SW boarding Early boarding w/Family

[wizardman]

Did I read that, SW lets families board early or together? So I don't need to worry about getting EarlyBird Check In? I wanted to findout, if I need/should buy it with a 2 and 6 year olds. Leaving BWI to Disney on a Monday and coming back on a Saturday.

I have giftcards and unused travel funds and I'm upset I can't use anyone of those to pay the fee.

Thanks!

 

[mcd2745]

With a child 4 years old or under, you get "family boarding" which is between the A & B groups. I believe they should up that age, however (to 8 at least IMO). No way can you say that a 5 year old is ready to possibly sit by themselves. That's not fair to the child's family or the strangers the child ends up next to.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Southwest lets five year olds travel as unaccompanied minors http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/family/unaccompanied-minors-pol.html, so yes, they apparently feel a child that age is able to sit away from his or her parents on the same plane for several hours.

OP - if you don't have A Boarding Passes, it appears one adult can board with the two year old between the As and Bs, and the rest of your party boards with their assigned group. If it's just the three of you, naturally Southwest doesn't expect your six year old to wait in the terminal alone - you can all board together during Family Boarding.

 

[Jestocost]

With a child 4 years old or under, you get "family boarding" which is between the A & B groups. I believe they should up that age, however (to 8 at least IMO). No way can you say that a 5 year old is ready to possibly sit by themselves. That's not fair to the child's family or the strangers the child ends up next to.

And for flights to/from Orlando you then essentially would be allowing most of the flight to "preboard," which kind of defeats the purpose. There already are enough families with kids four and under that they sometimes suspend family boarding for that reason.

 

[goofy4tink]

Can I ask those of you who know more about the boarding inbetween A and B than I a question?? Let's say there are 9 families in this group....each family has 5 in their group, with the requisite under 4 member. So...how do they board??? Who gets to board first? Who ends up last??? I've never given it any thought before and was curious.

If I had a situation where I really had to be seated with someone in my party, I would buy EBCI. Yes, those who board in the A, B and family boarding groups usually have no issue finding spots together. But, if you have a larger family, you may be hard pressed to find 5 or 6 seats together. Those is group C tend to have a harder time finding more than 2 seats together, and even then, it's hard to get two together. Why?? Most people will take a window or an aisle seat, leaving the middle seat open.

I truly don't believe that there is any need to raise the age for family boarding. If having specific seats assigned is important, there are other airlines that can be booked, that allow you to choose seats beforehand. Of course, you can find yourself with 'unassigned' seats....airlines routinely make changes.
SW has the under 4 policy. Older than that and the kids can fly unaccompanied. You just need to plan ahead if you want to be assured seating together. I have seen families boarding in the mid-B group with no troubles finding seats together....maybe the entire family didn't get two rows across from each other, but no one had to sit by themselves.

 

[DebbieB]

Can I ask those of you who know more about the boarding inbetween A and B than I a question?? Let's say there are 9 families in this group....each family has 5 in their group, with the requisite under 4 member. So...how do they board??? Who gets to board first? Who ends up last??? I've never given it any thought before and was curious.

There's a separate line. First come, first served.

 

[Jestocost]

Not mentioned yet but also for consideration is that if there are a lot of families who want to use family boarding, the GA may elect to allow only one adult to board with each child four or under. The other parent and children, plus any other relatives may be required to board in their (presumably later) assigned position. That pretty much guarantees that the one young child will get to sit with a parent, but not that anyone else in their party will get to sit with them or even together.

 

[n2mm]

I flew to MCO out of BWI last year and they were enforcing the 1 parent with 1 child rule. An entire family (extended) got in the preboard line and the FA went over and said something and all of the family members left except the 1 parent and 1 infant. There was also a passenger in a wheel chair who was with a large family and only the passenger and one extra was allowed to preboard before the A group. They had just started the EB so I don't think anyone had them as we were A holders and got them at the 24 hour (we were 17 & 18). We don't fly SW anymore as the nonstop out of Dulles ended last year and we rarely fly out of BWI.

 

[PatMcDuck]

If your family is split up, just have the people who board earliest, head towards the back of the plane, and "save seats". SW has no policy for or against this, so it would probably work fine, esp. towards the back of the plane.

