Southwest Airlines

[captchris]

I am so excited! I was making my regular daily checks for low cost airfare, and I found roundtrip airfare from hartford to orlando for $59 each way!

I have never flown Southwest and was wondering how things worked with not having assigned seats, etc. I understand that I can check in and print boarding passes out 24 hrs before, but apart from that I am clueless as to how Southwest operates. I know that they are one of the few airlines that is currently running in the black, that is encouraging.

I would welcome anyone's thoughts on Southwest Airlines.

 

[atigeg]

I used to cringe at the thought of SW's cattle call boarding, but now I actually like it. I am an anal type A traveler who checks in exactly 24 hours ahead and who then arrives early and stakes out a good position in the A line (there is a line for each lettered boarding pass: A, B, and C). That virtually guarantees me my choice of seat.

Barb

 

[Flagger]

There is no assigned seating on Southwest. I have printed Boarding cards exactly 24 hours before and still been the 6th or 7th person to check in. At BDL, you should be able to board early with children. At MCO, it is very rare for pre-boarding with kids because honestly there are so many. That is not just on SW either, but most airlines out of MCO. I am not saying it doesn't happen, but it is rare.

 

[Queen2]

I just used SW& rumor is July 1 they are changing.

Now don't shut the messagenger

 

[Masonpips]

I used to cringe at the thought of SW's cattle call boarding, but now I actually like it. I am an anal type A traveler who checks in exactly 24 hours ahead and who then arrives early and stakes out a good position in the A line (there is a line for each lettered boarding pass: A, B, and C). That virtually guarantees me my choice of seat.

Exactly my thoughts. The only time there's been anything different is if you have a "connector" that has come from somewhere else and a ton of people stay on board.

We flew them last week and only families w/kids 4 and under could pre-board (and there were at least 8 of them, you can tell summer is here!)

My kids LOVE to race to the gate and sit in the A area. It's so funny because people are like lemmings and as soon as someone gets in line, they all fall in place. We usually sit on the floor and have a picnic prior to boarding

 

[Masonpips]

I just used SW& rumor is July 1 they are changing.

Now don't shut the messagenger

Have heard this too, the only complaint many folks have is the "cattle call". The rumor I heard is that they're trying to figure out how to assign seats without losing their incredibly quick turnaround time at airports.

Found some news on this: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/05/18/southwest.seating.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest

 

[tvguy]

No rumor about assigned seats on Southwest, they announced 2 years ago (2004) they are going to start assigning seats, but they keep pushing back when, now it's 2008. They have to upgrade their computers to be able to do it at a cost $5 million. For a company their size, $ 5 million is nothing. But they are also considering computer upgrades that would allow them to fly internationally, because they would then have to follow customs and immigration information on passengers.
They are concerned that giving assigned seats will jeopardize their ability to turn flights around quickly, however, the reason they want to assign seats early is passengers for their flights show up much earlier than other airlines and clog their terminials, which jeopardizes their ability to turn flights around quickly.
Southwest does offer great fares on a LIMITED basis with lots of restrictions. I made the mistake of booking them in a family emergency on a few days notice, Sacramento to Houston... cost me $625 a person.....or exactly $200 more than America Wests short notice fare.
Here the link to the story on seats.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/05/18/southwest.seating.ap/

 

[woody73]

Sign up for SW's Rapid Rewards and earn free flights.

Woody

 

[captchris]

Sign up for SW's Rapid Rewards and earn free flights.

Woody

I just did that. Thank you all for your advice. I will be sure to log on 24 hrs before flight to check in and print boarding passes.

 

[Sunshine56]

We have flown Southwest a number of times due to their low rates. It is a cattle call but for the shorter flights it is worth it. However, flying cross country we have learned that it is NOT worth it. The last time we had a direct flight which does not mean non-stop. We landed at 3 airports on the way home. LONG DAY after getting up at the crack of dawn to disembark. But then, you get what you pay for.

 

[captchris]

I just remembered a quick question. Does the internet lounge on the Magic have printers to print our boarding passes 24 hrs before our return flight?

If so, how much is it to print per page?

 

[Verandah Man]

I just remembered a quick question. Does the internet lounge on the Magic have printers to print our boarding passes 24 hrs before our return flight?

If so, how much is it to print per page?

Yes, and it is .25 cents per page to print. The last time I went to use the printer onboard to print out our boarding passes it wasn't working. I was still able to get checked-in with Southwest on the ship, I just got our Group A boarding passes at the Southwest kiosk machine when we arrived at MCO.

 

[GoofyDrivesACar]

Have heard this too, the only complaint many folks have is the "cattle call". The rumor I heard is that they're trying to figure out how to assign seats without losing their incredibly quick turnaround time at airports.

Found some news on this: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/05/18/southwest.seating.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest

Just curious, how does not assigning seats give them the ability to turnaound filights quicker? TIA

 

[atigeg]

This is inkkognito:

It creates a sense of "urgency," which you will see when you watch people line up for the cattle call. People with assigned seats don't feel as much need to be at the gate early. With SW, they know they need to be there in order to get a good seat.

Barb

 

[captchris]

How early would you recommend getting to the gate? Typically I try to get there an hour before a flight, but with Southwest, we may want to go a little longer.

 

[kikipug]

I just remembered a quick question. Does the internet lounge on the Magic have printers to print our boarding passes 24 hrs before our return flight?

If so, how much is it to print per page?

You don't need to actually print them... you can 'retrieve' them online 24 hours before, then head to the kiosk as soon as you get to the airport, and get a 'reprint'... it will give you the same letter that you originally had. Works great.

 

[atigeg]

If you're at the gate an hour beforehand, you should be fine...you'll most likely be one of the first in the A line. Even if you're not, you should still get a good choice of seats, but just farther back in the plane.

Barb

 

[MJGirl]

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but when I was at WDW last year, the person at the check-in counter printed mine for me. Will they do the same on the ship. I just gave him my reservation number and he did the rest!

 

[captchris]

If you're at the gate an hour beforehand, you should be fine...you'll most likely be one of the first in the A line. Even if you're not, you should still get a good choice of seats, but just farther back in the plane.

Barb

Thanks Barb! Between your site and this site, I have had gathered a wealth of information regarding our cruise, but until late last night, I was figuring we would be driving, so now I have been scouring the internet for information on the airline...the rental cars, and my next thing will be what to do for a large portion of the day before our flight home. We don't leave MCO until 7:50 PM.

 

[Verandah Man]

We usually arrive at the airport gate between 60 to 90 minutes before our flight time, and most likely will we be at the front of Group A. On our return flight the other week(7am flight), we got to the gate about 10 minutes before boarding started and was near the end of Group A, we still got good seats in row 15. There were a lot of "little ones" in the front of the plane, so row 15 was a good choice for us!!!