Southwest boarding RUDE BEHAVIOR

[snowwite]

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

I was using my cane a lot last year and was not offered the option to preboard. They also made me stow it away which made the trip to bathroom quite a project.I dont like southwest's procedure of not assigning seats but the money we save makes the aggravation worth it.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

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.

It's kind of hard to feel sorry for the people who let this woman walk all over them.

You can believe me that if I had seen this, I would have cleared the seats myself. Shame on the FAs for not doing so and letting her get away with this.

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.

Do not worry. You will not be separated, even if you can't get in the A boarding group. Before you board, explain your problem politely to a gate attendant and request pre-boarding.

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.

So true! And this happens on every airline.

 

[paults]

goofy4tink

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 it was me that took the middle seat and then they started moving, I would have stayed in that middle seat and told MOM that this is how you wanted it so live with it.

 

[tmt martins]

Remember if you have a web enabled phone you can now check-in 24hrs from your phone and just print your A's at the koisk .I just did this coming home from LA for a test run and it worked great.

Not haveing to worry about getting to front desk to check-in will be nice for our June trip as well since we have a 8:50pm flight I'm sure we will be in the parks.

 

[castleri]

Quote:
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.

These are the exact sentiments my family expressed when we traveled in Dec. from Providence to Ft. Lauderdale. Make it the rule that if you are preboarding with young children you fill the back seats first. That way you are not blocking aisles while others are trying to board and get by you. The only only who should have priority to the front seats for preboarding are those in wheelchairs and they should also be asked to wait until last to deplane. I prefer the emergency exit aisles so am not looking for those front seats but just feel having young children to board is not that big a deal (pick a row, step in and settle down) except for making sure they have a parent next to them. We had an occasion on Delta many years ago where they assigned seats and we still didn't sit together even though we had purchased the tickets 8 months in advance so don't know if that is still the same as we only fly SW now.

 

[pezpam]

Don't worry too much about being separated from your child. Last time I flew with DD8, the hotel we were staying at would not print out our boarding passes and we checked in at the airport - B seating for the first leg, C seating for the second. We wound up together both times and the TAs would have asked if anyone would shift seats so we could be together if necessary.....

I almost had to laugh as we waited for that second flight, though. Another plane was delayed, so we were all sent to another gate. OK, so we're all lining up again, noone complaining too loudly. A woman and her grown daughter walked up to me and asked if this was the C-line. (It was all a bit of a mess if you weren't right up front) I said yes and that there was already a line behind me. Well, they plopped their bags down right there - in FRONT of me. I said something again. No help. A while later, I said something again, even more directly, and she went into an explanation of how it was all open seating, so it didn't matter when we got on. Oh, ok, then, you two just cut to the front of the line, no problem. Suuuuure. Next time, could you wear a sign or something so we KNOW we're supposed to line up behind you no matter when you get there? LOL Some people are just clueless.... others try to play clueless.

 

[jim and meesie]

Well, they plopped their bags down right there - in FRONT of me. I said something again. No help. A while later, I said something again, even more directly, and she went into an explanation of how it was all open seating, so it didn't matter when we got on. Oh, ok, then, you two just cut to the front of the line, no problem. Suuuuure. Next time, could you wear a sign or something so we KNOW we're supposed to line up behind you no matter when you get there? LOL Some people are just clueless.... others try to play clueless.

I seem to find those people too!!! I must be the one with the sign on "Walk all over me I won't complain too loudly" You know they would never get away with that in New York!! (no offense, just New Yorkers don't let themselves get used)>

 

[zurgswife]

People do sell the coupons on Ebay.

Now the correct response would have been sure I'd love them I know a wonderful family with lots of kiddos that would love a free drink on their flight down in March....

 

[pamjb]

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????

How do you get the free drink coupons? I am flying out on 3/1, so your offer wouldn't do me much good, but I would like to know for future reference.

 

[tmt martins]

Rapid Rewards program the more you fly the more you drink.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Rapid Rewards program the more you fly the more you drink.

