Southwest boarding question

[DJNOWICK]

Maybe different FA's deal with questions differently. The 2 times I tried to ask a question before taking a seat (and I prefaced my question with "I havea question about seating") I was told "please find a seat as quickly as you can and we'll deal with rearrangements later; you are blocking the doorway" or a version of that.

Do you generally assume the worst in people? Ooooh - "they'll know what you are doing..." Yes, I would think they would - amazing powers of deduction those FAs have. They might also assume, though, that people are doing what they do in movie theaters, cafeterias, picnic tables and a hundred other places where you save seats, and that the passenger may not actually KNOW that it is against the rules or the culture or whatever.

Jackie

 

[dzorn]

I will be traveling with Dsis who is developmentally disabled and DD(7) who is autistic. After reading how nasty some passagers can be about trying to keep a party together I thinks I don't ever want to try SW. No thanks. If by chance you are sitting next to a sobbing child that gets air sick or a person that will talk non stop for hours you know I could not get another flight.

 

[ducklite]

I will be traveling with Dsis who is developmentally disabled and DD(7) who is autistic. After reading how nasty some passagers can be about trying to keep a party together I thinks I don't ever want to try SW. No thanks. If by chance you are sitting next to a sobbing child that gets air sick or a person that will talk non stop for hours you know I could not get another flight.

Those would certainly be disabilities that would qualify you for preboarding. Speak to the gate agents when you arrive. And keep in mind that even on some of the legacy carriers your seats can get rearranged--and on those you
ll have a lot less luck getting people to change seats.

Anne

 

[NotUrsula]

They might also assume, though, that people are doing what they do in movie theaters, cafeterias, picnic tables and a hundred other places where you save seats, and that the passenger may not actually KNOW that it is against the rules or the culture or whatever.

Oh, come on -- what adult tries to save seats by filling them with "stuff" in any of those places? That technique is for school cliques and social events, not grown up transportation options. You don't spread your stuff all over the seats of a WDW bus, do you? You might put a package on a seat beside you, but that won't draw an FA's attention -- I was speaking of situations where "stuff" is sitting in solitary splendor when no one is actually in the row.

If you don't normally fly SWA, you are likely to not think of saving seats because your norm is to get into whatever seat you are assigned. Many newbies may grouse about the lack of seat assignments, but they almost never try to save unless someone has tipped them off that it is possible. If you do frequently fly SWA, you know that using "stuff" to save seats isn't kosher, but there are there are many ballsy people who don't care and try to do it anyway.

 

[abbie13_15]

just print off your boarding passes online 24 hours before you plane leaves. This you you will all get A's on your bording passes.

 

[NotUrsula]

Also, to back up what Anne said ... If your seat assignments are canceled on a legacy carrier, you will have a lot less luck getting passengers to switch with you so that you can keep a party together. More and more often, legacy carriers are restricting the lowest fare classes to "no prior seat assignment" status, and will not assign seats on those fares until you arrive at the airport. In effect, this guarantees that the seats you get for those fares are going to end up being lone middles. Time and equipment changes are getting more common, too.

IME (which is considerable, as is Anne's), passengers on legacy carriers tend to be much more invested in where they sit, vs. passengers on SWA. Most SWA passengers who are not after the exit rows or the bulkheads have very little preference as to seat location. They might prefer an aisle or a window, but most of them don't have a preference for a particular row. This is probably because the airline doesn't give them an EXPECTATION of a particular seat location, so they are OK with sitting down pretty much wherever.

On a legacy carrier, most passengers are told ahead of time what seat they will have, and they get attached to the idea of that seat location, so much so that they are very loathe to give it up once they have arrived in it. Some Elite-class FF's are really compulsive about their chosen seats -- many go so far as to become quite disgruntled if they don't get their particular favorite seat location on that aircraft type. They read seatguru religiously, and it is almost a contest to see who the savvy FF is who gets first dibbs on 10D.

 

[DrTomorrow]

ducklite & NotUrsula: nicely said!

Re: crying babies - that's one of the BENEFITS of SWA! Most of the potential screamers pre-board so we know what areas to avoid!

DJNOWICK: Looking forward to seeing you on a future episode of "Airline"!

