Southwest adds charge to board sooner

[crashbb]

Once again, WHAT school bus are you riding? Comparing a 10 minute school bus ride, to a 2+ more hours airplane ride is insane.

Like I said before I will take personal responsibility to have my 12 year old with ear problems and my scared to death 6 year old sit with me and pay the fee, but my kids riding a bus is not comparable to an airplane ride. So no I wont ask you to move your seat, but this stinks that SW changed this bc before I could control my seating arrangement by checking in at the 24 hr mark. If I could control that with the EB fee, then I would do that too but unfortnately the way SW structured this policy there is no guarantee of anything.

So I went from flying an airline that had decent times,direct flights, reasonable prices, nice customer service, wasnt USAir (out of PHL is a complete nightmare) to now struggling with how to book my airfare. SW was a nice alternative to USAir bc many of the other airlines out of PHL involve connections and I do no want to have to subject my child and his ears to multiple landings if I can help it.

I think what you are hearing out of parents is the frustration of having our choices of airfare limited. All we (or maybe I should say I) want is to sit with our kids. Under the old policy I was able to make this happen. Now I feel like my chocies are limited and I have less control. I think that scenario is frustrating for most people.

See, I totally understand your frustration. With EB you don't know how many people have signed up before you (or how many full-fare people will sign up after you and get bumped in front of you). I can see why, as a mom with kids, you'd have issues with that.

The people that some of us are getting frustrated with are those that keep saying that they will refuse to pay the EB fee but still expect people to move so that they can sit beside their children (over the age of family boarding). These people are NOT doing every that they can to ensure that they sit beside their children (i.e. these people are not you), but they do expect others to go out of their way to ensure that it happens.

Hopefully as SW gets more experience with EB, things become more transparent (or get adapted) and your worries (which are totally understandable) can be abated. For now, you are going to have to choose the lesser evil - SW with the possibility of getting split up, US Airways, a flight with connections, or a different airport. Admittedly, having to choose the lesser evil isn't a great system and your frustrations make sense.

 

[Lewisc]

If you prefer include the school day. Some of the posters suggest their child won't be able to use the bathroom unless seated next to a parent. Those same kids are able to use the bathroom in school.

Many of us would move so a parent can sit next to a young child. A family misses family boarding. They get stuck in traffic. Their incoming flight was delayed and they just made their connection.

Many of us are unwilling to switch to a middle seat or not sit next to a traveling companion to accommodate a parent with an older (12 year old child).

AFAIK Southwest is the only major airline that doesn't offer assigned seats. Some posters on DIS are willing to drive hours in order to take advantage of lower fares available from an alternate airport. Some posters may need to pay extra, or drive to another airport, in order to get assigned seats from another airline. Your choices aren't limited. There is one airline that doesn't meet your needs.

I agree it's a shame SW didn't make these changes effective as the next schedule extention. I think it was wrong to announce the new policy a day after they started to accept bookings for the new schedule.

Generally all (or almost all) of the Bs are able to get at least 2 seats together.

BTW--I found Sudafed (the stuff you get from the pharmacy counter after showing your drivers license) dramatically reduces my ear pain. Check with your kids doctor. I take it about an hour before takeoff and again an hour before landing.

Once again, WHAT school bus are you riding? Comparing a 10 minute school bus ride, to a 2+ more hours airplane ride is insane.

Like I said before I will take personal responsibility to have my 12 year old with ear problems and my scared to death 6 year old sit with me and pay the fee, but my kids riding a bus is not comparable to an airplane ride. So no I wont ask you to move your seat, but this stinks that SW changed this bc before I could control my seating arrangement by checking in at the 24 hr mark. If I could control that with the EB fee, then I would do that too but unfortnately the way SW structured this policy there is no guarantee of anything.

So I went from flying an airline that had decent times,direct flights, reasonable prices, nice customer service, wasnt USAir (out of PHL is a complete nightmare) to now struggling with how to book my airfare. SW was a nice alternative to USAir bc many of the other airlines out of PHL involve connections and I do no want to have to subject my child and his ears to multiple landings if I can help it.

