Southwest Preboard Seating Question

[Kitzer]

My daughter will turn five one week before we leave on Disney trip. The preboard is only up to age four. I know I can check in 24 hours in advance to get an 'A' seating assignment. My question is though, how does Southwest know how old my 'shorty' is? Is it indicated by the ticket type? I want to line up in preboard, but not if I'm gonna get turned away and be sent to the back of 'A'. I know this is petty, but if anyone knows the answer, please advise.

 

[goofy4tink]

They will most likely not give you a hard time about preboarding. But, you will have lots of company in the preboard line!! Those with any kind of disability will board first, then kids traveling alone (although them may board first, can't remember), and then those boarding with young kids. And if you get several families who have parties of 5 or 6 that are preboarding before you, then it will make no difference whether or not you have preboarding or Group A passes. If SW enforced the one preboarding child, one adult rule, things would go more smoothly. But, when auntie, uncle, gramps, granny, mom, dad and the four kids all peboard with that one child under 4, well....you can see how it backs up. Flights to MCO always have a ton of preboarders.

Also, before you can 'line up' in the preboard line, I think you may have to go to the gate attendent and get a blue sleeve for your boarding pass...this show that you are entitled to preboard. But, if I'm off base, someone please correct me.

 

[mrsstats]

Just go to the A line. If she is over 4, you are not entitled to pre-board. Get to the airport early, be the first in the A line.

 

[jmpellet]

The blue sleeves are for disabled boarders. People with children simply line up in the pre-board area. The first section of A will be just fine if you don't pre-board.

 

[pamjb]

I have also seen SW suspend pre-boards and lower preboard age to 3. Do yourself a favor, just get the A passes. With those, you won't have any problems sitting together.

 

[goofy4tink]

Thanks for the correction you guys!!!

 

[disneyag]

We frequently fly SWA to MCO and very often they don't even offer pre-boarding for families. Maybe that's because there are so many on a flight to Orlando. Just make sure you get an A pass. Even if you are the last A pass to board, you'll find seats together.

 

[vacation dreamer]

As long as you are in "A" or "B" you will have no problems sitting together as a family.

 

[goofy4tink]

As long as you are in "A" or "B" you will have no problems sitting together as a family.

Absolutely correct. It always amazes me to see people all lined up, for an hour or so, in the A line. I'm sure there are some who want the roomier exit row seats or those first few rows for easy exit at touchdown. But, I have yet to see those in the B line not get seated together.
My favorite preboarding sight was the lady who had an artificial leg. She walked just fine, had no issues. But she got into the preboard line, with her dh. Well, evidently, she and her dh wanted to sit in the exit row. As I was boarding, the attendents were explaining to her that if you preboard, you can't sit in an exit row. The woman said she would have no issues in an emergency helping others out. The FA told her if that was the case she should not have asked to be preboarded and to please vacate the seats. That was one unhappy lady.
I think you would find that if the preboarders, at least those with kids, were asked to go to the rear of the plane you would see less preboarding. I have seen family groups spread out over 3 rows, with a jacket in that middle seat. They try to save that seat and keep it empty so as to have more room. Imagine what happens when the passengers in the C group get on and go to sit in those middle seats!!! I have seen some pretty frantic scrambling around and readjusting of families at that point. And they always go for those front rows.
But, I do think that anyone that has a medical issue or a child flying alone should be up front. So, go ahead, jump all over me. But that's my thought. I know otherw will disagree...they have in the past.

 

[pamjb]

goofy4tink,

I agree with you totally. I don't mind sitting in the back of the plane. I find it arrives in Florida at very nearly the same time as the front.
Yes, we do have to wait a little longer to get out, but that's ok, but noth much. Then we don't have to cram into the monorail to get to the terminal in MCO. As one of the gate agents told me the first time we flew SW (we didn't know why people were lining up, sitting on the floor in Philly over an hour before the flight) "It is the herd mentality"

 

[pezpam]

I used to be one of those people sitting in the A line an hour ahead of time. At 5, DD was terrified that we'd be separated and frankly, it was an easy way to avoid a problem. Luckily, that fear didn't last long once she saw the actual setup.

After flying Southwest for quite a few years now, I'll say that as long as we're in either the A or B group, we always get seats together. Even if you're the last 2 people on board, the flight attendants will do their best to seat you together. To be blunt (but nice, I am a mom and have BTDT), few people want to babysit someone else's 5 year old on a plane ride, so someone will either volunteer to move or will move when asked politely.

 

[CarolA]

Well, then there was the time the DL agent leaned over and ASKED the kid how old she was... BUSTED!

