Southwest Airlines Community

Hey there! So unfortunately TSA can be very picky about this. They will allow liquid formula through with special screenings but I completely understand that dry formula mixed with water only lasts so long! I traveled recently with my 2 nephews, one being a 9mo old and on formula as well. What we did was bring the powdered formula and an empty thermos. We then went to a coffee shop post-security and asked them to fill up the thermos with hot water. Although since coffee shop hot water is super hot, we had to mix it with cold/room temp water to cool it down a bit. Once you board, especially with Southwest, Flight Attendants are always happy to provide cups of hot water as well! Hope this helps 😉    Travel Agent - Homebase DEN ... View more

Hey there! Thank you for expressing your concern! Although I would highly recommend taking It to Southwest Customer Service via Email or phone call. The community is not monitored by southwest employees so there isn't really anything we can help with In regards to refunds. I do apologize but feel free to reach out if you ever have any other questions!!   Travel agent, Frequent flyer to the west, Homebase DEN ... View more

Hey there! Yes definitely. I have a bag in similar size and it fits perfectly! As long as you don't overstuff it, you should be fine, but you can also travel rest assured that in case it doesn't fit, you can always opt to use it as your free carry on that goes above you. Every passenger gets 2 free checked bags, 1 free carry on, and 1 free personal. So there is lots of ways to get that bag on your plane but it should most definitely fit under the seat in front of you! I hope I answered your question!   Travel Agent, Homebase DEN, Frequent traveler to the west coast. ... View more

No problem! I know haha it is very confusing, they should find a way to change that though. Anyways yes depending on the voucher total it may or may not be worth it! Anyways, happy travels! ... View more

Oh no I completely understand that people saved seats. Again, assuming you were on southwest smallest aircraft, 737-700, with there being 48 3-seat rows each person would have had to reserve like atleast 4 rows for that little seats to be available. So even with the saved seats, it still doesn't Check out. ... View more

Hello there! Thank you so much for sharing and I completely understand your frustration. Although, as I have said to many other people, the community is for legitimate questions, not to vent. By posting this you leave many community members reading your vent rather than assisting others. There is virtually nothing that we can do since this is not a southwest-employed customer service platform, we are just a bunch of random people! But I do want to mention... Why were you stuck between 2 people? Having A4 means you are the 4th person AFTER preboarding to board. You say there were roughly 25 preboarders, I am going to just go with the smallest aircraft for perspective. The boring 737-700 seats 143 people. If only 28 (including A1-3) boarded before you, there is absolutely no reason why you would have had to sit in the middle seat, at this point it is a personal choice and Southwest had nothing to do with that. To conclude, Preboard is for passengers who have a disability, may need some extra time, or simply need help! They each get a companion so how could you be mad that disabled people board the plane before you so they can get some extra time? Something to think about.   Thank you for posting in the community!!! 😉 Travel Agent, Home base, DEN   ... View more

Interesting!! I was talking about the terms given on the email you get before travel. It says that you will need to check in 24 hours before scheduled time of departure to obtain your boarding pass. So they definitely should put it on their faq on their website haha. I can definitely see that part as confusing so I apologize for misreading that! ... View more

Hey there! First off, the community here is to ask questions, not really to vent. If you have problems like this I would highly suggest you bring it up with customer service since there is virtually nothing we can do here as fellow passengers.   But anyways, I apologize this has happened to you! Early bird check in (as described in its terms) secures your boarding position. No where does it say it checks in for you. It clearly states that you must check in to get boarding pass 24 hours before scheduled departure time. Southwest did what they could, they rescheduled your flight, gave you money back, etc. Your luggage will most definitely get to you eventually I can assure you! Also, if you are just posting this today, as a resident, Denver is back up to the positive 40°, so you shouldn't have a great need for a winter coat😉.  All in all, Southwest has a longing reputation for their customer service so I apologize you are one of the rare occasions that someone is dissatisfied.    Please make sure to read the terms next time, and happy travel!   Home airport DEN, Travel Agent.      ... View more

Hello! So just to clarify. 2 free early bird check-ins are included with your credit card, nor early boarding or pre-boarding although it is extremely worth it!   To answer your question: Yes!! So basically southwest will just reimburse credit card, there isn't like a promo code you get if that makes sense. So it will just show two early birds and reimburse, no name will be tied to the credit card statement so you can use them for whoever you would like! Just make sure to use your rr credit card of rewards credit card of choice! And yes, it will count for both legs for each person!! ... View more

Your very welcome😊. I am so glad I was able to help, and always know... I and lots of other people are here in the community if you ever have any other questions! ... View more

Hey there!! I completely understand your frustrations but that is honestly the life of airtravel! The sky is an amazing place, a place where we can travel to wherever we want to go in the fraction of the time it would take by land. With that, it is also so unpredictable! I have been choosing southwest since I first started traveling when I was 11 or 12 and since then, through the highs and lows, I have been by their side! That is because the overall experience. Their award winning customer service, rr benefits, comfort in airplanes even though it is a budget airline, 2 free checked bags, the price you see on the website is the price you pay (unless you add extras like early bird). If you've ever booked with someone's else, you probably noticed how confusing and long their booking process is. You have to go through a gazillion pages just to find the payment screen, and on each one they are trying to sell you something extra. So sure, the fare may be $50, but once you fall for all the extras your fare is most often over $150 maybe even to $200. But with southwest, you don't have to deal with any of that. As a travel agent, I recommend southwest to all my clients and this is because of their lasting reputation, ease and fool-proof design of their website, and honestly I know my clients will be taken care of!   To summarize, there will always be hickups in airtravel since there is so much unknown. But the things southwest offers and their history or being the airline with luv, makes a lot of people want to go back and back regardless of past problems! Everyone makes mistakes, right?! I would love for you to give them another chance If you haven't already and really experience the luv 😉 ... View more

