SW saving seats once on the plane

[kap10]

Kind of a dumb question, but has anyone had problems if part of your family boards a SW flight with an A boarding pass and saves a seat or two for others who have B or C passes?

 

[DisneyHumbug]

My DD and I had B & C last Feb. She boarded first and saved a seat for me. We had no problem doing this.

 

[NotUrsula]

There is no real hard-and-fast rule about saving for real passengers, but SWA flyers have a tendency to create their own etiquette when it comes to the seating process. Generally speaking, saving within your row is acceptable as long as you realize that there is no "right" to save; if another passenger really wants the seat, you are expected to graciously give it up.

For each individual with an A pass, two extra seats is the understood limit. It is always best to say who you are saving for, so that it is clear that you are not trying to hold open a seat for a "phantom" passenger in order to get more space for yourself. Saving for "phantom" passengers is EVIL, and if there is a passenger on the aircraft who is counted for that seat, the saver will get busted eventually.

Do NOT attempt to seat-save in the exit row; that is also evil, and won't work, anyway. Generosity is in short supply when it comes to exit row seats.

The proper way to do it is for the person saving to sit in the row's aisle seat, and if someone hesitates and gestures at the seats, politely say something like, "I'm hoping to save these for my wife and child." It is more polite to seat-save at the rear of the cabin rather than the front, and you are much more likely to be challenged for seats in the first few rows. BTW, don't spread belongings over the seats in order to make it clear that they are saved; that will make other passengers and the FA think you are saving for a phantom, and you will be asked to remove those items.

 

[Poohlovr]

Two years ago, I was pulled from the line (And my family) for the extra security check and then sent to board the plane (before anyone else had been boarded).

Darn right I saved the other three seats I needed for family and me to sit together! I saved one next to me and the two directly in front of me. And, yes, I put articles of clothing in them (jacket, tote bag, etc).

A few people made remarks about howe that wasn't right, that I was saving those seats, but, I imagine if they had been
separated from their family, not by choice, they would have been seat saving, too!

Personally, I just ignored them, and when my DH and kids got on, we all sat together.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Great explanation NotUrsula, especially the evil phantom part!!!

 

[NotUrsula]

"Personally, I just ignored them, and when my DH and kids got on, we all sat together."

Certainly, you were entitled to do that, but the OP should know that another passenger who saw that jacket in the window seat in front of you was just as entitled to sit on it, and very well might have done so. If that had happened, the only thing you really could have done was politely asked for the jacket back.

Very few people will force you to give up a seat in the same row by climbing over you. However, people can, and often do, move items placed in seats in an open row, usually by dropping them on the floor underneath. If you protest, most will toss the item over to you, but don't expect them to vacate the seat. I've witnessed a lot of embarrassing scenes when people try to save seats this way; it's really not the best strategy.

 

[CarolA]

I am just as entitled to take your seat as you are to save it.

I would not count on saving seats as a plan. (A lot of us Frequent Flyers are wise to this trick) Preboarding is for you and your immediate family.

I have also noticed that SW Flight Attentants will say something to people who get too greedy. (As in, they remove the coats and say "you must have dropped this" LOL! I once watched an attendant happily clean off two rows and put all teh JUNKE in the overhead, one purse, one jacket, one pillow, one blanket and something else that she found. The FA did ask whose stuff it was and when the greedy passanger was afraid to speak up she indicated that the stuff would be removed from the plane since it must have been left by the last flight group. Now the greedy passenger spoke up!)

 

[Pinnie]

Originally posted by CarolA
I am just as entitled to take your seat as you are to save it.

I would not count on saving seats as a plan. (A lot of us Frequent Flyers are wise to this trick) Preboarding is for you and your immediate family.

I

AMEN, Carol A!

I fly SWA a LOT and I love the "I won't make eye contact with the passengers coming down the aisle." trick. I am also wise to the couples that take an aisle and window seat and leave the middle one open thinking NO one will want it! Once, on a short hop from DTW to MDW, I decided THAT was the seat *I* wanted. Wanna bet how fast the wife moved to the middle?

