Southwest seating question

Ok Southwest people, you are making this sound better.

 

I never thought to ask.............does the luggage have the 50 pound weight limit? (like other carriers).

 

TY

 

Sea Ya

Yes, there is a 50-pound limit.

Yes, there is a 50-pound limit.

 

 

Thanks.

 

Sea Ya

We have flown Southwest for every single cruise (2x's per year) and definitely like the cheaper prices on flights and the 2 free bags. This makes it more than worth it for us (a family of 3 and sometimes up to 9 people).

 

It only seems to be more of a hassle when flying home from our cruises since we can't do the 24 hour advance check in and manage to get the crappy seats and sometimes split up if we're in a big group.

 

I do have a question for those of you that purchase the Early Bird check-in...

 

Is it possible for 1 of us to purchase the check-in and grab 3 seats (for the spouse & young daughter) to hold until they get on? I guess I had never considered booking the early bird, but sure seems like it might be worth it for the flight home after cruising.

 

So what determines what position you get if you book the early bird? How many is it offered to before they close it out? I would imagine it's only a limited number of them sold with each flight. :confused:

We have flown Southwest for every single cruise (2x's per year) and definitely like the cheaper prices on flights and the 2 free bags. This makes it more than worth it for us (a family of 3 and sometimes up to 9 people).

 

It only seems to be more of a hassle when flying home from our cruises since we can't do the 24 hour advance check in and manage to get the crappy seats and sometimes split up if we're in a big group.

 

I do have a question for those of you that purchase the Early Bird check-in...

 

Is it possible for 1 of us to purchase the check-in and grab 3 seats (for the spouse & young daughter) to hold until they get on? I guess I had never considered booking the early bird, but sure seems like it might be worth it for the flight home after cruising.

 

So what determines what position you get if you book the early bird? How many is it offered to before they close it out? I would imagine it's only a limited number of them sold with each flight. :confused:

 

 

Good question, but I've never run up against a limit - maybe just lucky? I think the order of purchase determines your placement. But don't quote me.

Yes, you could try your luck purchasing for just some of your group. What's the worst that can happen, really? If you have children take them on first - many people will avoid being near them if possible. DH and I usually plunk ourselves in a window and an aisle towards the front, in hopes that, if the plane isn't full, everyone will bypass our middle seat hoping to do better toward the back. Sometimes it works. Obviously not if the plane is full. You can purchase early bird just one way, so that's a savings.

Sure you can buy one and save seats and piss off everyone else who paid for the privilege. On one flight a young woman saved two whole rows. I hoped the flight attendat would do something but she didn't.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T217A using Forums mobile app

We have flown Southwest for every single cruise (2x's per year) and definitely like the cheaper prices on flights and the 2 free bags. This makes it more than worth it for us (a family of 3 and sometimes up to 9 people).

 

It only seems to be more of a hassle when flying home from our cruises since we can't do the 24 hour advance check in and manage to get the crappy seats and sometimes split up if we're in a big group.

 

I do have a question for those of you that purchase the Early Bird check-in...

 

Is it possible for 1 of us to purchase the check-in and grab 3 seats (for the spouse & young daughter) to hold until they get on? I guess I had never considered booking the early bird, but sure seems like it might be worth it for the flight home after cruising.

 

So what determines what position you get if you book the early bird? How many is it offered to before they close it out? I would imagine it's only a limited number of them sold with each flight. :confused:

 

If you head to the rear of the plane, you might be able to "save" seats but like any place else, those aren't your seats and others are welcome to sit there. Just sit in the middle seat but be prepared for push back from others.

 

Is it possible for 1 of us to purchase the check-in and grab 3 seats (for the spouse & young daughter) to hold until they get on?

Anything is possible, but if another passenger wants that seat, they are free to take it. FAs hate to intervene with this type of behavior (saving seats). If all three are on the same itinerary and booked with the same transaction, EarlyBird must be purchased for all passengers. At that time, you can't buy it for just one.

 

So what determines what position you get if you book the early bird?

 

The time you purchased your EarlyBird Check-in. EarlyBird Check -in is no guarantee you'll be in the A boarding group.

 

How many is it offered to before they close it out? I would imagine it's only a limited number of them sold with each flight. :confused:

Nope, no limit.

 

It's not confusing. All info is on Southwest's webpage,

Edited August 12, 2014 by 6rugrats

Today's pool chair hog = tomorrow's WN seat hog??? ;)

 

There is no saving seats for later arrivers in your group. Plus, the child is supposed to board with their own card, unless you are doing the "infants and small children" thing. In that case, you are supposed to board AFTER the early birds in group A and before group B. Read that article that someone posted the link to further up in this thread to read about that.

