UGGG Southwest Check-in HELP!

[twinmommyks]

 

[Kae]

I just checked in at the 24 hour mark for our flight tomorrow for our family. I had to check each one of us in separately - different confirmation numbers - using SW points for our flights.

Here's the problem, DD11 is B26, DH is B35, my sister an adult is B42, DS11 is B44, DS16 is B47, and I am B50.

I was hoping for higher B seats considering I checked in right at 24 hours. But this is what we got. I realize that the 6 of us will not be able to get 2 rows of 3 seats together..... or will we? If not, I really want one adult with one child. My ds11 & dd11 would NOT be comfortable without us sitting by them. DS16 would not like it, but he would be fine.

Our dd11 has the earliest boarding number. Am I correct that our dd11 and ds11 need an adult right by them to board? So how do we do this? Can we switch boarding passes with each other? If I go first at B26 then DD11 at B35, then DS11 at B42 and aunt at B44 followed by DS16 at B47 and DH at 50, I would feel much better. That way the kids are in between adults and there is one of us adults in front and also one not too far behind. Can we switch boarding passes?

Have DD head toward the middle/back of the plane, you have a better chance to find 2 rows of 3. Have her save her row & try to save the in front or behind your DH is not to far behind so this should work. When I just flew to Vegas my GF's DH saved a row for us, he was an A we were all b's.

You can not switch boarding passes.
Kae

 

[kamik86]

Your 11 year olds can board without an adult... SW wouldn't even notice since once you all line up and your just passing the papers as you walk by they really have no idea who is with each other and who is on their own.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Nobody can board ahead of their position, but it's fine to board later.
Your 11 year old daughter with B26 can actually stand with your husband/her dad at his B35 position. Kae is right, they should head toward the back of the plane, and probably the best option would be for your husband to stand (so he can keep an eye on both rows) behind your daughter, both in aisle seats.

Your sister and your 11 year old son will board in the same group. She can offer to let the B43 person go ahead of her. They should proceed to the rows your husband and daughter took, with your sister taking the aisle seat in your daughter's row and both kids moving to the window.

Middle seats being least desirable, the adults should have no problem saving those seats for you and your sixteen year old when you board according to your respective assigned positions. You'll be in the same boarding group, and as suggested for your sister/son, your 16 year old can offer to let the passengers between you and him to go ahead of him.

Worst case, if you all board this way, at the very least you should achieve your goal of having one adult with each child.

 

[twinmommyks]

Now, I have read two different things on the boards about boarding passes. On another thread, someone said it is okay to switch boarding passes. I cannot remember, do they check photo id when you hand over boarding pass? If not, then it really wouldn't matter if DD and I switched boarding passes.

I don't want to do anything that is prohibited, but having read that it is okay to trade, I wanted to get more thoughts and see if anyone has done this. If I could trade with dd11, that would be most helpful.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I hope you get seats together.

That said, I just wanted to reassure you if there is a worst case scenario and you can not sit together. I just flew with DS13 and DD89last month on a last minute flight and we were not together. It was MUCH, MUCH easier than I ever thought it would be. (Actually, it was the easiest and most peaceful flight I've ever had with kids!) DS13 was near the front of the plane and had no problems at all. DD9 was right in front of me, near the back of the plane, and was fine as well. However, she did turn around a couple times to check things with me. One was whether or not it was OK to get up and turn off the air above her (she couldn't reach it while sitting) and the other was to know if it was OK to unbuckle to go use the bathroom. With all the things available to kids that age (electronics, books etc...) the time passed very quickly. (3 1/2 hour flight) DD9 was a little worried that she would end up next to someone mean and smelly but that was not the case. Unless they are special needs or have never flown before, they really will be fine. Have a great vacation!

 

[goofy4tink]

I just checked in at the 24 hour mark for our flight tomorrow for our family. I had to check each one of us in separately - different confirmation numbers - using SW points for our flights.

Here's the problem, DD11 is B26, DH is B35, my sister an adult is B42, DS11 is B44, DS16 is B47, and I am B50.

