Military Member Boarding with Family

[rmeyer8784]

I'm a veteran and will be flying with my wife and 2 kids, and wondering if when boarding and the agent invites military members to board between groups A and B, would my family be able to board with me?

[DancingDavidE]

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@rmeyer8784 wrote:

I'm a veteran and will be flying with my wife and 2 kids, and wondering if when boarding and the agent invites military members to board between groups A and B, would my family be able to board with me?

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I don't know if I've seen the answer for this.

How old are the kiddos? Definitely no issue if one of them is under seven years old, then use family boarding + military boarding.

Personally I'd be all for them accommodating your whole family, no objection from me as a fellow passenger.

[rmeyer8784]

My youngest is 8, so beyond the age for the family boarding.  I agree, I'd appreciate being able to board together -- but I've also seen some content that says passengers from different boarding groups wanting to board together would need to board at the later passenger's boarding position so not to effect the integrity of the boarding process (i.e. Passenger 1 with boarding position of A27 wanting to board together with Passenger 2 with boarding position B4, would need to board together at position B4).

[SoCalFlyer97]

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@rmeyer8784 wrote:

I'm a veteran and will be flying with my wife and 2 kids, and wondering if when boarding and the agent invites military members to board between groups A and B, would my family be able to board with me?

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Hello and thank you for serving our country!

As @DancingDavidE asked, how old are the kids? If at least one is under 7, you should be able board at least a portion of your party via Family Boarding which is between the A and B groups (same boarding benefit as military). If both under 7, you may be able to have mom be with one kid, and dad with the other and board via Family Boarding in separate positions. Here's the policy:

Southwest offers Family Boarding, which occurs after the “A” group has boarded and before the “B” group begins boarding.

• Up to two adults traveling with a child six years old or younger may board during Family Boarding.
• If the child and adults are all holding “A” boarding passes, they should board in their assigned boarding position rather than waiting for Family Boarding

Also, are you currently active duty? I'm also aware there is a special military fare that can  be booked or applied to your ticket via a CSA over the phone or at the airport (not available online or via the App). I would check that out as Early Bird is bundled which should help with boarding. As of 9/22/22, no uniform required but Active Duty military ID required. My understanding is the special  fare would apply only to you.

Details: https://www.southwest.com/html/air/military-travel.html?clk=help

[floridaguy]

I would be all in favor of you boarding early.  No issues here.

[DancingDavidE]

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@rmeyer8784 wrote:

I'm a veteran and will be flying with my wife and 2 kids, and wondering if when boarding and the agent invites military members to board between groups A and B, would my family be able to board with me?

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I checked with the twitter support on your behalf - they don't have anything that says military boarding would be extended to the family.

Best option is probably to refer to the new family boarding guidance that says kids 7 to 14 that you can "ask for help" - my suggestion would be to offer what if they boarded with me at "A61" in military boarding.

If you are traveling with a child age seven to 13 years old:

- If you need and request assistance, Southwest will endeavor to seat a child next to one accompanying passenger (14 and older) to the maximum extent practicable and at no additional cost.

- Families can speak to Gate Agents or Flight Attendants to request assistance.

Good luck, and thank you for your service!