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Solution for South Wests Preboard nightmare

tommyo
Explorer A

Here is a solution Southwest:

 

Preboards can get on first as usual- all 20 to 40 of them. Other than children, vets and mentally handicapped people should sit in the back of the plane, why?

 

1. board before anyone else, no one is in your way

2. 2 bathrooms in the back

3. 2 flight attendants in the back

4. unload last- no one is in your way.

 

what does this solve?

 

People paying for premium seats A listers- A list preferred and Business select are happy cause they got there moneys worth and they can catch there connecting flights faster.

 

pre boards should be happy cause now they have more assistance and more bathroom facilities at there disposal.

 

its a winning solution for everyone....

 

Happy New Year

59 REPLIES 59

Re: Solution for South Wests Preboard nightmare

Eloneskimo
Explorer C

First off, Preboarders are not a "nightmare" to those who are patient and considerate of their fellow travellers who may need a little extra help.  Think about this for a second, your asking the folks who have the most mobility challenges to work their way all the way to the back and all the way to the front.  By relegating the preboarders to the back of the plane you could slow the overall boarding /  deplaning process because they would require even more time to get all the way on and all the way off.  Also, SWA does not have assigned seating, so telling a certain group of passengers where they have to sit flies in the face of the company culture and is unfair to those passengers.     Ultimately, Tommy, I think your idea may stem from frustrations born from a false sense of entitlement that as a A passenger you shouldn't have to wait for anyone.  Be patient with preboarders, for one day you may be one of them.

Re: Solution for South Wests Preboard nightmare

chgoflyer
Aviator A

For the seemingly millionth time, Southwest cannot, under their current boarding process, within the law, dictate what seat a pre-boarder must sit in.

 

The "solution" to the "pre-boarding problem" will eventually be assigned seating. But only when Southwest (and not a few very vocal people online) determine that it is actually an issue -- that it actually has negative monetary effects for the carrier.

 

It astounds me that people continue to offer "solutions," as if they are the first ones to think of the idea, and Southwest's legal team hasn't fully considered all the alternatives.

Re: Solution for South Wests Preboard nightmare

Vapor6
Explorer B

(Loved your response)

 

I will take the heat for buying a seat on Southwest, without doing some online reasearch. Had I known what I know now, I would have NEVER considered Southwest as a viable option. I rank the idiocracy of their policies, in line with, (wait for it) Spirit Airlines. 

 

First off, PAY A FEE TO CHECK IN EARLY? That doesn't guarantee a single thing. Secondly, no guarantee that you will sit with your travel partners. From the looks of the plane set ups, there are no 'classes', so, essentially, you pay for the opportunity to board in the first group. Which seems like it would be a no-brainer, but in actuality, is a complete waste of money.

 

Thirdly, as a career service-member with a 50% disablity rating from the V.A. you would think Southwest could make some concessions. Again, you would THINK that is common sense; apparently not. ( I confirmed this with a rep from the company, before posting this review). 

 

Here is the beauty of this lesson. I travel with a club sports programs, 400 passengers every 4-6 weeks, all going to Destinations that SW flies. If the average ticket costs $350 per seat (non business class fare), and we travel to 4-5 fly-in destinations during the season, that is a revenue stream of 700k. We have done this every year for the past decade....

 

I can guarantee that SW will be fortunate to see even 5% of that total revenue going forward, due to their ridiculous operational procedures. 

 

The tone of this message may sound sarcastic, or even bitter. But truth be told, I enjoy learning solid life-lessons and this experience will be just that. I will be traveling with a smile, knowing that I will never drop another dime into Southwest Airlines.

Re: Solution for South Wests Preboard nightmare

dfwskier
Aviator A

@Vapor6 wrote:

(Loved your response)

 

I will take the heat for buying a seat on Southwest, without doing some online reasearch. Had I known what I know now, I would have NEVER considered Southwest as a viable option. I rank the idiocracy of their policies, in line with, (wait for it) Spirit Airlines. 

 

First off, PAY A FEE TO CHECK IN EARLY? That doesn't guarantee a single thing. Secondly, no guarantee that you will sit with your travel partners. From the looks of the plane set ups, there are no 'classes', so, essentially, you pay for the opportunity to board in the first group. Which seems like it would be a no-brainer, but in actuality, is a complete waste of money.

