Why I HATE Southwest Airlines...

[jarestel]

Consistency. For whatever reason, the OP was not required to purchase an additional seat on the outbound flight but was on the return flight.
If Southwest only enforced the second-seat rule based on how full each flight was, you'd have dozens of people complaining "but they didn't make me do this last time"!

When the flight is full, the rule makes sense. When it's mostly empty, it doesn't make sense. If common sense is applied, everything works out and nobody feels slighted. Consistency makes no sense in this particular situation, unless the point is to make customers angry, since there are no other benefits to enforcing "the rule" on an empty flight. And the fact that SWA cheerfully refunds the money kind of admits they were goofy in the first place.

 

[C.Ann]

When the flight is full, the rule makes sense. When it's mostly empty, it doesn't make sense. If common sense is applied, everything works out and nobody feels slighted. Consistency makes no sense in this particular situation, unless the point is to make customers angry, since there are no other benefits to enforcing "the rule" on an empty flight. And the fact that SWA cheerfully refunds the money kind of admits they were goofy in the first place.

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That doesn't sound like common sense to me.. It sounds more like "rules are fine as long as I can alter them to meet my personal specifications on any given trip.." What a nightmare that would be if every customer felt that way!

 

[polyfan]

Then you might well be better off flying a different carrier.

Personally I wouldn't give up my aisle seat so they could sit together, it's not my problem .

Anne

What a poor attitude! Why would an adult not be willing to give their seat so a parent could sit with their child? That is very selfish. Do you plan on taking the responsibility of taking care of the child and his needs while sitting next to you? Getting to the airport early does not guarantee an A or B pass- and printing online is not available to those that had to purchase paper tickets. Don't judge if you don't know the circumstances.

Now, on the other hand, I fly Southwest on a regualar basis- and have never had a problem of getting seats together. We are a family of 4 and have not had a problem even with a B pass. I don't think it is something that occurs that often, and I have also seen the gate agent let families with a C pass move to the A line because of this. It is unfortunate though, that people are not considerate enough to know when people need to be together some young and some old.

 

[seashoreCM]

I'm sorry, but I haven't read the entire thread.

... closer to 400. At that size, he was encroaching on my seat space and I wound up having to lean the other way the entire flight. I was stuck b/c the flight was filled to capacity.

You're not stuck. I won't repeat myself for fear of being royally flamed, but one solution is both he and the airline promise (with compensation to you if the promise is broken) that the armrest stays down and he leans the other way instead (he is at the aisle).

(quoting from Southwest's policies) The Customer who has purchased two seats must be an active participant in preserving his/her additional seat. We encourage Customers of size to preboard to locate adequate seating, placing the Reserved Seat Document in the adjacent seat. se

There you have it. From this I conclude that passengers who purchased two seats get to preboard if they were unable to get "A" boarding passes, or may use any preboard lane as a fastpass lane if applicable.

(Preboarding passengers may not take exit row seats.) Still, tight connections do happen and although the airline can declare the situation a missed connection if there are no adjacent seats when the larger passenger comes running up, it would be a schedule irregularity and not force majeure.

 

[ducklite]

What a poor attitude! Why would an adult not be willing to give their seat so a parent could sit with their child? That is very selfish. Do you plan on taking the responsibility of taking care of the child and his needs while sitting next to you? Getting to the airport early does not guarantee an A or B pass- and printing online is not available to those that had to purchase paper tickets. Don't judge if you don't know the circumstances.

No, it wouldn't be my problem to take care of someone else's kid, and I simply wouldn't do so. Parents need to understand that they might be split from their children if they fly Southwest, and prepare themselves and their children for this. Parents should never expect another passenger to take care of their child. And it's not a poor attitude, I need an aisle seat due to claustrophobia. So to use your own words "Don't judge if you don't know the circumstances". It's moot anyhow, because I tried SWA once, and won't fly them again for eighty different reasons.

Anne

 

[polyfan]

That puts my mind to ease. NOw, I don't have to think about those 5 year olds that are unable to take care of themselves sitting next to an uncaring person. Having claustrophobia I can understand not being willing to give up your seat, but it doesn't excuse an uncaring attitude about a child.

