Southwest Airlines Community

I've suggested that Southwest change the name of the policy from "Family Boarding" to "Child Assist".     The current "Family Boarding" policy is to become active only when you have a CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF SEVEN, and then, only two adults can accompany the child during boarding between A and B groups.  So, no child under seven, no "Family Boarding".  Period.   Also, there is no way to assure that they all "sit together" since Southwest has open seating.  If that is a critical decision for you, fly another airline.   I would suggest using the CONTACT US link at the bottom of the page and report this nonsense to Southwest and demand compensation.  They will trace this issue back to the gate agent and advise them to follow the policy.   Being a family traveling is irrelevant in the policy.  What is relevant is when you have a child under the age of seven, the process begins.  However, no child under seven, no "Family Boarding".     I would insist on a complete refund.  Let the gate agent explain that to their boss. ... View more

With regard to medical privacy, that is not what is going on with the preboarding policy.   Preboarding is covered under the Air Carrier Access Act.  The government allowed passengers to "self declare" their disability and qualify for preboarding.  I believe that it is because without some sort of "self declare", you would be leaving the decision to the gate agent and there would be lawsuits galore.   Under the law, you must "self declare" each time you begin a flight experience.  Theoretically, you could do back flips and aerobics all the way to the gate, then "self declare" your disability, then preboard.  You could also complete a 10K race and drop in a wheelchair afterwards, wearing your runner's shorts and shirt, also "self declare" and you qualify.   Since you must "self declare" your disability for each flight, theoretically the declaration also expires somewhere along the way, yet the law is silent here.  So, you can "self declare" your disability, walk on the plane and then withdraw your claim or have it expire.     I see the day coming within the next five years where to preboard you must have a medical certification, just like handicap parking.   ... View more

Pre...board.....pre....board.....over the ocean blue......   You paid for business select and I got to board ahead of you...... ... View more

@vollyhawk wrote: Very good data, and I agree with almost all of what you said; however,    A. Southwest could make this better with a software change by cutting off Early Bird purchases when all A Group boarding passes are gone. -or- B. Allow Early Bird people who have paid real $$ to board before family boarding.   It is that simple, but they won't because this is about income via the EB fees collected. Purchasing EB amounts to "gambling". You are paying money and hoping you get an A Boarding pass and you have no idea if you will or not. Why should there be a gamble? S/W should just insure that you'll go as soon as possible over anyone else who didn't pay extra.   I also didn't touch on gate agents enforcement of Southwest policy for family boarding, although many others do on here.  Gate agents often send those needing extra time to get down the gangway first. Even before A Boarding.  They also do not enforce the family boarding policy of two adults only with the child or children under 7. I see huge families line up, aunts, uncles, etc.    I just don't believe the company should sell Early Bird boarding if you don't board before families holding C boarding passes. If families want to sit close to each other, then they should have to buy that option. I can see the idea to cap EB sales but I don't think the airline is going to consider changing this policy as the primary benefit of EB is "Automatic check-in" per the Marketing language on their website; the second being "Better boarding position" with the statement that an A-position is not guaranteed. There are passengers who like the convenience of having the airline do an auto-check in and are willing to pay for it. Capping EB sales would alienate this group.   Even in my "You're going to (destination)" confirmation emails, the marketing message for EB is "Don't miss out on automatic check-in: EarlyBird Check-In reserves your boarding position at 36 hours before your flight, earlier than regular check-in."   As mentioned, I don't opt for EB because I have the ability to check in at the 24 hour mark and can purchase Upgraded Boarding if I get a deep-in-the-B boarding position.    I believe Family Boarding is where it needs to be and left as-is because it involves traveling with children ages six and under; it is best that there be enough open seats on the plane where the child can sit together with at least one of the accompanying adults.   If you're looking for a solid A-position, I would suggest going forward if you book WGA or WGA+ (and if you're able to check in manually at the 24 hour mark) to opt for Upgraded Boarding once you check in instead of buying EB.   Purchasing for Upgraded Boarding opens at the 24 hour mark to sell the remaining A1-A15 slots that were not sold as part of Business Select. It does cap out once all of the A1-A15 slots are sold. It's a little more pricey than EB and the benefit is per flight segment, but if there are spots available, you'll be in the A1-A15 group. I've always been able to snag a solid position at the 24 mark, even for full flights headed in the peak travel direction (e.g. SAN to LAS on a Friday). Just keep in mind that Upgraded Boarding is not refundable and any passenger-initiated same-day flight changes or standby's forfeits the purchase. https://www.southwest.com/upgraded-boarding/   I would also still send your original letter to Southwest and they should also be able to provide you with some official information and tips on these two services.   Also, being a frequent flyer, do you think you may hit A-List before 2024? If so, that's another option as you'll be ahead of both the EB and Anytime fare group in terms of boarding position if you buy your flight at least 36 hours in advance. You'll also be able to board in between the A and B groups as a worst case scenario.   Hope this helps! ... View more

