southwest seating confusion

[anna2001]

Hi. I've been reading the posts concerning southwest airlines and I'm still a bit confused...I'm I correct in understanding that after purchasing a fare that seating IS NOT RESERVED and its the first come/first served? Do people get left behind if the flight is overbooked? If this is the case no wondered southwest airlines passengers seemed jumpy.

 

[seashoreCM]

I haven't flown Southwest but I am told they hand out numbered boarding cards in the order people check in.

Some other airlines also tend to bump first the last pax to check in. Usually they also give some priority to those who paid higher fares.

Other Disney hints:
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[aprincessmom]

SWA uses placard boarding passes. They begin handing them out an hour before boarding. You get your number and then when they call the number range, you board. No assigned seat number.

It's really not that bad. I have flown SWA frequently and never been bumped or oversold and have always gotten a seat with my DD...even a few weeks ago when we were the exact last two people on the plane. No trouble getting two together at all.

I have flown others, specifically AA, NW, and USAir, with boarding passes with my seat assignment on them and have had people sitting in my seat (having the same seat assignment) and have been bumped from flights even though I purchased the ticket well in advance and arrived within the stated time on the ticket. The airlines oversold the flights...no other reason.

I don't know what SWA's policy is for overselling but I haven't had that trouble in 3 years since I began flying with them.

 

[milo]

Soutwest doesn't have "assigned seats." Like seashore and anna said, they hand out a plastic boarding pass with a number on it. They then board in groups of 30. 1 thru 30, 31 thru 60, and so forth.

They're like any other airline in that if they overbook, they will look for volunteers to take a bump and compensate them. I found that SW's compensation usually isn't as good as the other airlines though. While the other airlines offer either a round trip ticket or some sort of a pass that will usually get you a round trip ticket, I've only seen SW offer compensation that equals the leg of the trip from which you're getting bumped.

We've flown them 8 times this year and have not had any problems with them being overbooked.

 

[travelcoupons]

I don't care for their seating routine...I arrived 90 minutes early...got in line for 30 minutes, got placard #4. When we boarded the plane was already 60-70% full as the flight had originated in Chicago, so finding four seats together was a challenge...it's just not worth the $2 saved to have that hassle to me.

 

[tiggerlover]

Just a note if you are travelling with a child under the age of 5. No matter what group of numbers you receive upon check-in they will allow people travelling with children under 5 and people who require special assistance to board the plane first regardless of your numbered placard.

 

[travelcoupons]

Originally posted by tiggerlover
Just a note if you are travelling with a child under the age of 5. No matter what group of numbers you receive upon check-in they will allow people travelling with children under 5 and people who require special assistance to board the plane first regardless of your numbered placard.

...which on a flight to Orlando means, just about everyone.

 

[DVC-Don]

The last time we flew out of Orlando SW only let two adults board with the children. Of course those adults would try to save seats for the rest of the party.

 

[skeezixspud]

The only time I have ever seen them offer bumps were when weather delays had caused them to have to try to catch up to get people out as quickly as possible.

 

[inkkognito]

My hubby has flown Southwest for business a couple of times and liked it, but he was not travelling with anyone so he didn't care about finding seats together. For Orlando, I think I would hate it...as a previous poster pointed out, people will small kids make up the majority of the passengers, so by the time the pre-board was over, the plane would be mostly full! I like my pre-assigned seats, and I'm willing to pay a little extra to get them. But really, I don't seem to be paying much extra. We have ATA here in Chicago who offers some great fares, and often the biggies like United and American match them. I have checked out Southwest's website after hearing about some great fares, but they always come up as unavailable, and the available prices are way more than ATA.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[lawgs]

that under 5 rule seems to vary.....

on our last trip to orlando.....they allowed under 5 in buffalo ......

but when the same family tried to get "pre board" in orlando on the way back....they were told it was under 4 ....

so rules seem to vary...

and one of the posters is right....when you have an orlando flight.....half the plane may be full with pre boards by the time they start to take the 1 - 30 , 31- 60 and so on

 

[Alison Wonderland]

when i flew my son was 5 and they wouldn't let me preboard. It really gets me--like it's ok for a 5 year old not to sit with his or her mother. I don't really care if i preboard but to have to scramble and ask people to switch their seats and worry about whether it's going to be a problem--it sucks.

 

[Luv2Roam]

SW almost shoots themselves in the foot with they way they board. It supposedly saves them time/money. But on the other hand, flyers like DH and I use them as a last resort due to not having kids and not being able to get seating preference. So to me, they lose money by boarding the way they do. We fly airlines with assigned seating.
I have never had any trouble flying SW, which is more than I can say for other airlines. But I only fly SW on SHORT flights, or if they are just MUCH cheaper than other flights. And due to this -- I have only flown with SW from Omaha to Midway (Chicago).

 

[gfolchick]

We just flew them for the first time this past week. On our flight going down it was only half full so there was no problem getting a seat. We lined up an hour before flight time, got in the first boarding group. and ended up in the second row. On the return flight it was full. When they made the announcement about preboarding they joked to limit it to just kids and their parents, no grandmas, aunts, uncles, friends, guy you met in line at Disney. He said this is Orlando people, just you and your kid. It was funnier when they said it There were plenty of open seats, we had our choice and ended up with a seat between us too, even though the flight appeared quite full.

 

[seashoreCM]

Does anybody know,

Would a Southwest to Southwest connecting passenger running off his inbound flight and just getting to the gate half an hour before flight time be less likely to be bumped than those beginning their journey at that airport two hours early and already sitting quietly at the gate because they were lucky? to only spend 15 minutes in the security line?

 

[nhrenee]

We are a family of 4 (2 kids, neither under 5), who fly SW out of Manchester, NH. We've never had trouble sitting together. Last trip the kids wanted to beside each other, so dh and I sat across the isle.

BTW: Our last trip cost us $485 for 4 r/t tickets. I think we saved a bit more than $2!

 

[Chuck S]

I only fly SW to Vegas, they are they only nonstop carrier from SAT. On longer flights I fly a carrier with assigned seats, even if it means a layover or plane change. Usually they are $20 to $30 more than SWA,

My most recent experience with SW was in November flying out the Monday before Thanksgiving and home on Thanksgiving Day. Mom & I took the earliest flight to Vegas, it originates in Houston and stops in SAT then Nonstop to Vegas. Usually this flight is easy to find seats, since folks in Houston would have to get up really early to get to the airport. We were advised to be at the airport 2 hours early for security. We were through security in 20 minutes, and then they started lining up for boarding passes 1 1/2 hours prior to flight. Fortunately we near the front of the line. By the time the agent actually began handing out passes, the line was very long. OF course, as soon as most people get their boarding pass, the begin to line up at the gate. It was a full flight going out. Since we were only staying 3 nights we made do with 1 small carry on each, no checked bags!! The baggage handling in Vegas, no matter what airline, is S-L-O-W.

The airport was pretty empty on Thanksgiving for our return flight. We walked right through security. Again, though, folks started lining up 1 1/2 hour prior to boarding for their passes.

I'd probably fly SW more often with assigned seats. It's not like it is a hard thing to do.