 

[Lewisc]

What a poor attitude! Why would an adult not be willing to give their seat so a parent could sit with their child? That is very selfish. Do you plan on taking the responsibility of taking care of the child and his needs while sitting next to you? Getting to the airport early does not guarantee an A or B pass- and printing online is not available to those that had to purchase paper tickets. Don't judge if you don't know the circumstances.

Except in this case OP said she got to the gate 5-10 minutes before the flight was scheduled to leave. It's evident that even the "C"s had already boarded.

OP told the FA she had to sit next to her child because she need the arm rest up. Given those facts, posted by the OP, I'd say she was 100% wrong.

I'll defend SW, I'd hope after the problem on the inbound flight SW decided to be more pro-active regarding the COS situation.

 

[CarolA]

I have been on SW flights where they have asked people to move for kids... I have to be honest.. I am hesitant to do this. Let's get real, you know the deal on SW and arriving late and then expecting folks to "adjust" for you is a little rude.

My fav was the family that wanted THREE seats together... They finally just got off the plane. Mom and Dad refused to allow their son to sit with a stranger and the FA refused to ask for a whole row, she had volunteered to ask one person to move, but they refused that as unacceptable. Dad was planning to sue as he left LOL!

My other fav SW was the woman who did NOT pay for an infant seat, but took one and then had a hissy when they made her give it up. (Plane was full)

 

[polyfan]

The only thing I don't like about SW is the way they give out boarding passes. We arrive 2.5 hours early because of this and still don't get A passes. We can't check in online because of using travel vouchers which require paper tickets.

 

[cruise-o-matic]

You're not stuck. I won't repeat myself for fear of being royally flamed, but one solution is both he and the airline promise (with compensation to you if the promise is broken) that the armrest stays down and he leans the other way instead (he is at the aisle).

But the armest was down the whole flight. Unfortunately, the armrest didn't keep the upper body, for lack of a better phrase, from spilling over.

I probably should have complained, but I didn't want to make a scene and it was obvious that the person next to me was uncomfortable about flying.

 

[C.Ann]

The only thing I don't like about SW is the way they give out boarding passes. We arrive 2.5 hours early because of this and still don't get A passes. We can't check in online because of using travel vouchers which require paper tickets.

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Where are you flying in and out of? I arrive 2 hours ahead of time (needed a boarding pass 4 times since Feb.) and always got an "A".. Numerous people behind me got the "A's" as well - then a bunch of "B's" - and the stragglers who arrived at the last minute got the "C's"..

 

[NotUrsula]

Just FYI, on US carriers, children who are 5 years old are considered legally old enough to fly unaccompanied (which means no adult companion in the same class cabin.) Children under age 5 will normally need to be seated next to an adult who agrees to be responsible for evacuating the child from the plane in case of emergency. (That is ALL that being "responsible" for a child means in airlance parlance; it does not include helping them with drinks, etc.) A child who is using an approved CRS *MUST* be seated in the window position with his responsible adult right next to him; the presumption is that a kid in a carseat cannot get out of it without help. FA's will force passengers to move to accomodate a paid-for carseat if they must, but every other seat switch is voluntary. (And you will note that since the seat must be placed at the window, the accompanying adult will get a middle seat, NOT an aisle.)

SWA does not provide formal escort service for children flying unaccompanied, though they do preboard them and seat them all together in the first couple of rows. They also have an airline employee stay at the gate with the child until the designated person meeting the child shows up to claim him [with ID!] SWA does not allow unaccompanied kids ages 5-11 to take flights that require a change of plane.

SWA is also required to allow passengers using paid-for carseats to preboard with the seat, though they only have to allow one adult and the child to preboard. This is because there are add'l restrictions on the placement of carseats; without assigned seats, preboarding them is the only way to assure that the carseat ends up in a legal seat.

 

[luvtoall]

But the armest was down the whole flight. Unfortunately, the armrest didn't keep the upper body, for lack of a better phrase, from spilling over.

I probably should have complained, but I didn't want to make a scene and it was obvious that the person next to me was uncomfortable about flying.

I just wonder if the airline can really do anything about this if one did complain? The reason I am asking is when you read the cos policy (I just read it!), swa states the only arm rest are used as a guide so "upper body" issues are not covered by the rules? Right or wrong?
I have never had an issue with these things and I have flown for 30 years!

