What's the likelihood...

[jpessa]

of being separated from my 3 year old on my Southwest flight operated by Air Tran?

I plan to sign in the full 24 hours in advance, but don't have the option to pay for advance seating to ensure we're together.

It's just the 2 of us though. Anyone with the experience of these flights who has seen that? Will they really let a 3 year old sit on their own? Are people really so mean that they won't swap with you?

TIA!

 

[alice99]

of being separated from my 3 year old on my Southwest flight operated by Air Tran?

I plan to sign in the full 24 hours in advance, but don't have the option to pay for advance seating to ensure we're together.

It's just the 2 of us though. Anyone with the experience of these flights who has seen that? Will they really let a 3 year old sit on their own? Are people really so mean that they won't swap with you?

TIA!

I'm sure they make accommodations for this situation. Just don't be the last one to check in at the airport.

I'd be angry if I got there early with my husband/daughter/son... then was expected to give up my seat for someone who checked in late.

 

[jpessa]

I'm sure they make accommodations for this situation. Just don't be the last one to check in at the airport.

I'd be angry if I got there early with my husband/daughter/son... then was expected to give up my seat for someone who checked in late.

I get that, but I intend to check in 24 hours in advance, should my seats be assigned together?

 

[Gracie09]

It depends on how many people paid for seats. You are also flying to orlando so most of the plane will be families. This is why its important to read all the terms and conditions when you buy tickets. I believe there is a warning about this when you go buy the tickets.
Check in exactly at 24 hours. Get to the airport very early and get to the gate so you can talk to the gate agent, don't be picky about where you are seated.
I hope it works out

 

[jpessa]

Again, I understand from the terms that I will be assigned a seat at check in. Therefore I should have a seat before arriving at the airport, shouldn't I? That's the whole thing, you get your seat. It's if you want to change it that you can only do it at the airport.

My question is more what is the likelihood of 2 people checking in 24 hours in advance NOT getting seats together. Anyone with this experience? Not a family of 4 or 5, 2 people. Thanks!

 

[PlutoPony]

My question is more what is the likelihood of 2 people checking in 24 hours in advance NOT getting seats together. Anyone with this experience? Not a family of 4 or 5, 2 people. Thanks!

It's really hard to say. Flights are packed these days so it may come down to how many seats on that flight were booked as AT vs. SW. And I'm betting that varies from flight to flight.

If you don't get seats together, wonder if it would help if you offered to reimburse someone's seat assigment fee (with cash on the spot) if they were willing to trade with you? Remember it's easier to get someone to trade if you're giving them a better seat i.e. aisle vs middle seat in the back.

 

[LisaRae87]

I don't know if this would apply here but.. Last time I flew SW (not AT in any way) I had my daughter as a lap child but they did seat families with small children (under 5 or 6 I think) before the rest of the open seating. Anyone that paid for the priority seating went first then we went second before the mass of people that didn't pay for a specific seat. I cannot imagine them making a 3 year old sit alone, people dislike flying with other people's kids on a plane to begin with so to take them from their parent would only upset a child and make things worse..

 

[HoosierDisneyDad]

I would say there is only a small chance that if you check in exactly at the 24hr mark, the two of you will not end up sitting together. If no seats are available at that time, an Airtran rep at the airport might be able to find you seats. And then if you still don't have seats together by the time you board, there's still a chance that someone will trade seats with you (though if the two of you are stuck with middle seats, it's probably going to be tougher to find someone willing to give up their window or aisle for you -- and I wouldn't say a person was being mean if they didn't switch with you in that situation).

Not being able to select my seats when I purchase my tickets or pay for EBCI is the reason I do not fly Southwest flights operated by Airtran. It's important for me to be able to sit by my kids.

 

[katallo]

I would say there is only a small chance that if you check in exactly at the 24hr mark, the two of you will not end up sitting together. If no seats are available at that time, an Airtran rep at the airport might be able to find you seats. And then if you still don't have seats together by the time you board, there's still a chance that someone will trade seats with you (though if the two of you are stuck with middle seats, it's probably going to be tougher to find someone willing to give up their window or aisle for you -- and I wouldn't say a person was being mean if they didn't switch with you in that situation).

Not being able to select my seats when I purchase my tickets or pay for EBCI is the reason I do not fly Southwest flights operated by Airtran. It's important for me to be able to sit by my kids.

I truly understand this. I think SW could have implemented a better solution to this to help people throuigh the merger. We witnessed someone asking about the possibility of switching seats. The person in the seat would not agree and the person asking would not give up. It resulted in getting the flight attendants involved, a heated argument and a 10 minute flight delay. It was ridiculous since there were open seats nearby.

 

[goofy4tink]

of being separated from my 3 year old on my Southwest flight operated by Air Tran?

I plan to sign in the full 24 hours in advance, but don't have the option to pay for advance seating to ensure we're together.

