I am interested to see the new boarding process in action however, I don't think that this "interim" boarding policy change was a good idea. The "sudden downgrading of priority for families" (gasp! you greedy corporate monsters - won't SOMEbody think of the CHILDREN?!?) was bound to piss people off (that may be hindsight). Besides, what was the point of changing the procedure in October when you're going to change it again in November?
That being said, there are families who truly deserve to preboard. Just as the elderly or disabled need a little extra time, so does the family who has to collapse the stroller and buckle in the car seat. Perhaps Southwest could allow families to request preboarding at the gate. The gate attendant can see that the mother traveling by herself with 2 kids needs more time but the family of 5 adults and only 1 toddler - you don't get to preboard. A policy would need to be in place or people will cry discrimination - maybe if the kids outnumber the adults? More "items" (car seat, stroller, child) than arms wins you a hall pass?
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