Hey, @Mrgrumpy92. I hate when that happens! Keep in mind, there are many reasons passengers may board out of order, including: Passengers flying SWA for the first time, unfamiliar with the boarding process A passenger may let someone else ahead of them, not seeing it as a problem An honest mistake General confusion about who's on deck to board next Southwest gate agents do the best they can to board in alphanumeric order. But boarding is a critical time and gate agents have many tasks to focus on, like: keeping headcount, looking out for problems with passengers, finalizing paperwork for the aircrew, and other things. Safety is paramount at Southwest and sometimes orderly boarding may experience a hiccup or two when the agent must deal with other issues at the same time. The best thing to do is keep a positive attitude and let it go. Don't pick a fight. In your mind, just imagine throwing daggers at the offender or envision all of the bad karma that offender will be hit with afterward. Also keep in mind, as @kurnishpatel mentioned, a random boarding arrangement with unassigned seats (the current Southwest boarding procedure) has been found by researchers to be the fastest boarding method. So while that particular offender may get ahead by two spots, just know that you'll be on that plane and in the air faster than any other airline. Whether you're holding a boarding pass for A1 or C30, everyone will get there at the same time. 🙂 Was my advice helpful? If so, don't forget to hit the love button below and/or click the “Accept as Solution” button. It'll be a big help to any other folks here with a similar question. About me: Home airport is OAK. SWA customer for 20 yrs+. Miss the days of plastic boarding cards and the RR credit stamps.
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Hey, @Mrgrumpy92. I hate when that happens! Keep in mind, there are many reasons passengers may board out of order, including: Passengers flying SWA for the first time, unfamiliar with the boarding process A passenger may let someone else ahead of them, not seeing it as a problem An honest mistake General confusion about who's on deck to board next Southwest gate agents do the best they can to board in alphanumeric order. But boarding is a critical time and gate agents have many tasks to focus on, like: keeping headcount, looking out for problems with passengers, finalizing paperwork for the aircrew, and other things. Safety is paramount at Southwest and sometimes orderly boarding may experience a hiccup or two when the agent must deal with other issues at the same time. The best thing to do is keep a positive attitude and let it go. Don't pick a fight. In your mind, just imagine throwing daggers at the offender or envision all of the bad karma that offender will be hit with afterward. Also keep in mind, as @kurnishpatel mentioned, a random boarding arrangement with unassigned seats (the current Southwest boarding procedure) has been found by researchers to be the fastest boarding method. So while that particular offender may get ahead by two spots, just know that you'll be on that plane and in the air faster than any other airline. Whether you're holding a boarding pass for A1 or C30, everyone will get there at the same time. 🙂 Was my advice helpful? If so, don't forget to hit the love button below and/or click the “Accept as Solution” button. It'll be a big help to any other folks here with a similar question. About me: Home airport is OAK. SWA customer for 20 yrs+. Miss the days of plastic boarding cards and the RR credit stamps.
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Thanks for choosing Southwest, @22royce22! Just to add some additional comments from @DancingDavidE's reply: @22royce22 wrote: We fly so seldom.....a few questions. 1) Family of 4 making a round trip flight. Can we easily, without losing money or paying extra, change the return date for some of the family after we have already arrived at our destination? Assuming we find a flight? Or if we have to pay extra any idea what it might cost? There's never a change fee charged on Southwest. But you do need to pay the difference in fares. Thankfully, Southwest just improved their online booking system so you can more easily compare the fare difference among all of your flight options that day (or any other day) if you're changing flights. If you do decide to change flights, just remember to do it up to 10 minutes before departure, on either leg. (Otherwise, you lose the ticket and the funds associated with it). Go ahead a give the new system a whirl! Just go to your Southwest airlines account and click change flight. You won't be messing up your reservation as long as you don't submit your changes and close out your browser. Also, ditto to @DancingDavidE's comment about all being on the same reservation and having to change just one person's travel plans. Best to call 1-800-I-FLY-SWA for help with that sort of complex change. 2) It will be between Oakland and San Deigo, (don't know if that makes a difference)? Should I book the tickets early, now, and or check everyday for special offers to get a good deal? A friend said prices don't change that much depending on the airline or where you're going so that shouldn't be an issue? Airfares are ever changing. It's really hard to "time the market," so to speak. And advice you receive about the best time to book on one airline will not apply to another airline, as you never know about supply and demand and the particulars that are driving prices higher or lower on that specific route. It also depends on the season of the year, the day of the week, time of the day, etc. You can drive yourself bonkers trying to get the absolute lowest fare. But one thing you can always count on is Southwest's legendary low fares, especially on Intra-CA routes, like Oakland to San Diego. I've been flying Southwest for over 20 years here in California and, based on my experience, off-peak fares drop as low as $49 o/w during a regular sale on that route. Even lower on their rarely-occurring anniversary sale. But remember, low fares are typically only found on lower demand flights during less traveled days. These fare sales happen all the time but are usually introduced during the week. Additionally, I highly recommend that you sign up for "Click N' Save" e-mails to get the latest updates on fare sales. Also, check out the "Low Fare Calendar" to determine where you can save some serious cash if you have flexible travel dates. Also, don't forget, if you spot a lower fare, you can always take advantage of it. Just give Southwest a call at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA and let them know you found a lower fare. Southwest's friendly customer service agents will gladly exchange your ticket and credit you back the difference in a "Travel Funds" voucher for use towards another ticket within 12 months of the date of exchange. No change fee and they'll honor a lower price? It can't get any better than that! 3) About a month ago I posted a question here, and received a very good reply. Now I can't find the quetion/reply? Is there a way to find earlier questions I asked? We are flexible with the departure and return dates. I just now saw how to sign up for e-mail notification about special deals so that probably answers my second question? Have you tried using the search function at the top of the page? Or by clicking on your username at the top of the screen and going to the "Topics I've Participated In" section? Hope this information helps you out, @22royce22! If so, don't forget to hit the love button right below my message. Safe travels!
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