SWA and all the pre-boarders

[jkfreeman33]

We have been DVC members since 1998 and have always tried to used ATA to fly from Chicago to Orlando a couple of times a year. Well... last week when we flew "home" ATA put us on Southwest Air. I thought, no big deal.
At least half the plane was pre-boarders with children of all ages. They made an anouncement that only parents with children 4 and under can pre-board. All I can say is there are a lot of large 4 year olds in Chicago and Orlando.
The line for pre-boarding was longer than the line for A-B or C.
Why bother getting to the airport early, getting an "A" boarding pass only to have 100+ people board ahead of you??
Just about everyone flying to Orlando has children, why let them pre-board? It would have been easier to let us 50 or so left without children pre-board first. There were less of us than those with children.
Never had this problem on ATA. I need to find another airline to Orlando.

 

[seashoreCM]

They either (1) think the plane loads faster that way or (3) are experimenting to see if it does or (3) have misjudged the situationa and lost control.

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

Need extra time to get settled and they won't let you preboard? Just take the time without saying a word.

 

[OKW Lover]

The best response to this situation is to book on an airline that has assigned seats.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

What ever happened to the talk that SWA was getting seating assignments? I seem to remember a few months ago seeing a news release or something saying that it was in the works.

The lack of seat assignments is the #1 reason I will not fly SWA.

 

[DVCBob2]

Flew Southwest as a reaccom. ATA customer 2/17 roundtrip to LAX. A group of 8 boarded with a baby and another group of seven boarded with a child under five. Could not print boarding pass before we left home because we were ticketed passengers. Preboarding-no assigned seating-slow beverage service (1.5 hourse into flight/no turbulence)-customer service take it or leave it/we are doing you a favor/your lucky to even have a flight considering ATA is bankrupt attitude. Will fly Southwest at spring break only because it is another reaccom. ATA flight and the option of buying new tickets was not viable. Just booked our summer trip to LAX and did not even consider Southwest. Seems like a missed business oppurtunity on their part to pick up ATA customers. Oh well I'm sure they will be fine. At least until their fuel hedge runs out.

 

[CarolA]

There are no plans to do seat assignements anytime soon. However, I recommend you complain to SW if you think preboarding was abused. They are fairly receptive and have changed things in the past.

 

[meandtheguys2]

You should have seen the nasty looks we got when my mother and her broken foot were boarded before those parents! The poor woman (71 years old and with a cane!)was in a wheel chair, but those parents would have happily killed us!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

this is also why i wont fly swa
i dont wanna be looking for 2 seats together
they should just assign seats

 

[dcandmc]

this is also why i wont fly swa
i dont wanna be looking for 2 seats together
they should just assign seats

Southwest has good reasons for not assigning seats. This has been discussed on these boards before:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=731430

Bottom line: if you don't like the way SWA operates, fly another airline. You have a choice. As for me, I'll take the lower fares, greater convenience and (in my experience) better on-time performance of SWA in exchange for not having an assigned seat.

 

[DVCBob2]

As I mentioned in my previous post let's see what happens to Southwest after their fuel hedge expires. This is main factor driving profitability at Southwest. As for on-time departure on our most recent trip of the four segments not a single one left on time. Customer service-beside one FA on our return flight I found it be cold and bothered at best.

 

[dcandmc]

As I said, the better on-time performance is based on my experience, most likely from a different home airport than the one you use. YMMV. Southwest's fuel hedge is not the only factor (and I would argue, probably not the main one, either) that is driving the airline's current profitability. Before Southwest had the hedge advantage over the legacy carriers, it was still profitable while for the most part the legacys were not.

I understand that you're not happy with your recent experience on SWA, and I'm not saying that you should be. But I don't think that your recent experience was typical. To be sure, Southwest is a different kind of airline, and it will not appeal to some people at all. Many others love it, and some just tolerate it for the low fares. That's what's so great about the freedom of choice.

 

[DVCBob2]

We will be flying with Southwest again for spring break (not by choice). I will keep an open mind and share my experiences when we return. I hope that our experience was not typical but it appears that many other posters have shared my experience, just as many have shared yours.

 

[inkkognito]

Sometimes you don't really have a choice if you are on a budget and Southwest is the cheapest. That is our situation; we have to fly back and forth between Chicago and Orlando quite frequently and were loyal ATA customers. Since they left, the prices have been heading steadily upwards. I don't always fly with my husband, so he has tried Ted and Air-Tran, but for the next three flights Southwest is way cheaper. It will be my first time with the cattle call, and I won't be happy, but I'll just pretend that I'm flying stand-by.

meandtheguys2, I know exactly what you mean. Some parents get a very ugly "entitlement attitude" and can be quite rude (great example for their kids). This happened to us very often on ATA. As Elite flyers, we were entitled to pre-board, and we took advantage of it because we often sat in exit rows where you cannot put items under the seat in front of you, meaning we needed overhead. I've lost count of the times when parents tried to literally, physically shove us aside and then copped an attitude when we pointed out that we were part of the pre-board too.

