Southwest Airlines Community

I totally agree with you. For my 5:30 AM flights, it is totally worth it. Plus, I just found out that that I get two or three free EBs with my credit card.  Plus, on vacation, I don't have to worry about checking in 24 hrs prior.   However, each to their own.  ... View more

Well sir,..read my post  from Dec 11 (Monday). I got my EB months in advance. My wife, not an A-Lister, got better boarding numbers than me when she checked in 24 hrs prior, on the minute. . This has happened twice to us  within a year.      I'm not an IT expert but can't SW program their system if a person with a low number cancels, then the next EB in line gets that number?    But I will continue to do EB especially on departure times of 0600 hours.   ... View more

my wife is not an A-list. Doesn't even have a rewards account.  I forgot to mention, this is the second time this has happened within a year. It was explained to me by a SW agent on the phone that this happens when someone with a lower number cancels and the next person to check in on line gets that number. The agent said this is very common.   The words "hit and miss" actually came from the agent on the phone.   ... View more

It's a hit and miss. I recently had EB on both sides of a rnd trip. I got A44, and A41. I got my EB several months in advance. My wife got the regular 24 hr check in and got A31 and A33.  !!?? ... View more

yes, she was preboarding.   My question too: Was she disabled? apparently not if she made such a idiotic statement.  My wife remembers pushing herself to the front of the preboarding line of people, but..behind me. I had a cervical neck brace on and a walking cane. Maybe she didn't want to "push" it.   Hello Gate Agents!! ... View more

In my last post about a woman saving all the bulkhead seats, I forgot to add:  She said if I am disabled, I shouldn't be flying in the first place.  Yes, she said that.  !! ... View more

Replying to Navjag03:   I wonder if I was on the same flight back from Hawaii.   Going to Hawaii, I was in a wheelchair and got the bulkhead seats. I recently had spine surgery and also leg medical issues.  The bulkhead seats really helped. I was the only wheelchair. Coming back from Hawaii, I declined the wheelchair and was the first pre board to walk down the gateway with my wife. I was slow walking. Then a woman (another preboarder)  behind me ran (yes, ran) down the gateway, almost knocked my wife to the floor when she ran past us. We yelled to her and  she gave us the "finger" back.  She took the bulkhead seats and saved EVERY ONE of those seats. I told her I could really use one of the seats. She got very verbally confrontational.  I didn't want to fight so I took another seat which really really hurt my leg the entire flight. The FA wasn't around during the confrontation.  ... View more

I had a visit with my friend again, a Captain.  How does he determine if a passenger is drunk or not,...he is not trained to identify a drunk person?  Per my friend the Captain, he goes by watching the person or makes a quick determination,..or he is notified by security.  He just denied another "drunk" a couple of days ago.   After 26 years or so as a commercial pilot, he hasn't been "called on the carpet" yet by his bosses. A couple of other friends of mine who are SW pilots, (I use to fly with them in the Air Force),. they have done the same thing,...no repercussions.  I also know a couple of FAs and, according to them, FAs hate to deal with drunk passengers,...and there are plenty.  ... View more

According to my friends who are airline pilots, and the Captain that I recently had dinner with, once a passenger steps foot on the aircraft, when boarding, the Captain has a great deal of authority who boards his/her aircraft,..and who can be "thrown" off. Even the FA's have some say so.  ... View more

I have good friends who are major airline pilots. I had dinner recently with a Captain with a major airline. He has about 26 years experience.  Like my friends who are airline pilots, he will not allow anyone who even appears drunk to get on his aircraft. He tries to sort them out before he goes down the ramp to the aircraft. He also informs the gate agents of his requirement.   He has refused six people so far from getting on the aircraft due to their intoxication.  Also, he doesn't allow any person with inappropriate clothing.  That is his "call" and his airline has always backed him up.      I don't know if the was your case.   FYI.  ... View more

Two good friends of mine, both women, were gate agents at a SW gate. I won't mention the city. Both lasted about a year or so. They knew the rules about pre-boarding but both got tired of "arguing" with passengers pre-boarding (with three or four adults with them) or passengers in "C" group getting in line with "A" group friends.  Some passengers would literally yell in their faces.  Both would come home with headaches and stress dealing with those passengers who abused the rules or who thought of themselves as "special". According to my friends, the most important thing was to load passengers as quickly as possible for that ever so important take off time. ... View more

responding to Dr_Rock-it:   I agree. But along with pre-boarding abuse which is so prevalent, I  have an issue with "group number"  abuse.  I was recently on a flight to Hawaii. I was A7. A passenger behind me was A8. The group A1-A5 had 11 people in it!! What? Turns out a passenger ahead in A1-A5 had his entire adult family with him. We saw their passes and they were "C group". The A8 passenger behind me spoke up, complained, but was met with some profanities.   We thought that group would be stopped by the gate agent.  NOT.    Of course, that "C" group took up all the emerg row seating.    I saw a similar situation last month on a trip to southern CA.         At 6'3", I like the extra leg room in the emerg row seats. I don't have carry-on luggage so that is not an issue.  ... View more