We are used to boarding an empty SW plane, it is another STORY when you get onto a connecting flight. We boarded a plane in NC recently, it was a flight from MCO to PHL, stopping in Raleigh/Durham. We had A boarding passes, but when we got on, the plane was 2/3 full already. It was pretty chaotic. The MCO passengers were all "settled" with extra junk on the empty seats, and reluctant to let us new people sit. Then they had the overheads all filled with coats and such, or fragile stuff that had to lay flat, etc. We got in a fight with a woman over putting our bags away above our seats. We finally moved OUR bag, as she demanded, and then a big guy came on and STUFFED his duffel onto her fragile thingy, and then he plopped in the seat next to HER, and when she whined about her item, it was SWEET justice, because he looked at her and said, "too late now".....

 

[goofy4tink]

I flew to MCO out of BWI last year and they were enforcing the 1 parent with 1 child rule. An entire family (extended) got in the preboard line and the FA went over and said something and all of the family members left except the 1 parent and 1 infant. There was also a passenger in a wheel chair who was with a large family and only the passenger and one extra was allowed to preboard before the A group. They had just started the EB so I don't think anyone had them as we were A holders and got them at the 24 hour (we were 17 & 18). We don't fly SW anymore as the nonstop out of Dulles ended last year and we rarely fly out of BWI.

I really wish that SW would do it this way all the time. I have also seen the entire family line up with Grampa who is in his wheelchair..they all get to board with him. That one flight, I was A16..lucky me...and when I boarded (right behind the medical preboards since there were no business class passengers), the first row, as well as one of the exit rows, were already taken by this family. Grampa sat in the first row with a couple of grandkids, while 4 adults had taken 4 exit row seats. Drove me nuts.
Then, when family boarding comes, you get the same thing...one child that is 3, who gets to board with mom, dad, 2 sisters, a brother, an aunt, uncle and some grandparents!! SW boarding is no place for a Grand Gathering!!! It is supposed to be one adult per child under 4. I would really like it if SW stuck to that ruling...but like Disney, they tend to go with the flow.

This is why I tell people that even if they are planning on doing 'family boarding' they still need to check in at the 24 hr mark. I have heard too many situations where the family figured they were all going to be able to board together, inbetween the A and B groups, but found that the GA allowed just one adult to board with the child, so everyone else had to get to the end of the C line!! And although SW doesn't seem to mind if you save a seat or two, they are going to mind if you board with your 3 y/o and then put jackets/bags on 6 other seats to save them for the rest of your family!!! So, be prepared and checkin at that 24 hr window...just in case the GA adheres to the rules.

 

[Inkmahm]

I flew to MCO out of BWI last year and they were enforcing the 1 parent with 1 child rule. An entire family (extended) got in the preboard line and the FA went over and said something and all of the family members left except the 1 parent and 1 infant. There was also a passenger in a wheel chair who was with a large family and only the passenger and one extra was allowed to preboard before the A group. They had just started the EB so I don't think anyone had them as we were A holders and got them at the 24 hour (we were 17 & 18). We don't fly SW anymore as the nonstop out of Dulles ended last year and we rarely fly out of BWI.

I have never flown SW. Do you have to be in a wheelchair to get early boarding for handicap status? What if you have a handicap tag for parking but you don't need a wheelchair? Is the boarding before or after the A group?

 

[seashoreCM]

No way can you say that a 5 year old is ready to possibly sit by themselves. That's not fair to ... the strangers the child ends up next to.

Strangers can suggest to the FA that the parent be forced to trade seats and sit next to his own child.

I have never flown SW. Do you have to be in a wheelchair to get early boarding for handicap status? What if you have a handicap tag for parking but you don't need a wheelchair? Is the boarding before or after the A group?

Only if there is something that keeps you from boarding using your regular boarding pass may you board with the handicapped group. (CM's are not permitted to ask exactly what your disability is but may request of you what you need to accomplish such as swab down a tray table for peanut residue) Unlike right of way at an intersection, extra time needed to board and get settled is quietly and methodically taken, not given.

while 4 adults had taken 4 exit row seats. Drove me nuts

The FA is expected to oust a pre-boarder from an exit row seat upon request by an A boarding pass holder. Bulkhead seats, however, are meant for families.

 

[n2mm]

I have never flown SW. Do you have to be in a wheelchair to get early boarding for handicap status? What if you have a handicap tag for parking but you don't need a wheelchair? Is the boarding before or after the A group?

