I am very concerned about the lack of family pre-boarding. I can somewhat understand if the children are older, but I certainly don't want to risk getting separated from my 1 year old! If we have to wait to have people shift seats, that's just going to take up more time in the boarding process.
Also, my daughter sits in a car seat when we fly; and she will do so until she's big enough to sit comfortably in a regular seat. We were told the car seat has to go in a window seat because there's no way to get past it to the aisle. There's no problem with that if you pre-board. But if we're stuck going after the A group, there's no way a window seat will be available. I can imagine some very angry passengers if we're forced to do regular boarding with a car seat....
Yes, I do try to check in early. It's usually not a problem when we're leaving home, but we're rarely anywhere with computer access for the flight home. Contrary to what the SWA rep said when I called, there are not computers at all hotels. Most hotels have Internet access, but that doesn't help if you don't have a computer!!! She also told me that most libraries have Internet access and computers. Also, not true (I live in a town where none of the surrounding libraries even have dial-up, much less a computer). Besides, I'm certainly not going to change my plans to find a library when we're on vacation or visiting family.
At a minimum, I think SWA should compromise to allow those using car seats to pre-board. Otherwise, there are going to be some very angry passengers; and the whole seating process will be held up. And I also think SWA should be able to guarantee that parents won't get separated from small children.
I've been a loyal SWA customer for years. However, I will most likely be using another airline unless the new boarding policy changes. BTW, I don't have a problem with the boarding policy in general. When I'm flying by myself, I think it works very well--it's just the complete lack of family pre-boarding that is a concern. I used to be one of those people who hated the family pre-boarding...until our baby came!
Thanks for listening!
... View more