Right!!! Those news reports with an agenda to target a specific thing make me so mad haha!! Like why only southwest? Can't we see the future and not the past?! Completely agree with you, but couldn't find words to write it haha so thank you! ... View more

Hello again!   Yah I completely understand! It is such a game of luck with southwest haha, but for me, all the other perks and quality service make it a much better experience than other airlines in my opinion! I know you stated that you didn't want to pay a ton for bigger airlines, so are "settling" for southwest. I did Want to let you know that there are many other budget-friendly airlines other than southwest! Airlines such as frontier, spirit, Alaska, allegiant, jet blue are much more affordable and may be worth looking into if you don't trust southwest. Although, I do hope you give Southwest another shot as everyone deserves a second chance, right? I hope this helps and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and regardless of the airline, I hope you have safe travels! 😉   Home airport, DEN. Frequent flier to SNA. Travel Agent. ... View more

Hey there!    I totally understand the anxiousness with doing this, but I promise you it is going to be ok! I know a lot of people have had some bad experiences, but there has to be something that makes people keep going back ;).    The earlier you purchase Early Bird (EB) checkin, the better the seats you will get! So I think that purchasing now for July should guarantee you guys to sit next to each other! I traveled with a group of 6 without EB and we were the end of B, but still we're able to sit together! And then even after you checkin, if you dont get good enough boarding positions, there are always options to pay a little extra for A1-15 after the checkin process! But for now, I would honestly think that early bird should suffice given your circumstances! I swear by early bird for all flights and just build it into the cost of the airfare! I hope this helps or atleast helps calm nerves! let me know if you have any other questions!!   Home airport, DEN. Frequent flyer to SNA. Travel Agent.      ... View more

Hey there!! So normally, the fee for upgraded boarding is non-refundable since you purchase this after check-in and then you get your boarding position. It looks like the gate agent was incorrect unfortunately since this fee is like I said, non-refundable. Once you change your flight, you lose your boarding position which means that you would need to purchase it again if you still wanted it for the changed flight. There isn't really anything you can do about upgrades boarding and getting it refunded since it is after the 24 hour check on mark. One Thing I would recommend is to purchase early bird check-in with your flight when you book it. This way, anytime up until the check in mark, it is transferable between any flight!    So moral of the story, unfortunately the Southwest gate agent was misinformed and told you the incorrect information. The upgraded boarding/early bird check-in is non refundable and not transferable 24 hours or less before scheduled time of departure.    I hope this helps and makes sense 😉   Home airport, DEN. Frequent traveler to the west. ... View more

Hey there! A-list is through southwest and not through TSA or the respective airport so unfortunately, the answer would be no. Although, you still get special security lanes in select airports. It depends on the airport you are traveling through, as some have it and some don't. What you want to do is either ask a Southwest Employee at the airport where the "premium passengers" lane is, or just navigate to it yourself! Different airports have different locations of them. My home airport is Denver Intl, and we have a premium passenger lane located on bridge security and south security. So it really just depends on the airport for your special A-List boarding😉 ... View more

Hey there!! So the only southwest requirement is that children 15 and under can not sit in the exit row, so there shouldn't be a problem with your children sitting in the row they were. That is honestly kind of interesting unto why they did that. But I can tell you that you were not breaking any rule and I guess this just goes to prove that every flight attendant is different haha!    Home Airport - DEN, Frequent Traveler to the west.    Hope this helps ;)! ... View more

This makes me think of a couple instanced with "the other guys"   1. Remember when American Airlines was duct taping passengers to chairs?!   2. Remember when an engine fell off United Airlines plane so they had to make emergency turn around   3. Remember when the safety float fell off united Airlines plane halfway through flight   When southwest was coming to be, other airlines were trying to put them out of business. And they almost did. But now they have more customer satisfaction than any other airline, make more money than any other budget airline. And are truly just the best.   I am truly sorry that this one instance has completely ruined your perspective of travel, but I am hoping you will give them another chance because that flight attendant could have been having a bad day. You don't know what happened or is happening in their home or with their family. Everyone has a bad day, and I am pretty sure everyone can attest to that...   In all lovingness, I completely understand what happened to you but why not give them a second chance as this is a very rare occasion. 😉 ... View more

Hey! Personally, I believe that Southwest offers the best of the best entertainment system. So basically, there are not any screens in the seats. You bring your own screen, and basically turn it into a southwest one. All you do when you get on the plane is turn off wifi, turn on airplane mode, then turn on wifi and find the "southwestair" wifi and login! From this screen, you can access drink menu, track flight, watch movies (lots of options for movies and series! Even some live tv!), $8 wifi, etc. So much you can do and your phone, tablet, or computer even has Bluetooth so you don't need to worry about bringing plug-in earbuds!    I am hoping this all makes sense but in conclusion, it's a bring your own screen entertainment system.    *More info and how to login to wifi is located on back of drink menu when aboard!* ... View more

Could definitely be either! Usually at price point, but there is always a chance it could be seats left!!   What I usually do is go back and make a "mock reservation" with let's say 8 passengers and see if that same flight has 8 seats. That usually determines whether it is price or seats left ... View more

Hey there! So like you said, because the lap infant doesn't have a "Paid Seat" they unfortunately do not get a personal item, unless like previously said, it is formula or something of that kind. I am most certain that they won't get mad about that! But if it is Miscellaneous stuff, I would recommend using one of your carry-ons. Hope this helps!       Home Airport is DEN. Frequent visitor to the West. ... View more