SW flight not full - should I cancel DS' reservation?

[camdensmom]

We bought a ticket for our 8 month old son so that we could have the entire row and bring his carseat. I know infants don't need to have a ticket and I've been told that is there are empty seats we can use our carseat without a ticket.

Southwest used to have a great cancellation policy. I believe it was up to 1 hour before you woould get the $ back in the form of a credit. I wondering if I find out how many seats are open if I couldn't cancel his seat that morning and get the credit?

DH doesn't want to risk it, but it seems to make sense to me.

 

[dudspizza]

We bought a ticket for our 8 month old son so that we could have the entire row and bring his carseat. I know infants don't need to have a ticket and I've been told that is there are empty seats we can use our carseat without a ticket.

Southwest used to have a great cancellation policy. I believe it was up to 1 hour before you woould get the $ back in the form of a credit. I wondering if I find out how many seats are open if I couldn't cancel his seat that morning and get the credit?

DH doesn't want to risk it, but it seems to make sense to me.

I personally would keep the seat. You don't know how many people might walk up and buy seats. Plus, if you didn't pay for the seat, anyone could come up and want to sit in the seat you have earmarked for your car seat. If you plan to use the seat, pay for it to be safe.

duds

 

[momsgoofy]

I don't know what the exact policy is for Southwest, but having flown with DS as an infant (at 4mos., 6mos., and 10mos.) and having had an empty seat for him on the first and last of those flights I'd say keep the seat for him. If for some reason the flight does fill up and you don't have a ticket for him, it isn't fun trying to fly with an infant on your lap...I did it from San Juan Puerto Rico to St. Louis, MO and it was a full flight 2 weeks before Christmas...never again! But, if you are 100% sure there are plenty of seats, then I'd get the refund, but I just can't see how you'd know this until the very last minute as you boarded.

Sorry, if this wasn't much help...I just think the fact that your DS will be secured in his carseat during the flight and you'll have the extra leg room...sounds like a winner to me.

 

[bicker]

It is definitely worth it to hold onto the seat, so you can be sure that your DS will have it during your flight.

 

[dcgrumpy]

Plus, if you didn't pay for the seat, anyone could come up and want to sit in the seat you have earmarked for your car seat.

duds

Actually they let you know whether or not you can have a seat when you check in. It's no different than if you had purchased it beforehand.

 

[CarolA]

There have been a few posts recently regarding this on www.flyertalk.com

I copied and pasted

"SWSNA (who is 1 1/2 years). Generally, we do not purchase a seat for her, but take our chances on getting an open seat for her car seat. We can travel with her on a lap, but obviously prefer to get the open seat.

On the outbound leg (two separate flights), both planes were busy. On the first leg, the gate agent asked that we gate check the car seat, because the flight was going to be full. We complied, of course, but the flight ended up less than full (it was probably 5-8 seats short of a full load).

On the second leg (from SAC), the same thing happened at the gate - the GA asked us to gate-check the car seat as we were pre-boarding. This time, I asked directly if the flight was completely full, and he said that it was close, but he "didn't wanted to be bothered" with trying to pull the car seat off the plane if the flight ended up full. I was annoyed (but very polite) and explained that we could move fast if that happened and we would not slow down the turn. His response that it was SWA "policy" that they could not allow the car seat if they wanted. I explained that I was CP, and had never heard of this policy. On the plane, we took A, C, and D (my older child was in D), and no one sat in B (although we did not have the car seat). Again, the plane wound up going up short of full.

After our plane landed in PDX, we were pulled aside by a supervisor (very politely) - evidently SAC had called ahead to PDX because I wasn't happy (I appreciated this extra "service"). After a long discussion, she finally communicated that it was "unwritten" policy that it's the GA's judgment if they don't want to allow car seats. Her explanation was that it wasn't fair to some families travelling with infants if there aren't enough seats for everyone's car seat. My answer, of course, was that this was a new "policy" and never communicated, so it wasn't fair to me. Her suggestion was for us to buy seats for baby SWSNA all summer, since it's going to be busy...."

The basic line is that SW is NO longer just giving you that free seat in all instances. ANd to be honest, it's not really fair to the rest of the passengers. All of us would like an empty to seat to spread out in. If you want a guranteed seat for the child, you need to pay for it!

 

[CarolA]

Actually they let you know whether or not you can have a seat when you check in. It's no different than if you had purchased it beforehand.

And no, you can't assume the seat is yours if you didn't pay for it. If I want it, I can have it......

 

[malibuconlee]

Since you've already purchased the seat, keep it.