Sounds like a great slogan Southwest should start using

Sometimes everyone in a large group is more for the convenience of the other passengers. Remember the episode of "Roseanne" where everyone's flying to WDW and the family is scattered throughout the plane? Okay, that may be an extreme example (especially with the empty first class section the Connors ended up in), but if one person in a large wants to speak with someone else in their party and they're only a few seats away, that's more convenient and less of an imposition on other passengers than if they're several aisles away.

I agree with what others said -- preboarding for extended families as long as they head for the rear of the plane, and that should be at the descretion of the gate personnel.

 

[wdwstar]

personally, I always go online to print out my A boarding pass, then when i get there and i wait until the flight before us starts to board then i get up with my carry on and stand in A for two hrs until my flight is ready to board. I would rather have the exist isials anyways, more room.

my Dad just came back, flying SW he said this women was the first one in line B with her carry on. she decided to leave her carry on in line and run to the bathroom, when she came back the man behind her would not let her in front of him even though her carry on was still in front of him. My dad said everyone in line was making comments to the man to leave this women back in line and get over it because there are plenty of seats on the plane especially when he is standing in the B line.

 

[tmt martins]

I think this entire thing is funny .If you fly SW you know it's 1st come 1st to sit.

When I travel alone I really don't mind I try to get a exit row do to extra leg room.
However with family we sit 3 in a row so 1st row avail we get .Now we did move back 1 row once because a family of 5 wanted to set across from 1 another and the row behind us was empty.

In all my flights I think once I had a B pass People now a days are in too much of a hurry to read or understand the rules .Or they are just in the ME mentality that they are all that matters.

 

[seashoreCM]

Given that pre-boarding is meant to speed up boarding and departure despite some people's needing more time, come to think about it it makes sense to have pre-boarders move all the way back, especially on Southwest where seats are not assigned.

Well, they plopped their bags down right there - in FRONT of me. I said something again. No help. A while later, I said something again, even more directly, and she went into an explanation of how it was all open seating, so it didn't matter when we got on. Oh, ok, then, you two just cut to the front of the line, no problem. .

You should of picked up your bags and went (gic) around them and plopped your bags in front of them and then gone into an explanation that this [C] line is just like any other line and she should go back to the end of said line.

Or maybe that strategy won't work because they are so used to cutting in line at Disney.

 

[KarenP99]

SOUTHWEST Passengers are the BEST!

I just will share my little story, I'm embarrassed about it (and feel terrible), but it shows the true spirit of compassion of our fellow travelers.

We have flown frequently with our children (4, 2 & 1) and always pre-board and have had great experiences.

This past Feb we had a flight to MCO, and arrived on time (or so we thought), then we forgot one of the carseats so had to run back to the parking garage, they were training @ the front counter (very friendly & polite, just took much longer than ususal)...so we wound up being the LAST people to board the plane.

I started to panic inside as we made our way to the back of the plane, nothing left but middle seats. I was almost in tears as we got to the FA's in the back. I just said "what do I do?, I can't make my 4 & 2yr olds to sit inbetween strangers alone" Plus we had a carseat that had to go by the window. I was ready to go home. The FA obviously understood, and made an announcement. Within seconds, YES SECONDS there was a full aisle free for us. People were so kind & generous, (and of couse probably irritated and just didn't want a delay). But to move & take another seat (a middle one no less) so that my babies didn't have to sit alone...thank you!
I would have gotten off the plane & taken a later flight (rather than make the kids sit w/strangers). I was so humbled and grateful that people were so kind.

Thankfully the kids were GREAT on the way down, not a peep. But you better believe that we get there extra early now (and shows you how important pre-boarding really is with little ones).

Plus, prior to this ordeal we always sat up front. We were in the back this trip and it was WONDERFUL. Much less stressful, we just waited for the plane to empty to exit. Now we go directly to the back of the plane upon boarding, Much faster for all!

SO to you patient & kind SWA passengers....THANK YOU!