Remember - when you really board with that early bird depends on how many of the other people in the two groups ahead of you PLUS how many earlier birds there are. You may be lucky and be among the first 20 to board, but you may also be #50 to board… And, there are now the people who paid the $40 at the gate to "jump the line"…

We used Southwest to fly to and from San Juan in January for our cruise. We loved the fact that you get 2 free bags of luggage, to us that was a HUGE plus. We also did the early bird which was also a plus. You check in on line , get your boarding number, get to airport , stand in appropriate line and get on plane in a timely manner. We were in the A section on 3 of 4 flights, the last flight we were in the B section but a low # and had no trouble finding seats that we wanted. We didnt feel stressed at all getting to the airport knowing that we had the early bird.

So you need to be in the exact order that's on your boarding pass...what do you do ask everyone around you for their number and step into place...sounds a little strange to me.

 

Yep.

I'm not a fan of Southwest's boarding methods. I like having an assigned seat. The other thing that I noticed is the slim pickings of direct flights. When I go on vacation, I like to get there as soon as I can. I don't want to spend time flying from one airport to another and then in some cases having a lengthy layover. I looked at flying my family of 4 from Atlanta to Dallas, and we had to fly into Austin and then up to Love Field (Dallas). Price difference was only $200 cheaper than Delta, but by flying Delta I got in earlier and had a direct flight. Plus my DH is a Platinum Frequent Flier with Delta and so all our bags fly free anyway.

 

EDIT: Just for fun I looked at flights from Atlanta to San Juan for our March cruise. There is only 1 non-stop flight going to San Juan and none on the way home. All the flights on the way home require a stop in Florida and a plane change before continuing on to Atlanta - adding anywhere from 3-5 hours! Not sure how they compare as far as cost goes and it doesn't really matter as we're flying free on Delta. (Actually just priced out the flight and Delta was $861 cheaper!)

Edited August 25, 2014 by olemissreb

Southwest's boarding method is miles ahead of the "Zone 2 scramble" that occasional fliers are subjected to on most other airlines. If boarding early is important for seat preference or overhead bin space there's a simple way to get that.

 

I didn't like flying on Southwest but over the years they have improved their procedures and flight experience while the other airlines have raced for the bottom.

Now Southwest says they do not have assigned seats.

You board in zones.

 

Well how is it determined which zone you are in?

Is it first come to the airport first serve?

Or

Is it by the date you purchase your ticket.

 

I really dont want to have to worry about fighting for a seat with a vacation that is supossed to relax you.

 

Sea Ya

 

This depends on how much you paid and how far in advance you check in. There are more expensive seats, forgot what they are called, maybe business? Those are in group A. Also you can pay something to check in 36 hrs in advance (instead of 24 hrs) - so you can get into group A or B. If you check in close to departure time, let's say 3 hrs before the flight, then you will be in group C, the last one.

 

On your boarding pass you will see a letter and a number, for example, B26. You will wait till they call group B and go look for the pole with number 25-29, stand behind the passenger that has B25. When you get on the plane, you take any empty seat.

Thanks for all the information in this thread. I just booked the Early Bird for our trip on January 1, 2015. We definitely need to make sure we are on the flight and have a decent enough seat as the flight is 5 hours and 10 minutes. Ugh! That will be the longest I have ever been on a plane without some type of movie, entertainment, etc. I will more than likely get a lot of reading done on this flight...lol.

It is first come first serve. Pay the extra 10 or 15 dollars to get early bird seating. That will enable you to check in 24 hours in advance online. If you do it early you'll get in the a's section which boards first.

 

WRONG!!

 

It is based on how close to 24 hours before your flight time you check in on line unless you pay $15 for early bird seating.

 

I have not figured out how they assign checkin spots with early bird . I assume that it is based on when you book your flight.

 

Otherwise, you need to sit at your computer logged in to the checkin page of the SW WEB site 24 hours before flight time. At precisely 1 second after the 24 hour period starts, you hit the Enter key on your computer. This will give you an A zone seating spot most but not all the time. If you wait until, 10 or 20 seconds after the 24 hour clock starts, you are almost guaranteed a B zone checkin.

 

Also, if one of your party is in the A zone group and others in your party are in the B zone group, there is absolutely NO holding of seats for the B zone people.

 

If you are traveling w young kids, you do not board ahead of time but between the A zone and the B zone group.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

DON

WRONG!!

 

It is based on how close to 24 hours before your flight time you check in on line unless you pay $15 for early bird seating.

 

I have not figured out how they assign checkin spots with early bird . I assume that it is based on when you book your flight.

 

Otherwise, you need to sit at your computer logged in to the checkin page of the SW WEB site 24 hours before flight time. At precisely 1 second after the 24 hour period starts, you hit the Enter key on your computer. This will give you an A zone seating spot most but not all the time. If you wait until, 10 or 20 seconds after the 24 hour clock starts, you are almost guaranteed a B zone checkin.

 

Also, if one of your party is in the A zone group and others in your party are in the B zone group, there is absolutely NO holding of seats for the B zone people.

