Social Distancing During Boarding and on Flights-now that flights are cancelled

[lynette911]

I know all airlines are cancelling flights.  Have any of you been on a SW flight over the last few days ?  I cancelled my flight because I am concerned the flights will be full right now.

Based on the social distancing recommendations, all airlines should only allow one person to sit in a 3 seat row.   Is this happening with only a few routes  flying ?

[dfwskier]

reports are that load factors are in the single digits.

That would mean 13-17 passengers or less.

[bec102896]

I had 2 flights about 2 weeks a go and flight 1 had about 40 people (mostly crew) and fight 2 had 17 people so we had plenty of space to spread out and no crowding during boarding. 

[GCStanley]

I’ve also inquired about social distancing policies for “sold out”  flights and haven’t received an answer — would like to know in advance — please let me know if you get an answer

[GCStanley]

Does “sold out” mean every seat is filled , every other seat, ,or every third seat?

It would be nice to get a direct answer from Southwest on this.

[dfwskier · Accepted solution]

You won't get a "direct" answer from Southwest here. This is a public forum, and not a direct portal into the company. If you want a "direct" answer, try this:

https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/Knowledge-Base/Submitting-a-Suggestion-and-or-Complaint/ta-...

I suspect that however you want to measure it, there are no "full" flights.

[ipsedixit]

I don't think any flight is really "sold out" nowadays.

Maybe it's just code for "cancelled"

[gsking]

Yes, in my experience , a flight that shows as sold out is in the progress of being canceled .  I had this happen between yesterday and today.

And the remaining flights won't be full. 

[DancingDavidE]

Same with a distinction that I had seen “unavailable” on flights that seemed to be in peril of cancellation before due to weather as opposed to “Sold Out” which I did think was based on seats available.

Keep us posted If this holds up @gsking .

[davedurfee]

Why can't Southwest answer a simple question?  If the plane is sold out or almost full, will Southwest truly expect people who don't know one another to sit side by side???  It's one thing to say, gosh folks, just spread out.  But I have a flight on Memorial Day.  I'm expecting that there will be passengers for every seat that Southwest has available.  

So... in order to maximize revenue, WILL SOUTHWEST IGNORE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND REQUIRE PASSENGERS TO SIT BESIDE PASSENGERS THAT THEY DON'T KNOW???