Skip to main content

Southwest Airlines Community

Preboard - Saving Seat?

saltatoria
Explorer C

I always buy two seats because I'm overweight. They give me a preboard ticket and a little "seat reserved" coupon to set on the seat next to me. It's always the middle seat because of the 3x3 seating. I tend to sit in the window seat.

 

My friend is traveling with me this time. Will he be able to preboard with me? (I do not require assistance.)

 

If not, is it acceptable to save the aisle seat for him if I sit in the back? I realize most people like the front, so I'd feel bad saving a seat in a front row.

4 REPLIES 4

Re: Preboard - Saving Seat?

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Technically, yes, they can preboard with you. 

 

"We will allow one travel companion to act as an “attendant” and preboard with a Customer with a disability" 

 

You could also just save the seat. Choose whatever option is more comfortable for you. 

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Preboard - Saving Seat?

FlyWithLUV
Frequent Flyer C
Solution

Saving seats is not prohibited on Southwest. If your companion has either an A or B boarding position and you pick a seat far enough in the back, chances are that no one will bother you for it. You could try saving a seat in the front, but aisle seats tend to go first towards the front of the plane when boarding gets to B30+.

 

As for the preboarding, if you need mobility assistance, one companion is allowed to board with you. Whether or not you want to exercise this is up to you, but if you are preboarding, this is available to you as an option.

 

I also want to thank you for posting this! We definitely need more people like you who are courteous enough to want to minimize any inconvenience to others as much as possible. In the community, we frequently see posts about claims of preboarding abuse and saving seats (and even rows in the front of the plane). If more Southwest travelers were like you, these problems would not be as prevalent as they are now. I really appreciate it and thank you for being a part of the SWA Community!

Re: Preboard - Saving Seat?

saltatoria
Explorer C

Since I don't need assistance, I'd feel pretty weird saying he's my assistant/companion. 🙂 I can walk a mile without trouble. I'm just too big for the seats.

 

Thank you for your kind response. I definitely don't want to inconvenience anyone. I already feel bad enough pre-boarding without an "obvious" disability. I don't want to look like one of those people faking an injury.

 

We also don't really care if we don't end up sitting together. It's a two-hour direct flight, so we'd just meet up at the end. 🙂

Re: Preboard - Saving Seat?

StAugustine
Frequent Flyer C

Don't want to inconvenience anybody! Don't want to save seats! Don't mind sitting apart for 2 hours! What an amazing post. You must be the most courteous Southwest passenger EVER!!!

Thank you.