I totally agree that EVERY open seat on that plane is an OPEN seat.

pinnie

 

[gigi1313]

i, too, am familiar w/the couple that sat aisle/window and had no choice but to request their middle seat (plane was beyond capacity and had stand-bys as well) and instead of moving to sit next to one another, they let me into the middle and spent the entire flight talking over me/around me/passing magazines back and forth (apparently they were redoing their kitchen!) and even after i kinda politely said this is annoying and offered to switch with one, etc. they did not budge nor change their habit... it was a very unpleasant flight (but i hogged up both armrests! teehee) and i was glad when the plane landed!

 

[inkkognito]

My husand likes the window and I like to be on the aisle because I am a nervous flyer and have to visit the restroom at least once. We don't fly SW but we select window and aisle on ATA. We make it a point NOT to constantly talk over the passenger between us or pass things over them. And if they ask if we'd like to switch, we will as long as they want the aisle (hubby won't give up the window) and understand that I will be climbing over them at least once.
Barb

 

[LSchrow]

Originally posted by Poohlovr
A few people made remarks about howe that wasn't right, that I was saving those seats, but, I imagine if they had been
separated from their family, not by choice, they would have been seat saving, too!

but what of the "other families" that are seperated?
we just hope for 2 sets of 2 ~ and again hope that our children learn consideration for others by our example (IMHO, more important than a 2-3 hour flight).
we were seperated LY, when DH moved so a very late arriving couple could be 3 with their baby ~ only to find that they had friends on the plane. sadly, window seats were their real motive......... .

this will be our 1st SWA flight (totally BOOKED), will arrive VERY early (norm book way in advance on delta to get the 2/2 seating assignments).....
getting a little fearful of what sounds like a giant free-for-all.....

 

[gigi1313]

don't be frightened... we've done it quite a few times w/our children (past pre-boarding age too) and it's never been a problem... we've even had planes at capacity and 99.9% of the people on the plane will do what they have to to help out a fellow passenger... it could become a "free-for-all" but it really doesn't... i have flown w/kids alone, kids and dh, kids and g'parents, and other combinations and really have never had any problems at all... for us, a family of four, the "ideal" setup is for two kids and me to get one row and dh get the aisle of the row across from us... only once it did not work and we had window/middle in one row (by choice, ds wanted to look out the window) and aisle/middle in the row in front of it, and again, that was an acceptable configuration... it's truly not that big of a deal...

 

[CarolA]

When I read these threads, I feel like I am flying a different SW from the one on these boards.

I rarely see problems with seating and if I do it is generally some grouchy business person who comes flying down the jetway just as they close it and then doesn't like his seat

I have never seen this "Free for all" It sounds like people are fighting over the seats and trust me I just don't see that.

SW is very good about working with families to keep them together. (They bribe passengers to move with things like free drinks!)

Plus most of us single travelers don't want to babysit your child for 2 hours so we will move!

Reading these boards about people getting up at midnight to print boarding passes and lining up 2 hours in advance just makes me wonder? Maybe Nashville is just nicer then other places. Although I have seen families basically fighting for the first spot by the gate in Orlando???? In that case when I got on (at the VERY end of Group A since I am NOT standing in line) the plane was empty! We only had 60 passengers MAX for the entire flight.

By the way just don't sit in the exit row if you have kids. SW does a fairly good job of keeping you out, but they will seperate you if they have to in that case.

 

[seashoreCM]

Originally posted by gigi1313
, they let me into the middle and spent the entire flight talking over me/around me/passing magazines back and forth

Next time [reread the original post and redeleted some redundant words] bring a newspaper, open it up and pretend to read it.

Summon the flight attendant if necessary and he has the right and obligation to put a stop to such rude behavior.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

1. It is OK to try to save just the rest of a row for family members while sitting in the aisle seat.

2. If others try to take the inner seats, move to a different empty row if possible otherwise at least tell them you want the seats for your family.

3. When the rest of your family arrives and is unable to sit together with you, call for a flight attendant to help and tell him you tried to save the row you are in.

 

[gigi1313]

oh, i suggested that we switch so they could be together... they would not hear of it... and since it was a short baltimore to long island flight, it was not worth starting a hullaballoo... i just could not believe the audacity! but i figure one day it will come back to them, and i surely hope it's my kid who sits behind one of them kicking their seatback all the way to orlando ::evil laughter::