Southwest Airlines Community

I caught the logo on Flight Aware when I searched my flight, so I came looking for it on the SWA community Boards.   Well, I know what I am doing on today's flight!  I will "fin" out if watching sharks is more entertaining than crunching numbers or reading research.  It would be great to fly the Bull Shark plane from HOU, and I just wish that I could tele-"fin" ahead to order it.  Kinda silly but I think it is "finny."  Having a fun culture is one of the reasons that I am a big "fin" of Southwest.  Keep on swimming/flying. ... View more

Very excited for International and Multi-passenger changes!  Thanks ... View more

@Majmm, Tough one, and I have been there and did exactly what you did.  Hung out in the aisle as much as possible and tried to (1) pretend I was somewhere else and (2) churn up enough empathy for the oversized person having to sit in the middle.  I would venture a guess that the person in the window seat was bigger than you, so the passenger in the middle seat had to make a choice and chose to encroach more on your space than the other direction.   As for whether that was the proper thing to do, I could not say what is correct.  I just take it one flight at a time.  Everyone has to sit somewhere, so that is why I just deal with the occasional oversized flier to whom I might end up against.  I do prefer being next to a person of size over sitting behind the gas-passing "fart blossom."  But I just mentally deal with that as well and hope that their condition is not permanent.  As an A-lister, I board relatively early, so after seeing a substantial number of people board, I often watch the stream of people, make eye contact and a slight hand gesture to the thin person with no rollerboard luggage who may or may not receive and react to the hint I cast out.  That move has backfired on me when I ended up next to a perfume covered lady who triggered an allergic reaction/runny nose.  She was probably regretting her decision to sit next to me.   Here's hoping your future travels are more pleasant, and the good news is that most of them are fine. ... View more

Great question and I would think the answer is yes.  The fastest way might be to call customer service who can code it on all your flights even if booked over the internet.  1-800-IFLYSWA.   have a great trip! ... View more

I am so sorry this happened to you.  As @Passenger1C mentioned, Southwest’s boarding process is different.  I am sad that the gate agent did not ask the simple question of “is this your first time?” Or that they did not notice your number and say “you will board with the last group so line up by the posts showing your number when I announce the C group should line up.”    The gate agent must be used to the experienced passengers and missed your confusion.   I am very sorry this happened and hope the rest of your journey went well.  ... View more

@Shawnwilson101, i am sorry for this group of problems.  It sounds like a very unusual situation which hopefully would not happen again.  If you write to customer service about the gate agent, they may be able to offer something to help resolve the situation.  That sounds very unusual, but the gate attendant may have been having a bad day or they might even be new to the company.     I hope you will give the company another chance, and I certainly hope this combo of issues will never happen to you again. ... View more

I am very glad you shared the story.  Best wishes and safe travels. ... View more

@rtbarron,  good to know! Her purchase was about three years ago and the carrier was brown, red and yellow, and it looks a little sturdier. They changed the color scheme and the price which is good, especially considering it might be a one time use. ... View more

@RainbowMcFuzzy,  @rtbarron has some great advice.  A friend moving overseas dumped, oops, I mean delivered, her cat to me on Southwest.  She had two comments about the trip. 1. The pet carrier has to be completely enclosed.  She had him in the standard hardside container with the wire door but that was not completely enclosed, so she had to buy one from SWA at the airport.  About $100 so not totally outrageous but she wasn’t expecting that so I thought you might want to know.  2.  She went to the vet for a sedative before the trip, and was pleased with the results.  He was an abused adopted cat, so he is kinda high strung.  Fortunately for us, he relaxed after about a year in his, oops, I mean our, home.     Best of of luck with the travels.  I hope it goes well.  Report back on the results because cat people are curious just like their critters. ... View more

@Beryls,  @DancingDavidE has it right about the official policy.  If you go to Tsa.gov and look under identification, it says age 18 is the age at which identification is required.    However, if the teenager looks close in age to 18, the TSA agent may wonder, so I would recommend bringing a copy of her birth certificate.  It does not actually prove anything but it might put the agent’s mind at ease.  It seems like the opposite of getting “carded” at a bar, that is, instead of proving one is over age 21, one may have to prove they are under age 18.  The certificate copy might save her from a more extensive search that one may get if traveling without an ID or when the name does not exactly match.  No guarantees but I can see how it might be challenging for a TSA agent to guess the age when they are taught to be suspicious to protect the safety of all. ... View more

