Southwest experts?

[Allison]

I have never seen SW save seats for families for this purpose. I've been on more than 50 SW flights this year alone, and have never seen them do this. Not sure where you're flying from but it's not their procedure normally. And while an journey be enough from a regional airport, it would not be from many airports in the US, especially if bags are being checked.

Add me to the list of someone who has flown a lot on Southwest and there has never been seats saved for families. Not once.

I have also never seen a recommendation to only arrive at the airport an hour before your flight.

 

[basketlacey]

I am a huge SW fan and it is by far my choice of airline when I can get it for a good price. There are five of us but my kids are older now (10, 13, 16). With our family dynamic, I don't think an hour layover would scare me as we could run to the gate if necessary. With your 4 young kids and the need to wait for a stroller, I'd consider a different flight with a longer layover.

FWIW, I strongly expect if you check in right at the 24 hour mark, you'd likely get to sit together if you head towards the back of the plane. If you want a guarantee, pay for the early bird for each of you, that's why they have it. It's still likely cheaper than paying for luggage fees on another airline.

 

[ForMyBoys]

I'm a 1K on United Airlines, so I have plenty of experience flying and a lot of what you have posted is not good advice. You appear to have been lucky with your flights; just one unexpected event, such as weather, a crew timing out, mechanical problem, computer issues, etc., and that one hour connection is going to seem like a very bad idea.

What if the originating flight is late? A one hour layover doesn't mean you have an hour to transfer to the new flight. You have to taxi to the gate, possibly wait for a gate to open, wait to get off the plane, wait to have a stroller delivered, wrangle 4 kids, etc. By the time you're ready to make your way to the new gate, it could be 20 minutes or more since you landed, assuming the originating flight is on time. Southwest doesn't exactly have a stellar record here.

You are mistaken about a recommendation to arrive at the airport only one hour before departure time. That would be a big mistake if you're checking luggage. Southwest recommends arriving at least 90-120 minutes before a domestic flight at most U.S. Airports:

https://www.southwest.com/html/air/airport-information.html

I have flown Southwest since the 1970s (although very rarely these days) and I have never, ever seen seats saved for families.

So I don' think my advice is bad. I would book the flight she is considering in a heart beat. I do stand corrected on the recommended flight time, I see some domestic arrival times are suggested at 60 min, some at 90. Our city has a 90 min suggestion and I've never gotten there more than 60 min early and have always been fine. Anytime you book a connecting flight you have the worry that one or the other leg will be delayed, the more connections, the more risk. I assume OP know that, but assuming no delays one hour shouldn't be an issue for a connecting time.

Maybe I have been lucky but given how much I've flown on SW I doubt its luck. We've only been delayed twice on all 11 family trips, both times on the way home so it wasn't an issue. I also fly alone for work, that's mostly international so I'm not taking SW, but when we have domestic stuff SW is my airline of choice, not only because they have the most direct flights out of Milwaukee, but because I've had the least amount of issues w/ them than any other airline.

I have also seen them save the back two rows for families on MULTIPLE occasions. I don't have a reason for making this up so I'm not sure why it is being questioned.

 

[DebbieB]

On a SW flight about a year ago, I was sitting in the back and the flight attendent in the front make an announcement twice to the flight attendent in the back to hold a row for a family with a young child.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

......

I have also seen them save the back two rows for families on MULTIPLE occasions. I don't have a reason for making this up so I'm not sure why it is being questioned.

I don't doubt that you have seen this, however you stated that this is a regular thing on Southwest when it definitely is not.

Everyone has to book connections they are comfortable with. The more you fly, the more you realize just how many things can go wrong with short connections. Flying on my own, I would accept the shortest connection allowed. Flying with four children, I would try my best to fly non-stop on an airline with assigned seating! Fewer worries all around.

 

[ForMyBoys]

I don't doubt that you have seen this, however you stated that this is a regular thing on Southwest when it definitely is not.

Everyone has to book connections they are comfortable with. The more you fly, the more you realize just how many things can go wrong with short connections. Flying on my own, I would accept the shortest connection allowed. Flying with four children, I would try my best to fly non-stop on an airline with assigned seating! Fewer worries all around.