 

[Boo'sMom]

I haven't read all of this thread, but a question to the OP:
You mentioned no problem when flying from BOS to MCO on SWA. I am confused....SWA does not fly out of Boston.....there is service out of Boston via ATA, but it is all to locations West of the Mississippi.

 

[goofy4tink]

Then you might well be better off flying a different carrier.

Personally I wouldn't give up my aisle seat so they could sit together, it's not my problem that they couldn't get to the airport ontime, or that the OP needs to sit with her son due to her need to use part of his seat. It's also not my problem that people with little kids don't have the common sense to realize that on SWA they could very easily end up not sitting together.

Anne

Yep, it does sound harsh, but I have to go with Anne on this one!!! I stopped at the resort desk at 2 am to get my boarding pass printed out, so I could get an A. Got to the airport 2 hrs. early (thanks DME!!) and sat there and then stood for 30 minutes in the A line so I could get the all important window and middle seats I needed for myself and my dd. There were a ton of preboarders...maybe 45 or so. Wouldn't you know it?? About 8 minutes before our scheduled departure time a mother comes onto the plane with her young son, about 4 or 5, and of course wants to sit with him. But, no two seats together at this point. Not even two single seats in the same area. But the FA asked us if there were two single travelers, sitting next to each other, who would give up their seats so this mom and her young son could be together. Well, no one volunteered to move. So, 5 minutes later, the FA comes back with this comment.."People, this plane isn't going to move from the gate until the mom and her child are sitting together. Come on...someone needs to move." Well, that just doesn't sit well with me. I had seen this woman walking around the terminal an hour before we were to leave. Why in God's name did she wait until the very last minute to board and then expect to sit with her child?? Sorry, common sense needs to prevail. If you want to sit together, get there early!!!! Or fly Song or JetBlue!!

 

[Michael623]

I was thinking the same thing but the OP said they actually flew out of PVD in a post buried in the middle of this thread.

 

[polyfan]

goofy4tink- In that case I agree, she should have been there much earlier.

 

[polyfan]

C.Ann- We usually fly to Orlando or Ft. Lauderdale. We never get an A, we go straight to the gate then to get in line and there is usually very few people even there. Iam guessing most are checking in online. Fortunately, we have always been able to sit together without asking anyone to move. W know it can happen and therefore we get in the boarding line as soon as we check in. I would be upset if we didn't sit together after trying to be conscientious enough to get there early and wait. However, from what I have seen most people are accomodating to others.

 

[ducklite]

That puts my mind to ease. NOw, I don't have to think about those 5 year olds that are unable to take care of themselves sitting next to an uncaring person. Having claustrophobia I can understand not being willing to give up your seat, but it doesn't excuse an uncaring attitude about a child.

You do'nt get it, do you? The person who has the uncaring attitude is the parent who chooses to fly an airline where they aren't guaranteed sitting next to their child, or doesn't bother to get their butt out of bed to get to the airport early enough to get an "A" or "B" card.

Why am I, the responsible traveler who gets there early, the one who should have to suffer and be called names due to a parents lack of forthought and responsibility?

If I had young children I wouldn't book a carrier that I couldn't get assigned seats when I booked, and if I couldn't afford another carrier, I'd simply not go.

Anne

 

[C.Ann]

You do'nt get it, do you? The person who has the uncaring attitude is the parent who chooses to fly an airline where they aren't guaranteed sitting next to their child, or doesn't bother to get their butt out of bed to get to the airport early enough to get an "A" or "B" card.

Why am I, the responsible traveler who gets there early, the one who should have to suffer and be called names due to a parents lack of forthought and responsibility?

If I had young children I wouldn't book a carrier that I couldn't get assigned seats when I booked, and if I couldn't afford another carrier, I'd simply not go.

Anne

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For the most part, I agree with what you have said.. I myself might give up my seat, but you may have issues that require you sit in a certain seat and you have gone to the trouble of planning accordingly - and arriving early - so you can get that seat.. Someone elses needs should not cancel out yours simply because they haven't made the necessary arrangements ahead of time..

To some people it may seem crass, but it reminds me of a sign I saw at my mechanics garage one time:

"Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.."