Southwest boarding RUDE BEHAVIOR

[jim and meesie]

Last Sunday on our trip from Providence to Orlando I saw what I considered super rude behavior, I thought I'd share. I fortunately got A boarding and was in line early. Another woman and her large extended family came later and evidently had C boarding. They had one child (not a small child, could have been under 4 but maybe older) and several adults and decided that they would all go for "pre boarding" on this completely full flight. The gate agent informed them that the child and parents could pre-board but the other adults including young looking grandparents would have to wait until their appropriate "C" boarding. When the child's mother got on board she proceeded to spread her bags and coats over the front rows to "SAVE SEATS". As I walked by I asked if the seats were taken and she said she was "saving them". The flight attendant came over and told her "we can't save seats for other people you'll have to stow your items in the overhead compartment now" (as if she didn't know already). Of course the woman ignored the flight attendant and continued to tell people the seats were taken until finally the rest of her travelling adults were seated around her. Effective, but RUDE, RUDE, RUDE!!! We see it over and over again, where do these people get this me first entitlement???? OK, so in case anyone doesn't already know, when flying on Southwest go on-line 24 hours in advance and check-in so you can get "A" boarding. Totally fair, luck of the draw. Also, if you want to sit at the front of the plane, get there early and wait, with everyone else!!! Those are the rules when flying Southwest, if you don't want to deal with them, fly another airline!!!! Rant finished!

 

[DebbieB]

I think if someone wants to save seats, they should have to save them in the back of the plane, not up front.

 

[CarolA]

I once saw a business man just move the "saved items" and sit down..... It was too funny watching the family members try to figure out what to do. They explained that the seats were "saved". Business man asked if seat holders had boarded. When told NO he said "I am sure there will be seats on the plane for them" He then told his coworker (who was in group B to take another "saved" seat across the aisle from him. The family realized that as it was going they were going to be scattered throughout the plane and gave up and consolidated themselves. They made some REAL nasty comments which most of us around them heard. The FAs were cracking up. The two business men got "Free" drinks when the FA came out. The guy had his coupons out and the FA brushed them away (and she took mine!!!)

So next time just TAKE the seat.... Let mom pitch a fit! Maybe she will get real IRATE and SW will throw her off. (I have seen pilots come back and explain to unruly passengers that it's either sit down and be quiet or GET OFF!)
(The father of the family did get up to complain to the FA who nicely told him it's first come first serve)

 

[jim and meesie]

I once saw a business man just move the "saved items" and sit down..... It was too funny watching the family members try to figure out what to do. They explained that the seats were "saved". Business man asked if seat holders had boarded. When told NO he said "I am sure there will be seats on the plane for them" He then told his coworker (who was in group B to take another "saved" seat across the aisle from him. get real IRATE and SW will throw her off. (I have seen pilots come back and explain to unruly passengers that it's either sit down and be quiet or GET OFF!)
(The father of the family did get up to complain to the FA who nicely told him it's first come first serve)

That's the way to play it!!!

BTW I have lots of SW drink coupons that I never use. does anyone want them? (I will have to go look for them) I thought about selling them on ebay, would it be worth it????

 

[CarolA]

People do sell the coupons on Ebay.

 

[fran99999]

I have a question. I will be flying Southwest for the first time this May. I will try to get the "A" boarding pass. I will be flying with my DS7, is there a chance I will not be able to sit next to him. I ask this because he is Hyperactive and I have to sit with him to keep him still/entertained so he does not bother others. I have never had this issue when flying Delta/Song so I am now worried. I also use a Cane so I try to sit on the right side of him so my "bad" left leg isnt so squished.

OH why Oh why didnt I just pay the $$ and fly Song down. It was only a few $$ but I have heard so much good about SW I wanted to try it.

