The SW gate agent proudly announced that...

[luvmarypoppins]

On Dec. 3rd from Orlando to Conneticut she just did her most pre boards ever for one flight, 56!! Gheesh, glad I wasnt on that flight!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Fifty-six people, or 56 parties? Sheesh, I agree with YOU!

 

[dudspizza]

That is like 40% of the plane, holy cow! I would hope each and every one of those folks needed to preboard! I would have been bummed if I was in the C line!

Duds

 

[MissSixty]

I was on flight from Chicago to Orlando when they announced a record of 70 pre-boards! Luckily I was one of them!

 

[beccasmom]

That's why we strive so hard for an "A" seat! Pre-boarding here in PHL is insane!

 

[kevin75]

and for those of us who don't travel often, what exactly is pre board?

 

[MissSixty]

Preboarding (on Southwest, not sure about the other airlines) is for people who need assistance or for those traveling with children ages 4 and under. These people can board the aircraft prior to general boarding.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I have seen SWA flights where at least that many people pre-boarded (although this was several years ago).

 

[WillCAD]

I thought they were a little more strict on the pre-board qualifications at MCO because of the huge percentage of families with kids that travel there.

I have seen pre-board lines up to about 30 people on my SWA flights to and from MCO, but never as many as 56. That's insane!

 

[vacation dreamer]

On Dec. 3rd from Orlando to Conneticut she just did her most pre boards ever for one flight, 56!! Gheesh, glad I wasnt on that flight!!

On my last flight with SW I talked with a FA about preboarders and was told that anyone can say they need to preboard without a reason because of the privacy laws. But they only allow one other person to preboard with you.

 

[DonnaL]

That's probably true, but, I also witnessed a guy in PHL trying to get in the preboard line. The gate agent asked him if he had a medical condition or a small child with him that would allow him preboarding status. The guy replied "No, I'm just too tall to sit in anything other than an exit row so I need to preboard". The gate agent then replied "Well, sir, according to policy you can preboard due to a medical condition or a small child, but, if you do you can't sit in the exit row, because then your condition would preclude you from helping others in the event it became necessary." So, sometimes it works....sometimes it doesn't.......

 

[seashoreCM]

If the grownups without children or canes in the A and B lines would hustle on board and get seated quickly (no folding of coats and laying them in the overhead bins) then there would be time for families and handicapped people to get settled without preboarding.

It will take awhile for it to dawn on the airline that this really works when tried so please be patient.

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

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

My mom had surgery on both her spine and knees and still is need of another 2 surgeries. She doesn't always need a cane and when flying its easier to not have to have that extra article to deal with so most times she just uses me as support. We get nasty looks for being in preboard because we don't have a cane and we don't have kids. We preboard so she can get settled into a seat (doesn't have to be in the front and we aren't sitting in exit rows so we aren't taking seats that are popular) without having people getting upset because she takes longer. Then when we get to the destination she has airport assitance and we rent a wheelchair or ecv for our stay.

When flying the last time out of mco they didn't limit the number of people who went with the preboards the line was ridiculously long. When we flew out of Hartford they limited it to 1 adult and the children under the age 4 any one who was additional or over the preboard age waited in their lettered line and then boarded when that was called.

I depend on the low fares but prefer assigned seats. I sure wish there was a way to combine both !

 

[BillSears]

If the grownups without children or canes in the A and B lines would hustle on board and get seated quickly (no folding of coats and laying them in the overhead bins) then there would be time for families and handicapped people to get settled without preboarding.

It will take awhile for it to dawn on the airline that this really works when tried so please be patient.

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

I'm not sure what you mean with this? I thought the reasoning behind preboarding was to ensure the preboarders get certain seats.

As a wheelchair user I almost always sit in the first or second row. If I'm lucky enough to get a first row seat on SWA I can wheel my wheelchair right up to the seat and transfer. If it's not the first row then I'll need to transfer to an aisle chair and have them wheel me back to the seat. I can't imagine trying to do that while others are boarding or exiting the plane.