It's just the 2 of us though. Anyone with the experience of these flights who has seen that? Will they really let a 3 year old sit on their own? Are people really so mean that they won't swap with you?

TIA!

Again, I understand from the terms that I will be assigned a seat at check in. Therefore I should have a seat before arriving at the airport, shouldn't I? That's the whole thing, you get your seat. It's if you want to change it that you can only do it at the airport.

My question is more what is the likelihood of 2 people checking in 24 hours in advance NOT getting seats together. Anyone with this experience? Not a family of 4 or 5, 2 people. Thanks!

Chances of your being split up are slim, very slim. When you fly with SW, and you check in at the 24 hr mark, you aren't getting a 'seat' you're getting a boarding position. You should be fine though. As long as you booked yourself and your child together...same itinerary...you should have sequential boarding spots.
I'm not sure why you can't either pay for EBCI or for specific seats thru Airtran. But, in any case...if you are flying on a true SW flight, then those flying with children 4 and under are allowed (usually) to board in between the A and B groups. You shouldn't have any issue finding two seats together as long as you aren't in the C group. And even then? Probably still be able to find seats together.

I do want to say one thing here though....to those that feel they want to fly SW but think it's mean and nasty for people to not move so that others can be seated with their child. You have no idea why that person chose that particular seat. They may have paid full price for their fare in order to get that seat. They may have paid for EBCI in order to board a bit earlier. They did what they needed to do to get their seats. I don't think it's mean or nasty for them to refuse to give up their seats to those that wish to be seated together. If you absolutely must be seated next to someone, and don't want to take the chance that you may not be able to be seated with them, then perhaps you need to look at another airline. One that allows you to choose your own seats, when booking. But, be aware! Even those seats can be changed by the airline.

 

[katallo]

Chances of your being split up are slim, very slim. When you fly with SW, and you check in at the 24 hr mark, you aren't getting a 'seat' you're getting a boarding position. You should be fine though. As long as you booked yourself and your child together...same itinerary...you should have sequential boarding spots.
I'm not sure why you can't either pay for EBCI or for specific seats thru Airtran. But, in any case...if you are flying on a true SW flight, then those flying with children 4 and under are allowed (usually) to board in between the A and B groups. You shouldn't have any issue finding two seats together as long as you aren't in the C group. And even then? Probably still be able to find seats together.

I do want to say one thing here though....to those that feel they want to fly SW but think it's mean and nasty for people to not move so that others can be seated with their child. You have no idea why that person chose that particular seat. They may have paid full price for their fare in order to get that seat. They may have paid for EBCI in order to board a bit earlier. They did what they needed to do to get their seats. I don't think it's mean or nasty for them to refuse to give up their seats to those that wish to be seated together. If you absolutely must be seated next to someone, and don't want to take the chance that you may not be able to be seated with them, then perhaps you need to look at another airline. One that allows you to choose your own seats, when booking. But, be aware! Even those seats can be changed by the airline.

I hope I did not give the impression of implying people are mean or nasty because they want to keep their seats. I probably should have been more detailed. The dispute we had on our flight was between two adults (no children were involved). One adult wanted a window seat which was occupied. Anyway, the other adult created such a scene it resulted in the FA’s taking him to the plane door and talking with him. This incident made everyone around us very nervous. I guess it’s just worrisome there are people who will argue “to the end” and with everything going on with security issues it’s scary.

 

[alice99]

.

I do want to say one thing here though....to those that feel they want to fly SW but think it's mean and nasty for people to not move so that others can be seated with their child. You have no idea why that person chose that particular seat. They may have paid full price for their fare in order to get that seat. They may have paid for EBCI in order to board a bit earlier. They did what they needed to do to get their seats. I don't think it's mean or nasty for them to refuse to give up their seats to those that wish to be seated together. If you absolutely must be seated next to someone, and don't want to take the chance that you may not be able to be seated with them, then perhaps you need to look at another airline. One that allows you to choose your own seats, when booking. But, be aware! Even those seats can be changed by the airline.

I completely agree with this. In addition, just because my daughter is "older", 13 years old, being older..... does not mean I am willing to let her sit next to a stranger for a 3 hour flight.
My vacation starts when I board that plane, and if I have done what I need to do to get on the plane and get the seats I want. Whether it be, pay extra $, check in online early, get to the airport early.... then I have done what it takes and I am not being separated from my family to accommodate someone that has not taken these steps for themselves.

 

[MyThreeKids123]

Chances of your being split up are slim, very slim. When you fly with SW, and you check in at the 24 hr mark, you aren't getting a 'seat' you're getting a boarding position. You should be fine though. As long as you booked yourself and your child together...same itinerary...you should have sequential boarding spots.
I'm not sure why you can't either pay for EBCI or for specific seats thru Airtran. But, in any case...if you are flying on a true SW flight, then those flying with children 4 and under are allowed (usually) to board in between the A and B groups. You shouldn't have any issue finding two seats together as long as you aren't in the C group. And even then? Probably still be able to find seats together.