It’s called an opinion folks. Look it up. I’m sure SWA would rather have my “opinion or concerns” versus me just taking my 50+ flights a year to their competition. ... View more

I was hoping I would be able to somehow let you know what the outcome was! Now we wait for the process to… process.  thanks for your role in this! ... View more

@dfwskier wrote: That;s strange.   My experience is that pre boarding starts at 30 minutes, and general boarding starts at about 20 minutes. - of course that is dependent on the number of pre boarders.   I think the SW policy is that if you are not at the gate at 10 minutes, then they have the ability to give your seat away. It was only this one time for me, but they were ready to go at the 30 minute mark and had fully boarded the plane except for us and I don't recall now if they were calling any names over the speakers. Actually I didn't hear them call ours, we just saw the gate area and were like "oh nice, they are just finishing up boarding the earlier flight so we have plenty of time" and then realizing there was no one else sitting down that it was actually our flight.         ... View more

Customer experience is the worst behind the scenes. Non stop delays and not retribution. No care for clients ... View more

My points are also missing from the 7/14 billing cycle. Glad to hear that its not just me. I did get my tier qualifying points, but the usual entry labeled 'Rapid Rewards Credit Card Points' did not post yet.  ... View more

File a complaint with Southwest.  My guess is that after preboards, the gate agent allowed "family boarding" which is another subject in its own.   On my last four flights, I advised the gate agent politely that I was a regular Southwest customer and knew the policy on boarding.  I advised that if any deviations occurred I would report them promptly to Southwest.   No issues were noted on any of the four flights.   Maybe it is time to speak up and be counted.  If the gate agents aren't going to follow the boarding policy, what's the point? ... View more

Contact the CEO and insist on compensation.  That's the only way to make a point with a publicly traded organization.      ... View more

Earthquake feelings/policy?   Snow feelings/policy?   High Winds feelings/policy?   High Temperature feelings/policy?     Where does it all end? ... View more

Invisible disabilities can be just as debilitating and challenging as visible ones, and individuals who have them deserve the same respect, understanding, and access to accommodations as anyone else. Disabilities come in various forms, and it is essential for society to recognize and accommodate these differences without judgment or skepticism. As you mentioned, conditions like Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) can significantly impact a person's ability to travel comfortably and safely, even if they appear fine on the surface. The need for pre-boarding or other accommodations is not a matter of "cheating the system" but rather ensuring equal access and reasonable adjustments to make travel possible for everyone, regardless of their disability type. ... View more

This may not be useful three weeks later but you can also try buying one or two or three tickets at a time and see if the price goes back down, if it is tolerable to have one of the tickets be on a separate reservation.  The example @dfwskier gave you is great - one follow up is that if one of the remaining seats was taken out from under you there might still be three of them left.    ... View more

I don't see any reason to fly in and out of Knoxville.  I'd prefer to leave things the way that they are. ... View more

The do sometimes leave a little early if they were signed off on all the paperwork and for some reason needed to keep the schedule.    I'm sorry they weren't able to wait since it was the last flight of the day, but I hope you have better luck getting to the airport earlier as well.    I cut it close sometimes as well but I'm prepared for the plane to be closed anytime I'm under 30 minutes prior to departure.     ... View more

