Southwest to have assigned seating

[FreeTime]

Yeah, I feel like this rumor has been swirling around since the beginning of the year. I actually thought I read the official announcement somewhere a couple months ago?

the announcement a few months ago was that changes were on the way. Lots of speculation at that time that this was the change

 

[FreeTime]

I’m sorry if it appeared to you that I was bragging. I was just raising my hand to say I save seats for my family on Southwest and had no idea there was this group of people who see this as a huge crime against humanity.
My replies back to people are just me defending myself against being called names and told I shouldn’t go on vacations with my family.

The comments about not vacationing stem from the idea that others who want to sit by their families save longer or find other transportation. Disney is an expensive vacation. If $200 to sit by your family is a stretch then you might want to evaluate when then best time is for you to travel. Also, many people are buying EBCI for everyone in their family or themselves. Paying to pick any AVAILABLE (doesn’t imply unsaved) seat and then finding rows and rows are saved is frustrating. I pay for it as I desire a seat in a certain area. If they aren’t available because of seat savers I have no problem saying, “good morning. I’m going to sit here.” Then dropping my small item in the seat while putting my overhead in.

On the SW site they don’t guarantee that no one will take the seat next to you when you have purchased two seats until the placard is placed there. If people purchasing two seats can’t save their seat with a verbal why would someone who personally has no right to the seat(s) next to them with a verbal?

This is no different than holding a spot in line or taking a table in a crowded place before you have your food.

 

[yellowfish78]

I posted this in the other thread but we just got boardings A59, A60, B1 and B2 for our family of four, with kids 9 and 14. As of now, it's $160 to upgrade to A1-15 which is starting to look really worth it on this "only one nonstop flight on this day to MCO" to get half my family to board before half the plane does between A and B.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I posted this in the other thread but we just got boardings A59, A60, B1 and B2 for our family of four, with kids 9 and 14. As of now, it's $160 to upgrade to A1-15 which is starting to look really worth it on this "only one nonstop flight on this day to MCO" to get half my family to board before half the plane does between A and B.

I actually started buying Business Select tickets for nonstop MCO flights as the price difference isn't that much between Business and Anytime and plus I want to ensure that I get overhead space. Every to/from MCO flight I've taken recently have been 100% full so people in later boarding positions have been forced to check their bags.

To preface it's just myself flying so if I had a family I would absolutely not do this for 3 additional people.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Flight attendants won’t say anything and most passengers are not going to confront you or even give you a sideways glance.

Most people are sensible and realize that it’s best to let it go. People generally avoid creating tension with others when they know they’re going to be sitting near them for hours in a tube in the sky. That doesn’t mean people won’t think it’s rude to save seats though. Most just grumble internally.

So now you know.

Yes this exactly. I hate when I have a good boarding position but between seat savers and preboards and even preboard seat savers you have to go farther back in the plane. I will not confront anyone but I will look at those seat savers with annoyance. It is rude. But I would not say or do anything other than that. And yes I know people on the back of the plane do arrive at the same time but I have a lot of anxiety sitting further back. (Also I have zero thoughts about preboards because I know people don’t necessarily show their disabilities as mine is very hidden unless something bad happens to make it visible

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I posted this in the other thread but we just got boardings A59, A60, B1 and B2 for our family of four, with kids 9 and 14. As of now, it's $160 to upgrade to A1-15 which is starting to look really worth it on this "only one nonstop flight on this day to MCO" to get half my family to board before half the plane does between A and B.

I wonder if the FAs would let everyone board together before the A/B divide? Perhaps it would be worth asking, as the family was divided through no fault of your own.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I wonder if the FAs would let everyone board together before the A/B divide? Perhaps it would be worth asking, as the family was divided through no fault of your own.

Wouldn't that be just another "not fair" moment to the other passengers especially those who paid for Anytime Fares or EBCI but got B's.

This has been covered on the main SWA thread. Like I mentioned before SWA's policy is they have no issues with you boarding together...at the latter boarding group. It may not be someone's fault but that IS how it goes.

I mention this because I think some of these complaints and comments in this thread are basically people having an issue with something but then giving advice to someone that is something someone else would have a problem with.

Think about the person talking about have people are bringing their families into their boarding group with them..sure in this case it's separated out by limited numbers BUT it is a completely different boarding group and would then be unfair for active military, a-list members who didn't get an A boarding group (also not through their own fault), and then family boarding. You're just swapping one complaint for another.

 

[sam_gordon]

I posted this in the other thread but we just got boardings A59, A60, B1 and B2 for our family of four, with kids 9 and 14. As of now, it's $160 to upgrade to A1-15 which is starting to look really worth it on this "only one nonstop flight on this day to MCO" to get half my family to board before half the plane does between A and B.

Adult + 9yo in A59/A60.
Adult + 14yo in B1/B2.

Just about guarantee the first two get seats together. The other two stand a decent chance too, but if they're separated, it shouldn't be a big distance. And don't let anyone "save" a row with just one person.

 

[Disneylover99]

Yes this exactly. I hate when I have a good boarding position but between seat savers and preboards and even preboard seat savers you have to go farther back in the plane. I will not confront anyone but I will look at those seat savers with annoyance. It is rude. But I would not say or do anything other than that. And yes I know people on the back of the plane do arrive at the same time but I have a lot of anxiety sitting further back. (Also I have zero thoughts about preboards because I know people don’t necessarily show their disabilities as mine is very hidden unless something bad happens to make it visible

We buy EBCI for the four of us and we’ve always been lucky enough to be in boarding group A. The funny thing is, when we board, my husband passes all the empty seats and beelines it to the back of the plane every time. lol.