Regarding the post where the wife and daughter are the occupants,.they just haven't boarded yet.    ??   Riddle me that.   What is an open seat?  I will  go with my friend  who is a SW Captain  (who is laughing at this) have defined "open seating":  'Nobody physically in the seat at that moment'.  People actually need clarification on that?   I have no issue with saving a seat for one or two family members but not in the emerg row (more leg room) for their group C friends.  I'm 6'3" and I pay Business Select to try and get a seat in the emerg row when flying alone. When flying with my wife, I get the Early Bird and sit in the rear of the aircraft to save a seat for my wife.  (Close to the bathroom for her).  ... View more

That is what her adult sons do. Pre board, then mix in with the other boarding passengers and grab the emerg row seats. I don't see how they get by with that with the FAs watching. Both sons are 6'4" and like the extra room in the emerg row seats.   ... View more

Yes, pre-boarding abuse is, has been, and always will be a "hot" topic on this forum.  Three friends of mine, one a SW Captain, another a SW First officer (I use to fly with them in the Air Force) and a good friend, a senior SW FA, have all told me that SW allows such liberal pre-boarding to avoid verbal or even physical confrontations between the gate attendants, the FAs and the pre-boarders.   It would be bad PR, a bad image, for this to happen. Plus, confrontations at the gate would likely lead to a late departure which would really anger most passengers.  ... View more

My neighbor has been doing this for years. She is not disabled,. She is an avid hiker.  She has a cane that collapses, then pre-boards with her two adult sons. She laughs about it and even has posted it on FB. Then last week, her son who boards with her, grabs an emerg row seat after passengers start boarding and saves it for his brother.  She says it is really simple. She says the FAs don't have a clue or don't care.  Not too long ago,  I saw five adult family members board with "grandma" in a wheelchair who preboarded. Five to assist? Why is that allowed?   ...and this is not the first time I have witnessed this.  ... View more

As a previous reply by "YeahNoMaybe" said: The FAA rules do state:  "Follow the oral directions...by the FA".  My friend who is a SW captain, and a family member in the higher tiers of the FAA messaged me and made their comment - "What part of the FAA regs 'Follow the oral directions...' is confusing?"  In the past, I flew as an LEO on SW and came across this and was asked to intervene.     "Follow the oral directions..." really seems unclear to many passengers.     The FAs have enough to do to ensure safety without dealing with rude, non-complying passengers.  According to my SW Captain friend, most pilots would like to see a permanent ban on those passengers who ignore the FAs.  ... View more

First, I am retired Air Force, flying air refueling aircraft and transport aircraft. I have dealt with in flight emergencies and opening hatches.  First, "Saving seats" should not be allowed in emergency rows. Those who board with the best group numbers (ex: Business Select) should be allowed if they want one of  those seats and it is open.  On one flight, a male (aggressive and confrontational) passenger saved the other two seats in the emerg row for his family. The FA was there and said nothing when another tall passenger and Business Select wanted to sit there.   When the other two family members came (C group), they were two elderly smaller women well into their late 70s or early 80s.   That should not be allowed which is another issue for emergency egress.    But:  How does SW set some common sense boundaries and enforce it without fear of a lawsuit or a physical confrontation?    In an emergency, things become chaotic,.. confusion and panic can set in.    I have seen it on SW once when encountering severe turbulence on descent and approach (into Burbank CA). Some passengers were screaming, puking, crying and the FAs were doing their best to keep everyone calm.  ... View more

I use to fly as an LEO but not as an air marshal. The flight crew knew we were LEOs (with gun and badge).  I had to intervene more than twice on unruly passengers that were either  drunk, loud, profane, disruptive, or confrontational towards the FAs.  Drunks were the worse.  I have seen a few passengers who absolutely refused to comply with safety procedures.    So, I am glad SW will not continue their alcohol service,.at least for now.  Also, why I am against bars at the airports.   A fight I had in the last year: a drunk puking over the other passengers in his row.  ... View more