You can also check the coat and make boarding the plane easier. ... View more

Please come visit Florida and leave behind those tax dollars so those of us who live her don't have to pay any takes.   Many thanks. ... View more

There is no such rule.  If the seat is unoccupied, it is available. ... View more

Boarding finally!!!! ... View more

Thank you! It's what made logical sense to me, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't off-base. ... View more

Now that the train is up and running, for $79 I can go Orlando to Miami in nice comfortable leather seats.  Living in Florida is so nice.  No state taxes either! ... View more

Unfortunately you would have to rebook at the going rate. If the price isn’t much higher you could upgrade your ticket to WGA+ then cancel and transfer the flight credit to her so she can rebook rather than you being stuck with flight credit and going out of pocket even more money.  Keep in mind if you transfer the credit and the flight price increased since booking you would be responsible for paying the difference in fare.  ... View more

@1616941 wrote:   We immediately asked about hotel reservations and found out no rooms were available in the area, because of other airline problems that day and other normal reservations had filled all the rooms.   We were going to have to sleep on the floor at Midway.    Another 5 people including a family of 4 with young children showed up from the Seattle flight, who were also stranded.  . NASCAR was in town among other events, probably taking up a few of the available rooms.   Glad you were able to get onboard once the opportunity presented itself!     ... View more

We just had a rather lively debate after Southwest held a flight nearly an hour for a family of five.     ... View more

Well, it is refreshing to know that we've moved away from misuse of family boarding and the unlimited carry on that goes on at MCO. ... View more

@byang22 wrote: Thank you for the reply. I appreciate your time to respond to my post. I did not reach out to the customer service because it won't help much with this event that already happened yesterday.    If I had been fully informed by the staff in the check-in service in a polite manner as you explained here, I would not have been worried much (e.g., if I had known that there would be no-sale flight to take, in case I missed the flight.).    I just wanted to share my experience with other passangers who have encountered or may encounter the similar situation in the future.  Also, I am not just complaining of the seat assignment... as you can read... just all other combinations including a lack of information on the alternative options or such a long distance between two gates...   Besides, with acompanying a person with special needs, it was actually impossible to choose any front single seat available separating from my son with knowing that he may be disruptive to other passangers sitting next to him. I do not know whether there is a policy or  seat accommodation for a person with special need, but if there is and I missed it, my apology... But, I did not anticipate all these when I was checking in or booking the flight...   Regardless of all these, thank you for your response and time to read my post. It was helpful to know other options are there although it does not change anything at this moment... but may be next time.    This one was bugging me a little - "try to sit to the front" is not bad advice but to suggest it in a way that it may make or break the trip is just going to give you anxiety, especially when you didn't get to sit towards the front.   In reality it might save 5 to ten minutes and you probably will still make it. (After all the other flight is also statistically as likely to be delayed for one thing.)   If the ticket agent is sure that you won't make it they won't send you off to be stranded, so by letting you go as planned the thinking is you probably will make it.   Anyway - go ahead and call/email/write them, you might get a voucher to help sooth the experience, no guarantee but if you catch a sympathetic operator then maybe.           ... View more

Here we go again.  More "family boarding" issues.     It is beyond time for Southwest to change the name of this policy to end the confusion.  The policy is, in reality, "Child Assist".     Case in point is this.  Just because you are a family traveling together, grandma, grandpa, mom, dad and three teenagers, doesn't mean you qualify for "family boarding".  Frankly, you don't.   Unless you have a child traveling under the age of seven, the policy remands dormant no matter if you are traveling as a family or not.   Change the name of the policy TODAY. ... View more

@hemiforjin1 wrote: As a newbie to flying business select my rationale originally was seat position as I needed to change planes. Honestly didnt take into consideration pre boarders.  Lesson learned, probably would have to weigh benefits to costs next time.  Also when selecting flights you'll get more bang for your Business Select buck if you are on a flight number originating with your ticket and not continuing as there could also be through passengers who move up to the front.     ... View more