@Ys295401, It seems the language in my response offended you.  Please accept my apology because I certainly did not intend to imply that you are stupid.  I missed the point in your original post that it was that you felt rudely treated, and I mistakenly thought it was only about not getting the drink.  I am not a Southwest employee and my comments are my own.  I appreciate the differences in others and would never intentionally ridicule another person.  Public postings can be misinterpreted, and I did not understand the direction of your original post.  The discussion boards are monitored though I am not sure how closely the "Stories" section gets reviewed.  Due to your status as a "New Arrival," I mistakenly thought that you could not have known that, and my reply offended you by an accident of interpretation on my part.    Because I believe that the vast majority of Southwest employees are kind, I suggest that if you still feel strongly about the situation, you might want to write to Customer Service.  I ask for your forgiveness, and I wish you more pleasant travels in the future.   ... View more

@Wilked1, Which airport?  I am sorry to hear that, and hopefully the third party is involved with the matching process because SWA does not have the storage space at that airport.  You may yet get a notification.  My wallet once slipped out of my pocket, and it was a great relief when it was returned to me.  I now pat myself down before exiting.  I hope it finds its way back to you and soon. ... View more

@pamelamcpeters, That is good news.  Thanks for reporting the find! ... View more

@mialtrujillo, Are you flying domestically or internationally?  My response below assumes domestic travel only.   The TSA website provides some information on this subject here: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification.   I am not a TSA expert, but I believe from experience and from reading this information, that you could still get through the TSA checkpoint, but you would have to agree to additional screening - patdown, bag swab, etc.  That is what I had to do when Texas gave me a temporary driver's license.  This website says a temporary DL is not an acceptable form of ID, but then under the "Forgot your ID?", it says that if one arrives without a valid ID, one can still get through with additional screening.  I guess that is what they did for me - even though I presented the document (which had no picture) and explained the situation, they just treated me as if I had not presented one.   Definitely arrive early, and I would guess that the TSA people at different airports may have different guidelines (again, based on my experience with the temporary DL).    Please come back to the Discussion after your trip and let us know how it went if you decide not to change the ticket. ... View more

@Eln1559, No luck at the New Orleans airport.  Hopefully you saw all these FAQs on the SWA website already? https://live.nettracer.aero/southwest-paxview/lostandfound/bagunchecked.do   Good luck and let us know if it is found.  Fingers crossed for you.   ... View more

@mlawton425, Posting on these discussion boards is one way to do that. You might see something on the "Stories" boards that you could comment on as well.   Another way would be to send a written letter to customer service.  No promises, but I once wrote in about a schedule change issue between two locations, and it may have gotten noticed because when the next set of schedules was unveiled, the issue was solved.  Whether I was noticed or whether I was just lucky, I was definitely happier.   I hope it works out, but as I said, no promises.  Logistics and flight schedules are definitely a challenge for airlines. ... View more

The flight was June 5th?  I will reach out to someone I know at the MSY airport, but no guarantees.  Can you send a private message with an address in case something amazing happens? ... View more

Great story.  Thanks for posting.  And I think that one challenge your class might have in the future is choosing between airlines and NASA if they stay in Houston.  What a nice problem to have, and they are lucky to have you as their teacher! ... View more

@Ys295401,  the flight attendants are primarily there for your safety. There may have been some confusion about your drink order but to dismiss all flights from an entire airline because of a Diet Coke seems a bit harsh to me.   They have to pick up all unsealed drinks at the end because of the potential for bumpy landings.  Think of the ramifications of what could happen.   Just fyi, you posted your two comments on the careers board and the stories board, but I probably would have posted on the the Discussions/In The Air board.     Safe travels whichever airline you use in the future, though I encourage you to give SWA at least one more try. ... View more

@dfwskier, and @chgoflyer, good suggestion to contact customer service. I would write a letter rather than call though (or write after calling if the answer is no.). I have found that the customer service people who read letters have more freedom to respond.  Perhaps because if the customer really had an issue, they might write in rather than just calling. I also find that writing helps me explain the situation more thoughtfully because I stumble over what to say when I am still in the emotion of the moment. ... View more