I think what you are hearing out of parents is the frustration of having our choices of airfare limited. All we (or maybe I should say I) want is to sit with our kids. Under the old policy I was able to make this happen. Now I feel like my chocies are limited and I have less control. I think that scenario is frustrating for most people.

 

[Mkrop]

If you prefer include the school day. Some of the posters suggest their child won't be able to use the bathroom unless seated next to a parent. Those same kids are able to use the bathroom in school.

Many of us would move so a parent can sit next to a young child. A family misses family boarding. They get stuck in traffic. Their incoming flight was delayed and they just made their connection.

Many of us are unwilling to switch to a middle seat or not sit next to a traveling companion to accommodate a parent with an older (12 year old child).

AFAIK Southwest is the only major airline that doesn't offer assigned seats. Some posters on DIS are willing to drive hours in order to take advantage of lower fares available from an alternate airport. Some posters may need to pay extra, or drive to another airport, in order to get assigned seats from another airline. Your choices aren't limited. There is one airline that doesn't meet your needs.

I agree it's a shame SW didn't make these changes effective as the next schedule extention. I think it was wrong to announce the new policy a day after they started to accept bookings for the new schedule.

Generally all (or almost all) of the Bs are able to get at least 2 seats together.

BTW--I found Sudafed (the stuff you get from the pharmacy counter after showing your drivers license) dramatically reduces my ear pain. Check with your kids doctor. I take it about an hour before takeoff and again an hour before landing.

Thanks for the suggestion! This works great for me, as I use to suffer big time. For DS it seems like a combination of the GOOD Sudafed (behind the counter) and some nasal spray as well. This has worked great and so far I seem to have our timing down for short flights although I cant say it has always worked unfortnately, we keep trying to tweak it. SOme flights no problems, others he is in pain, I just never know. He definitely suffered big time on our flight home from LAX recently. Did the same going out as coming, and on the flight home the kid was a mess. And this is the kid with very high pain tolerance.

Like I said he obviously does fine in school all day, rides the school bus, is quite the independent dude but he is not the same kid when we are descending, so no offense but I can not still wrap my head around the airplane vs bus comparision!

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Don't buy too large of a suitcase. You don't want to be hit with overweight fees (which ALL airlines have, even southwest)!

You bring up an excellent point. Southwest would love you to believe they have the lowest fares... but it's simply not the case.

From now on I think we will be flying w/ a Diff company. I did the math the other day. If it had not been for a $110 credit I had w/ SWA I would have flown $110 cheaper on AA and/or Continental. Yes I would have paid to check bags, but we could get away w/ 1 BIG suitcase (we have been looking into a really big one anyway) and a carry on and STILL come out cheaper than SWA w/o the EB.

When I had researched the flights a few months ago most of them were over $1000 for us that is why I booked the $700 SWA fare (again after $110 credit). Now I looked and they are only $690 for us after taxes and stuff on AA and Cont.

 

[bavaria]

So no I wont ask you to move your seat, but this stinks that SW changed this bc before I could control my seating arrangement by checking in at the 24 hr mark. If I could control that with the EB fee, then I would do that too but unfortnately the way SW structured this policy there is no guarantee of anything.

So I went from flying an airline that had decent times,direct flights, reasonable prices, nice customer service, wasnt USAir (out of PHL is a complete nightmare) to now struggling with how to book my airfare. SW was a nice alternative to USAir bc many of the other airlines out of PHL involve connections and I do no want to have to subject my child and his ears to multiple landings if I can help it.

I think that your posts fall into the realm of logic and common sense. They are very different from some of the others ones we read, however, not just on this thread but on threads related to AirTran's seat selection fee.

After reading for years how people REFUSE to pay those fees because THEY work hard for their money but DEMAND to sit with their kids, it does get tiring. Many parents here are being logical and reasonable and I think that most readers can seperate the two types of posts.

The difference is that you are doing whatever you can given the circumstances to deal with the situation, and you and a few others are also investigating other options which you may not have considered in past. Instead of stamping your feet you are dealing with it as best as you can.

