Southwest???

[DVCBob2]

Just back from LAX and we had over thirty people pre-board. One party of 8 had a baby and another party of seven had a child under five.

 

[pplasky]

Where in NJ are you? We have also taken Spirit out of ACY and it is usually cheaper than AirTran. Not sure about SWA, but when I booked our flight for Aug 2005, they were cheaper than SWA. The airport is smaller and less of a hassle than PHL and there seems to be less delays as well. Just a thought.

 

[Twende]

We are flying SW soon to MCO! We have never flown SW before!

Do they serve any kind of beverage at all? I have a tendancy to get car/air sick and I normally sip a coke during flights to keep things settled! Do I understand correctly that SW does not serve any beverage except water?

We are to leave very early in the morning on a Wednesday. Does the printing of the boarding passes have to be after midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday? Or is it after midnight on the day before you leave?

We are either going to have to leave our home at 4 AM to get to the airport or we are going to Park 'N Fly at an airport motel on Tuesday night and leave our car there for the duration of the trip. If I have to stay up to midnight to get my "A" boarding pass and then leave at 4 AM I will be a zombie the rest of the day.

I am sure looking forward to getting to warm sunny FL and out of cold snowy Ohio!

 

[bubba's mom]

Twende--SW will serve soda and the usual beverages....it's just their water comes in a can, not a bottle (first experience with that!).
You can print your boarding pass at 12:01am Wednesday morning. But, if you are leaving on the first or second flight, I wouldn't stay up and wait.... if you plan to be at the airport early (as I'm sure you will with park & fly), you should get there early enuf to get an "A" boarding pass. Also, you can call the airline the day before to see if that flight is full....chances are, it won't be (cuz of the early time) and you'll get an "A" bpass anyway. We did this exact thing last year. Park & Fly outta PHL. 7am flight.....got to airport about 5:15am--checked in and got bpass.... turns out, most got an "A" pass cuz the flight wasn't full! You'll like SW....I'm a SW convert from USAir!!

 

[goldcupmom]

We try to fly SW as much as we can. My DS is a gymnast, so their credit policy on cancelled nonrefundable tickets is GREAT! You never know when kids will get sick or hurt at the last minute and you won't be able to go to meets.

The kids love them as many of their planes have 3/3 seats facing each other at the rear of the plane. It's just fun for them.

 

[drusba]

Responding to some questions above:

1. On the pre-load when you have kids under 5 or handicap, the official rule is that only the qualifying kid or handicap plus one adult can be pre-loaded. Nevertheless, having flown Southwest often I have never seen them actually enforce that rule including that the kid has to be under 5 except when the "family" is obviously something more than one family like when there are four or five adults; in other words if you have a bunch of children and two adults in your family, you will likely have no problem with the family pre-loading; if you are an extended family -- grandparents, uncles/aunts added, you likely will have a problem pre-loading all of them. Also note that if you get an A or B loading ticket (and there are usually B's still available up to about 70 minutes before a flight), you should have no problem getting seats together. It is only when you have the C ticket or below that it can become an issue.

2. Southwest serves beverages and usually something like a small bag of pretzels or nuts.

3. Have found Southwest to be better than most for on-time departures.

 

[DVCBob2]

Our experience at LAX was an extended family of seven, mom, dad, 2 kids, middle aged adult and what appeared to be grandma and grandpa. The party of eight was infant, mom, dad, grandpa, grandma and three other middle aged adults. As we boarded we asked the attendant what the policy was on preboarding and he stated that it was the person that needed preboarding and one to two immediate family members. Then he looked at us like "I know".

 

[bubba's mom]

Responding to some questions above:

Southwest serves beverages and usually something like a small bag of pretzels or nuts..

we got a small pack of HoneyMaid Graham crackers

Have found Southwest to be better than most for on-time departures.

we actually were early for our flight down, not home from mco cuz of mid afternoon thunderstorms. but, funny thing about that, our flight left BEFORE the flight at the gate ahead of us! go figure! (if i was those people, i'd been hoppin' mad....)

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

I've flown Southwest six times in the last 9 months (Chicago 3x, Houston, Orlando and Phoenix). I usually prefer Delta to get my frequent flyer miles, but have gotten used to Southwest's laid back atmosphere and I've NEVER had a delayed flight.

The lack of assigned seating is annoying only when paranoid passengers freak out and start lining up in the "A" group 45 minutes before the inbound flight even arrives. I love it when I'm sitting down, calming reading a book and some man with his briefcase and carry-on stands right in front of me so close I can't even stand up. I mean, everybody's going to get on the plane!

If you have little ones, just arrive early and talk to the gate agent. They're all really nice and usually work with parents. DD is only 19 months so we're not at that stage yet, but I can only guess how hard it is to travel with kids –– especially those high on the magic!

 

[bubba's mom]

The lack of assigned seating is annoying only when paranoid passengers freak out and start lining up in the "A" group 45 minutes before the inbound flight even arrives. I love it when I'm sitting down, calming reading a book and some man with his briefcase and carry-on stands right in front of me so close I can't even stand up. I mean, everybody's going to get on the plane!

I agree...the no-assigned seats thing is a pain, which is why everyone lines up like cattle I thought SW still over-booked their flights...I know an "A" b-pass will get you on that plane, but those with "C"'s.....has anyone ever NOT made their flight with SW due to "overbooking"??

 

[cycyk]

can i book now for october?

when i check orbitz and expedia.com, southwest is never listed, cn you only get pricing through them?

how do you guys book...phone, internet???

please help

brooke

 

[bubba's mom]

you can only book southwest thru website or phone (i always use internet). they will not show up on expedia or travelocity and such. booking dates are thru Aug. 3 right now....keep a watch on the boards and in about a month or two, they should release booking dates past Aug. 3....good luck!!
http://www.southwest.com/cgi-bin/buildItinerary2