Southwest Questions

[chloelovesdisney]

So we didn't realize when we planned our trip that we were traveling during the busy Jersey Week which apparently hiked up the local tickets to Orlando to around double what we usually pay. I didn't want to fly Southwest since it will require a transfer in Atlanta and I much prefer nonstop but since we had enough points for two free round trip tickets we got the two free tickets and paid for three. The overall price is still much, much better.

We have never flown Southwest before, I see that you can't chose your seats. Any tips for dealing with that? Our party will include a 2 year old and my mother in a wheelchair; it looks like at least each of them can pre-board with one person to assist them, is that accurate?

Since we will be transferring I am concerned about our checked luggage. Anyone have experience with Southwest, transferring and checked luggage? I am going to bring a carry on with at least one change of clothes, bathing suit, necessary toiletries, etc., for everyone in case our bags get delayed.

Also, my son has an Evenflo car seat. Does anyone know if that will fit in their seat? Is there a better more portable travel toddler seat I could use instead? Up until now he has flown on my lap.

Sorry for all of the questions, I have never flown without seats chosen ahead of time before and also am not used to having to change planes. I flew three times to Orlando in 2012/early 2013 and the prices have skyrocketed plus we are just traveling at a very bad time.

Now I know to check for Jersey Week ahead of time.

Thank you!

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I love southwest! I think they have the friendliest staff It can be stressful for groups that have never done it before with their unassigned seating policy.

About changing planes-unless you're connection is very very close (which likely sw wouldn't have let you book) your luggage should be fine. There's a chance on any trip but sw doesn't lose luggage anymore than other airlines.

Your mother can pre-board with one person ahead of regular boarding. The other can board with the child during family boarding between (A-B groups). I'd say the most stress-free thing to do would be to buy early bird check-in ($12.50 each way) for the adult boarding with the child. This way you'll likely get an A number boarding the plane in the first group and sitting with your whole group together.

I would also speak to the gate agent. With two adults and one infant and another adult requiring a wheelchair they may let you all pre-board. While it's not strictly policy, it's not like you have five adults or older children trying to pre-board. It's worth the ask.

I can't answer about the car seat but the seats are 17" wide on SW. The website may have dimensions for car seats that fit. Hopefully another me never had car seat experience.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Thank you, I really appreciate it. That is hugely helpful!

 

[frozenheart]

I can't really speak for any of your other questions except for the luggage.

I only fly Southwest usually and have experienced my luggage being lost once while flying to Wichita to visit my sister. The flight that I take there is usually a connecting flight to Dallas so for whatever reason my luggage was never taken off the plane when I arrived in Wichita.

They ended up finding it and it just came back on the next plane to Wichita, but it was very inconvenient. I wish I had brought extra clothes and such on my carry-on but I didn't.

Now since that's happened to me the one time I freak out a little bit more while I fly but I thought Southwest handled it well.

 

[monagh10]

The Evenflo car seat probably will not fit, they are usually in the 18-19 inch wide range. We flew earlier this year and bought a cheap Cosco convertible car seat for our 2 year old since our Graco would not fit.

http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-Scenera-Convertible-Car-Seat-Renaissance/16932760

If you don't need a car seat once you get to Orlando you could get a CARES harness

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I can't really speak for any of your other questions except for the luggage.

I only fly Southwest usually and have experienced my luggage being lost once while flying to Wichita to visit my sister. The flight that I take there is usually a connecting flight to Dallas so for whatever reason my luggage was never taken off the plane when I arrived in Wichita.

They ended up finding it and it just came back on the next plane to Wichita, but it was very inconvenient. I wish I had brought extra clothes and such on my carry-on but I didn't.

Now since that's happened to me the one time I freak out a little bit more while I fly but I thought Southwest handled it well.

Sorry that happened, I will definitely be sure to bring a carry on with enough for everyone to get through the first 24 hours in case our bags are delayed.