For small children I always assumed it was so they would be able to sit next to their parents. Boarding them late means that sometimes only single seats are available and who wants to sit next to an unaccompanied 2-4 year old?

Of course this doesn't mean the whole travelling party should preboard. Just the preboarder and 1 or maye 2 others in the case of a party of 3.

 

[NotUrsula]

Preboarding as a practice is designed to get the plane off the ground on time.
That's the real reason, and everything else is secondary.

In the case of SWA, because of open seating, it serves the additional purpose of ensuring that small children are seated with a responsible adult in their party, and that carseats are in "legal" seat positions. For the disabled, there isn't really the intent of getting them into particular seats (except in the case of wheelchair users who must use an aisle chair), but letting them on when there are no people in the way of their being able to maneuver usually has the effect of getting them seated more quickly.

At STL SWA has been cracking down on big family parties for quite a while now, but their hands are tied when it comes to people who fake disabilities. I know of two regulars in particular that abuse the system all the time -- they always board using folding canes but manage to sprint right off the plane the minute the door opens, and the canes are nowhere in evidence when they get off. I once deplaned behind one of them, and overheard the FA mutter, "There goes Miracle Judy again."

 

[gw_lit]

...I know of two regulars in particular that abuse the system all the time -- they always board using folding canes but manage to sprint right off the plane the minute the door opens, and the canes are nowhere in evidence when they get off. I once deplaned behind one of them, and overheard the FA mutter, "There goes Miracle Judy again."

I think Southwest needs to market this:

"Have an ailment that needs a cure? Need a miracle? We'd LUV for you to fly with us... When Judy boarded our aircraft she needed a cane for assistance. BUT, once we arrived at her destination, she was able to sprint off the plane in order to make her connection with her cane neatly folded in her carry-on."

Heck, they may be able to put tele-evangelists out of business!

 

[WillCAD]

I have always thought that it would speed up the boarding process to actually section off the plane - the rear third would be for Group C, the middle for Group B, and the front for Group A. Boarding would be done in reverse order - pre-boarders first, then C, then B, then A.

This would save time because nobody would have to file past an entire planeload of people standing in the isles to put away their carry-ons - the groups that boarded before you did would all be farther back in teh plan than you are. The coveted A boarding pass would then allow you to easily stroll onto the plane last and get a seat near the front, insuring that you are off the plane quicker than those in the B and C groups.

Come to think of it, it might speed up deplaning if they did it by section, too, which would quicken turnaround time at each stop.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Not a bad idea... would probably work on originating flights - you'd have to have flight attendants monitoring the seating to make sure the "C"s didn't grab "A" or "B" section seats; but how would Southwest control it on flights that stop between destinations? And what about the passengers ON those flights who currently could move to a 'better' seat while others debark, but can't under the section plan because they're stuck with the "C" boarding pass and therefore seating area?

 

[vacation dreamer]

That's probably true, but, I also witnessed a guy in PHL trying to get in the preboard line. The gate agent asked him if he had a medical condition or a small child with him that would allow him preboarding status. The guy replied "No, I'm just too tall to sit in anything other than an exit row so I need to preboard". The gate agent then replied "Well, sir, according to policy you can preboard due to a medical condition or a small child, but, if you do you can't sit in the exit row, because then your condition would preclude you from helping others in the event it became necessary." So, sometimes it works....sometimes it doesn't.......

A friend of ours always preboards to get the bulkhead or exit row seat because he is 6'6" and doesn't fit into the other seats.

 

[ducklite]

I've always felt that anyone who pre-boards because of a physical condition or accompanying children should also be required to wait until everyone else is off the plane before getting off. If you need more time getting on, it only makes sense that you also need more time getting off.

One of my biggest pet peeves is parents of kids who preboard and then hold up the 20 rows behind them gathering all thier stuff and the kids while they block the aisle while getting off. WHen DS was younger we waited until everyone was off to be courteous, because we knew it would take a few extra seconds. Multiply that few extra seconds times 40 kids and you've got a few extra minutes people are holding up everyone else.

Anne