Southwest Check-In Procedure

[KBR]

I will be flying to Orlando from Hartford. I checked the Southwest website and found that Bradley has no curbside check-in for SW and recommends that we arrive 1 hour before departure. I have never flown Southwest before and will be travelling with my dad who has difficulty walking. I have many questions. How do I check bags for Southwest? Will Dad need to stand in line while waiting? How/where do we get the boarding passes? Is 1 hour really enough?

If anybody has SW experience at Bradley I'd appreciate your help.

 

[Pluto4President]

I haven't experienced Bardley, but without curbside check in - he will have to be at the coutner with you when you check in a nd get your boarding passes for ID purposes. Maybe there will be chairs where he can sit while your on line. Once you have your boarding passes, proceed to the gate, check in and get a boarding number. One hour doesn't seem like much to me. Especially if they're busy and since your dad has a hard time walking.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Yes, an hour will be enough. Yes, you dad will have to stand or sit in a wheelchair while you both check in your luggage. The counter is right inside the doors, not a difficult walk at all.
The boarding passes are given out at the gate, one hour before departure. However, since your Dad has problems walking, he (and you) will be allowed to preboard. Just let them know this when you pick up the boarding passes. They will put a blue sleeve over the two boarding passes. You both need to be at the counter to pick up the boarding passes (which are numbered from 1-90 and you return them to the gate attendant while boarding.
Hope this helps. I love SWA and use them most of the time when flying to FL.

 

[dcedwards]

We flew SWA a couple weeks ago. They asked for ID at the counter when we checked luggage. They asked for it again when we went through security with our tickets. And, they asked to see it again when we got our boarding numbers at the gate...and once more when we actually went on the plane.

So, be sure to keep your photo ID out with your ticket/boarding pass. Also, at Orlando you will want to ask for a wheelchair (skycab) for your dad at the gate. It is quite a walk to the baggage claim area and if he has difficulty walking this will be a real lifesaver. I think you can just request when you board that they do this in Orlando. They should be there waiting. And, if they aren't it won't take too long to get there. Just remember that they work for tips.

We always fly SWA to Orlando and haven't had any problems. Of course, with a 3 year old we get to preboard so that is nice.

 

[Uncle Mikey]

I just traveled this past week on Southwest. My cousin was on crutches this trip with a ruptured tendon in her ankle. I waited in line at the check in counter and she joined me just before we were called up. At check in I requested transportation for her and they had a sky cap come with a wheel chair. We did have to stop and go through the security checkpoint like normal. They parked us in the preboard area at Southwest. The Southwest gate people came over to us and checked id's and such. Also the person at the check in counter noted on the computer that we would need a wheelchair at the other end. They had the wheelchair ready and waiting right outside the aircraft door. We repeated the same process on the return trip but this time with a golf cart as transportation. The preboarding process was smooth and all the Southwest personnel were very helpful.

 

[KBR]

Thanks to all for your help.

 

[seashoreCM]

I still recommend planning to get to the airport two hours before departure.

I'm not sure whether Hartford is better run than Baltimore but some folks on another forum recently reported long long waits both at the main lobby ticket counter and at the security gates at Baltimore for Southwest Airlines.

When security demands that people get their boarding pass first. that clogs up the lobby ticket counters whereas in the past half the passengers would get their boarding passes at the gate counters after going through security. I am uncertain about whether from time to time the security agent on duty at that moment decides to insist that people actually ahve their boarding passes first.

Other Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

In Hartford, a one hour before flight time arrival is plenty.
Their website advises one hour for Hartford and 2 hours for Baltimore. Hartford is much, much, much smaller than BWI.
http://www.southwestair.com/travel_center/travelAdvisory.html#airport

 

[friskykitten]

I am flying tomorrow with my 7 yo son. I have a picture id, of course, but what kind of identification do I need for him?? Thanks for the help!!

 

[dcedwards]

We always bring a copy of the birth certificate, too. Just to be safe. It never hurts.

 

[lawgs]

with BWI.....we were just there on saturday......the wait to get through security was about 2 hours (this was at 11 am in the morning.....they had a line down the corridor with an agent metering the flow....luckily for us ...we were coming in....

all the "gate boarding areas" had long lines too for "obtaining" the "1-30" etc boarding passes

it looked like a lot of "baltimore" fans were flying out to nashville too....=))

way to go "baltimore" looks good on you "mr fisher"........

so we got back to the airport monday by 11 am for a 2 pm flight.....but the lines going through security were very SHORT....

guess a lot depends on the times are you flying.....