The Evenflo car seat probably will not fit, they are usually in the 18-19 inch wide range. We flew earlier this year and bought a cheap Cosco convertible car seat for our 2 year old since our Graco would not fit.

http://mobile.walmart.com/ip/Cosco-Scenera-Convertible-Car-Seat-Renaissance/16932760

If you don't need a car seat once you get to Orlando you could get a CARES harness

I will look into the CARES harness, thanks for the tip. We will not be able to use the seat on the Magical Express or WDW buses and that's all we'll be using. It's only for the flight so I would prefer something easier to carry.

 

[tjmw2727]

I have had my bags "lost" a few times on connecting flight as well as direct flights but never (so far!) on SWA. It isn't something I worry about as we pack our essentials in a carry on. Every time our bags have been delivered to our hotel or home within 24 hours.

We fly SWA a lot and I like them - no change fees, no carry on or checked bag fees and I actually like choosing my own seat when entering the aircraft.

If you don't need a car seat at the destination and you think your child can will sit comfortably in the airline seat with a lap belt then you could consider not bringing one. Alternately you could purchase or rent the cares harness or look into a smaller seat like a cosco senera or the equivalent, it is a nice investment for grandparents etc.

 

[ParkHopperFan]

We fly Southwest frequently because we have the Southwest Visa and get the points. We rarely have an issue. They seem to run a pretty tight ship and are fairly efficient and on time unless weather becomes a factor.

Your plan to carry some clothes and swim suits in your carry on is a fantastic idea.

I do believe that Southwest will make you check the car seat. You can try to get it on board but the gate agent may tag it and then have it stowed underneath the same way they do for strollers and such.

 

[DebbieB]

If the car seat has an FAA approved sticker, you can bring it on the plane and install it. I agree if you are not using it in Florida, I wouldn't bring it. A Cares harness is a good idea.

 

[nhmommy]

I don't use a carseat when we fly it makes it easier to switch seats when my boys get antsy. I have flown many times with small children and flown with my patents as well all on southwest and we always board as a group 4 adults 1 pregnant and 1 child, 4 adults and 2 children,2 adults and 2 children, and we will be traveling with 4 adults and 3 children the end of this month. It is easy to get seats all together we like to sit right behind the wing it is really loud there and it makes it harder for everyone to hear the children if they get loud. I have never had a problem with southwest getting my bags to me I would cary as little as possible if you are doing a flight change it makes life so much easier when you are already dealing with small child and a wheel chair to not have carseat, caryon bags,purse,backpack exc. to carry too. Check your Creditcard agreement you may have free automatic travel instance that will replace luggage if it is lost over a certain number of hours. Are you using the magic express? if you are you might not see your luggage for several hours after arrival so be sure to keep your stroller and such with you.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

not asked about but I would have at least 2 changes of clothes for everyone in the carry on. in case you need one on the plane. nothing worse than having 2 year old diaper blow out or worse and no change for the adult involved. then you still have one for next morning. also I would place clothes for everyone in each checked bag. that way no one is out of clothes if one case does not make it

 

[DopeyDame]

I do believe that Southwest will make you check the car seat. You can try to get it on board but the gate agent may tag it and then have it stowed underneath the same way they do for strollers and such.

Absolutely not true. All airlines will allow you to use a carseat on board as long as it is approved for air travel (almost all are). Just be prepared to show the sticker on the seat to the flight attendant. I've only had them ask about 25% of the time, but it's good to know where it is in advance.

The evenflo should fit fine. We've used our britax roundabout several times without a problem. I actually saw someone in front of us recently using the britax frontier! Car seats are usually wider higher up, so you can't really compare the carseat width to the airplane seat width.
Like people said, though, since you're just using the carseat for the airplane, it's certainly worth checking out the CARES harness. If you have a friend you can borrow it from, even better!

As for sitting together, as PPs have said, your mom can board in advance, and if it's just the 4 of you, I'm guessing they'll let your whole party board with her. If not, the remaining adult and child will be able to board between A and B. If grandmom and the first adult sit in the back, there's probably a good chance you'll still all be together. And while saving seats isn't allowed, if grandma throws a bag on a seat in the back of the plane, I can't imagine someone in the A group will ask her to move it.