I was able to book flights in that date range about 10am. Let us know if yours started working. ... View more

Nice summarization.  I wish SWA had a destination in the Smoky Mountain area too. ... View more

@gcomens, Thanks for the alert.  I have not seen that issue, but perhaps I do not typically monitor the movement of points in and out of my account.  I have noticed that it has become harder for me to change tickets on line, even when they show as change options.  I have to call to get changes made, and generally, what is showing on line is what gets offered on the phone.   You might try a letter to Rapid Rewards Customer Service stating the issue.  No promises, but they can sometimes handle written requests differently than phone calls.  ... View more

I thought I would post a follow up.  I went standby on a full Southwest flight last week as well as flying a competitor who shall not be named.  30 min to board SWA and 45 to board the other.  Less walking time and more sitting time, but I prefer the time to walk.  Because I was last to board the standby flight, I was on the last row - not my usual spot - so I timed the exit, and it was 7.5 minutes to empty the entire plane.  That tells me that it really does not make that much difference for exiting the plane regardless of where one sits (although it certainly feels like it when I have a connection). I am a believer in the SWA "free-range" boarding process.  @Rhrconstruction, I hope you will see the entire package of SWA pros versus cons.  ... View more

@Rickcronin, You might try writing to customer service rather than calling.  I wonder if you got caught in some sort of phishing web.  Maybe this is not Southwest's issue.  I searched my email and did not get anything about the "probfram."   You should probably watch your RR account for a while/change your password to make sure it does not get cleared out if this was some sort of computer hack issue.   Though I certainly hope it is not . ... View more

interesting.  The millionmilesecrets website had already deleted the link. I am not sure what would make people want to go through a TSA checkpoint other than a flight.  The clubs are not comfortable to me unless there is a cubbie I can sneak into, but they are not going to be more comfy than my residence or my hotel, so it seems odd to me.   I fly short hops so I have the choice to drive or fly.  I have bought, gone through security, had a delay and cancelled out, but not to get access to the terminal.  @mhunter, I hope they keep the policy as is because it is a key differentiater.   ... View more

Are they within the carry-on luggage size (10 x 16 x 24)?   Also, you are limited to one carry-on and one personal item (like a briefcase or purse), so you cannot add these paintings as carry-on. But you could substitute for the bag if the dimensions are within guidelines and they are bound and packaged together as one item.     Lastly, if they are smaller than 30” by 17”, you could probably bundle them together and buy them an extra seat and buckle them in like a musical instrument.  Definitely call customer service at 1-800-435-9792 and ask first before paying for their own ticket because I am not qualified to definitively answer the question. ... View more

@Rhrconstruction, although you may have felt misled, Southwest has had “free-range boarding” for decades.  They have always bragged that it makes the boarding process go faster, and I find that the early bird fee (if one chooses to buy it) is less that the bag check fee on other airlines.  Many flyers want to buy their special seat, but I like the ability to move (if I get on early).  I encourage you to give them another try sometime.  Now that you are on this forum, you will find lots of people who are frequent flyers and like to give helpful tips to the newbies.  Safe travels, whatever you choose. ... View more

@dickersonhouse, you have asked a tough question.  I am not completely sure of the answer but I think you would not have to use a car seat in the purchased seat for her unless you wanted to for safety reasons.  But if the flight attendant decides the child needed to be in that seat for take-off and landing, it would probably be best to cooperate, even if the child is fussing.  I have seen where an attendant required the parent to put the child in a purchased seat but I do not know if the request was being made because the child was over age two.  The little guy was pretty miserable and wanted to be in mom’s lap, but fortunately, take-off does not last that long.  Having the extra seat should come in handy for spreading out a bit during flight, even if she is in your lap for take-off and landing.   One hint for you.  Do not give the child something to drink while the plane is boarding if you can help it.  If she is thirsty during liftoff and can take a few sips then, it helps ease ear pain.  I see parents give their infant a bottle trying to keep them quiet but then they are full when the plane takes off and can be inconsolable ( plus full if they get sick).    Good luck and I hope all goes well. ... View more