Southwest Boarding with Kids

[barbliny]

People have experienced family boarding being cancelled when there's a huge number of families with young children on the flight.

I stand corrected! I had no idea that happened - I usually book first flight out, last flight back - so I encounter families, but not in large numbers. Thanks for the info. I would assume that that would induce widespread panic in the boarding area among those families.

 

[mb187143]

I stand corrected! I had no idea that happened - I usually book first flight out, last flight back - so I encounter families, but not in large numbers. Thanks for the info. I would assume that that would induce widespread panic in the boarding area among those families.

I actually think the worst panic I saw in the boarding area was last April before our trip to WDW. 3 different multi-generational families were at the gate and all seemed to be taking to each other and during that waiting period DH and I overheard one family telling the other two that Grandpa was going to board first because he was a veteran followed by the entire rest of the family (2 adult children plus 2 spouses and 5 little guys between them and also Grandma) in family boarding before the A group. The other two families seemed to have generally the same thought that family boarding was pre boarding. Well, the announcements started with the gate agents describing the family boarding process and all three families were up in arms and went to argue with the gate agents. One entire group hadn't checked in until late because of these assumptions and all had C boarding passes. They were causing a hell of a scene.

In the end, the gate agents held them to 1 adult/child under 6 and the rest of the families boarded where they were supposed to. We were close to some of them on the plane and they shared their displeasure with the FAs who had very little sympathy but honestly even then it worked out. They weren't all in rows together but they were close and the flight from philly to Orlando is relatively short so not too big of a deal.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Appreciate the feedback. It is an interesting approach they have taken for boarding - one that didn't work for us as we have decided to spend a little more and travel a bit longer to (for now) be able to choose where we sit. They look to cater well for people who don't really mind who they sit next to, and for families with kids 5 & under. There must be a lot of other families like mine who don't want to risk not sitting together and fly elsewhere.

You always run the risk of not sitting together. If there's an equipment change, seats get reassigned. It's happened to me before. We caught it before we left to go to the airport. My husband called and they were able to re-seat us, but I know that isn't always the case.

I think Southwest actually offers the best probability (with the purchase of EBCI) of sitting together, or at least in very close proximity (across the aisle, in front of/behind, etc. which should work fine with kids the ages of yours) because there are no seat reassignments happening, ever.

 

[DisneyWillow1975]

We have been flying with our twins (currently 4 1/2 years old) since they were 6 months old, and have flown with carseats on all but 1 flight (we always bought seats for them when they were under 2, and prefer carseats for the safety factor). We have flown Southwest on all but 1 flight, and have never had a problem finding 2 window/middle seats (required with the carseats) with either prompt checkins at 24 hours or EBCI for the return flights home. On some of these flights, we've been in the B group and even then had choices, so I would think that even C group boarders would be able to find 2 seats together most of the time. On our last trip, we flew home from Miami on United to save money. After that experience, we swore we would never fly on a non-Southwest flight with young kids again. We chose our seats in advance, and kept a close eye on them to make sure there weren't plane changes/equipment changes/seating changes/etc. All was fine, and we flew into MCO for the Disney portion of our trip and drove to Miami for a NCL vacation. I did not check on the flight while we were at Disney or on the cruise, and I admit that I made a huge mistake in not doing so. When we arrived at the airport to check-in and check our luggage, I noticed that our seats had changed on our connecting flight, and we were now split up and did not have any window seats. We waited in line at the desk in the main terminal to ask for help on what to do. The staff there referred us to the gate staff. We asked the gate staff at the departure airport, and they assured us that it wouldn't be an issue and to check with the gate staff for the connecting flight. When we got to the connecting airport, we went straight to the gate desk to explain the situation and to ask how we needed to handle it. It turned into a really stressful situation because the gate desk wasn't willing to help us, and wanted us to just board the flight and then ask people to switch and hope that they would. The gate agents disagreed with each other on the carseats, with some telling us it didn't matter where we installed them and some agreeing with us that they needed to be in the window seats. In the end, it worked out and they were able to re-seat us (we offered to buy the other passengers drinks on the flight but United didn't want to pass that message on, so hopefully the other passengers were OK with the switch), but it was definitely not worth the stress and worry, so we'll stick with Southwest where we have more control, even if we do spend more for EBCI. I guess the moral of my long and rambling story is to urge the OP to not do what I did- don't forget to check on your flight even once you get to your destination, so you don't have to worry about it at the end of your vacation!

 

[Kaytie]

even if we do spend more for EBCI.

