SW New Boarding technique

[andymattmom]

I don't see the issue if there are assigned seats. Yes, they can slow down departure but it does speed up boarding. Most wheelchair pre-boarders are definitely the last ones off... they don't bring the wheelchairs on until that point.
I would guess the hope for the rest would be they sit as close as possible to the front and try to get off quickly, I've flown a lot for years and really have not had too many times when I was held up by children or others deplaning.

Now on planes without assigned seats, it sucks. Especially when the gate people don't enforce the child age limits. I once witnessed HALF the plane pre-boarding to Disney, and a lot of the kids were 5, 6, 7 and one I swear could shave. It really sucked because I was first in line to board, having arrived early and sat on the hard ground for a few hours. So I was extremely happy to see Southwest change policy to the between A and B groups boarding for small children. Of course, now at least on the way there I do EBCI so I cant get off the plane ASAP and on my way to fun.

It does happen on planes with seat assignments when it comes to getting off the plane. People who need the extra time but might not be in a wheel chair jump out of seat and take forever to get off the plane. We almost missed a connection on Delta this summer ...in Arizona LOTS of preboards and we were halfway back in plane. Then we arrive in Minneapolis and it takes forever to get off and as we go by the seats that the preboards were in are now empty. Guess we all have had our experiences.

I too hate to see the preboards when kids are older. I can see under 5 and 1 adult per child but when you have entire family especially on SW that could be an issue. I have never flown SW but it sounds like the new boarding between A and B is better and seems they are cutting ages back so the "older"preboards don't happen.

Flying is so frustrating and everyone is in a mood when you fly! We just try and pay for one checked bag and take one smaller carry on per person that fits under the seat and don't rely on overhead bins.

 

[DebbieB]

They don't call the exact numbers. They call A 1-30, then 31-60, for example. The lineup isn't a cattle call, it's at a specific area with numbers on poles (easy for some brains to figure out...not so easy for my own brain, ugh). If the employees are doing their jobs, they are discouraging people from standing until it's time, but the PA systems at some airports are just SO awful no one can hear those announcements anyway.

I didn't mind the cattle call and I do not mind this (though you can tell the gates are still designed with "people will still stand around" in mind, considering how few chairs there actually are)...and flying airlines with assigned seating, I've noticed people get in line even earlier than they do with SW!

The issue with other airlines with assigned seats is they charge for bags. So people bring big carryons and line up to be sure to get on first to get a space in the overhead for their bags.

 

[Leash]

My Dad has to get the blue sleeve on SW because he is on oxygen and is required to sit in a window seat, the tube that goes from the concentrator to his face is seen as a hazard in any other seat since people would have to climb over it. So he has to get on early to make sure he has a window and it does take him longer than usual to get settled, so he gets a blue sleeve and Mom boards with him to help him get settled. When we land he usually waits till the plane is mostly empty to get off since it will take him a bit to get up and out and he has to pull the concentrator behind him and doesn't want to be in someones way or risk having someone kick it.
That being said DH and I board in our regular boarding group, we wouldn't even consider trying to board with Dad, and we try to sit near them but if we aren't right there it's not a big deal. The last time I flew SW a family of 10 tried to board with the one older man of the group who had a blue sleeve. I was very happy that the gate agent held his ground and only let one person board with the pre-boarded.

 

[disfan07]

not all blue pre-board sleeves are for physical disabilities... my son plays football but still pre-boards... he has a peanut allergy and we pre-board so his entire area can be cleaned down, peanuts removed (by me) from seatback pockets, etc... it takes a few extra minutes (and we always head to the back of the plane and usually have A boarding passes) and i hate to clog the aisle while others are trying to load while i am doing that... plus, after i get the area cleaned, i then have to buckle ds2s carseat in... we definitely are not a board and sit down in ten second flat kinda family! sorry!