I was hoping for higher B seats considering I checked in right at 24 hours. But this is what we got. I realize that the 6 of us will not be able to get 2 rows of 3 seats together..... or will we? If not, I really want one adult with one child. My ds11 & dd11 would NOT be comfortable without us sitting by them. DS16 would not like it, but he would be fine.

Our dd11 has the earliest boarding number. Am I correct that our dd11 and ds11 need an adult right by them to board? So how do we do this? Can we switch boarding passes with each other? If I go first at B26 then DD11 at B35, then DS11 at B42 and aunt at B44 followed by DS16 at B47 and DH at 50, I would feel much better. That way the kids are in between adults and there is one of us adults in front and also one not too far behind. Can we switch boarding passes?

Let dd11, B26, switch boarding passes with your sister, B42. That way, adults will be in the front and can grab seats...and you'll be in the back, keeping a watchful eye. IN fact, you can probably ask the person who is B43 if they would mind moving to B42 so the kids could be together in line.
You don't show any ID when boarding...just hold out the boarding pass for scanning.

Have the early boarders head to the rear of the plane and try to grab seats back there. Give them coats (or something) to place on seats for the kids. Maybe they can grab the middle seats in two rows....then the kids can grab the window seats when they board.

 

[hsmamato2]

so...say I have a seat assigned, are you saying if i go farther back,and try to get a couple together,the other people assigned won't have a problem with it? how does it work? I've done SWA but only in the seats I got assigned.....

 

[goofy4tink]

so...say I have a seat assigned, are you saying if i go farther back,and try to get a couple together,the other people assigned won't have a problem with it? how does it work? I've done SWA but only in the seats I got assigned.....

Sort of. You don't get a 'seat assigned', you get a specific boarding pass group/number. So, if you got boarding pass B19 and your friend got boarding pass B50, sure, you could ask everyone else if they wanted to move up so you could be further back. But what would the purpose be??? You stand a much better chance of getting two seats together if you are closer to the front of the groupings. You board, and then save the seat next to you. No one is going to mind if you save just one seat.

 

[twinmommyks]

 

[twinmommyks]

You can not switch boarding passes.
Kae

This is what i am confused about. Can we trade boarding passes with each other in our group?

 

[kamik86]

I didn't realize SW "assigned seats". I am simply asking if one adult in my group and my dd could trade boarding passes so that an adult could enter the plane first.

Does it really matter if my sister enters at B26 or my sister at B26, not really, because that is our number. If people don't like us trying to save a seat or two, then I understand. We will put our dd11 by them. But keep in mind, she will talk for the entire 3 hours of the flight to whomever is sitting by her. It's happened once before when we had a stranger by us and she was in the middle. I could feel that person's frustration with her talking. She is social.

Oh, and we could put her twin brother on the other side of that person. He doesn't talk much, but what he would be saying is "how much longer" and bickering with his sister the 3 hours. I wouldn't envy the person by them. I might have a much more relaxed flight if I am sitting elsewhere.

So I am guessing that most adults would completely understand when a family is wanting to sit together. The first few people in our group aren't too far apart in numbers, so hopefully it will work. If not, then I will pray for the person who sits by dd11. I am not joking, she will talk the entire time.

However, as their mother, I want to sit by them and have not problem with their little quirks Enjoy.

Don't expect this to be enough reason to get seats together no matter what. You could put the kid next to me on a flight and I would just take out my awesome noise canceling head phones and ignore her completely.

Now if you instead asked to switch I would probably just let you if I was flying for business and just on my own anyway (because then the only thing I care about is not getting stuck in a middle seat, after that I dont care where I sit)

 

[stacieps]

I have switched boarding passes with my DD many times (I have her go in whatever the earlier position is so that I board after her - don't want to leave her in airport). No one is checking the names when boarding, they are only looking at the boarding #.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Does it really matter if my sister enters at B26 or my sister at B26, not really, because that is our number. If people don't like us trying to save a seat or two, then I understand. We will put our dd11 by them. But keep in mind, she will talk for the entire 3 hours of the flight to whomever is sitting by her. It's happened once before when we had a stranger by us and she was in the middle. I could feel that person's frustration with her talking. She is social.

