SWA need to rethink Preboarding

[Lewisc]

Sorry for missing the context of your post. I don't think it's accurate when people lump SW with the legacy carriers with respect to bumping. SW is great up until the time they are faced with bumping PAX. At that point they do at lot less than other airlines. JetBlue doesn't over book, but they don't sell ANY refundable tickets and charge a change fee if you change your flight before it leaves.

Not sure which airlines (legally) use fare status (other than protecting first class) or FF status to determine bumping order. Delta specifically prioritizes first class and then all PAX with BP who check in at least 15 minutes before the flight. This is from their contract of carriage. I suspect some employees may (correctly) assume that people traveling on discounted tickets may not know their rights and try to bump them first.

Originally posted by NotUrsula
Lewis, I didn't say that SWA handles overbooking all that wonderfully, but the poster I was answering seemed to feel that a family that booked way ahead was entitled to extra consideration when it came to an involuntary bump. I................... impose. It's all in what's most important to you.

Forgive me for not knowing about JetBlue's no-overbooking policy; they are new, and they don't serve my market. Not overbooking *is* very unusual in the US aviation industry.

 

[LSchrow]

Originally posted by MagEpcDisAni Voyager
Can someone bottom line it for me?

Is SWA worth it to go through all this preboarding junk just for the good rates they usually have?

bottom line(s) ~ MHO, of course
i would consider them again only if:
~ traveling with 2 or less ppl (easier to get nearby seats)
or could check-in online
or could preboard
or was on an empty flight (also note that non-stop tends to be more booked)

in our area, their fares are low for that particular airport (ISP ~ delta was about $400pp r/t, vs SWA $210pp r/t), other airlines are signicantly lower for the other 2 airports near us (JFK & LAG, where we could get about $150pp r/t on delta/song).

there are too many variables (how many, where, when, price, etc) to say whether or not it may be worth it.

 

[threeboysmom]

All Southwest needs to do is make the preboarders board in the BACK of the plane (makes more sense since they need so much extra time to get settled). I think that one rule alone would cut down drastically the number of people preboarding.....

 

[Alison Wonderland]

FOr those that wonder about why all the stress over all the preboarders getting ahead---I can only speak for myself but I fly with a child and I am always concerned that we will get split up. THe first time I flew on Southwest he was 5 ,he wasn't allowed to preboard, and it was a struggle to find a seat together. At the time i didn't know all the stuff about getting there early to get an A pass, etc. He's little bit older now but not to the point of being comfortable sitting by himself, so I worry every time about getting there super early and will I get an A pass etc. Unfortunately SW is the only airline flying nonstop from my airport so I fly it but I really don't like worrying about the A,B,C business. And the last time we flew back from Orlando, the pre-boarding line was indeed larger than all the other lines combined. One of my coworkers told me he keeps one kid and hands one kid to the grandparents and that child becomes "their" kid so that they can all preboard together.