What's with the Southwest seating thing...

[meloneyb21]

We'll be going to Orlando in April and it will be our first time flying and I hear a lot about the Southwest "Walmart" approach to seating. What does that mean?

 

[DemoBri1]

Basically it means that it's first come first served when you get to the airport. There is no pre-assigned seating on Southwest.

You need to get to the airport early enough to make certain that you get into the "A" boarding line for your flight.

 

[seashoreCM]

Passengers are more or less divided into four groups: A, B, and C depending on order of check in, also preboard for special cases. You can check in on line up to 24 hours in advance which betters your chance of getting an "A" boarding pass.

There is usually the preboard line for parties with young children, but those passengers are often ousted from wing exit seats if "A" passengers want those seats.

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

 

[tink_n_pooh]

We had our first experience with SW in august. The process is just as seashoreCM wrote however we found that on our trip home from orlando at least half of the flight was in the preboarding line! They were very slack in monitoring their preboarding policies (like one parent for every small child). I didn't really mind too much since we stil sat three to a row (6 of us) with a few rows in between. If you absolutely must keep your entire party together I would suggest checking in online 24 hours before your flight.

Have a great trip!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Passengers are more or less divided into four groups: A, B, and C depending on order of check in, also preboard for special cases. You can check in on line up to 24 hours in advance which betters your chance of getting an "A" boarding pass.

There is usually the preboard line for parties with young children, but those passengers are often ousted from wing exit seats if "A" passengers want those seats.

Actually, preboard passengers and children under fifteen are not permitted by the FAA to sit in exit rows.

 

[goofy4tink]

Actually, preboard passengers and children under fifteen are not permitted by the FAA to sit in exit rows.

My very favorite thing to watch?? Those handicapped/challenged people that got to preboard, based on their condition, sit in the exit rows and then get ousted by the flight attendents. They never seem to get it....if you are 100%, then you don't sit in those rows. Can't have your cake and eat it too.

 

[PrincessAurora]

These days if you are flying out on a popular flight, the chance of you getting an "A" boarding pass at the airport are slim. Southwest now has on-line check in.

If you have access to a PC, 24 hours before your flight leaves, log on to the SW website, click on the on-line check in link and enter your confirmation number. This will pull up your boarding pass. You can now print off your "A" pass 1 full day before you leave.

More and more people are doing this so for popular flights, A's are usually reserved for those of us who checkin on-line.

I do this because I don't check bags unless I am traveling for a week or more and want room for my rollerbag in the overhead. Overhead bin space usually runs out mid-way through the "B"'s during boarding.

There is my frequent flyer 2 cents.

 

[wee-haggis]

If there is no printer available when checking in online,can you get it or need it at the airport?

 

[SomePixiedust]

Just curious, does anyone know approximately how many people are in each boarding group (A,B,C)?

 

[salmoneous]

A few quick answers...

There are always a few A (and B) passes held back for people who check-in at the airport

You don't need a printer to check-in online. When you get to the airport, the kiosk will give you an option to "reprint" your boarding pass, but your A,B, C status will be locked it. This is especially handy if you plan to be someplace like, say EPCOT, at the 24-hour mark. Friends or family back home can check in for you.

The A/B/C split isn't exactly even. I believe it is something like 50/50/30.

 

[madge]

These days if you are flying out on a popular flight, the chance of you getting an "A" boarding pass at the airport are slim. Southwest now has on-line check in.

If you have access to a PC, 24 hours before your flight leaves, log on to the SW website, click on the on-line check in link and enter your confirmation number. This will pull up your boarding pass. You can now print off your "A" pass 1 full day before you leave.

More and more people are doing this so for popular flights, A's are usually reserved for those of us who checkin on-line.

I do this because I don't check bags unless I am traveling for a week or more and want room for my rollerbag in the overhead. Overhead bin space usually runs out mid-way through the "B"'s during boarding.

There is my frequent flyer 2 cents.

It is my understanding that SWA has an equal amount of A passes for curb check, online, and traditional airport check ins.

 

[MyGoofy26]

As already mentioned - the kiosks will give you the option to reprint the boarding pass. However, if you're in an airport that doesn't have the kiosks you can just ask the person checking your luggage and they can reprint for you.

If you don't have access to a computer 24 hours prior, have a friend or family member check you in. They just need the name you booked under and the confirmation number. There are some services online that will book for you for a fee, but typically you can save that $5 and have a friend do it.

As for pre-boards, we've flown once to WDW on Southwest this past December and they wouldn't allow preboards of families with small children because of how many families that would include.