Somebody stated in this thread or another one, EBCI is cheaper than needing to pay to check a suitcase.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I actually think the worst panic I saw in the boarding area was last April before our trip to WDW. 3 different multi-generational families were at the gate and all seemed to be taking to each other and during that waiting period DH and I overheard one family telling the other two that Grandpa was going to board first because he was a veteran followed by the entire rest of the family (2 adult children plus 2 spouses and 5 little guys between them and also Grandma) in family boarding before the A group. The other two families seemed to have generally the same thought that family boarding was pre boarding. Well, the announcements started with the gate agents describing the family boarding process and all three families were up in arms and went to argue with the gate agents. One entire group hadn't checked in until late because of these assumptions and all had C boarding passes. They were causing a hell of a scene.

In the end, the gate agents held them to 1 adult/child under 6 and the rest of the families boarded where they were supposed to. We were close to some of them on the plane and they shared their displeasure with the FAs who had very little sympathy but honestly even then it worked out. They weren't all in rows together but they were close and the flight from philly to Orlando is relatively short so not too big of a deal.

Veterans get a special boarding priority? I've heard of active duty military members who are actually wearing their uniform, but never just a veteran? Or are you saying that was an assumption that family made that was wrong?

 

[ConnecticutFlea]

We usually fly Southwest or JetBlue. We pay for EBCI on SW.

We flew home to CT from MCO last Saturday. Because the week before Easter was school vacation week in CT combined with a holiday, we expected flights to be expensive. Delta offerered a reasonably priced return flight, so we jumped on that in June. This was long before SW or JB released their flights.

The departure time changed by 5 minutes, but we still had our assigned seats. We checked in 23 hours before the flight. The assigned seats were on the check in screen, but the boarding passes said " seat assigned at gate" I called Delta and after a little over an hour wait I spoke with Damon. He assured me that we still had the assigned seats and he was fixing something and then we could reprint the boarding passes. After more than five minutes on hold, we were disconnected. I went back to the lobby to reprint my passes, and still no assigned seats. I called Delta again and after only 53 minutes I spoke to Justine. (Keep in mind that this was the last day of my Disney vacation, and wasting all this time in the hotel was a great way to spend it....not!) Per Justine, my seats were contested because someone else had booked the same seats. She wasn't sure how that happened, she suspected a travel agent overrode our seats somehow, but since we booked earlier than the other party we should get the seats. She told me to go to the gate desk.

So I went to the gate desk, but there was no one there from Delta till 10 minutes before boarding. The gate attendant told me that we had seats on the plane but would be split up and no aisle seat. I was less than happy. Somehow she worked some magic and it ended up okay. We were together and DH had an aisle seat.

Come to find out, Delta had changed the plane. We were on a small plane with only 20 rows. There were only 4 seats across. (I would not have booked a flight on that size plane had I known) When they changed planes, they put half of those scheduled for the original flight on the plane that had only a five minute departure difference from the original flight. The other half were placed on a small plane which departed 3 hours later. Apparently I was one of the luck ones. The flight was uneventful and the FA were wonderful. They did announce to the first class passengers that this flight was suppose to have a meal, but it wouldn't. They were very generous with the snacks. There was someone with a peanut allergy, so before they boarded they told us no peanuts would be served and asked us to not bring peanuts aboard. The couple next to me threw out their peanut M&Ms. So I was a little surprised to find peanuts all over the floor in my row. It looked like someone had spilled about half a bag on the previous flight. Anyway, I made a mental note to avoid Delta Airlines in the future.

 

[mb187143]

Veterans get a special boarding priority? I've heard of active duty military members who are actually wearing their uniform, but never just a veteran? Or are you saying that was an assumption that family made that was wrong?

I don't know of any airline that extends this perk to veterans. I should have been more clear. This family was wrong in their assumption that based on his status as a veteran that he would get on first with the pre boarders. He did not. They not only were wrong but they shared their assumptions with two other families in the boarding area and it caused a scene when none of these people were getting a perk they thought they were entitled to (even one they only found out about 30 minutes before).

5 minutes of the most basic research could have prevented the whole scene.

 

[n2mm]

Veterans get a special boarding priority? I've heard of active duty military members who are actually wearing their uniform, but never just a veteran? Or are you saying that was an assumption that family made that was wrong?