I do want to say one thing here though....to those that feel they want to fly SW but think it's mean and nasty for people to not move so that others can be seated with their child. You have no idea why that person chose that particular seat. They may have paid full price for their fare in order to get that seat. They may have paid for EBCI in order to board a bit earlier. They did what they needed to do to get their seats. I don't think it's mean or nasty for them to refuse to give up their seats to those that wish to be seated together. If you absolutely must be seated next to someone, and don't want to take the chance that you may not be able to be seated with them, then perhaps you need to look at another airline. One that allows you to choose your own seats, when booking. But, be aware! Even those seats can be changed by the airline.

The OP stated the flight is operated by airtran, so it won't matter what her boarding zone/group is the seat will already be assigned unfortunately under Airtran rules. The flights out of my local airport are the same way, still operated by airtran but I had the option to purchase the tickets through southwest. I opted to go through airtran. One of my children (7yo-nonverbal) would not do well if she was separated from the rest of us, so I wanted to go ahead and pay for the seat assignment. I hate it though, because it would have been nice to not have to pay for luggage, or if I should have to make a flight change. Have you already bought your tickets, maybe you could purchase your tickets through Airtran for peace of mind. Good luck

 

[jpessa]

The OP stated the flight is operated by airtran, so it won't matter what her boarding zone/group is the seat will already be assigned unfortunately under Airtran rules. The flights out of my local airport are the same way, still operated by airtran but I had the option to purchase the tickets through southwest. I opted to go through airtran. One of my children (7yo-nonverbal) would not do well if she was separated from the rest of us, so I wanted to go ahead and pay for the seat assignment. I hate it though, because it would have been nice to not have to pay for luggage, or if I should have to make a flight change. Have you already bought your tickets, maybe you could purchase your tickets through Airtran for peace of mind. Good luck

Thanks for explaining on my behalf!

I'm not actually that worried about it because I intend to check in 24 hours before. What I was looking for were people with experience as a twosome checking in for one of these flights. Not every body telling me I should have booked differently if it was important to me (Thanks, not helpful now), but hey I understand people like to share their thoughts. If I had the option, I would have paid for EBCI like with every other Southwest flight I have taken. When I booked this flight I knew they assigned seats at check in. No problem. Lots of airlines do that, not an issue. Unfortunately they won't let me pay the $6 to Air Tran either, would have done that too. I only wondered if it happened to twosomes specifically.

Also, reason I booked SW is because I had a credit, which meant the difference between going out not going, budget wise. So booking Air Tran was not an option.

I certainly don't want to split up families that paid to be together. I get that. That would also irritate me. I just think SW dropped the ball on this one, not allowing for EBCI on these flights. But since its just the two of us I think we'll be fine. If not, good luck to the person sitting next to my child

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Anyone with the experience of these flights who has seen that? Will they really let a 3 year old sit on their own? Are people really so mean that they won't swap with you?
TIA!

What I was looking for were people with experience as a twosome checking in for one of these flights.

Not every body telling me I should have booked differently if it was important to me (Thanks, not helpful now),

When I booked this flight I knew they assigned seats at check in. No problem.

If not, good luck to the person sitting next to my child

I think many of the responses that you didn't like were generated by your first statement about people being "mean" and not switching at your request.

 

[kmermaid]

If not, good luck to the person sitting next to my child

Why would anyone say this - its not the person they are sitting next to fault. I am doing everything in my power to make sure my kids are next to me which means paying for baggage and seat assignments. Apparently Southwest needs to put in large bold letters the policy when booking airtran thru them.

I would be prepared to compensate anyone that I might ask to move with cash.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Why would anyone say this - its not the person they are sitting next to fault. I am doing everything in my power to make sure my kids are next to me which means paying for baggage and seat assignments.

Just out of curiosity (because I honestly don't know......we always fly Jetblue which has pre-selected seats upon booking): what happens if you do, as an innocent passenger, find yourself seated next to a holy terror (without their parent) on the plane? Will a flight attendant come to your aid?

 

[alice99]

I am unclear on what Southwest's policy is?

IS it possible to reserve a seat in advance by paying extra? OR is it first come first serve for everybody?

 

[vicki_c]

I am unclear on what Southwest's policy is?

IS it possible to reserve a seat in advance by paying extra? OR is it first come first serve for everybody?

You cannot reserve a seat on regular Southwest flights.

 

[DebbieB]

I am unclear on what Southwest's policy is?

IS it possible to reserve a seat in advance by paying extra? OR is it first come first serve for everybody?

On Airtran flights booked through the Southwest website, you will be assigned seats at 24 hour check-in. People who book through the AirTran website have the option to pay $6 per person to get a seat assigned when they make the reservation, or wait until 24 hours to choose seats for free. So the people who booked through Southwest will get the leftovers.