 

[meloneyb21]

What if I can't check-in online when we're ready to leave? Unfortunately nobody else is going to be able check us in. So what should I do? What are the places that will check you in?

 

[NotUrsula]

Just about any hotel will do it for a guest; either the desk clerk, the concierge desk, or the business center. If there is no charge you should tip for this; I usually tip $10 for the 3 of us. If for some reason your hotel can't do it, a Kinko's is great, or a public library branch.

BTW, 24 hours *exactly* isn't necessary, but it's best to do it before the morning of the departure day. Let's say you have an 8 pm flight, and get back from parks the night before at 11 pm. You can go to the desk at that time and probably still be in the first 25 numbers or so (unless it's a major holiday that you're flying.)

BTW, some web-enabled cell phones are useable for this, too. DH checks in on his Blackberry all the time, then prints the BP at the airport kiosk.

One other note: even if SWA suspends family preboarding, they must still allow it for those needing to install a carseat. They may restrict that to one adult plus the child.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

My very favorite thing to watch?? Those handicapped/challenged people that got to preboard, based on their condition, sit in the exit rows and then get ousted by the flight attendents. They never seem to get it....if you are 100%, then you don't sit in those rows. Can't have your cake and eat it too.

Oh how I wish that the FAs would always enforce this! I cant tell you how many times I have seen this happen - the preboarding "disabled" elderly taking the exit rows. Grrrrrrrrr.......

 

[puffkin]

I hate Southwest's cattle call. I will consider flying them again, but only if their price/flight time is right mainly because of the boarding. I prefer Airtran.

We checked in online the day before our flight and got A passes. We then patiently sat in our seats and waited until the A's had almost finished boarding before we got in line. People were waiting in the A line for over an hour before they began boarding, which was ridiculous. There were tons of seats available when we got on.

Unfortunately that flight ended up getting cancelled before take off (winter weather and maintenance issues) and we were reissued boarding passes for the next flight out. This was based on when we checked in for our original flight. We had B passes, and by the time we got to the gate, there was already a long B line. Our flight ended up being late, and we stood in line for over 45 minutes. I felt really bad for the people from our original flight who had A's and ended up with C's on the new flight. I HATE their boarding process, and I don't care if it speeds up boarding. It adds a lot of stress and standing time, especially if you can't get an A pass for various reasons.

 

[sammi]

We're renting a villa in 3 weeks and I've already checked to see if there is a public library nearby, that we can get internet access to in order to get our boarding passes.

 

[salmoneous]

I hate Southwest's cattle call.

Hmmm, after reading you post, I'm not really sure what you are objecting to. Not disagreeing with you, just not understanding.

We checked in online the day before our flight and got A passes. We then patiently sat in our seats and waited until the A's had almost finished boarding before we got in line.

So it sounds like for you, the SW system works great

People were waiting in the A line for over an hour before they began boarding, which was ridiculous.

Agreed. There's little reason to wait in line. But it's not the SW system that caused them to line up, they choose to do so. My guess is, those are the same people on a non-SW flight that stand around waiting for their row to be called so they can dash into line. (side note - I've never understood why SW's system is labeled a cattel call. On SW, you have orderly lines. It's the other airlines that have a cattle call when calling sections.)

Unfortunately that flight ended up getting cancelled before take off (winter weather and maintenance issues) and we were reissued boarding passes for the next flight out. This was based on when we checked in for our original flight. We had B passes, and by the time we got to the gate, there was already a long B line. Our flight ended up being late, and we stood in line for over 45 minutes.

If this were a different airline, everyone would be either (1) reissued a random seat on the plane, or (2) given a non-assigned seat and given whatever is left over. All airlines have seat-assignment issues when you have a canceled flight and have to reassigne people.

 

[DisOrBust]

I am planning on SWA for our Nov trip. HOWEVER, it will be my MIL first time flying and she is scared. We are a party of 8 which easily can be 4 an 4 . Should we go another airline to reduce the chaos??

To put it in perpective...her first time on a "real" vacation, out of state, staying at resort etc....Truely a trip of a lifetime. I "need" to fly SWA because I have 5 tixs to purchase otherwise I would fly MDW.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Well, you pretty much can't sit 4 and 4. While each plane's layout may be different, seats are usually 3 x, 2 x 2, 2 x 3, 2 x 3/4/5 x 2...
Southwest is 3 x 3. Can you just plan/expect to sit in pairs? I mean, as long as each person in your party is seated with one other person in your party, you should be fine, right? You may well be able to sit 3, 3, and 2 - although not necessarily adjecent to each other.