Military Boarding

[southwesterner]

Sitting on a plane delayed 1/2 hour so far. An active military member with military ID, I was waiting to board when a Southwest agent told me to board after A group. I went up to the gate agent and she turned me away, saying that I must be in uniform. The other agent apologized, but said that each gate agent sets their own policy. Is this accurate? What is Southwest’s policy on military boarding?

[southwesterner]

Update: Still sitting on plane. 1 1/2 hour delayed so far, with no explanation.

[southwesterner]

Southwest Flight 3688, in case anyone at Southwest actually reads this discussion board...

[dfwskier · Accepted solution]

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@southwesterner wrote:

Southwest Flight 3688, in case anyone at Southwest actually reads this discussion board...

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You must have given us the wrong flight number. 3688 (Charlotte/Chicago) is set for a 4:45 departure  33 minutes from now. It's delayed til 5:40 at the moment. Why - likely because severe storms moved thru Chicago earlier today and messed  things up big time.

Also since this is a customer forum, you are unlikely to receive a formal response fro the airline. If you want one, I'd suggest e-mailing SW by clicking "contact us" at the bottom of this page and then picking e-mail from the choices listed on the top left of the ensuing page.

[southwesterner]

Southwest Flight 3688 (Baltimore/Charlotte). Boarded at 2:05 pm. Delayed until after 4 pm. Hot plane, no water. Once airborne, the pilot announced on the intercom that there would be no beverage or snack service.

[CareforNOLA]

@southwesterner,

sorry about the delay.  Summer delays while on the plane are the worst!  As a frequent flyer, I have undergone all types of delays, and those are my dreaded ones,b but they happen.  I try to always carry a fan that fits in my phone as well as a water bottle.  But I know that doesn’t help you at this point so all I can say is that I hope your delay ends soon.  

[SWDigits]

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@southwesterner wrote:

What is Southwest’s policy on military boarding?

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There is not an official policy.

[NicoleAshley · Accepted solution]

Great questions, and I just wanted to jump in and clarify that currently, we allow active, uniformed military personnel to board after the “A” boarding group. Though we expect our Agents to enforce our policies, we also empower them to make appropriate exceptions on a case-by-case basis. We deeply appreciate your service to our country, @southwesterner. If you have additional suggestions or concerns, we encourage you to reach out to us via the options at https://www.southwest.com/contact-us/contact-us.html?clk=GFOOTER-CUSTOMER-CONTACT-US. Thanks!

[Ericflanagan714]

Ok that is great, but we have rules now that none of us are supposed to be flying in uniform so that we aren’t targets by terrorist organizations. So your point is not valid. Maybe southwest might want to check of that stuff first.

[ffflyer]

Why doesn't SW let anyone with a valid active or even retired military ID board with the line of fake pre boarders? 

I'd much rather give up a good seat to an active or retired member of the military than to someone who is so low that they fake a disability to cut the line.

I know not all disabilities can be seen. I also know that it's unreasonable to think that three dozen people of so on every SW flight now needs assistance.