Certainly I don't think that most of the frustration comes from the general travelling parents, but rather from those posts we do read over and over which do ooze entitlement issues. There may be just a few of those parents here, but they certainly do stand out in several people's minds.

I'm sorry if you were tainted by association - I don't think that anyone is against all parents flying SW (or any other airline)

 

[crisi]

Mkrop,

The other advantage you have is a reason, and when explained, I suspect most people who wouldn't be willing to give up the seat to an older child under normal circumstances would be willing to if approached politely by a parent who started with "I understand this is an imposition, but my son......"

While I'm likely to be stubborn if someone approached me with an entitlement attitude, if someone approaches me politely, I'm much more likely to move if I can.

 

[Mkrop]

I think that your posts fall into the realm of logic and common sense. They are very different from some of the others ones we read, however, not just on this thread but on threads related to AirTran's seat selection fee.

After reading for years how people REFUSE to pay those fees because THEY work hard for their money but DEMAND to sit with their kids, it does get tiring. Many parents here are being logical and reasonable and I think that most readers can seperate the two types of posts.

The difference is that you are doing whatever you can given the circumstances to deal with the situation, and you and a few others are also investigating other options which you may not have considered in past. Instead of stamping your feet you are dealing with it as best as you can.

Certainly I don't think that most of the frustration comes from the general travelling parents, but rather from those posts we do read over and over which do ooze entitlement issues. There may be just a few of those parents here, but they certainly do stand out in several people's minds.

I'm sorry if you were tainted by association - I don't think that anyone is against all parents flying SW (or any other airline)

Thanks I felt that we were all being painted with the same brush.

Mkrop,

The other advantage you have is a reason, and when explained, I suspect most people who wouldn't be willing to give up the seat to an older child under normal circumstances would be willing to if approached politely by a parent who started with "I understand this is an imposition, but my son......"

While I'm likely to be stubborn if someone approached me with an entitlement attitude, if someone approaches me politely, I'm much more likely to move if I can.

Ahh the old adage, you get more flies with honey than with vinigear

 

[crisi]

Ahh the old adage, you get more flies with honey than with vinigear

You do. It isn't really fair that someone needs to explain their kid's issue to a stranger, but if you are expecting the stranger to make a sacrifice - and weigh their own needs against yours, I think a little explanation with that honey helps. If I know that the kid in question is borderline autistic and hasn't flown before, I'm more likely to say "oh,...sure" than if the same kid's mother tells me its "none of your business why my son needs to sit next to me." (Does she think I'm a pedophile?)

In the first case, I've done a good deed, feel warm and fuzzy about it, and left grateful that those burdens aren't mine. In the second I feel put out and insulted. And since I'm pretty likely to be stubborn in that case - I still feel put out and insulted, but the person asking didn't get her needs met and believes I'm rude.

 

[disneyfan2]

i wish i had have known about this before i booked my flights with SW 2 weeks ago

I think it shouldnt' go into effect right away. maybe at the time they release the new rates,

 

[Floridagal23]

I have been reading this thread actively. I'd like to think I am sensitive to other people - I try to give up my seat on the metro if I see an elderly person or a disabled person or someone who just looks tired. But, I also pay more when I fly - I fly a first class fare sometimes, but the rest of the time, I purchase an upgraded seat (like how US Air and Jet Blue charge you to sit in the front aisles, etc.) either during seat selection at the time of purchase OR when I check in (how US Air allows you to "upgrade" for 10 dollars). And when I purchase my "upgraded" seat, it means I don't have to sit in a back window, aisle, or a bad row not close to the bathroom. Because I PAID for it.

A few weeks ago, I flew US Air in an upgraded seat and was seated next to the person in my originally assigned seat who clearly was too large for the seat. She couldn't move the armrest down, it was a full flight the day before a major exam for me, and I didn't want to embarass her. It was an AWFUL flight. And I want my $10 back. So, sometimes you don't have the ideal flight, even with the upgraded seat. But unfortunately, we live in a pay for play type society - so evident now with so many things - because I am super concerned about where I sit, I prepurchase the assigned seat, the upgraded seat, whatever - because it matters to me and it is built into my cost of travel.