One comment I read on another thread that struck a cord with me was the fact that car seats are one good for "one impact". And we all know what our luggage can look like after being tossed around by baggage handlers (and yes, I'm one who believes that luggage is there to protect the items inside the bag). I would not want to gate check a car seat. Of course this was put more elegantly on the thread I read it on.

 

[dudspizza]

And no, you can't assume the seat is yours if you didn't pay for it. If I want it, I can have it......

That was kind of my point. Car seats have to be installed in the window seat. Window seats can be gold to some people. If they are looking for an open window and the one you have earmarked for your child's carseat is open, someone will take it. It is their right.

Duds

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

It is highly unlikely that SWA will have any empty seats on a flight to Orlando.

Besides, you never know who is going to show up at the last minute and take your "free" seat.

Keep your ticket.

 

[JDietz40]

I understand your dillema and I certainly am not opposed to saving some money but if you were able to book the seat at one of the lower SWA fares is the money that you will save worth the worry before and during your trip about what may happen with the seat for your child. IMHO if money is not a major concern keep the seat and relax and enjoy your vacation. Personally I have enough stress at work so when I go on vacation I will do anything that I can to avoid stress.

Good luck on your journey.



John D

 

[Lewisc]

That was kind of my point. Car seats have to be installed in the window seat. Window seats can be gold to some people. If they are looking for an open window and the one you have earmarked for your child's carseat is open, someone will take it. It is their right.

Duds

That parent would be pre-boarding and other passengers would have no idea if the window seat with the car seat was paid for. I really don't have a right to ask the parent if they paid for that window seat.

Flights to Orlando have a lot of famlies with infants. It was already posted that SW will frequently just make the announcement to gate check all car seats unless the parents have paid for a seat.

 

[CarolA]

That parent would be pre-boarding and other passengers would have no idea if the window seat with the car seat was paid for. I really don't have a right to ask the parent if they paid for that window seat.

Flights to Orlando have a lot of famlies with infants. It was already posted that SW will frequently just make the announcement to gate check all car seats unless the parents have paid for a seat.

I think this is exactly why the flyertalk poster had her "car seat" gate checked. To prevent the "assumption" that this seat is sold.

Also, how can you tell on SW if the plane is full or not? The fact that they are still selling tickets isn't a good method. Plus things happen, your flight may be wide open, but the flight before you could be way oversold. Those folks get "dumped" into your flight. Or they missed a connection and are now "dumped" into your flight.

 

[Lewisc]

You can call the day before. They'll tell you if the flight is overbooked or about how many empty seats there are.

I agree with your other points, particularly with connecting flights. There are far too many infants flying to MCO to count on getting a free seat for an infant.

Now if the OP was flying to another destination, the flight was half empty and it was the first N/S flight of the day her strategy might make some sense.

Also, how can you tell on SW if the plane is full or not? The fact that they are still selling tickets isn't a good method. Plus things happen, your flight may be wide open, but the flight before you could be way oversold. Those folks get "dumped" into your flight. Or they missed a connection and are now "dumped" into your flight.

 

[NotUrsula]

It really doesn't matter if it is or isn't SWA policy to use their discretion on allowing a carseat if the seat it has been placed in has not been paid for. It is in fact Federal Law that ALL US-based air carriers have that option, and it has been my experience that employees of all of them *will* choose to exercise it at one time or another; and they don't actually have to give you a reason. If they wanted to keep it off because they didn't like the color of the upholstery, they would be within their rights to do so. (Not that I think that would actually happen, of course.)

I always bought a seat when I used a carseat, but in the past I have have had GA's assume that I didn't and try to tell me that I could not take it on board unless I purchased a seat for it right there and then. I have also had FA's come to me after boarding and tell me that the carseat would have to go because there was a standby passenger who needed the seat, which meant that I then had to dig out my fare receipt to prove that Jr. was a paying passenger.

The only way to assure that you will be allowed to use the seat on board is to pay for a space for it. (And to make sure that it has an aircraft approval sticker, of course.) We're lucky in the US -- most other countries don't guarantee the right to use a carseat at all; leaving it up to the airline's discretion in all cases.

It very rarely happens, but I have seen situations where passengers with carseats that were NOT being used in paid-for seats were denied preboarding, and told that they would have to wait on bringing the carseat on board until everyone else had been seated. In practice on SWA, that means that one adult hangs back with the carseat while the other preboards with the child and tries to save two seats. Tricky business, and pretty much a lost cause on most flights today, unless the preboarder sits in the very back rows of the plane. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.