 

[snowwite]

I have a question. I will be flying Southwest for the first time this May. I will try to get the "A" boarding pass. I will be flying with my DS7, is there a chance I will not be able to sit next to him. I ask this because he is Hyperactive and I have to sit with him to keep him still/entertained so he does not bother others. I have never had this issue when flying Delta/Song so I am now worried. I also use a Cane so I try to sit on the right side of him so my "bad" left leg isnt so squished.

OH why Oh why didnt I just pay the $$ and fly Song down. It was only a few $$ but I have heard so much good about SW I wanted to try it.

Try not to worry too much about it.We were able to find seats together every time although not necessarily in the rows I would have chosen.I have motion sickness and prefer to be over the wing since I dont feel it as much.DH and I forgot to print boarding pass on last trip and we had to sit across from each other.DS has ADHD.I pretty much think that alone guarantees no one else is going to fight me to sit with him.Heck, I might even get to read my book if they did!

 

[robinb]

I also use a Cane so I try to sit on the right side of him so my "bad" left leg isnt so squished.

If you use a cane you should be able to pre-board.

 

[TDC Nala]

If you check in online and get the A boarding passes, you will most likely have no problems being able to sit with your son somewhere on the plane. Make sure you check in as soon as possible (online checkin opens up 24 hours before your flight). If you have a particular section of the airplane that you really want to sit in, you can get to the airport early and get right into the A line when the gate opens up for your flight (all the airports I've been in have them marked).

 

[jim and meesie]

I have a question. I will be flying Southwest for the first time this May. I will try to get the "A" boarding pass. I will be flying with my DS7, is there a chance I will not be able to sit next to him. I ask this because he is Hyperactive and I have to sit with him to keep him still/entertained so he does not bother others. I have never had this issue when flying Delta/Song so I am now worried. I also use a Cane so I try to sit on the right side of him so my "bad" left leg isnt so squished.

OH why Oh why didnt I just pay the $$ and fly Song down. It was only a few $$ but I have heard so much good about SW I wanted to try it.

Southwest is good, not to worry. First of all, I think if you use a cane you should be able to pre-board. They didn't seem too particular about who was preboarding relying on the integrity of those requesting to preboard (except for a group of able bodied adults who just wanted to sit in front). No proof of age was asked for with kids (although they said families with kids under 4). There are alot of families pre boarding on the flight to Orlando. I have seen them restrict it to just families with infants, I guess it's up to the gate agent.

I have often wondered what SW would do if a young child was stuck sitting alone. (it happened to my daughter and I on an overbooked American flight when she was about 4, she chatted the ears off two very nice young women and I had a quiet flight two rows back) I for one would not like to babysit another person's child for a whole flight so I would probably offer to swap with the child's parent.

The easiest deal is get your boarding card on-line 24 hours in advance. Then you'll have no problems. Even if you end up in B boarding you will definitely be able to sit together. If you end up with c Boarding and are at the end of the boarding line, that's when it gets tricky. You shouldn't have any problems, just be aware of how the system works.

The positive side is that the seats seemed larger than Delta, with more legroom and the FA were super nice. I would never hesitate to fly SW, just keep the details in mind.

 

[salmoneous]

There is practically no chance of your being separated. If you follow the basic SW tips - check in 24-hours ahead, etc. - there is very little chance of a couple not getting to sit together on SW. Now with an adult couple, there is some chance of everything going wrong and you only having two separate seats to sit in (Note - some thing goes for Song, where you could have a cancelled/rescheduled flight and lose your reserved seats). But when the couple includes a 7-year old, there FA's will always ask and move people around until you get seats together.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Last week a family with A passes boarded late (had gotten a bite to eat and lost track of time). All seats were full. The FA asked over the intercom if anyone was willing to switch seats so a mother could sit with her young daughter (and mentioned that "SWA would buy whoever switched a drink"). Another mother willingly switched knowing what it feels like to be separated from her child (um, yes, that person was me and even though the FA forgot his offer of a free drink, LOL, I really didn't mind).