 

If you are traveling w young kids, you do not board ahead of time but between the A zone and the B zone group.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

DON

 

SW doles out their boarding groups the same as any other airline. I'm Gold with AA. I can check in 2 hours before my flight and I will still get Gold/Ruby/Priority boarding.

 

There are 60 people in each group. If there are 50 SW high level Rapid Reward travelers on that flight, they are getting an A group....which gives you 10 spots to try to nab to be in the first boarding group. And that doesn't count anyone that bought Business Class which gets A boarding or anyone that paid for the Early Bird.

 

To get the A group, you pretty much have to pay for it with the higher priced airfares or the Early Bird option or pay your dues and earn your points to automatically get the A group.

That will be the longest I have ever been on a plane without some type of movie, entertainment, etc. I will more than likely get a lot of reading done on this flight...lol.

If your flight has WiFi (most Southwest flights do) you can stream Dish Network to your mobile device for free. You need to load an app or two, preferably before the flight.

 

The biggest issue is that Android devices don't have Flash software by default so you have to find a Flash plugin. Do your homework. It works on my Samsung Galaxy S2 after I loaded the right drivers.

 

EDIT: You need this to watch Dish Network on an Android phone:

http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/installing-flash-player-android-devices.html

Edited August 26, 2014 by Underwatr

I have not figured out how they assign checkin spots with early bird . I assume that it is based on when you book your flight.

It's based on when you pay for Early Bird, which can be any time between booking the flight and X hours before flying. Usually I buy Early Bird 2 or 3 weeks before the flight and typically it gets me into the A35-A40 range.

SW doles out their boarding groups the same as any other airline. I'm Gold with AA. I can check in 2 hours before my flight and I will still get Gold/Ruby/Priority boarding.

...To get the A group, you pretty much have to pay for it with the higher priced airfares or the Early Bird option or pay your dues and earn your points to automatically get the A group.

It's nice that you're Gold on AA but you paid for that by giving AA lots of business. My days of flying 75,000 airmiles a year are far behind me so short of booking First Class I'm likely to be in boarding group 3 or 4 if I fly AA.

 

The difference is, on Southwest I can board near the front while still being an occasional flyer by planning ahead or choosing to pay a nominal amount. I've never failed to be in Southwest Group A, either by timing my check-in to be exactly 24 hours before the flight or by paying for EarlyBird.

 

I do have a question for those of you that purchase the Early Bird check-in...

 

Is it possible for 1 of us to purchase the check-in and grab 3 seats (for the spouse & young daughter) to hold until they get on? I guess I had never considered booking the early bird, but sure seems like it might be worth it for the flight home after cruising.

 

:

 

That is the same and has the same moral level as the able bodied people who claim that they are handicapped so that they can board early.

 

Shame on you.

 

DON

There is suppose to be "no seat saving" but we did see it happen when a husb and wife got separated but I wouldnt think that you would want to take the chance of not sitting together. The people who buy the early bird do so for a reason, pay the extra $$ and would not appreciate those who are getting the same benefit for free.

I've wondered sometimes about the family boarding between A and B groups. Is that considered mandatory? just for families with really young children? We've flown with our 11 year old granddaughter and just pay for early bird for her, too. Nobody ever said anything.

Family boarding is intended for families (presumably with a lot of kid/family gear) who need a little extra time. It's a convenience rather than a necessity. That said, if boarding between A and B is "good enough" and you're traveling with a young child (in my opinion an 11 year old is older than intended for this) you could save the cost of EarlyBird.

That is the same and has the same moral level as the able bodied people who claim that they are handicapped so that they can board early.

 

Shame on you.

 

DON

 

It was just a question. Don't get your panties in a bunch. I had never thought about what this early bird boarding was until someone brought it up nor did I know how it worked. The only reason why I ask is because I SEE people get on the plane and when I have been looking for a seat THEY have told ME that the seat belonged to their....(spouse, daughter...or whatever) and when this topic came up, I assumed maybe that's what they were doing and how others did it.

 

I PURCHASED IT FOR ALL 3 OF US....THANKS!! Just to make it clear, I'm not a chair hog either. I am actually one of those that throws my towels on the corner just so that we don't take up ANY of the chairs because we spend most of the time IN the pool or sitting on the ledge and wouldn't want to waste a chair. :rolleyes:

 

I've wondered sometimes about the family boarding between A and B groups. Is that considered mandatory? just for families with really young children? We've flown with our 11 year old granddaughter and just pay for early bird for her, too. Nobody ever said anything.

 

 

It's for families with children under 4 years old.

I've wondered sometimes about the family boarding between A and B groups. Is that considered mandatory? just for families with really young children? We've flown with our 11 year old granddaughter and just pay for early bird for her, too. Nobody ever said anything.

 

It's not mandatory, and is only for children ages four and under and one adult, not the entire family.

Edited August 26, 2014 by 6rugrats