 

[MinnieMSue]

We buy EBCI for the four of us and we’ve always been lucky enough to be in boarding group A. The funny thing is, when we board, my husband passes all the empty seats and beelines it to the back of the plane every time. lol.

That’s funny about your husband. We always bought early bird until we got a low b last time so now I buy anytime. I guess I am a prime candidate to pay for a better seat.

Edit to add - also I like getting my money back instead of credit on my account with anytime when the flight price drops

 

[LoveToDisney]

One time I simply forgot to check in while at Disney and by the time I remembered, we were a very late C. It was back in the day when they still overbooked on occasion so we were literally the last 2 on the plane. That’s a weird walk down the aisle trying to locate the last 2 seats which of course were in the back. We were just happy to get on the plane.

 

[Disneylover99]

One time I simply forgot to check in while at Disney and by the time I remembered, we were a very late C. It was back in the day when they still overbooked on occasion so we were literally the last 2 on the plane. That’s a weird walk down the aisle trying to locate the last 2 seats which of course were in the back. We were just happy to get on the plane.

We always called the last few stragglers getting on the plane, the walk of shame. lol.

 

[LoveToDisney]

We always called the last few stragglers getting on the plane, the walk of shame. lol.

Soooo true!

 

[LoveToDisney]

It was nice that the 2 families that welcomed us each into their 2 rows had smiles. Now that I think about it, they were just glad they weren’t us!

 

[Anthony1971]

If you fly a lot with the three legacy airlines you should know that SW boards faster than all of them by a decent margin. SW budgets 30 minutes for boarding and usually pushes back early. The legacies budget 40 minutes for the same plane and are often late, but very rarely early.

This is not true. Legacy airlines did take longer because of the overhead carryons. since they all charge for this now either through paying direct for the bag or a ticket that includes it most will opt to get get free checked bags through the credit card or pay for a checked bag. I have not seen a boarding take 20 minutes much less 40 in a long time as the board back first. Yes a lot of people have status but those same people will have free checked bags. The few times I flew southwest there were always the last people wandering the plane looking for seats or looking for seat C46 or like which had to be directed after a while to take any seat then an attendant to point to a seat.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This is not true. Legacy airlines did take longer because of the overhead carryons. since they all charge for this now either through paying direct for the bag or a ticket that includes it most will opt to get get free checked bags through the credit card or pay for a checked bag. I have not seen a boarding take 20 minutes much less 40 in a long time as the board back first. Yes a lot of people have status but those same people will have free checked bags. The few times I flew southwest there were always the last people wandering the plane looking for seats or looking for seat C46 or like which had to be directed after a while to take any seat then an attendant to point to a seat.

I still experience slow boarding on other airlines more and in part I think that's because of the many zones the airlines have because they also try to wait a bit before calling the next zone and because of the mob at the gate it can take a bit to have people even hear much less get to the gate agent to scan their boarding pass.

Our Virgin Atlantic flight in May out of JFK had a semi-order by the gate where there was a line for each zone (a make shift because there wasn't room) but because the gate agent only stuck around for so long people had no idea what was what and joined random lines and then when one line went through people just jumped in cutting others.

The Air France flight last year out of Chicago was okay but again just too many zones to go through.

British Airways last year out of London was one of the worst mob situations I have ever scene. I was actually worried for the passport checker. It was a nearly 500 person flight and no order in the least. We kept our eye on where to go and so we were towards the front and could hear the zones but so much pushing and shoving trying to get to the front and people who were the first few zones could barely hear never mind the people traveling with young families who boarded early. I think the only thing that helped is they had 3 jetway bridges used to board the plane.

PLAY airlines had a good enough boarding but that's because pre-boarding basically didn't exist, if you had physical need to pre-board...let's just say it'll make you not complain about SWA for how they were treated but it did go quickly enough. There was still seating issues despite paid assigned seating including the most hostile encounter I've had yet on flying with a passenger who took it upon herself to just move where ever she wanted.

But I have seen people board SWA and looking for a seat number as they confused their boarding position for their seat number. I don't think it helps that SWA planes have numbers on the overhead bin. In general that doesn't slow it down in any sort of significance IME. Bags placed incorrectly in position (like sideways, wheels in the wrong spot, etc) seems to be the one I see the more often as then it takes the FAs to work it out.

 

[jo-jo]

I posted this in the other thread but we just got boardings A59, A60, B1 and B2 for our family of four, with kids 9 and 14. As of now, it's $160 to upgrade to A1-15 which is starting to look really worth it on this "only one nonstop flight on this day to MCO" to get half my family to board before half the plane does between A and B.

As I climb on my soapbox again, I feel, all EBCI should be able to board before family boarding. If you happen to get A59, your $25 got you a lot more than someone who gets B 1. I've been on Disney SW flights where it looked like 1/3 of the plane was families with young kids.

 

[yellowfish78]

I went ahead and bought A1-15. Our flight down was under $70 pp so its still a bargain. This is the first time in many many years that we will sit as a family BEFORE the exit rows. LOL

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

Think about it this way... would you save spaces in line for a Disney attraction while your family shops/rides other rides/gets food? I mean, isn't that generally considered "rude"? Many consider saving seats on SW the same.

People do it all the time and saying something has caused altercations. It is very commonplace, actually.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

As I climb on my soapbox again, I feel, all EBCI should be able to board before family boarding. If you happen to get A59, your $25 got you a lot more than someone who gets B 1. I've been on Disney SW flights where it looked like 1/3 of the plane was families with young kids.

Yup! We have paid for EBCI and watched families load before us because we got an early B.