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Southwest Airlines Community

Charging Ports

RiaV615
Explorer C

We flew to Hawaii from Long Beach and back with a 2 year old and a 6 year old and both their tablets died mid flight with no means to charge them. If there are no more screens nor TVs on the plane, at least offer a means to charge our personal devices. We also had a portable charger that drained mid flight. 

3 REPLIES 3

Re: Charging Ports

CupCrusher40
Frequent Flyer B

ports add wiring and stress of wonderful  maintenance crews 

Re: Charging Ports

FlyWithLUV
Frequent Flyer C

Hi!

 

Sorry about the charging situation! It's definitely tough keeping a 2 and 6-year-old child entertained on a flight without their screens! Hope the flight went well - can't imagine what it must have been for you.

 

I usually bring one or two portable chargers with me on the flight. You can order some on Amazon for real cheap.

 

Southwest, unlike other mainline carriers, tends to not offer some of the amenities you might be used to onboard, including in-seat entertainment screens. Rather, Southwest offers personal device entertainment which helps to cut costs when it comes to maintaining these systems. Similar to this, equipping a Southwest aircraft with electrical outlets can be an 'added-expense' to the company that could affect aircraft maintenance costs and turnaround times. You'll find that some of the other airlines with power outlets on domestic aircraft usually only offer them in Business Class rows and Economy Plus rows.

 

On a flight to Hawaii, especially, I would suggest bringing some extra power banks or portable chargers. Sometimes though, it just doesn't work out, and like in your situation, the backup chargers also die. I would plug in everything the night before the flight that way everything is fully charged by the time you get onboard.

 

Another thing (which may not be helpful in this context in particular) - if you bring a power bank or portable charging battery with you, TSA restrictions state that it must be in carry-on luggage or a personal item. Please do not check any bags with a power bank or portable charging battery, as they could disrupt the screening process and possibly delay your bags.

Re: Charging Ports

jksobonya
Aviator A

@RiaV615 wrote:

If there are no more screens nor TVs on the plane, at least offer a means to charge our personal devices. 


Southwest has many technological improvements on their roadmap, so  this may become a reality sooner rather than later!

 

--Jessica