southwest question

[buzz2400]

I never flew southwest because I prefer to have assigned seats. My question is I want to be able to sit with my 14 ds. we don't care where we sit as long as we are together. has anyone ever had a problem where they were not able to sit with their party?

 

[CarolA]

If you get there early it should not be a problem. However, there are no gurantees.

 

[inkkognito]

You can virtually ensure that you will sit together if you:

A) Check in right after midnight to get an A pass
B) Get to the airport early and be one of the first in the A line

In that case, the only thing that can hose you is if the pre-board is unusually huge (happens sometimes in Orlando).

Barb

 

[Avalanche]

With Southwest it is pretty much a cattle call for boarding. You are assigned to a group A, B or C. A's are parents with children under ten and the disabled. A's are boarded first. After they find seats, B's are boarded, after they find seats C's are boarded. The first to check in and print boarding passes are assigned the B's. You are allowed to check in online at 12:01 am the day of your flight.

We flew Southwest once to Florida and we were B's and my DH, DS (12 at the time) and I did not sit together because there were so many people with children under 10 that boarded before us.

We have flown Air Tran the last two times and really like them. You can check in online the day before your flight and on the day of your flight you can upgrade to business class for $35. a person if available. We have done this both times and it's great.

 

[inkkognito]

That information is incorrect. A is the people who get A passes by checking in early; then it goes to B and C. There is a separate pre-board that is not lettered, but it is for the disabled and parents with children 4 and under and unaccompanied minors. If SW pre-boarded 10 and under to/from Orlando, the plane would be full by the time they got to the lettered boarders.
Barb

 

[Connor' Dad]

Barb,


We our son is 3. Does this mean that I do not need to get up at 12:01 to print out passes since we will be allowed to board in the first group?

TIA

 

[inkkognito]

Probably not, depending on the number of people in your party. They will allow at least one person to board with the child; sometimes more, but if it's a large pre-board, sometimes they are very strict. I've also seen people here mention that they occasionally don't let kids pre-board Orlando flights, but personally I've never seen that happen and I fly SW a LOT.
Barb

 

[Zoesmama03]

I been on many SW flights and always seen preboarding.


I plan to get my pass online at 12:01 am anyway even though I should get to preboard with dd who is 2. I'm traveling alone and will have to install her carseat so i wanna get on first group if possible so I can get it done.

 

[kilee]

I've seen over 1/2 the plane get filled up w/ preboarders. Pre-boarding is probably one of the biggest issue's w/ SW. Mostly because they are truly inconsistent w/ the policy.

If you absoultely must sit w/ your 14yr old, then I would not chose SW. That would be the day that you wouldn't get seats together. There could be so many things that could go wrong to prevent you from printing that A pass at home. Also, there are only a number of allotted A passes that can be printed from home.

 

[ntburns22]

Great thread for me I just booked SW for our trip in October. If preboard is for only 4 and under would I be able to bring my 5 year old too. Or would we have to split up our party and have DH wait with her. Any thoughts would be great. This is my first time flying with kids.