Remember they ANNOUNCE the ages, your child will hear them. Your child KNOWS Mommy is lying....

 

[Jestocost]

As one of the gate agents told me the first time we flew SW (we didn't know why people were lining up, sitting on the floor in Philly over an hour before the flight) "It is the herd mentality"

I firmly believe that if you got your family to line up facing a blank wall pretty soon you would have a long line behind you. I just can't get my family to help me test out this theory.

 

[pamjb]

I firmly believe that if you got your family to line up facing a blank wall pretty soon you would have a long line behind you. I just can't get my family to help me test out this theory.

 

[tlinus]

I firmly believe that if you got your family to line up facing a blank wall pretty soon you would have a long line behind you. I just can't get my family to help me test out this theory.

Sad but True!!

 

[vacation dreamer]

To be honest I never (for myself) understood the boarding first with young children because that just meant sitting with them for an extra 1/2 hour on the plane while everyone else boarded. Southwest would never allow a young child to sit by themselves. We were in "C" one time a few years ago and by the time we got on someone had told the FA a family with young children was coming on and they had seats waiting for us.

Usually you will see me and my family sitting on the floor in the "A" line because there are no seats open in the waiting area. I'm one of those people who also gets to the airport minutes before the one hour mark!!

 

[SonicGuy]

We have two disabled children (both in wheelchairs) that we travel with, so preboarding is a NECESSITY for us. We NEVER fly Southwest because of that "herd mentality". It absolutely amazes me the reactions and looks we have received on Southwest (from passengers) when we preboard. It also drives me nuts when I see some of the people who think they fall into the preboard category. If they preboarded all families with small children on a flight to Orlando, there probably would not be a "C" boarding pass. Fortunately we live near a major airport and competition make flying to Orlando affordable pretty much at any time.

 

[vacation dreamer]

We have two disabled children (both in wheelchairs) that we travel with, so preboarding is a NECESSITY for us. We NEVER fly Southwest because of that "herd mentality". It absolutely amazes me the reactions and looks we have received on Southwest (from passengers) when we preboard. It also drives me nuts when I see some of the people who think they fall into the preboard category. If they preboarded all families with small children on a flight to Orlando, there probably would not be a "C" boarding pass. Fortunately we live near a major airport and competition make flying to Orlando affordable pretty much at any time.

Yes, with any person in a wheelchair they DO need to board first so no one is in their way.

Because of the privacy laws anyone can say they are disabled, since you no longer need a medical note.

So people looking is only on Southwest? I work with special needs children/adults and we get looked at EVERYWHERE we go. I love when someone ask me where I got my neat stroller but it is a Kid Kart not stroller!!

A lot of people don't like the "A" "B" "C" boarding but I feel it is the same as being called rows 22-30 and so on and everyone standing around to hurry and board.

 

[SuperLlama!]

We flew on Southwest for the first time on the trip we just took. Leaving Philadelphia, there were seriously MORE people who were pre-boarding than in the entire A group (and some of B). Seriously. It was absolutely ridiculous. There were two older women in wheel chairs, a little boy in a wheel chair, and the rest were families with children -- the SW guy said all families with children under 5 were entitled to preboard, and boy oh boy did families take advantage of that -- right down to extended families. It was nuts.

On the return flight, it was the same thing, just not as many.

It really soured me on Southwest. I am all for those with disabilities boarding first, that is how it should be, but the kids under 5 and their entire extended families, nah, that is just annoying.

 

[goofy4tink]

We flew on Southwest for the first time on the trip we just took. Leaving Philadelphia, there were seriously MORE people who were pre-boarding than in the entire A group (and some of B). Seriously. It was absolutely ridiculous. There were two older women in wheel chairs, a little boy in a wheel chair, and the rest were families with children -- the SW guy said all families with children under 5 were entitled to preboard, and boy oh boy did families take advantage of that -- right down to extended families. It was nuts.

On the return flight, it was the same thing, just not as many.

It really soured me on Southwest. I am all for those with disabilities boarding first, that is how it should be, but the kids under 5 and their entire extended families, nah, that is just annoying.

And that is my only gripe with SW. I understand wanting to be seated with your child..I have a child I have been flying with since she was 4, now 13. And I'll even go so far as to say that dad can board with mom and the young child. But.....only mom and dad and the kids, not the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nanny. I have seen groups of 9 or so board together in the preboarding area, not one attendent said a word. I was 8th in the A line and my dd and I had to sit 5 rows behind the wing before we could find two seats together. It's not that I mind sitting behind the wing, I don't. I do tend to get a bit claustrophobic if I sit too far back, but hey, it's SW. I know I'm taking my chances. It's just the principle I guess.