 

[kamik86]

Absolutely not true. All airlines will allow you to use a carseat on board as long as it is approved for air travel (almost all are). Just be prepared to show the sticker on the seat to the flight attendant. I've only had them ask about 25% of the time, but it's good to know where it is in advance.

The evenflo should fit fine. We've used our britax roundabout several times without a problem. I actually saw someone in front of us recently using the britax frontier! Car seats are usually wider higher up, so you can't really compare the carseat width to the airplane seat width.
Like people said, though, since you're just using the carseat for the airplane, it's certainly worth checking out the CARES harness. If you have a friend you can borrow it from, even better!

As for sitting together, as PPs have said, your mom can board in advance, and if it's just the 4 of you, I'm guessing they'll let your whole party board with her. If not, the remaining adult and child will be able to board between A and B. If grandmom and the first adult sit in the back, there's probably a good chance you'll still all be together. And while saving seats isn't allowed, if grandma throws a bag on a seat in the back of the plane, I can't imagine someone in the A group will ask her to move it.

Just a note, in all my flights on SW (This is many in the last two years) all the preboarders are right at the front of the plane. I always thought they made all the preboarders sit up front.

However there are only four of you and two people preboarded. 1 person would sit between the two preboarders and the other across the asile... It shouldn't be hard to save those last few seats through the A group.


However just in case your connection is close... Sometimes SW gives tight connections. Luggage still makes it but sometimes your other plane is already boarding when you land. I have on multiple occasions come up to the boarding area and either been just past my spot in line or had to quickly get into my spot to walk on. Once the whole plane was boarded and they were just waiting for us late connectors. All these times I was a healthy person in my 20s flying alone with at most a backpack and small carryon. I would imagine four people with a small child and a wheelchair will move more slowly so this increases the odds of this happening.

If that happens there is still a chance you could end up scattered. Now the young child in a car seat has to be by a window and has to have a guardian with them per regulation. However the other 2 people could end up anywhere else on the plane.

 

[aribelle]

Just a note, in all my flights on SW (This is many in the last two years) all the preboarders are right at the front of the plane. I always thought they made all the preboarders sit up front.

This is not correct....the ONLY restrictions to seats for pre-boarders is they can NOT sit in the exit rows.

Now...most of the time those in wheelchairs are in them for mobility issues and therefore they prefer to take a seat up front because walking down those skinny aisles is not easy if you're not steady on your feet...but it is not REQUIRED that they sit near the front.

My family always preboard and usually head for row 7....don't ask me why, it's just the row my kids always seem to choose, lol. But, the ONLY "off limit" seats for us are the exit rows. When row 7 has not been available, we just keep going and choose an open (non exit) row.

Also, the person in the wheelchair gets to preboard (along with one other person), meaning they go on the plane before the "A" group........but the child and one adult boards after all the folks with an A boarding pass (unless they have an A pass of course). This is called "Family Boarding".

It sounds like in OPs case that will leave one adult waiting in line....obviously you'll want that person to be the one with the best boarding pass number. But....have that person "hang out" with the wheelchair or baby before getting in line themselves....it's not unusual for the gate attendant to just let the extra person come on along. I am only supposed to have one of my teenagers accompany me on preboard....but I'd say 75% of the time the gate lets my other teenager come along too. They aren't required to, and we NEVER ask, we just all hang out together until they call me up and then one of them starts to walk away, and gets called back, lol.




Buying the Early Bird does NOT guarantee you will get an A boarding pass. Because of it's low cost and increasing popularity, they often have more EB than they have A seats left (Business Fare and AList get first dibs), so some EB may end up in B. All that EB does is Southwest will check you in at 36 hours before your flight....so you are checked in 12 hours before non-EB are eligible. However, passengers who have earned the A-List Preferred or purchased the Business Fare....they also get automatically checked in 36 hours ahead AND before the EB get checked in. So it goes Business Fare (who are guaranteed A1 thru A15 boarding), A-List (who start at A16 and go in order of booking), then it's EB (and they are filled in based on when you purchased EB, NOT when you purchased your ticket) and then at 24 hours everyone else. Reports lately have been that a lot of EB are still getting high A's (meaning further down the line) and many even B's. It's popularity has a lot of people in that que.

