I have just finished reading ALL of the postings and the replies from Brian. I can't believe that it has taken until September 20, 2007 for you to "look into a way" to allow lap children to check in online. Your message is loud and clear--you haven't really considered families with small children at all. My 5-year-old flew Southwest enough last year to earn her own free ticket. My 3-year-old and 1-year-old flew almost as much. I used to feel gratitude for Southwest's kindness towards our family--I had no idea we were so despised! You need to remember that I will not always have small children. Although you may consider me a "real customer" after I no longer burden you with my children, I will continue to consider you my last possible option for travel.
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HELP! I actually feel panicked after reading about your new policies. I fly with 3 children frequently from Las Vegas to Oakland and your new policy makes my airport experience even more stressful. We cannot print a boarding pass for a lap child & have to go through the ticket line. We try to arrive at the airport 2 hours before our flight, but it takes us a lot longer to get through security with our kids & stroller and actually walk to the gate. I can see how it looks unfair to other people that we don't stand in line as long as they do, but our kids really can't handle standing/sitting around for an hour in a confined space. Once we get through security, we actually try NOT to get to the gate more than half an hour before boarding. Pre-boarding has been a life-saver! Are you trying to tell me that if ticketing gives us a "C" boarding pass, we will actually have to board the plane last and place our toddlers in random seats throughout the cabin? I have always loved Southwest because they treated our children better than other airlines (our kids are very well behaved on a plane, by the way). I actually feel attacked by your new policy & we have been very good customers!
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