 

You do realize that you don't have to pay, don't you.? Lots of people don't and they end up with good boarding positions. They just have to take responsibility for their own actions by checking in as close to 24 hours before flight time as possible.

 

Early bird check in provides better boarding spots than the people mentioned above and relieves the flyer of the resposibility of actually logging on to get a boarding position. It's worth it for some people, and isn't for others.

 

 

Re: Solution for South Wests Preboard nightmare

precious8990460
Explorer B

When will people who think they are special be more courtous of  people with disabilities . Im not disable but I do think people who need more help should be shown some courtesy. There will be plenty of seats to sit in 

Re: Solution for South Wests Preboard nightmare

spacecoastbill
Frequent Flyer B

I dont think he has a sense of entitlement,  but those abusing the pre board policy and faking a medical condition to avoid paying for early boarding certainly do.

 

Its becoming more and more widespread.  SWA even terms those cured mid air as 'miracle flights'.  These people walk around the terminal until a few minutes before boarding when they now sit in a wheelchair to get onboard first and grab a bulkhead seat or row... or try to save several seats or rows in the front of the plane.

 

On arrival, they leap from their seats, grab their overhead bags, and then run through the terminal.

 

MCO, PHX, and LAS are some of the worst.

Re: Solution for South Wests Preboard nightmare

Catedi
Explorer C

@spacecoastbill uses terms, such as:

 

"faking a medical condition", and "...cured mid air as 'miracle flights'. " , accusing the disabled pre-boarders of leaping from their seats, grabbing their overhead bags, and then running through the terminal, upon landing. Nice soundbites, spacecoastbill, but I've never seen such antics, as a nurse who frequently accompanies someone who needs preboarding. My question to you is, how could you possibly know someone's condition isn't legitimate? Is your jealousy so profound you disregard common empathy toward those less fortunate? WoW, is all I got...

 

 


 

Re: Solution for South Wests Preboard nightmare

spacecoastbill
Frequent Flyer B

@Catedi wrote:

@spacecoastbill uses terms, such as:

 

"faking a medical condition", and "...cured mid air as 'miracle flights'. " , accusing the disabled pre-boarders of leaping from their seats, grabbing their overhead bags, and then running through the terminal, upon landing. Nice soundbites, spacecoastbill, but I've never seen such antics, as a nurse who frequently accompanies someone who needs preboarding. My question to you is, how could you possibly know someone's condition isn't legitimate? Is your jealousy so profound you disregard common empathy toward those less fortunate? WoW, is all I got...

 

 


 


If you want to pretend there are not many preboard fakers out there, or claim blindly you have never seen them, then thats up to you.


The reality (as shown time and time again in these forums and others) is that people are faking it to get to preboard.

 

Those who run around the terminal only to return to the gate 10 minutes before boarding and sitting in a wheelchair, then bounding up from their seat at arrival and hefting their carry on down and sprinting through the terminal on the way out.

 

Even SWA has a term for these... "miracle flights" for those healed in mid air.

 

These are not soundbites, these are facts.  Yes, I have witnessed it myself and so have others on this and other forums.

 

 

Re: Solution for South Wests Preboard nightmare

Amanda218
Explorer B

I pre-board and I have no physical disability. My disability is a mental one. I suffer from claustrophobia and at 5’1” when I am in a situation where everybody around me has to stand up as soon as the plane lands and I can’t see the way out I start to have an overwhelming desire to get off the plane. Suppressing my desire to flee generally causes a severe anxiety attack where it’s hard for me to draw breath. I once had to be taken off of a plane by emergency medical personnel.  To a lesser degree I will hyperventilate and burst into tears. It’s embarrassing for me and alarming to people around me.  

 

I always pay the extra fee for earlybird check-in  to limit the attitude from the gate agent, but I still ask for a pre-boarding pass so I can get a seat in the first few rows. Where I can always see the exit.   

 

I hate that I can’t control myself.  I feel like a total a-hole appearing able bodied and standing with people in wheelchairs waiting to pre-board. I see all the not so nice looks.   Regardless of your boarding position everyone’s going to get on the plane. Please remember you can’t always see a disability.