Oh, and we could put her twin brother on the other side of that person. He doesn't talk much, but what he would be saying is "how much longer" and bickering with his sister the 3 hours. I wouldn't envy the person by them. I might have a much more relaxed flight if I am sitting elsewhere.

So I am guessing that most adults would completely understand when a family is wanting to sit together. The first few people in our group aren't too far apart in numbers, so hopefully it will work. If not, then I will pray for the person who sits by dd11. I am not joking, she will talk the entire time.

However, as their mother, I want to sit by them and have not problem with their little quirks Enjoy.

Threats and extortion don't work. What would have worked (better, at least) would have been for the passengers to be proactive and opt for whatever services or add-ons the airline provides to better ensure being seated together.

Since we're discussing SouthWest, that would have meant paying for Early Bird Check In.

 

[kaytieeldr]

This is what i am confused about. Can we trade boarding passes with each other in our group?

If you board the way I suggested above (post 3 or 4), there won't be any need to trade boarding passes. Each child would board with an adult, and it's perfectly acceptable to board with a higher group, just not with a lower one

 

[twinmommyks]

 

[SmallWorld71]

I know there are kind folks who would offer to trade a seat if the situation arises. I have been one of those.

Once upon a time, this might have been the case; I know I traded seats plenty of times pre-kids. But, nowadays, you can't and shouldn't count on this. This is largely due to the fact that people often pay big bucks these days for their tickets and often for their exact seat.
On our flight last month that I previously mentioned, we were flying Jet Blue so we had assigned seats. All that was left when I booked was 3 center seats (without paying extra) so I picked them. DD9 was between on older woman (70+) and a man probably in his 30's. I was between two women (probably in their 50's and 60's respectively). 3 of these people were flying completely alone and one of the women next to me had family elsewhere on the plane.
They all knew that DD was my daughter as she spent the entire time before take-off turned around in her seat talking to me. They all seemed like perfectly nice people, but none of them offered to trade a seat. Why would they? Who wants to be stuck in the middle? Aisle seats and window seats are much preferred. The man next to DD just put on his headphones and the woman read her book. It's actually to a passengers' advantage to sit near an older child such as we have as they usually take up less room than a full grown adult thus given the adult more wiggle room on an already cramped airplane.

I've never flown Southwest, so I have no experience there and it sounds like PP's think you will be fine. But, just wanted to share my experience with the fact that nobody is going to bat an eye at tweens and teens sitting by themselves. I would prepare the kids for the possibility just in case.

Have a great time!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

This is what i am confused about. Can we trade boarding passes with each other in our group?

Absolutely, as you have already been told. Your id is not checked when boarding a domestic flight.

Why did you erase most of your posts here?

 

[vacationclub]

You board, and then save the seat next to you. No one is going to mind if you save just one seat.

Good luck with that. If you're saving "just one seat" that happens to be located next to another open seat, and two people are looking around for two seats together......guess what? If they don't see anything else they sit down in that "saved" seat and the one next to it. I know I would do that if travelling with someone. There is no saving seats on cattle-call airways, only on other airlines (referred to as a seat assignment).

 

[dburg30]

Good luck with that. If you're saving "just one seat" that happens to be located next to another open seat, and two people are looking around for two seats together......guess what? If they don't see anything else they sit down in that "saved" seat and the one next to it. I know I would do that if travelling with someone. There is no saving seats on cattle-call airways, only on other airlines (referred to as a seat assignment).

I love how people call it 'cattle call'.. cattle call is what other airlines use where you just go on the plane in no order at all. just mosey on in whatever order you want. SW you go in a very specific order.... From what I can tell people tend to show up at the gate early with SW since you want to board in the position you have so you have a better chance of getting a seat you want.. I hear people getting paged to show up for boarding on assigned seats many times, but hardly ever for SW.. I figure other people figure they can just show up when the take off time is supposed to be since they have assigned seats and just dont worry about getting there on time.. Many SW flights I've been on have left the gate and taken off either on time and a number of times early... So for that reason alone I'll take the 'cattle call' as you like to call it.....