MOST of the time, however, A1 thru 15 are NOT all sold....doesn't mean they give out those boarding numbers to EB or even to 24 hour checkin, in fact they now sell any unsold A1-15 boarding passes at the airport for $40. But...what it does mean is that if you are A16 for instance, there may not be 15 people in front of you.



One caveat to all the information OP has rec'd about the car seat....you are ONLY allowed to use a car seat if you bought a ticket for the baby.....under 2aren't required to pay for a seat, and if you chose the "infants fly free", then baby does not have a seat in which to put a car seat. Now...that said, I have seen flight attendants willing to give any empty seats to the baby and car seat, but that's a courtesy, not a guarantee. If you want the baby to have a seat you really want to buy it to be sure. Southwest's policy.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

.......

We fly SWA a lot and I like them - no change fees, no carry on or checked bag fees and I actually like choosing my own seat when entering the aircraft.

Southwest does have checked bag fees; it's $75.00 for bag three and greater and a fee of $75.00 for oversized bags.

I like choosing my seat before I enter the aircraft,

 

[chloelovesdisney]

OP update - My friend gave me a Cares Harness so I will use that onboard instead of bringing the carseat (since I won't be using it in Florida).

I have a follow up question regarding the EBCI, if purchased does that cover both the first flight and the connecting flight or does that have to be purchased for each portion of the flight each way? We have to change planes in Atlanta going and I think somewhere in Missouri coming back from Orlando. For $25 round trip I think we will do it for the 4th adult but for $50 extra he can take a chance on sitting alone, lol.

Also, if we plan to check in 24 hours ahead, does that give us a boarding pass for each leg of the trip at that time? Do we check in exactly 24 hours ahead of the flight or is it at midnight?

Sorry, I just don't want to log in to check in at the wrong time and totally mess up our chances at a better boarding time.

Do we need to print our boarding passes ahead of arrival or can we do it at the airport?

Thank you!

 

[tjmw2727]

Yes - EBCI includes connecting flights, it covers each leg.

So you would be checked in at T36 for both flights of your outbound flight for the 12.50 fee.

You can then go online at T24 (24 hours prior not at midnight) to print your boarding passes if you like and both will be available, or you can wait until you get to the airport and do it when you check in, check bags etc.

If you don't purchase EBCI you can then check in at T24 (24 hours prior not midnight) and again receive boarding passes and assignments for both flights, originating and connection.

Repeat for the return flight home !

 

[DebbieB]

When we were on final approach yesterday to Pittsburgh, a flight attendant yelled out over the speaker to please hold your child in your lap. I don't know what was going on but I assume someone's child was either standing up or on the floor. They were behind me because then I heard a little girl crying and yelling "no".

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Yes - EBCI includes connecting flights, it covers each leg.

So you would be checked in at T36 for both flights of your outbound flight for the 12.50 fee.

You can then go online at T24 (24 hours prior not at midnight) to print your boarding passes if you like and both will be available, or you can wait until you get to the airport and do it when you check in, check bags etc.

If you don't purchase EBCI you can then check in at T24 (24 hours prior not midnight) and again receive boarding passes and assignments for both flights, originating and connection.

Repeat for the return flight home !

Great, thank you!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

When we were on final approach yesterday to Pittsburgh, a flight attendant yelled out over the speaker to please hold your child in your lap. I don't know what was going on but I assume someone's child was either standing up or on the floor. They were behind me because then I heard a little girl crying and yelling "no".

It's hard for little ones to sit for so long, I am bringing many activities and snacks to hopefully keep ds interested and quiet. He has slept on the previous six flights he has been on but he's a little older now so I'm not sure if I can count on that anymore. The motion seemed to make him sleepy so I'm hoping that will happen this time also.