Southwest Airlines Community

I pre-board. I fly almost every week, and I get an extra seat under the customer of size policy. The seats are 17 inches wide, and my chest, shoulder to shoulder is 21 inches. I'm 5'10 and 270lbs. Do I abuse the system? I meet the criteria for the extra seat though honestly, people much larger than me usually don't get an extra seat. I've had Southwest employees say that I shouldn't have an extra seat, but 21 > 17.   So, I pre-board every week. Sometimes I don't because I almost always have a boarding pass under A20, but sometimes when I haven't, they've called my name to come pre-board so it is just easier. I see who pre-boards. I do not see people scamming. I see old people. I see physically broken people (who I would not want to trade places with though no doubt it will be me one day). I've never heard anyone talk about scamming the system, and anyone who says they have, I call BS. The world doesn't work like that. If you "pull one over", you keep your mouth shut at the time. You don't advertise what you are doing. It is a great story, but it is crap. It is like stories of people buying lobster with food stamps and then leaving in a brand new Mercedes.   In all my time at the airport, I've never seen anyone board with "extra time". Does Southwest give people pre-board who should probably be "extra time"? Yes, I think so. Does it matter? Is that the thing that really what upsets you in the world?   Honestly, as someone who has literally flown thousands of flights all over the world from the cheapest to international first class (I usually do international in business class, but first class is even better), I do not understand why anyone would pay for Business Select. I love Southwest, but for the price of Business Select, you can almost certainly fly first class on another carrier. Southwest in any seat isn't as good as first class on American, United, or Delta (I've never flown on Alaska though I hear it is great). If your employer will pay for BS on Southwest, you should see if they will pay for first class somewhere else (American is the best for domestic first class in the US, btw). ... View more

@blsinmd A customer of size pre-boards. I don't care if s/he can run a marathon. The pre-boarding is to ensure that they get two seats together.    As for "miracle flight", I'm assuming you use term for people who go down the jetway in a wheelchair and then walk off the plane. Since we all seem to be in the mood for repeating things over and over again, that's a seriously ignorant thing to say. Few people are unable to walk at least a short distance. Virtually all of the people who go down the jetway in a wheelchair get up and walk to their seat once they reach the door. Then, when the flight lands, they walk off the plane to where a wheelchair is waiting for them at the door. Just because you saw them walk off the plane doesn't mean a miracle occurred. They still need a wheelchair, but not to get on and off the plane. ... View more

The administration offered no resistance. No attempt to appeal. Heck, they didn't even attempt to stall a day or two. The administration wanted to drop the mandate, and this gave them the political cover they felt they need.   As for educated, I have a PhD, and I'm a well recognized researcher in my field so, um, in my best Gen X voice, whatever... ... View more

@MarcelM Your first flight in 2 years. This morning, on my 28th flight on Southwest this year, you could count on one hand the number of people wearing masks. The flight was completely full so that's a lot of people saying that they do not want to wear masks. Not sure who did that poll, but evidence seems to indicate otherwise.   I was as pro-mask as anyone, but times have changed. I will, however, be getting my fourth vaccine this coming weekend. ... View more