Southwest Airlines Community

I had booked 6 seats from PVD to MCO in late June. The outbound flight was changed from 12:10 PM to 5:00 AM. Not a good time with 2 young kids. None of the other PVD-MCO flights were acceptable so I looked at other airports in the area and I found inbound and outbound flights from BDL instead. Called customer service and made the change. They were very accommodating AND I got 6,000 RR points back in the process. ... View more

Technically the 9 year old does not qualify to board in the family boarding between the A and B groups, I doubt they will challenge your daughter's group if everyone stays together and approaches the gate together during "Family boarding." Best of luck ... View more

First, I am retired Air Force, flying air refueling aircraft and transport aircraft. I have dealt with in flight emergencies and opening hatches.  First, "Saving seats" should not be allowed in emergency rows. Those who board with the best group numbers (ex: Business Select) should be allowed if they want one of  those seats and it is open.  On one flight, a male (aggressive and confrontational) passenger saved the other two seats in the emerg row for his family. The FA was there and said nothing when another tall passenger and Business Select wanted to sit there.   When the other two family members came (C group), they were two elderly smaller women well into their late 70s or early 80s.   That should not be allowed which is another issue for emergency egress.    But:  How does SW set some common sense boundaries and enforce it without fear of a lawsuit or a physical confrontation?    In an emergency, things become chaotic,.. confusion and panic can set in.    I have seen it on SW once when encountering severe turbulence on descent and approach (into Burbank CA). Some passengers were screaming, puking, crying and the FAs were doing their best to keep everyone calm.  ... View more

@Phrinces As mentioned above you will need to contact Southwest for assistance.   --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

As posted on another thread:   Wearing an N95 mask with a valve doesn't do much to protect those around you, as it permits droplet release, negating the whole point of wearing a mask. I was wondering why it took so long to ban them...   I have to wear N95 masks (I'm immunocompromised).  I simply wear a disposable surgical or cloth mask over it.  Double-masked!  I'm protected and I'm protecting those around me.   No one knows I have the N95 on...they just think I'm overly concerned about contracting COVID.   ... View more

@ ffflyer   I could not agree more! I have delayed all absolutely unnecessary travel for now. Not because of any fear, but because of all the inconvenience and BS.   Funny, in the weeks following the whole country shut down, and it wasn't until it started opening back up, I was flying (HOU/DTW, DTW/BOS, & BOS/HOU, numerous segments), and none of us were wearing masks, not the few passengers OR the crew.   All about making the sheep and cattle feel all fuzzy and warm, just like the whole TSA thing! I have issues with wearing a mask but I am tolerating it for the moment, and I have my own personal feelings about the whole Covid 19 BS, but I don't want to get that battle raging here.   Unfortunately, most of my trips to drive would require days v. hours to fly. Shorter ones, around Texas or to New Orleans, I too am driving.   Safe travels, my friend. ... View more

I love the response that anything under a 5 hour delay is good and all airlines have delays.....that doesn't "fly" with me....perhaps they can use covid as an excuse but every leg of my round trip flight has been delayed  and no.....this is NOT happening on all airlines......just eventually getting me to my destination isn't  good enough .....flying half the day with SW ain't cutting it.... ... View more

@ffflyer wrote: Driving to the airport is literally more dangerous than flying on the plane. Don't get drunk if you're flying with kids, (it's never a good idea to get drunk for or on a flight anyway).  Not drunk! Just one to relax. Anyway I hope you are safe and still able to take your trip.     ... View more

The crazy thing about the Bluebird is that it is located in a little strip center away from downtown, no where near "Music Row" and all the other music-centric downtown locations in Music City.   It is definitely a really cool, intimate place, and like most places in Nashville, you never know who will show up! ... View more

I was told that it could not be done at a self-check kiosk but an agent at the desk would take care of it and put the pink TRANSFER tag on the bags.       ... View more

I would include the cost as a determining factor as well. I used to pretty much always buy EBCI when it was $10. Now, to me, sometimes the inconvenience of online check in is preferable to paying $25.    As we've seen here, there are a lot of different variables that can be a factor. Ultimately, each traveler has to decide what's right for them on any particular itinerary.     ... View more

Southwest would love to serve SYR and If they hadn't bought Airtran (Which served ROC) they would likely be at SYR now. Its also important to note the SYR was a US Airways (RIP) hub which meant that most of the gates were used in 2012 (When SWA bought Airtran) so that might have discouraged them. However in 2019 SYR processed 2.5 million travelers which means that SYR will likely have 3 million travelers by AT LEAST Q2 2020  which would aid the airport in getting a new airline. If I had to guess id say its likely to be SWA but there is also an Amazon warehouse being built in Syracuse which could augment the pax numbers and likely add another airline. (SYR currently has service to 24 airports and is served by 9 different airlines and 4 cargo airlines).   ... View more