NOTE: as abbie13_15 said - and to politely correct ktink - the SWA on-line check-in time is now 24 hours before departure time. Nice that I don't have to wait until midnight, then get up at 6AM for our flight. Not so nice if your flight out of MCO is at 11AM and you're at a park the day before (gotta get me one of them newfangled phones that lets you check-in via mobile).

IMHO - YMMV - Be well!

 

[DJNOWICK]

Oh, come on -- what adult tries to save seats by filling them with "stuff" in any of those places? That technique is for school cliques and social events, not grown up transportation options.

Almost every packed movie theater I have ever been to has had people saving seats. ALmost every picnic table at Wintergreen resort this past Feb. had someone saving it for the rest of their party who was in line for food.

I live in a major metropolitan area - maybe in places more rural or less crowded this isn't as common,

You don't spread your stuff all over the seats of a WDW bus, do you?

Nope. But I don't preboard the bus, either.

If you don't normally fly SWA, you are likely to not think of saving seats because your norm is to get into whatever seat you are assigned. Many newbies may grouse about the lack of seat assignments, but they almost never try to save unless someone has tipped them off that it is possible. If you do frequently fly SWA, you know that using "stuff" to save seats isn't kosher, but there are there are many ballsy people who don't care and try to do it anyway.

I frequently fly. I frequently fly Southwest. When I feel the need to try and save a seat for someone, I try and do so. I did not realize that politely trying to do so was not kosher.


Jackie

 

[DJNOWICK]

DJNOWICK: Looking forward to seeing you on a future episode of "Airline"!

Sorry? Is that a TV show?

You folks crack me up - you take yourselves very seriously. Smile a little. Be a little tolerant. It's good for the soul.

Jackie

 

[kaytieeldr]

You don't spread your stuff all over the seats of a WDW bus, do you?

Nope. But I don't preboard the bus, either.

The purpose of preboarding is so that passengers who need extra time to get into/onto the plane, or settled (as with installing a car seat) can do so without causing a backup. Preboarding is NOT designed for passengers to save seats for members of their party boarding later.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Sorry? Is that a TV show?

You folks crack me up - you take yourselves very seriously. Smile a little. Be a little tolerant. It's good for the soul.

Jackie

"Airline" is a reality show based on the fine folks at SWA and the heartwarming and/or cranky customers they sometimes have to deal with. Folks who show up 2 minutes before departure time and pitch a fit because they aren't let on, people who miss their flight calls because they are boozing it up in an airport bar and yes, people who try to save seats - sometimes even entire rows - when they know ahead of time it is against the rules.

Take ourselve seriously! Bwahahahaha! . Most of the fine folks here have a generous (and in my case, delightfully twisted) sense of humor, particularly when it come to themselves. I have noticed that many DISers have a genuine appreciation for the rules and how rules help a society function, so when someone who knows better suggests that, what the heck, let's try to break the rules anyway and tells others to do the same, it's not surprising that they are called on it.

One of the reasons that SWA is cheaper is that they don't have assigned seats - it is first come first served - and most people respect that. If you want to make sure you sit together, pay the higher fare somewhere else (although as others have said, legacy carriers are known for last-minute seat changes, too). But hey - I'm off to a week at BCV & SSR in 3 weeks from tomorrow, so here's a big DJNOWICK, regardless of whether you are a rule-breaker or a rule follower!

IMHO - YMMV - Be well!

 

[DJNOWICK]

We can agree to disagree. If I preboard with my 2 year old and my husband remains in the lounge with my 6 year old, you can bet your bottom dollar I am going to TRY and save them seats. Sue me.


YMMV - nothing more to add here.
Jackie

 

[TDC Nala]

Best thing to do it get those A passes and head for the back of the plane. Back of the plane lands at the same time as the front of the plane.

 

[Hi Ho To Disney We Go]

First of all I have to laugh. Saving seats not saving seats. ... Whatever, Let the family of 12 sit together or there the ones that are going to be up talking to your neighbor preventing you from your nap. Flight attendants are not going to care if you are saving seats for your other family members travleing with you. So go ahead put your stuff down, If you have 2 kids with you those that don't will keep walking. " That's just the way I see it"

Liz