Those who say everyone has the same shot at checking in 24 hours in advance are incorrect. In addition to anyone traveling on a fare where you need to be age-verified, group travel also issues paper tickets and therefore makes those passengers ineligible to check-in prior to arrival at the airport. So for extended families traveling as a group you may find yourselves in a panic about not being able to sit with your own children even when they are two young to sit alone. This will slow down the whole boarding process while you desperately try to negotiate with other selfish passengers who think only about their coveted A boarding pass and their aisle seat so that your children don't end up sitting alone. Board familes with children of any age first. Go ahead and require them to sit in the back of the plane. Their priority is simply to sit together. Are you actually going to force a terrified and crying child to sit alone just because they have reached the ripe old age of 5? And do you as a passenger actually want to endure sitting next to my crying children for the entire flight?
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10-29-2007
05:16 PM
5 Loves
We will be flying SW for the first time in a few weeks. We purchased group tickets for the 10 of us meaning they are paper tickets and we were told we would be unable to check in online due to this. There are 6 adults and 4 children. We don't mind spliting up slightly for seating but there is no way our children (ages 11, 9, 7 and 4) will sit alone. In addition the 7 year old is in a wheelchair so we will be gate checking his chair and carrying him on. We of course plan to arrive at the airport the recommended 2 hours before flight time. What are the odds of us being able to board early enough to sit reasonably close together with at least one adult next to each child?
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