Also never heard of that. My husband is a veteran and has never gotten priority boarding

 

[mb187143]

Also never heard of that. My husband is a veteran and has never gotten priority boarding

My apologies. That was an example of misinformation that particular family was not only operating under the assumption of, but also spreading as fact at the gate which caused issues later. I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

i need to book a couple of flights (LAX to MSY then to MCO a few days later). Was all set to book the first leg on Delta then prices nearly doubled overnight. The other airline I am considering is Southwest, but am a bit concerned over the boarding process and the risk that the four of us won't get to sit together or even worse, not next to a kid each.

I am aware of the early boarding upgrade, and the flight isn't until 9/30. Is it a risk booking even this far out that we might have trouble sitting together? Don't mind where in the plane just so long as the kids aren't split. They are 8 & 11 so too old for family boarding, but too young to be sitting alone.

Alternative is United via IAH, but wanted to avoid a stopover if possible..

Any help from SW flyers is appreciated

I know you ended up booking with Delta and I'm not sure if it was already mentioned in this thread so apologies if it was but SWA doesn't have early boarding upgrade like I think you are thinking.

EBCI stands for Early Bird Check-In and what it does is assigns your boarding position 36 hrs in advance while those who have not purchased EBCI cannot start checking-in and get their boarding position for the flight until 24 hours in advance.

I've seen it many times where people say Early Boarding because of the EB part but it's not Early Boarding like you might think. You don't get to board early (unless you qualify for pre-board). Sometimes I'm not certain if the person honestly misunderstands or just says early boarding but really means early bird check-in but either way just putting the information out there as usually someone does on these threads.

 

[DisTXMom]

We buy EBCI when we book SWA family flights. Peace of mind is worth the price for me.

I will say one time we were on SWA with EBCI and our connecting flight was late. Not only did they hold the plane for us, but they held us 4 seats together so we could sit with our kids (aged 8 and 9 at the time). I was very concerned I would not get to sit with my kids, so this was a huge relief. Love southwest!!! Book the ebci and move forward

 

[stinkpickle]

I agree. I always purchase EBCI, so I don't have to worry about it.

 

[DaisyJ]

I know you ended up booking with Delta and I'm not sure if it was already mentioned in this thread so apologies if it was but SWA doesn't have early boarding upgrade like I think you are thinking.

EBCI stands for Early Bird Check-In and what it does is assigns your boarding position 36 hrs in advance while those who have not purchased EBCI cannot start checking-in and get their boarding position for the flight until 24 hours in advance.

I've seen it many times where people say Early Boarding because of the EB part but it's not Early Boarding like you might think. You don't get to board early (unless you qualify for pre-board). Sometimes I'm not certain if the person honestly misunderstands or just says early boarding but really means early bird check-in but either way just putting the information out there as usually someone does on these threads.

You can pay at the gate to upgrade your boarding position to A1-15, as there are almost always empty spots. I believe it is $40.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

Considering so many people seem to pay the $15 for the EBCI, I'm surprised SW doesn't just do assigned seats for $15. Anyone who pays the $15 would be A group. The the B & C groups would be filled up at check in by anyone not pre-reserving a seat. SW could either then assign them a seat, or keep the "grab any seat" philosophy and B/C groups could grab remaining seats. The good thing SW has going for them is they run an all B737 fleet. So the only variations is that some planes have just a couple more rows. Last minute plane swaps wouldn't be such a huge deal for them compared to the bigger airlines. How would people who fly SW on a regular basis feel about them switching from EBCI to assigned seats...but for the same price?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

You can pay at the gate to upgrade your boarding position to A1-15, as there are almost always empty spots. I believe it is $40.

Oh I know that......but it's still not an Early Boarding upgrade which is how the OP phrased their post. What you are talking about is upgrading to Business Select boarding positions which yes board first (aside from those who qualify for pre-board)...but not really early in the sense of what it appears the OP was talking about which was Early Bird Check-In.

ETA: apologies if the OP was though indeed talking about Upgraded Boarding which is the Business Select boarding position upgrade (when available) at the gate. Conversation seemed to be centered around EBCI so that's the direction I was taking my thoughts from.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Considering so many people seem to pay the $15 for the EBCI, I'm surprised SW doesn't just do assigned seats for $15. Anyone who pays the $15 would be A group. The the B & C groups would be filled up at check in by anyone not pre-reserving a seat. SW could either then assign them a seat, or keep the "grab any seat" philosophy and B/C groups could grab remaining seats. The good thing SW has going for them is they run an all B737 fleet. So the only variations is that some planes have just a couple more rows. Last minute plane swaps wouldn't be such a huge deal for them compared to the bigger airlines. How would people who fly SW on a regular basis feel about them switching from EBCI to assigned seats...but for the same price?