Barb

 

[C.Ann]

Just flew Southwest - Albany, NY to Orlando and back again this month.. I loved it! Great service - the attendants were hilarious - beverages and snacks were served very shortly after we were on the plane - and arrivals were considerably early both landing in Orlando and back here again to Albany..

Lots and lots of preboarders in Orlando yet with my "A" pass I still had my choice of plenty of completely empty rows.. I chose row 4.. You would have to be pretty late in the game to not get 2 seats together..

Great airline in my book.. Awesome deals and awesome service - not to mention I can get direct flights to Orlando, which is extremely important to me..

 

[Disney Fool]

I agree that the pre-boarding can and does get abused. But, I must put my two cents in (for whatever it's worth). I have accompanied a lot of single moms who have two or three kids, usually one in their arms and holding a car seat besides. I have pre-boarded with themto assist, and believe me, they need the help. They would never have coped alone. I realize there are abusers out there--but aren't they everywhere? Isn't it a trend these days to spit in the face of order and "do your own thing?" For all the abusers of the SWA pre-boarding system, there are just as many who do not, and would suffer if SWA strictly limited pre-boarding only to the parent. As nerve-wracking as flying can be, some parents are appreciative of an extra adult to help get their sometimes screaming children situated on the plane, and settled in. Can you imagine for a moment, a single mother with several kids standing in the aisle (preventing you in the A,B. or C category) from getting past, all of them whining and wanting something from her while she's trying to attend to a baby? I think Southwest got it right. I also fly with only adults, and I'm often in the B,or C section when I board--there are always seats available. I usually find what I want, and the plane is quite full. There will always be tons of pre-boarders on flights to Orlando. Hello. It's Disneyworld! SWA provides cheap prices and makes it convenient for families to fly, who sometimes otherwise couldn't. Don't get me wrong. I see the abuses also--the three extra adults with two parents and only one infant. Am I going to get all bent out of shape about it? Not unless I'm going to get upset about the abusers of E-nights who boldly posted on this forum how they got away with it, or the people who park at the hotels and leave their cars in the lot all day rather than pay to park at the parks. It's unfortunate, but it happens, but it doesn't mean the policy is bad or flawed. Just my two cents.

 

[dcandmc]

Barb-
It sounds as though if it weren't for Southwest and its low fares, you wouldn't be able to travel to Orlando at all (at least by air, relatively economically). Given that reality, I'm baffled by your disparaging comments. In my opinion one of the main reasons that Southwest is able to offer low fares is because of their "cattle call" boarding. Without assigning seats, the airline can turn planes around faster at the gate and have them spending more time doing what generates revenue- flying. To be appreciative of Southwest's low fares at the same time bemoaning the policy that makes those low fares possible seems to me to be a huge inconsistency. As the saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it, too (at least not in this situation).

 

[inkkognito]

It's true that we're stuck on Southwest due to the prices, but I would actually pay more for assigned seats. The problem is, "more" is beyond reason on the other airlines these days. I see Southwest as the Greyhound of the skies, and I understand that cheap prices and perks usually don't go hand in hand. But the reason I probably sound down on them is that they could eliminate a lot of the problems by actually enforcing their policies (i.e. the age limit, the number of people boarding with kids). If they did that consistently, I wouldn't see the policy as so much of a problem. The problem is not limited to Southwest; I saw plenty of abuse in years of flying ATA, too. But with assigned seats, it doesn't have an impact on the other passengers.
Barb

 

[dcandmc]

I agree with you that Southwest sometimes (maybe even often) does a poor job of consistently enforcing its own policies, and that often leads to hate and discontent among its passengers. This is an area that Southwest can and should improve on.

 

[Pinnie]

It's true that we're stuck on Southwest due to the prices, but I would actually pay more for assigned seats. Barb

Then fly a LEGACY carrier. It's been said over and over the reason SWA makes a profit is because it can turn it's planes around much faster at the gates with UNassigned seating than it can with ASSIGNED.

Another fantastic perk of SWA is that once it puts up it's schedule, it sticks to it and doesn't change it. Try that with NWA and it's assigned seats. There is a thread on here someplace on how often NWA will change a flight and not notify a passenger!

Also, just because you have an assigned seat, doesn't mean that you will get that seat. Many carriers change equipment and your seats will be assigned to someone else.

Also, another perk of SWA is it's awesome Rapid Rewards Program. I was able to use my FREE RR ticket for my Easter trip to MCO. Try that on another carrier!

My feeling is if you don't like the policy on SWA, don't fly them. They are doing something right!

pinnie

 

[DVCBob2]

Right on Barb! If you have policies, enforce them.