 

[NotUrsula]

There is a kind of unwritten etiquette code on SWA about seat saving. Multiple-seat saving is always a faux pas. The rule of thumb is that, except for the front bulkhead rows or exit rows, it is generally OK to try to save a seat in the row you are sitting in for later-boarding members of your party. You must be sitting in the aisle yourself for this to work, as an open aisle seat is universally up for grabs. If you want to save a seat for a real person, the most polite and effective way to do it is tell those who ask who the person is. ("I'd like to hold that for the children's grandmother if I can.") Most people will be OK with that and pass by, but if they don't want to, then you give up the seat without argument.

Saving using "stuff" is totally out. I've seen FA's punish this in a variety of ways, sometimes by just dropping the stuff back in the person's lap with a public announcement that they can't spread out that way, but sometimes in the funniest way of all: confiscation! FA's just pick the stuff up, drop it in a Lost & Found bag, and put it out on the jetway. Then you get the hilarious scene of the perpetrator trying desperately to get the FA to give the stuff back, which they may or may not do. (I know one FA on a route I often take who hates people who do this, and she is ruthless. Once she gets her hands on the scattered stuff, it is off the plane, even if a passenger tries to claim it. She frequently gets applause, too.)

Most people who are trying to keep a middle seat for more room try to do it by refusing to make eye contact with those who pass by. Totally useless ploy; everyone knows that that studied nonchalance means that the seat is open. If the avoiders in a given row are male and female and the middle seat is empty, it is very likely that they are really together, and your chances of scoring an aisle or window are quite good. (Also holds true if one is an adult and one a child.)

 

[Lewisc]

Some passengers leave their luggage in line and then sit down. The fact that the man behind her complained suggested she might have been gone for more than just a bathroom break. Normally I'd expect the woman would have asked the man behind her to watch her stuff because she needed to take a bathroom break.

Some of us threaten to call security regarding abandoned bags. Your bag is suppose to be within arms length of you at all times. When passengers complain the GA makes an announcement.

my Dad just came back, flying SW he said this women was the first one in line B with her carry on. she decided to leave her carry on in line and run to the bathroom, when she came back the man behind her would not let her in front of him even though her carry on was still in front of him. My dad said everyone in line was making comments to the man to leave this women back in line and get over it because there are plenty of seats on the plane especially when he is standing in the B line.

 

[nuke]

For the person with the cane. You need to go and get a blue card preboarding pass at the gate. They only give them out if you have a physical ailment and will be able to board before the preboarding families.
My mother has a back problem and always gets these so she can get a bulkhead seat. She has to stand up a lot in order to not be in horrible pain for the whole flight. They allow one person to board with you.

 

[mytwotinks]

Remember if you have a web enabled phone you can now check-in 24hrs from your phone and just print your A's at the koisk .I just did this coming home from LA for a test run and it worked great.

Not haveing to worry about getting to front desk to check-in will be nice for our June trip as well since we have a 8:50pm flight I'm sure we will be in the parks.

So, could I check in at home with my computer and just print out my pass when I got there. I never use a printer at home so we don't even have one.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I was using my cane a lot last year and was not offered the option to preboard. They also made me stow it away which made the trip to bathroom quite a project.I dont like southwest's procedure of not assigning seats but the money we save makes the aggravation worth it.

the option to preboard. YOu have to go to the counter and ask for it. I was on crutches for our flight out several weeks ago and it was obvious that several of the gate agents saw me. No one offered me the option to preboard. About 30 min. before boarding I went to counter and asked if it was possible to preboard and was given the card with not problem.

I found it very rude (and funny) that the line of "preboarders" with strollers refused to move to let me at the front of the preboard line (as I had been told by the gate agent) until the agent taking the boarding passes announced that all "disabled" passengers "including those on crutches" needed to be at the front of the line and families with small children would have to wait until we were safely down the jetway! The *&^%* in front of me who had purposefully placed her stroller in the middle of the aisle so I coudn't "cut in line" was forced to move so we could pass.

I agree that it would make more sense to require the families with small children to go to the back (better bathroom situation back there anyway!) when they preboard, please don't ask those with physical difficulties to do so. It was extremely difficult to even get down the aisle to the first seats availalbe while on crutches. It would have been torture to have to go to the back, and then back to the front to get off again.