You're not guaranteed an A though with EBCI. SWA advises you of that. Sure you have a greater chance but not guaranteed.

Honestly I highly doubt it would work unless they switched to what every other airline does where you pick your seats and it's built into the price of the ticket that aspect (not speaking in regards to the newer-ish Basic Fares on certain airlines that do not allow you to select your seat). The way that SWA assigns their boarding positions is complicated. It takes into consideration the fare class booked, when it was booked, if there was EBCI and when that was purchased, if you are an A-lister, has someone cancelled their ticket or changed their flight within the 36 hrs that A-list and EBCI boarding positions are assigned, etc.

It's not really as simple using your scenario as having someone pay $15 just to be in the A group.

**ETA: You would also only have boarding positions A16-A60 unless you got rid of Business Select so that would only leave 44 positions open for people to pay the $15 in your scenario and that would mean that every person in the traveling party would have to pay that $15 in order to sit/choose seats next/near each other so that would mean a lot less traveling parties would get A's which would defeat the purpose when you say so many people are willing to currently pay for EBCI..and then what do you do for the A-listers? Do you give them an assigned seat for free or do you say sorry tough luck you've got to pay just like everyone else?**

 

[NotUrsula]

Considering so many people seem to pay the $15 for the EBCI, I'm surprised SW doesn't just do assigned seats for $15. Anyone who pays the $15 would be A group. The the B & C groups would be filled up at check in by anyone not pre-reserving a seat. SW could either then assign them a seat, or keep the "grab any seat" philosophy and B/C groups could grab remaining seats. The good thing SW has going for them is they run an all B737 fleet. So the only variations is that some planes have just a couple more rows. Last minute plane swaps wouldn't be such a huge deal for them compared to the bigger airlines. How would people who fly SW on a regular basis feel about them switching from EBCI to assigned seats...but for the same price?

Very unlikely to happen, and for one reason: Turnaround time. SWA has the fastest turn time in the US aviation industry at 25 minutes, and the speed of it is directly attributable to the open-seating model. The average US turn time for legacy carriers is one hour. By turning flights faster, SWA can complete more flights per day. Every minute during the operational day that a plane is on the ground, the airline is losing money on it. (Which is also why SWA pilots have a bit of a speed-demon reputation for zipping across taxiways.) Turn time is also the primary reason that SWA has been holding out on charging baggage fees. Not only is it good PR to let people check bags at no extra cost, but it cuts down on the number of carry-on bags that people try to take onboard -- bags that might have to be gate-checked otherwise. Doing gate-check on the jetway is a notoriously slow process. Even with the prospect of the revenue the fees would bring in, SWA has calculated that slowing turnaround times would result in a net loss.

They won't guarantee A-group assignments for $15; they get that now for EBCI. They make a lot more money on the higher fares and greater ticket revenue that they get from Business Select and the A-Listers than they would by selling A-level seat positions.

FWIW, this board is an anomaly with regard to EBCI purchasing. IRL, and on most routes other than those into and out of MCO, EBCI is not hugely popular; the most recent estimate that I've read says that overall, less than 15% of SWA passengers pay the fee. I very frequently fly SWA with my kids, and I don't buy EBCI, even on the MCO route. I've never been separated from my children on SWA, but I have several times had it happen on legacy carriers when a last-minute equipment change vacated all the seat assignments.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

They make a lot more money on the higher fares and greater ticket revenue that they get from Business Select and the A-Listers than they would by selling A-level seat positions.

No joke on the Business Select Fare heck even the Anytime Fare.

The current pricing (which should stay roughly the same until it gets real close to my flight) for my WDW trip is $1,121.95 RT for Business Select and $1,077.96 RT for Anytime Fare. That is for only ONE person.

The Wanna Get Away fare that was booked for one ticket was $371.90 RT but dropped to $297.90 RT and we rebooked for the lower price.

Not including the more points earned and other benefits to the Business Select and Anytime Fares the price difference can be crazy big (unless you are a few weeks out from your flight as SWA can be very pricey then for even the Wanna Get Away Fares).

 

[EveDallas]

Appreciate the feedback. It is an interesting approach they have taken for boarding - one that didn't work for us as we have decided to spend a little more and travel a bit longer to (for now) be able to choose where we sit. They look to cater well for people who don't really mind who they sit next to, and for families with kids 5 & under. There must be a lot of other families like mine who don't want to risk not sitting together and fly elsewhere.

Southwest consistently out earns the legacy airlines so they must be doing something right.