Southwest boarding question

[taylorsmommy05]

I was wondering if Southwest still let people with babys and toddlers preboard? I know many other airlines have done away with this... and I have not been on southwest since I have been a mom!! TIA

 

[chop456]

We flew SW on June 13th and they allowed those with kids 5 and under to board early. Lucky for us, my sister and kids were able to board with that group and "saved" us seats near them since we were in group B.

 

[jrogalny]

Lucky you (not lucky for us). Yes, Southwest STILL does pre-boards. We had 67 of them - Pre-boards!

 

[goofy4tink]

Technically, SW does still allow preboarding. But, there have been a lot of times that they have not allowed it because there were so many preboards!!!
So, be prepared...get online at the 24 hr mark and get your group A boarding passes done. That way, if there is an issue, you'll still be in the first group that boards.

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

Lucky you (not lucky for us). Yes, Southwest STILL does pre-boards. We had 67 of them - Pre-boards!

Sounds like a flight we were on back in May. There were 10 people (including us) in the "A" line, 3 in the "B" line, and 2 in the "C" line. The entire rest of the plane was pre-boards. Our "A" passes were worthless.

 

[Hixski]

Sounds like a flight we were on back in May. There were 10 people (including us) in the "A" line, 3 in the "B" line, and 2 in the "C" line. The entire rest of the plane was pre-boards. Our "A" passes were worthless.

Hopefully that will change in the future. That many pre-boards is ridiculous. When I have an "A" pass and can't even sit with DH there is something wrong with that system.

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

Hopefully that will change in the future. That many pre-boards is ridiculous. When I have an "A" pass and can't even sit with DH there is something wrong with that system.

I agree it was ridiculous, which is why we are flying JetBlue in September.

 

[salmoneous]

When I have an "A" pass and can't even sit with DH there is something wrong with that system.

I can't image a situation where two people with A passes can't sit together on Southwest (unless thay are on a connecting flight and get in late). I fly SW all the time. People do sit together. Once you understand the system, it actually works better for many people than assigned seats as *you* are in charge of where you sit, not the airline.

I know SW's open seating isn't for everyone. But there is nothing wrong with the system. To me, getting to pick my own seat is one of the best things about flying Southwest.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I think Hixski is refering to Tink's post, where only fifteen passengers were NOT in the preboard line. That makes it likely that even someone with an "A" pass who got to the airport three hours early would not find two seats together.

 

[cfknight]

Sounds like a flight we were on back in May. There were 10 people (including us) in the "A" line, 3 in the "B" line, and 2 in the "C" line. The entire rest of the plane was pre-boards. Our "A" passes were worthless.

Thats rediculous! Last time I flew SW, we got an "A" boarding pass and even though we sat together, by the time we got on, the plane was 3/4 of the way full. They really need to pay closer attention as to who pre-boards.

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

I think Hixski is refering to Tink's post, where only fifteen passengers were NOT in the preboard line. That makes it likely that even someone with an "A" pass who got to the airport three hours early would not find two seats together.

Exactly, and there was even more to my story. This is what I posted on another thread.

I'm a fan of Southwest, we'll be boarding one of their planes tomorrow bound for MCO.

I have a feeling the "bad" Southwest experiences come from people who run up to the gate last second and don't get the seat they want...row 1 only beats row 17 to its destination by a second or two...

Not exactly.

The OP asked for all opinions/experiences. Here's mine (and believe me, I thought long and hard before posting on this thread because I know I will probably be flamed by someone).

We had an unhappy experience on SWA at MCO in May. Got there early. Had "A" passes. Got in the "A" line early. We did everything right. What we didn't count on was there being only 10 people (including us) in the "A" line, 3 people in the "B" line, and 2 people in the "C" line. There was one wheelchair passenger pre-boarded, but all the rest of the passengers on that full flight were families pre-boarding with kids. Thats A LOT of pre-boarders. Our "A" passes were worthless. On top of that, there was a family of 5 ahead of us in the "A" line. They staked their places out waaay early. But I noticed they actually had "B" passes. Did the gate attendant notice? No. They got to board from the front of the "A" line (and yes I mentioned this to the gate attendant, but all he did was yell down the jetway for them to not do it again).

I understand families want to sit together, I truly do. I have children, who are now adults, and flew with them from the time they were babies. I know how much it means to get seats together. On this trip, our family consisted of me and DSis and we would like to sit together, too, and did everything we could to ensure that, to no avail. For us, this system failed abysmally, and it wasn't because we ran up to the gate at the last second.

 

[WillCAD]

I was wondering if Southwest still let people with babys and toddlers preboard? I know many other airlines have done away with this... and I have not been on southwest since I have been a mom!! TIA

I notice you're from Maryland, so I assume you'll be flying out of BWI?

My experience with Southwest at BWI has, fortunately, been very good. The number of pre-boarders on all my SWA flights have been manageable, about half the size of the A group, and those who get in the A line have no trouble finding seats together.

At MCO the number of pre-boarders is larger than at BWI, almost as large as the A group, but still manageable, and the A group still gets seats together, although very large groups in the A line sometimes have to go to the back of the plane to find enough open seats all together.

 

[mommy2paris]

We have also always had good fortune flying out of BWI. Last year, dh & I preboarded with our 11 month old daughter, and suprisingly, there wasn't a ton of pre boarders. We have also flown alone, without dd, had b boarding passes, and still got to sit together, and have also had times where we haven't been able to sit together, which I admit was a little frustrating. However, that said, being a parent, I now know that it is a necessity for a parent and child to be able to sit together, and not a necessity for two adults to sit together.

 

[abrownfamily]

We are a family of four who loves the Southwest preboard. We have a five year old and a two year old. We have heard the agents say over and over again that only parents with children four and under can preboard (unless otherwise disabled). However, we notice that this is not always strictly enforced. For example, one cut in front of us with his son (obviously at least 7-8 years old and playing a video game not designed for preschoolers). He then invited his family to come in line as they were also allowed to preboard with him. So, aunts, uncles, grandparents, (at least 7 adults ) boarded with the obviously over four child. In addition, when we travel, my husband takes one child and I take the other. We take the window and middle seats in two rows leaving the aisle seat for those who board later (short flights of 2 and a half hours don't require bathroom usage on the plane). Oh, and we also go all the way to the back of the plane.

 

[Hixski]

I think Hixski is refering to Tink's post, where only fifteen passengers were NOT in the preboard line. That makes it likely that even someone with an "A" pass who got to the airport three hours early would not find two seats together.

That was exactly what I was referring to. I understand the need to preboard with very small children BUT grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles and then their kids who are say teenagers is what is ridiculous. A family with a 2 yr old does not need the other 10 people in their group to preboard.

We do not see it quite as bad Tink's post as we usually go in September. Some people take their kids out of school but the preboards are much better at that time. Those are the times though that my above scenario occurs as some people think they can get away with it.

 

[mommy2paris]

I totally agree, that they should better regulate the pre boarders. If they have rules, they need to enforce them. It would make it so much better for the people who really need to pre board, and would be so much fairer to everyone else.

 

[RoseNJ]

I agree too. I am very tired of the "camp out on the floor" mentality that SW boarding causes in the airport. If I have an A boarding pass, I really don't think I should be sitting or standing in line an hour or more in advance because of preboarders. If you have a small child in tow, I don't have any problem with the parent or parents preboarding. But the whole party, that's ridiculous. I think it is time for SW to make the system work the way it is suppose to.