Why wasn't this woman stopped at the boarding gate?   Everyone is afraid of being sued for offending someone.  The same with SW.  ... View more

I agree with "spacecoastbill". I use to fly as an LEO and trained as well as the dynamics of a firearm discharged inside an aircraft. I'm also retired Air Force and flew. A discharged firearm, typically a 9 or 40, may put a hole in the window. No one is sucked out. The cabin pressure is compensated for.  At 37,000 feet one time, my right cockpit window came close to being blown out and that could perhaps have sucked someone out,..but we always had our cockpit seatbelts on. Yes, people reference movies as factual. I hear it all the time.  ... View more

Regarding the news article: I had  a flight change.  I had a connecting flight in Burbank CA but it was three hours earlier than the departing flight,  (same day).all in the same time zone. I wanted to be on that flight to see how they accomplished that time travel.  ... View more

I agree with chgoflyer:     This is almost funny if not pathetic.  I will side with science and the medical community. Those comments from folks about masks being non effective are the same folks that believe that the moon landing was a fake, that Sandy Hook was a hoax, Epstein actually committed suicide,  and that Elvis is still alive and living in Arizona.  It's a self agenda thing. They just don't like wearing a mask.  I am a former Air Force pilot. I didn't allow smoking from my crew or military passengers.  (this was back when smoking was deemed to be ok) Don't like it then don't get on my aircraft.  ... View more

I just read elsewhere about "it is my right not to wear a mask!".  What right is that? Is that in the constitution? Is that in the SW bylaws?    Nevertheless, an airline is a private company, when it comes to the mask issue they set the rules as they see fit or what they believe is best for all passengers as a collective.  They set the rules, the passengers do not. Don't like their rules?.., then don't fly with them.  A good friend of mine is a pilot with SW. He recently told one irate, non complying passenger who was boarding and entering the aircraft that if you don't like the rules, get off.     I use to fly as an LEO for years with SW. I had to intervene  a couple of times for some idiot passenger who didn't like the rules.  I always wanted to put them on a "no fly"  list for the rest of their lives.   ... View more

First, I agree with you about people not wearing mask claiming medical reasons. Probably the great majority do NOT have medical reasons, they just don't believe in the mask protection. They're lying about their medical reasons.    Second, FAs not enforcing the mask requirement: A family member just returned from a SW flight and stated several people took off their mask during take off roll and kept them off.  The FAs did nothing. My family member took video and posted it on FB. Yeah, both FAs just walked past these people and said nothing. My family member was sitting behind one of them. So, why even require masks then?  According to the video and my family member, those same people put their mask back on after landing.  ... View more

plus I found out that when SW changed my flight, I lost my early bird special on my go home flight. I thought that went over automatically.  ?  After about an hour and a half with an agent, I got my early bird back.  The agent was real nice but she was extremely frustrated with the constant changes,.and people yelling at  her on the phone. One of the SW pilots I know well said things have gotten "horrible" at SW especially the schedule changes.  ... View more

My neighbor has been scamming for a couple of years now. She just did it again last week. She also has a cane that collapses and sometimes uses a knee brace (on the outside on her clothing). She is very phsically capable. Last week, she pre boarded with her husband (who "helped" her boarding). Then her two sons accompanied her as well.  She laughs about it and even will post it on Facebook. She just wants the first few rows, overhead bin space, and her family sitting together.  Now, her sons do it.    ... View more

I have posted a few times regarding this issue. I don't mind if a person saves one seat (their spouse, friend etc) but not a whole row or three rows which has happened. (It was on You Tube).  Also, there should be absolutely no saved seats in the emerg exit rows. Passengers in business class or early bird specials are often trying for those seats. I traveled a lot before I retired and I saw fights almost break out or verbal confrontations  over saved seats in the emerg row. The FAs, standing there, did nothing except to say there is no SW saving seat policy. I have actually seen one man forcefully block the emerg row with his body and hands, blocking some passnegers actually trying for those emerg row seats. There was a verbal confronatation.  His friends, group C, took the seats. SW won't do anything about this.  ... View more

I spoke to a SW customer service agent last night. She said a few agents at the check in counter have been known to get it wrong. However, as she said, the unloaded handgun, hard locked case CAN be placed inside your regular luggage. Since it is inside another piece of luggage, only the main luggage is counted as a single checked piece of luggage,..not two. However, a long gun case, usually very large, is checked in as a single luggage.  ... View more