Why front of plane? SWA

[DisTXMom]

I find the front is a smoother ride and its more quiet.

 

[jec6613]

On the other hand, the back of the plane is considerate in an accident http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9957319/Which-is-the-safest-seat-on-an-aircraft.html

By not enough to make a difference to me.

A few years ago Nat Geo pulled statistics from airline crashes for one of their shows, and found that the back was about 10-15% safer - it depends too much on how the aircraft goes down.

 

[Minnesota!]

My bf is 6ft 7 in tall. A front row seat is a must for him. He is in physical pain when sitting in a normal seat and can you imagine the poor person in front of him? Im not talking about "oh this hurts" pain, I mean he cant even fit with his feet on the floor. Its a safety issue as well. Its not like he can just shorten his legs. This is not a choice for him, its a physical requirement that is unfortunately, not recognized by the airlines. Oftentimes we have to pay $200 more per ticket for him to fly because they charge you extra to sit in those seats (this isn't first class, its economy).

Unfortunately, SW doesn't let you choose seats ahead of time so they do not get our business.

My husband is the same height, but has no issues in airline seating. He prefers next to the window because of his broad shoulders, but the leg thing has never been (too much) of an issue. He just sits between the window and me or a kid, then he can spread his legs side to side a bit. Funny how same height = different problems. All in the way the height is carried...torso or legs.

We prefer the back. Closer to the bathrooms, for my kids inevitable 8 trips to it, closer to the food/drink service, and then no mad dash at the end. An extra 5 minutes will not make or break my day.

 

[Julylady]

I too am a bit claustrophobic. I prefer sitting as far to the front as possible on the aisle. I also think its less noisy in the front of the plane and I don't like looking at the wing.

 

[monarchsfan16]

I always try for the front because it's quieter and I don't do well with "hurry up and wait" situations. That's how I feel when waiting for others to deplane ahead of me. Plus at the front, I can at least tell if the hold up is passengers or if it's something stupid (jet bridge driver has failed to show up, etc).

And having had a flight go from a small delay to a massive delay resulting in touching down 13 minutes before my connection, AFTER the entire flight was seated and the door was closed, and having been halfway back on the plane, deplaning for a connection from the front of the plane is a LOT less stressful. You don't have to worry about how long it'll take the people ahead of you to yank the suitcases that should never have been put in the overhead compartments to begin with, out of the bins and get out of your way.

 

[kamik86]

I prefer the front because:
1) don't have to worry about the whole seating with others thing. I am either flying alone or with just DH and saving the middle seat next to me (I board A list he boards with his 24 hour boarding number) has never been a problem (I have actually never even had anyone ask me to move from the aisle so they could sit there... so never even have to say it was reserved)
2) I have 1 hour connections planned in chicago or BWI often. Which means 30 min from touch down to boarding. So if anything is late this gets tighter... being in the front makes a difference then.
3) I hate the squished feeling when everyone gets up. Even if I had a longer connection I would still want off the plane faster.

 

[goofy4tink]

I always try for the front because it's quieter and I don't do well with "hurry up and wait" situations. That's how I feel when waiting for others to deplane ahead of me. Plus at the front, I can at least tell if the hold up is passengers or if it's something stupid (jet bridge driver has failed to show up, etc).

And having had a flight go from a small delay to a massive delay resulting in touching down 13 minutes before my connection, AFTER the entire flight was seated and the door was closed, and having been halfway back on the plane, deplaning for a connection from the front of the plane is a LOT less stressful. You don't have to worry about how long it'll take the people ahead of you to yank the suitcases that should never have been put in the overhead compartments to begin with, out of the bins and get out of your way.

Oh, you mean like the man on my SW flight on Friday? He was a medical preboard...not sure why, but he was. I had paid to upgrade to the A1-15 slot...got A2, so was on the plane quickly. I didn't feel great (which is why I paid to get on early so I could get an exit row seat and stretch out), so I wasn't amused to have to get to this guy, standing in the aisle, trying to shove his 'carry on' bag into the overhead. It was obviously too large! He tried every single way possible...as I stood there, waiting to get by him. He finally put his hand on top of the bag, pressed down, and shoved...hard. It got stuck but he got it to go in, finally. Then, he bent down to move his under seat bag to the floor, and then looked at me and said 'Just one more thing' as he removed his jacket, folded it up and placed it in the overhead!! Are you kidding me? You couldn't move aside to allow others to move past you? Then, when it was time to disembark? Yep, he held everyone up as he struggled to remove his oversized bag from the overhead, after he unfolded his jacket and put it back on!!! There were absolutely no people in front of him...the aisle was empty from row 10 to the front!!! It's not rocket science.