Thats why we preboard also. I have a peanut allergy so I preboard so that I can clean the seat and tray table WITHOUT holding up everyone else. We are routinely the first ones off or at least in the first few off the plane because we sit up front usually. I've gotten good at it. I can usually clean off the entire area in less than 5 minutes so even sitting in the front, we have never held up boarding.

 

[DMRick]

Does your dad bring his own oxygen? I'm asking because last week Airline was on TV and SW wouldn't let an elderly lady get on with oxygen. She had to get permission to go without from her doc and he wouldn't give it, so she was left behind
They said she couldn't fly on SW if she needed oxygen.

My Dad has to get the blue sleeve on SW because he is on oxygen and is required to sit in a window seat, the tube that goes from the concentrator to his face is seen as a hazard in any other seat since people would have to climb over it. So he has to get on early to make sure he has a window and it does take him longer than usual to get settled, so he gets a blue sleeve and Mom boards with him to help him get settled.

 

[DMRick]

Here is SW's boarding school (info on boarding):

http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/faqs.html?topic=boarding_school

Ok, I love SW. Have flown with them all trips except to Hawaii.

I actually liked the "cattle call" they had going on. It was like a lottery sort of.

So last weekend, DD and I flew to MCO for a mini trip to WDW.

We didn't do EBCI and had A 33 A34 not bad at all. So the numbers were put on the monitor and we were a few of the first ones for the 30 group obviously, but it looked as though the people who boarded before us just stood at the polls and weren't checking to see if anyone had a BP ahead of them, KWIM? I did see the guy in front of us had a A35, but i thought it was kind of silly to go "you can't go ahead of me".

So, coming back from MCO. We were A 59 A60, due to my aunt kind of not knowing what she was doing with the check in. But still not bad. So, DD and I are standing at our perspective poll and this couple were asking everyone what number they had so they could be in that actual number, so people had to move to let them go in front.

Here is my question to those SW flyers out there: what has been your experience? I truly don't care as long as I get to sit in the very back.

 

[goofy4tink]

Does your dad bring his own oxygen? I'm asking because last week Airline was on TV and SW wouldn't let an elderly lady get on with oxygen. She had to get permission to go without from her doc and he wouldn't give it, so she was left behind
They said she couldn't fly on SW if she needed oxygen.

It all depends. The vast majority of airlines will not allow a passenger to bring on an oxygen tank..but you can fly with an oxygen concentrator. But not everyone uses those.

 

[hereyago]

Here is SW's boarding school (info on boarding):

http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/faqs.html?topic=boarding_school

Ok, thanks. but my experience that not every person was asking the other what their number was so they could get in the correct number position. Until we came home and it was 1 couple.

I actually prefer the old way, but that is just me.

 

[Leash]

Does your dad bring his own oxygen? I'm asking because last week Airline was on TV and SW wouldn't let an elderly lady get on with oxygen. She had to get permission to go without from her doc and he wouldn't give it, so she was left behind
They said she couldn't fly on SW if she needed oxygen.

Thanks for the warning but he uses a portable oxygen concentrator (POC)http://www.inogenone.com/Product_Specifications/ becuase you are right SW (and I think everyone else) will not allow you to fly with liquid oxygen. He uses the POC for the flight and we arrange with Apria to have a large tank delivered to the resort and then he uses a portable refilable tank to fill off of the big tank and he takes the portable tank to the parks.
He does have his doctors note, which the airline requires, that he can show to the TSA as well though they usually don't need it.

 

[bumbershoot]

The issue with other airlines with assigned seats is they charge for bags. So people bring big carryons and line up to be sure to get on first to get a space in the overhead for their bags.

That hasn't been what I've seen.

The two airlines we fly with assigned seats are VA and Alaska. And I've seen people, not people with big bags, just thinking they have to be up there. And both VA and Alaska call people in certain order/groups, so the people who jump up there before their group is called are just milling around, taking up room. It's the strangest thing.

