to get A-list doesn't equate at all to getting to Companion.

 

[Floridaman999]

Chuck did like to tell tall tales.

My thoughts exactly. Certainly knew how to hit the hot points with ease.

 

[Hrhpd]

To get Companion it's either 110,000 PTS or 100 flights.
To get A-list Preferred you need 75,000 PTS or 50 flights.
To get A-list you need 35,000 PTS or 25 flights.

All are from Jan 1-Dec 31.

There was/is a CC option that does come with Companion SWA released fairly recently but I forget all the rules and whatnot for it.

Everyone's situation is different (how they spend their money, when it has to be paid for by some other means like corporate credit card, etc) but just flying enough to get A-list doesn't equate at all to getting to Companion.

Even if she didn't get companion, she can still "purchase" her seat by purchasing priority boarding at the gate. I have yet to fly on SW where the priority boarding was full and you could not buy a spot. There is absolutely NO reason a person should not be able to board with their A-List spouse on SW.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Even if she didn't get companion, she can still "purchase" her seat by purchasing priority boarding at the gate. I have yet to fly on SW where the priority boarding was full and you could not buy a spot. There is absolutely NO reason a person should not be able to board with their A-List spouse on SW.

Yeah was just commenting on the Companion aspect.

 

[mom2rtk]

Chuck did like to tell tall tales.

Wait.... the sofa pillows were a lie?

 

[Floridaman999]

Wait.... the sofa pillows were a lie?

That was a classic.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Wait.... the sofa pillows were a lie?

OMG I had totally forgotten about that

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

First of all, if your husband flies so much with SW and is an A-lister, how come you are not flying on a companion pass? Heck, just with my SW CC I earn a companion pass every year. I purchase EBCI on both tickets and I have never had my companion not board with me.

And second, if your boarding passes are so far apart, when you get to the gate, why don't you just purchase priority boarding so that you are in the A1-A15 group so you can board with your husband. Since you are most likely flying for free on a companion pass, spending $40 to upgrade your boarding really is not a big deal.

Nobody needs to be penalized.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

So there are a couple of options available to him.

1) SWA always tells you if you have Boarding positions that vary you can all board together. This is the case no matter what. You would however Board at that furthest boarding position. So let's say he's A23 but you're A50. You both can board at A50 if you want to.

2) For the time being SWA has a policy neither for nor against seat saving. FAs though at times will announce seats cannot be saved. This is their discretion. As such while your husband can technically save you a seat you have to go in understanding that anyone can rightfully sit in that seat he is saving. Now if that happens you can opt to sit elsewhere if there are 2 seats together OR you can sit separately.

Try not to think about it in terms of rights. He earned the status of A-list but that does not give him any actual rights to a seat on a plane. In whatever way it was done he/you/both earned the status of Companion but that does not give you any actual rights to a seat on a plane. Just look at it from a practical standpoint.

I think you might have misinterpreted my point, as did several others. I guess I didn't make it clear. I wasn't pondering the best way to deal with my particular situation. I also was not trying to justify my "rights" to a saved seat. I don't have one. No one on SW does. If a passenger asks to take an empty seat, it's his. That's the rule, the rule is clear, and my husband and I will always abide by that rule.

I was only trying to make the point that just because someone has the "right" to demand any seat of his/her choosing, there are legitimate reasons why others might not equate exercising a "right" with being "fair". There are gray areas where people can disagree.

The poster I was referring to decided to exercise her right to demand a saved seat. She had that right. She was upset from a previous flight, and under stress because she wanted to make sure her daughter was comfortable. Very understandable. Perhaps she'd just had it, and the poster didn't want to move just slightly farther down the aisle where she almost always could have found many open window/middle seat combinations since she and her daughter were boarding as Early Birds. She also had that right.

Maybe, exhausted, she didn't have the bandwidth right then to do anything but assume that the seat-saver had no legitimate reason to believe she should even try to save a seat for her mom. But the fact is that she actually knew nothing about the seat-saver's particular situation. She simply made an assumption that, because she paid for Early Bird status for herself and her daughter, she was being "fair" when she demanded her rights.

But who knows? Maybe the seat-saver's mother was also an Early Bird, but she just happened to be farther back in line from the woman who wanted the seat, in which case the poster's assumption that she was being fair because she had paid (for the exact same) Early Bird status didn't hold water. Maybe a lot of things. In my post I was trying to give some examples of ways in which "fair" can be interpreted in different ways by different people in different circumstances.

No one on SW has the time or energy to go into the specific details informing anyone else's decisions on why they sit where they sit, or save what they save. We just have to be as kind to one another as we can, and then get to where we're going. My only point was that we all have to follow the rules, but we don't all have to agree on when exercising a right is, or is not, fair.

 

[Hrhpd]

I think you might have misinterpreted my point, as did several others. I guess I didn't make it clear. I wasn't pondering the best way to deal with my particular situation. I also was not trying to justify my "rights" to a saved seat. I don't have one. No one on SW does. If a passenger asks to take an empty seat, it's his. That's the rule, the rule is clear, and my husband and I will always abide by that rule.

I was only trying to make the point that just because someone has the "right" to demand any seat of his/her choosing, there are legitimate reasons why others might not equate exercising a "right" with being "fair". There are gray areas where people can disagree.

The original poster decided to exercise her right to demand a saved seat. She had that right. She was upset from a previous flight, and under stress because she wanted to make sure her daughter was comfortable. Very understandable. Perhaps she'd just had it, and the poster didn't want to move just slightly farther down the aisle where she almost always could have found many open window/middle seat combinations since she and her daughter were boarding as Early Birds. She also had that right.

Maybe, exhausted, she didn't have the bandwidth right then to do anything but assume that the seat-saver had no legitimate reason to believe she should even try to save a seat for her mom. But the fact is that she actually knew nothing about the seat-saver's particular situation. She simply made an assumption that, because she paid for Early Bird status for herself and her daughter, she was being "fair" when she demanded her rights.

But who knows? Maybe the seat-saver's mother was also an Early Bird, but she just happened to be farther back in line from the woman who wanted the seat, in which case the poster's assumption that she was being fair because she had paid (for the exact same) Early Bird status didn't hold water. Maybe a lot of things. In my post I was trying to give some examples of ways in which "fair" can be interpreted in different ways by different people in different circumstances.

No one on SW has the time or energy to go into the specific details informing anyone else's decisions on why they sit where they sit, or save what they save. We just have to be as kind to one another as we can, and then get to where we're going. My only point was that we all have to follow the rules, but we don't all have to agree on when exercising a right is, or is not, fair.

I suggest you read up on the original poster. It is a classic in the DIS world.

 

[cabanafrau]

Sad she doesn't post anymore. I was in awe of her escapades; 26 years old, 13 year old daughter, independently wealthy because dad sold her teenage company, traveled around the world every month.

Wait.... the sofa pillows were a lie?

Surprised I could have missed all of this.