My wife and I both paid for Precheck so both go to that line. However, I had a hip replacement and request a full-body scan. She goes through the regular scanning line. We are separated at that point, but meet up after security. Being separated is not a big deal for us as we know where to meet up. ... View more

@jquebby wrote: I purchased my ticket January 12, 2020 for travel January 14th.  I also purchased EBCI.  I was able to use it for my outbound flight but not for my inbound flight because I ended up changing my travel to leave one day earlier. Because the EBCI is non-refundable, Southwest is unwilling to give me a refund.  I have already taken to Twitter to express my displeasure about this and will never again waste my money for this product.  I will simply wait ask at the boarding gate when I arrive if there are any more A zone slots available.  I would rather pay $50 for that than waste the $25 for EB and get nothing.   The closer to 36 hours pre flight time you get, the worse the value of your EBCI. Why - because EBCI positions are allocated based on when they are purchased. If bought within 24 hours of flight time it is worthless.   'As far as EBCI refundability  goes, you yourself said "Because the EBCI is non-refundable, Southwest is unwilling to give me a refund." so you seem to understand that it is nonrefundable.   You do know what nonrefundable means -- don't you? You may not like it, but that is the rule. ... View more

@jwmillerX wrote: I really think this was a Baggage handler for Southwest though. As my luggage did not contain a TSA doc that said they looked in my luggage. "Hi, I stole something and left this business card so you know I was here"?  Lol, I don't think that's how it works.    --TheMiddleSeat ... View more

@spacecoastbill wrote: So by your definition every single website out there that provides news must meet your arbitrary definition of media? Yup. And they don't qualify. Case closed.   --Jessica ... View more

Possibly true but probably not. Preboarders and families would also board ahead of them. ... View more

I had a flight booked from FLL to PVD with one stop that left FLL at 6:00 PM. The departure time was changed to 5:40. That opened the door for me to book a nonstop on the same day at 10:50 am FOR 4,000 FEWER POINTS!  Thanks, Southwest! ... View more

As others have said, Early Bird 'checks' you in 36 hours in advance in order to give you a better boarding position, but you still have to check in yourself to obtain said boarding pass and board the flight. The great benefit is, it doesn't matter if you check in 24 hours ahead or a few hours ahead, as your boarding pass is already assigned to you. You just have to check in and print / download (etc) it.    --Jessica ... View more

My wife has arthritic knees and must get up and walk up and down the aisle several timed during each flight. Thus, she needs an aisle seat at the front or back of the plane. To quote Southwest's rule:   [She has] a specific seating need to accommodate [her] disability . We get EBCI as a matter of course as it is worth it to me to not have to watch the clock to check in. Even getting B-20s boarding positions we have never had a situation where we have not gotten the seat arrangement she needs. We could probably get early boarding based on her seating need, but it really isn't necessary. If only some of the people who use early boarding would think "is this really necessary or is there another way to get the seat I need" it could reduce the number of preboarders and the stigma that is attached to them throughout these forums. ... View more

@addiligence   a travel advisory has now been issued you can review it Here   happy travels! Blake  ... View more

@StAugustine wrote: I have taken many early flights, all out of PVD. My experience is that the counter opens 2 hours before the first flight. I took a 5:10 am last year and the counter opened at 4:10 (and not a momenta before). TSA checkpoint opened at 4:00.     The counter at PVD opens 90 minutes prior to the first flight of the day.   ... View more

The FlightRadar24 app lets you track a particular flight in terms of the aircraft, flight number and the ininerary. I start using it on the day before I fly and I can see where my aircraft has been, where it is going, and whether it is going to be on-time. I like to take early flights and I can double-check with this app to make sure the plane has arrived at the airport the night before and will be ready to go early the next morning. ... View more

Watch how many nut allergies will appear from the new AA preboarding to those with nut allergies. ... View more

@spacecoastbill wrote: The only way to rectify it is to go to assigned seating.   That is not going to happen anytime soon. I disagree.   While assigned seating may ultimately be the only real solution to some Southwest boarding issues, such as pre-boarding abuse, that's not true when it comes to seat saving.   As has been suggested, a specific seat saving policy (allowing the saving of only one adjacent seat, for one example) could do much to help alleviate perceived boarding pain. ... View more

We have always done family boarding even flying out of Orlando where there are usually a lot of families. With 4 of us (one being a lap child) we have always been able to sit together usually around the wings but never all the way to the back! We’ve done this on multiple flights (out of SDF, RDU, BWI, IND, CVG, MCO, ELP, and DAL) and never had an issue! I only ever buy early bird if I’m on work travel and going to be tied up at check-in time. I also have used the upgraded boarding position option at the gate mostly because of the perks that come with the RR credit card for this! ... View more

Thank you for the good information!  Much appreciated! ... View more

I was logged into my account. I believe it was a firewall issue from my company workstation. I signed on via my phone and made the reservation with no problem and got the additional bonus points or will after completion of my stay on Thursday evening.   Thanks!   ... View more