SWA and all the pre-boarders

[jkfreeman33]

And.... here I was afraid I was the only one that had an opinion on SWA and pre-boarders.
My husband and I have flown SWA before, but never to Orlando, so I was surprised by the amount of pre-boarders and the "large" 4 year olds that looked more like 10-12 to me.
We are doing a Carnival cruise in June and right now SWA is $204 and American is $285.00. We are going with AA and pay the difference for an assigned seat and have to fly out of O'Hare even though we live about 17 miles from Midway.
I blame SW for not enforcing the 4 and under rule and parents for abusing "my 12 year old needs additional time to get his seat belt on"
I asked my husband if he thought it would help us board if he showed his AARP card. The 40+ people left who were "adult" ages all laughed. We were the only ones left at the gate who didn't pre-board.
But... what did we expect with a discount airline going to Walt Disney World?
I miss ATA!!

 

[chasbos]

These "debates" over flying SWA make me want to laugh! You either like SWA or you don't - and if you don't, do not fly with them. Once you have purchased your ticket you are accepting the way they run their business.

I for one loved flying SWA from Buffalo to Orlando direct. Dh and I have 4 kids and this was actually the only time that we have travelled and all had seats side by side - go figure! When you are assigned seats you are at the mercy of the Ticket agent. We have flown to Europe seated 4 & 2 and then 2, 2, & 2 on the way back. We have flown to St. Maarten 3 & 3 but with 2 rows between us and then 2, 2, & 2 on the return trip home. So assigned seats are not all that.

I will be flying SWA again for sure and really like the way they do things.

As for the cattle call process - I have not seen this. I have seen longer lines for other airlines who allow preboarding even with assigned seats because then every family who has kids is allowed to preboard - no age limit!

So, to each their own and if you do not like how an airline does business - do not use them.

 

[Lewisc]

These "debates" over flying SWA make me want to laugh! You either like SWA or you don't - and if you don't, do not fly with them. Once you have purchased your ticket you are accepting the way they run their business.

Many of us who like SW wish they would tighten up with the passengers who abuse pre-boarding. Based on posts on flyertalk SW is in the process of doing this.

 

[pjlla]

Okay... I gotta hop in here. We are flying SWA for the first time this summer. Our friends/neighbors have highly recommended it. But now I am VERY concerned about getting seats together! I knew about the "cattle call" situation before I booked the tickets and was willing to tolerate it, but I never realized that there was a such a good chance of not getting seats together. Would they really force my children to sit with strangers? None of us qualify for "preboarding". I will be on the computer at 12:01 am printing our boarding passes on our way out of town. But I may not be able to do that on the way back from LAX. Do you think that the hotel would do it for us if we asked nicely? I was already concerned about making sure we got to the airport on time that morning (LA traffic).... but now I have to be worried about getting there early enough to get seats together? Good thing I got a really good price!.............P

 

[debster812]

I knew about the "cattle call" situation before I booked the tickets and was willing to tolerate it, but I never realized that there was a such a good chance of not getting seats together. Would they really force my children to sit with strangers? None of us qualify for "preboarding".

I cannot tell you how many times I flown SWA for both business and pleasure. I can ASSURE you that the FA's will do everything in their power to make sure your kids are not sitting with strangers. I have changed seats numerous times for families when I am flying solo for work. And I can also tell you, most strangers don't want your children sitting next to them unattended either. It will be just fine, rest easy, and get excited for your trip.

 

[4greatboys]

I would check with the hotel to see if they could print it out. Otherwise you will need to get there pretty early so hopefully you can get A passes and you would even make out good with B board getting seats together.