Yes, I did say they routinely save rows for families because I've noticed them saving the back two rows on almost every flight I've been on. We actually fly SW to Orlando tomorrow so I will take a look. Sometimes people don't realize that this is what the stewardesses are doing, but we sit towards the back so have heard the stewardesses directing people out of the back two rows and indicate that they save them until the last of the passengers have boarded in case families board w/ young children and need to be placed together.

I will also say, we have purchased tickets together on other airlines and somehow when chcking in our seats ended up apart and it was a huge hassle to get seated together (at least two occasions this happened on). So maybe we just have bad luck there but I find it way easier to find seats together on SW and enjoy their seating method.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Stewardesses? Do you mean flight attendants?

 

[jtowntoflorida]

OP, I'm going to ignore the arguing in this post and give you our experience. We live in the Twin Cities and fly regularly. We choose Southwest when the prices make sense, and we're flying to Orlando on Southwest in October.

I don't post very often, but I just cannot decide if this the best flight. We fly often, but have never flown Southwest. (The boarding procedure has always made me never even consider them.) But the price is so good for our family of six! Looking for some great advice from all you experts! The flight is from Minneapolis to Orlando, with a one hour layover in Atlanta, changing planes. These are my concerns:
1. Boarding. I realize we probably won't be able to all sit together. We have two 10-year-olds and two 3-year-old. What is my best option? The early bird thing? I am afraid the family boarding will not help us because the 10-year-olds wouldn't be included? I am not comfortable leaving them in line to board after us. And if we do the early bird thing, will that even help us with our connecting flight that we may not get to very early? Especially if it is a continuing flight with people already onboard.

The premise that you won't be able to sit together is wholly false. I would highly recommend Early Bird Checkin...they check you in automatically and even if you don't get in the A group, you'll be early enough in boarding to be able to sit together. Typically, it's late Bs and Cs that can't find seats together. If you wind up in the B group, you'll be near the rear of the plane but still together. Early Bird is a must for us on our return leg, at least...I don't want to be watching the clock on vacation and checking in right at 24 hours.

As for MSP...the Southwest gate agents there are the best I've ever encountered. We've had several times where they've called our kids up to "assist" with boarding the plane. The last time my kids flew with my husband, which was in May, my daughter was actually invited into the cockpit by the copilot and got to sit up there while the plane boarded. I can say with 99% confidence that they will let your entire family board together at MSP, regardless of official rules on family boarding. They simply don't do it any other way. You have two parents, two toddlers, and two young kids. Boarding together as a family in this situation isn't abusive and I can't imagine the Southwest agents at MSP suddenly being jerks about it for you guys.

Now, Orlando is a different story...so another reason why I'd make sure to get Early Bird, particularly on the way home. Almost everyone boarding the plane is going to be a family with young kids, so you'll want to do everything you can to board early so you can board and sit together.

2. One hour layover in Atlanta. Doable? With four kids, a few carry-ons, and a gate checked double stroller?
Thanks for any help!

For us it would be doable, but we also fly frequently, only have two kids, both of whom also fly fairly frequently, and don't gate check anything. Can you find a flight that has a 90 minute layover instead?

 

[ForMyBoys]

OP I apologize for the psuedo arguing. I'm not sure that I've ever "gotten into it" with anyone on this board. I guess its just hard for me not to reply when someone is saying, "nope, you're wrong", when your experience has been otherwise. Anyway... it was meant to be helpful advice..nothing more. Whatever you choose, enjoy your trip

 

[Winnie23]

So, I think we are gonna give it a try and book it, hoping everything falls into place and we don't regret it. It is actually only me overthinking it, my husband thinks it will be fine. I appreciate all of your responses, they have truly helped with our decision making.

We have made 12+ trips to Disney World with 2-4 kids, always picked our seats, always had direct flights. Traveling with young kids, whatever would be easiest and least stressful is what we would usually do. But...now that we are six and not four, trips to Disney are a little more challenging financially so we have to give this flight a try.

You all have made me feel much better about the seating issue! Will check in at the 24 hour mark and hope for an A position, otherwise family boarding. We may do early bird for flight home as someone suggested.

As far as the one hour layover...still worried about that. I will just cross my fingers for no delays and hope for no Minnesota snowstorms!