I've also never once seen an obvious case of someone stashing something way up front and then continuing on back. And since we usually wait until most people are off the plane to even start getting our stuff (holdover from having a dad who drove a Greyhound bus and would take us with him when he had to work on his custodial weekends, where we were the very first on and the very last off, and expected to not interfere with any of the paying customers), I do have the opportunity to see people walking easily and then stopping to get something.

So I'm obviously flying with different people than others are.

 

[safetymom]

I have seen people do this numerous times when I fly. I have also seen people throw a fit when someone puts something in the overhead over their seat. They insist that is their space.

 

[DebbieB]

That hasn't been what I've seen.

The two airlines we fly with assigned seats are VA and Alaska. And I've seen people, not people with big bags, just thinking they have to be up there. And both VA and Alaska call people in certain order/groups, so the people who jump up there before their group is called are just milling around, taking up room. It's the strangest thing.

I've also never once seen an obvious case of someone stashing something way up front and then continuing on back. And since we usually wait until most people are off the plane to even start getting our stuff (holdover from having a dad who drove a Greyhound bus and would take us with him when he had to work on his custodial weekends, where we were the very first on and the very last off, and expected to not interfere with any of the paying customers), I do have the opportunity to see people walking easily and then stopping to get something.

So I'm obviously flying with different people than others are.

I'm not saying all of the people crowding the gate area have big bags but alot do. Then when people see them standing up close, they think they have to also, then it gets to be a mess. Nothing drives me more crazy than if my boarding pass says zone 2 and I'm having to fight my way around a family with zone 6 passes blocking the way.

I saw people who dump their bags a couple of months ago on a Delta flight. I was in the back half of the plane, 2 women were getting on ahead of me and when they saw the first row of coach, they said "let's just put it here" and then proceeded to their seat in the back. Just being lazy.

I almost always check my bag. I usually fly Delta and I have an AmEx card that gets me a free bag. I don't want to go through that anxiety. I did have a rollaboard for a 1 night trip in June and it was anxiety worrying if I would have a space.

 

[taximomfor4]

Ok so you get a pass with your exact boarding position. Why then are the still corralling people like cattle? Why not just board in order? Call group A and let the people go through in order. Its not rocket science, why are they still requiring people to stand on a certain spot before hand? Why cant you just sit in a chair at the gate and go when you're called?

Because standing in the line with lots of people gives you a bit of time to figure out who you do NOT want to sit near, duh!

 

[clkelley]

And both VA and Alaska call people in certain order/groups, so the people who jump up there before their group is called are just milling around, taking up room. It's the strangest thing.

It's the same reason people hover near the fast pass person for 30 minutes before their FP time, blocking the way of those (like me), who let their FP time actually arrive before even approaching the CM!!

 

[goofy4tink]

That hasn't been what I've seen.

The two airlines we fly with assigned seats are VA and Alaska. And I've seen people, not people with big bags, just thinking they have to be up there. And both VA and Alaska call people in certain order/groups, so the people who jump up there before their group is called are just milling around, taking up room. It's the strangest thing.

I've also never once seen an obvious case of someone stashing something way up front and then continuing on back. And since we usually wait until most people are off the plane to even start getting our stuff (holdover from having a dad who drove a Greyhound bus and would take us with him when he had to work on his custodial weekends, where we were the very first on and the very last off, and expected to not interfere with any of the paying customers), I do have the opportunity to see people walking easily and then stopping to get something.

So I'm obviously flying with different people than others are.

I've seen it many times. And I've been thrilled to see FA's ask to see the boarding passes for those that are getting on, and shoving their bags in the first few bins. If they are now boarding, they should be towards the rear of the plane, not the front. And no, there is no first class.
I have seen people shove a bag in those bins that needed two grown men to push it in it was so large. And watching the young lady who owned the bag try to get it out when we landed...well, it certainly was comical. The guys that helped her get it in, had been in a big hurry to get off that plane, so she was left to do it herself.