 

[daisyx3]

I'll admit that on the way to a vacation (esp. WDW) I want to be close to the front so I can go get started. On the way home I don't care!
Daisyx3

 

[elaine amj]

I'll admit it - impatience is the major reason

Just want to get going. Also we mostly travel with just carry on bags on Southwest so the sooner we get off, the sooner we get going. We rarely have to wait at the luggage carousel.

With Southwest, connections tend to be tight so being nearer the front reduces our stress. And like some other have pointed out, the vibrations are less up front. On a bigger plane (i.e. when we fly transcontinental), its much noisier near the engines.

That said, not a major deal if we have to sit near the back.

 

[Dean1953]

I always have checked bags on SWA, and I've never gotten to baggage claim before my bags. I'll usually sit in the back half. On non SWA flights, the only places that I fly are out of the country. In this case, I try to pick a seat as near to an exit where passengers will be getting off the plane. Particularly at airports that have long customs lines.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I like the front because that is where first class is, and I want the bigger seat.

In reality, I booked 4 legs of a trip recently, and I ended up in the back in order to get 3 seats together for 3 of the 4 flights. I upgraded us to Delta Comfort on the other leg because I wanted to get off the plane quickly due to a very short (36 minutes in Atlanta) layover. It doesn't matter on any of the other 4 legs.

 

[kaitlin-n-mom]

I always try to get the 2nd or 3rd row from the back of the plane. I am a bit of a nervous flyer so I like the adult beverages to be close as well as the restrooms. I also like to sit back and relax while everyone else departs then grab my stuff and stroll off the plane with no one pushing behind me.

 

[Disneylover99]

I don't want to miss the Magical Express, so front it is.

 

[Dug720]

I avoid Southwest like the plague after they have stranded me at airports for 5.5 and 6.5 hours on the last two flights I had on them (the 6.5 hour wait was a flight booked with the voucher from the 5.5 hour delay - I laughed in their face when they tried to give me a voucher for the 6.5 hour delay... the old "Fool me once..." thing), but...

I remember when "medical pre-board" used to be just your word - it got so bad on flights out of Nashville to Vegas and Orlando (I have a friend who was a flight attendant based in Nashville and experienced it first hand) that literally half of the plane would be "medical pre-boards" who miraculously got cured on the flight and jumped up to dash off the plane that they instituted a rule that if you did a pre-board you had to wait until everyone else had disembarked (yes, they required that they sit in a certain area of the plane) before you could disembark. Mysteriously all those "medical pre-boards" diminished dramatically once that rule went into effect.

And @Disneylover99 - No dice. DME runs 24 hours a day.

 

[Disneylover99]

And @Disneylover99 - No dice. DME runs 24 hours a day.

Yeah, but sitting near the front means I'm off the plane quickly and heading to the DME. Sitting near the back of the plane can delay your time off the plane by five to ten minutes. I really don't want to miss a bus and have to wait for the next one if I don't have to.

 

[DebbieB]

i got stuck in the back on my last trip to Orlando (B22). It was bumpy on the approach, it was the worst turbulence I can remember. I really thought it was worse sitting in the tail, just like it's rougher in the back of a roller coaster. Learned my lesson, I will be purchasing EBCI from now on, especially since they increased the age for family boarding. I know it doesn't guarantee A but it can help.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

I love the smell of jet fuel and the sound of a turbine engine, its the back of the plane for me. its even better if i can sit behind the wing and see the air foil.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yeah, but sitting near the front means I'm off the plane quickly and heading to the DME. Sitting near the back of the plane can delay your time off the plane by five to ten minutes. I really don't want to miss a bus and have to wait for the next one if I don't have to.

So your Magical Express bus is always waiting always departs within minutes of you boarding? You've never had to wait in line or on the bus - or both - 15-20 minutes or more? That's some great luck.

 

[Disneylover99]

So your Magical Express bus is always waiting always departs within minutes of you boarding? You've never had to wait in line or on the bus - or both - 15-20 minutes or more? That's some great luck.

Of course not. Where did I say that?

But I can tell you that I've taken the ME at least ten times and on three occasions, we've hurried down to the ME area (after being near the front of the plane) and gotten on a bus that immediately left.

 

[mommyrosa2]

Never really cared where we sat on the plane until we sat next to a "would-be terrorist" almost two years ago (or I should say he sat down next to DH & I).

That flight from MCO to Providence was literally a scene out of a movie...Flight attendants discreetly pulling me to the back of the plane so i can give them updates on the nut next to us. Me having to speak directly to the pilot from the back of the plane. Plane almost diverted, DH trying to calm the passenger while he and I, along with the flight attendants, are cautious to not alert other passengers of what's really happening. TSA along with local and state police meeting the plane once we landed, oh, and did I say we made it to Providence from Orlando in less than 2 hours????

Yeah, I now make sure to pay for early bird check-in just so we can sit closer to the front of the plane.