Everytime I've seen a person board via handicap status, they have always been in a wheelchair. I don't really know the guidelines, but does seem to be limited ability to walk and need assistance transferring from wheelchair to seat....but there might be more on the websites. Folks with limited abilities board first, before the A's.

 

[Donaldswife]

I really wish that SW would do it this way all the time. I have also seen the entire family line up with Grampa who is in his wheelchair..they all get to board with him. That one flight, I was A16..lucky me...and when I boarded (right behind the medical preboards since there were no business class passengers), the first row, as well as one of the exit rows, were already taken by this family. Grampa sat in the first row with a couple of grandkids, while 4 adults had taken 4 exit row seats. Drove me nuts.
Then, when family boarding comes, you get the same thing...one child that is 3, who gets to board with mom, dad, 2 sisters, a brother, an aunt, uncle and some grandparents!! SW boarding is no place for a Grand Gathering!!! It is supposed to be one adult per child under 4. I would really like it if SW stuck to that ruling...but like Disney, they tend to go with the flow.

This is why I tell people that even if they are planning on doing 'family boarding' they still need to check in at the 24 hr mark. I have heard too many situations where the family figured they were all going to be able to board together, inbetween the A and B groups, but found that the GA allowed just one adult to board with the child, so everyone else had to get to the end of the C line!! And although SW doesn't seem to mind if you save a seat or two, they are going to mind if you board with your 3 y/o and then put jackets/bags on 6 other seats to save them for the rest of your family!!! So, be prepared and checkin at that 24 hr window...just in case the GA adheres to the rules.

This should not have happened to you. We have flown cross country with my husband's grandmother several times in the last 10 years with SW. The FA is supposed to stand in the exit row and people who are preboarding are not allowed to sit in the exit row. I have been at least a dozen planes and that is the official SW procedure as was explained to us. We just sat in row 2 behind GM and let my daughter sit in the front row middle seat next to her. Either there were not enough FA's to man that area and enforce the rules, or the people were pushy and got their way on that one!

 

[goofy4tink]

This should not have happened to you. We have flown cross country with my husband's grandmother several times in the last 10 years with SW. The FA is supposed to stand in the exit row and people who are preboarding are not allowed to sit in the exit row. I have been at least a dozen planes and that is the official SW procedure as was explained to us. We just sat in row 2 behind GM and let my daughter sit in the front row middle seat next to her. Either there were not enough FA's to man that area and enforce the rules, or the people were pushy and got their way on that one!

That was my thought as well. I guess they figured that they were indeed able to help out if a 'situation' arose.
My favorite medical preboard experience??? The older man (in his 70's I would say) and his wife. He was in a wheelchair, pushed by his wife, when he preboarded. I was A20ish....as I boarded, I saw this guy arguing with the FA. Seems he felt he would be fine sitting in the exit row with his wife if a 'situation' arose. He kept arguing with the FA, telling her that he was fine and could do the assigned proceedures. The FA kept telling him that if he was a medical preboard, he and his party gave up any 'rights' to the exit row seats. He continued arguing, the FA told him that if they didn't move, now, she was calling security to remove them from the plane. They sure moved fast then!!

People always amaze me. The number of people who feel rules don't apply to them seems to be growing!!

 

[Shock13]

I have never flown SW. Do you have to be in a wheelchair to get early boarding for handicap status? What if you have a handicap tag for parking but you don't need a wheelchair? Is the boarding before or after the A group?

No, you don't need a wheelchair to medical preboard. I am visually disabled and need the extra time to get settled in such a cramped space. When I purchase my ticket online, I mark a box that says I have a vision disability but don't need any extra assistance. Then when I go to the gate, I tell them I need to preboard and they hand me a separate slip to take to the GA. Medical preboard is before all boarding groups.

 

[disfan07]

I have never flown SW. Do you have to be in a wheelchair to get early boarding for handicap status? What if you have a handicap tag for parking but you don't need a wheelchair? Is the boarding before or after the A group?

No. I do medical pre-board because of my peanut allergy. I have to wipe down the seat, tray table, etc.

Medical preboard is there for anyone who needs special assistance of extra time to board.

My grandparents do preboard but neither of them are in a wheelchair but my gradnpa still needs extra time to board.

 

[bookwormde]

It is actually disabilty preboard, so any disabiity for which prebording will allow equal access. The number that can prebord for disability is also variable dependant on the specific situation and is family boarding