 

[Vivianne]

I once saw a business man just move the "saved items" and sit down..... It was too funny watching the family members try to figure out what to do. They explained that the seats were "saved". Business man asked if seat holders had boarded. When told NO he said "I am sure there will be seats on the plane for them" He then told his coworker (who was in group B to take another "saved" seat across the aisle from him. The family realized that as it was going they were going to be scattered throughout the plane and gave up and consolidated themselves. They made some REAL nasty comments which most of us around them heard. The FAs were cracking up. The two business men got "Free" drinks when the FA came out. The guy had his coupons out and the FA brushed them away (and she took mine!!!)

So next time just TAKE the seat.... Let mom pitch a fit! Maybe she will get real IRATE and SW will throw her off. (I have seen pilots come back and explain to unruly passengers that it's either sit down and be quiet or GET OFF!)
(The father of the family did get up to complain to the FA who nicely told him it's first come first serve)

Excellent! I've never had this problem, but it is a good solution.

 

[jim and meesie]

Last week a family with A passes boarded late (had gotten a bite to eat and lost track of time). All seats were full. The FA asked over the intercom if anyone was willing to switch seats so a mother could sit with her young daughter (and mentioned that "SWA would buy whoever switched a drink"). Another mother willingly switched knowing what it feels like to be separated from her child (um, yes, that person was me and even though the FA forgot his offer of a free drink, LOL, I really didn't mind).

I think that was my flight back to Providence last week. Maybe it happens often!!! I can't drink on planes, makes me dizzy, so no free drinks for me!!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I think that was my flight back to Providence last week. Maybe it happens often!!!

It was actually on a flight out of Providence on Feb 15 (so maybe it does happen often ).

 

[Alysa]

We are a party of 15 and our group contains 7 children including a one month old and a 4 month old. We don't mind sitting in the back but what is the best way to make sure we all sit together? Thanks in advance!

 

[dudspizza]

We are a party of 15 and our group contains 7 children including a one month old and a 4 month old. We don't mind sitting in the back but what is the best way to make sure we all sit together? Thanks in advance!

Get A boarding passes, even though some plan to preboard. The chances of all 15 people sitting together is going to be tough. Try to see if you can break your group into segments that can sit together and you will have better chances.....

Duds

 

[jim and meesie]

Try to see if you can break your group into segments that can sit together and you will have better chances.....

Duds

Get "A" boarding and sit towards the back. Nothing wrong with the back,it's just not the front. But do tell, why is it important for all 15 people to have to sit together? Are you all going on vacation together, are you all staying in adjoining rooms, or will you have no other time to be together? Sometimes too much togetherness is just that, too much! Maybe break into individual family groups, I'm guessing that by the flight home there will be members of your group running for seats by themselves. Already I am feeling sorry for anyone who has to sit near your group of 15, an airplane is just transportation, it's not a place to party with your families!!

 

[goofy4tink]

We saw the exact same behavior when boarding at TF Green in August. Those preboarding, and there were extended families preboarding, got on and started spreading out...they would sit in the window and the aisle seats with their coats on the middle seats...hoping that nobody would sit there. Of course it was a full plane, so when people started sitting in those middle seats the groups started moving so as to not be sitting apart...lucky people that ended up with the middle seats now got the aisle seat so mom could sit with junior!!!
If you don't mind being in the back of the plane, then you should have no problem sitting a larger group pretty much together. I'm beginning to think that those preboarding should be asked to start preboarding in the back. It's not as if they are 'challenged' in some way..they just have kids (for the most part). I think it would be interesting to see how many people would preboard at that point. The thing that gets me is that those preboarding are the ones that take a huge amount of time getting settled. So, it only makes sense to assume that they are going to take a huge amount of time gathering their stuff at the end of the flight...then hold up all those behind them. At least that was my experience both ways when I have flown SW.

 

[TDC Nala]

Why on earth do you need to have 15 people sit together?

I agree, get your A boarding passes online and head for the back of the plane.