 

[Tinatoo]

We are flying southwest and I have a ticket for my 2 year old. 3 adults 2 lap children. You can bet your bottom that if there is no seat near me she will quickly become 23 months old again. You don't know that the stranger sitting next to your child is not a child molester. I can afford the 10 fee but not happening.

 

[tjmw2727]

We are flying southwest and I have a ticket for my 2 year old. 3 adults 2 lap children. You can bet your bottom that if there is no seat near me she will quickly become 23 months old again. You don't know that the stranger sitting next to your child is not a child molester. I can afford the 10 fee but not happening.

Again - Southwest still boards families with children 4 and under between the A and B groups. As has been mentioned in this thread many times that is not changing.

If you are at the gate on time and board withe the family boarding, after the A group you will have roughly 70 seats to choose from.

PSA - SWA requires a birth certificate for every lap child so be prepared for the 2 who do qualify. They are very strict about this, without the birth certificate they won't issue that boarding document you need to clear security.

TJ

 

[crashbb]

PSA - SWA requires a birth certificate for every lap child so be prepared for the 2 who do qualify. They are very strict about this, without the birth certificate they won't issue that boarding document you need to clear security.

TJ

I think the PP isn't planning on lying about her child's age until they get on the plane. So, they'll have already gotten through security.

 

[tjmw2727]

I think the PP isn't planning on lying about her child's age until they get on the plane. So, they'll have already gotten through security.

Yea, I realize that!

I was just mentioning it so she knows she needs a BC for the other two!

FWIW SWA does keep a list of lap children but that's more for folks who place a lap child in a seat than for folks who would want to fly with a ticketed child on a lap.

 

[Hannathy]

Yea, I realize that!

I was just mentioning it so she knows she needs a BC for the other two!

FWIW SWA does keep a list of lap children but that's more for folks who place a lap child in a seat than for folks who would want to fly with a ticketed child on a lap.

They also of course have a list of who has a seat and if the child has a seat they MUST be in one before takeoff You can not hold a child who is ticketed so her plan wouldn't work.

The birth certificate is soley for SW it has nothing to do with security. You don't need ID for children for security. SW needs to see the B. Cert. before they will fly unless they have a ticket. And Yes they are extremely strict with this.

 

[yitbos96bb]

Yea, I realize that!

I was just mentioning it so she knows she needs a BC for the other two!

FWIW SWA does keep a list of lap children but that's more for folks who place a lap child in a seat than for folks who would want to fly with a ticketed child on a lap.

Correct me if I am wrong but I'm pretty certain you need to have a BC for all the children... they won't let you check a child in online unless you have pre verified (which you do by sending in a copy of the BC, etc.) if they have a seat and as you mentioned you need the Boarding Document for the lap children.

 

[DisNae]

Well, I broke down and purchased EB for my DH and DD 7. My 3 y/o DD and I can board during family boarding, but since policy says only 1 adult per child under 4 can board at that time, I am not going to try to break the rules and sneak DD 7 and DH in there with us at that time. I would be infuriated if someone did that and I was a B-boarding passenger. One child under 4 doesn't grant you a golden ticket for the entire family. I sincerely hope no one else tries to do that on our flight(s) either. It's not right. Does SW enforce this very strictly (ensuring that not the WHOLE family boards at family boarding, regardless of ages)?

Anyway, it was worth it to me to know that DD 7 will be able to sit next to her dad. Although she would probably be fine sitting alone, I know she'll be more comfortable sitting with a parent, so I ponied up the extra $40 for that to happen.

Who knows, she and her dad may end up getting higher boarding priority than me and my 3 yo DD! And if they do, NO I will not tell them to save us seats!

 

[tjmw2727]

They also of course have a list of who has a seat and if the child has a seat they MUST be in one before takeoff You can not hold a child who is ticketed so her plan wouldn't work.

The birth certificate is soley for SW it has nothing to do with security. You don't need ID for children for security. SW needs to see the B. Cert. before they will fly unless they have a ticket. And Yes they are extremely strict with this.

Just to clarify you need the BC to get a boarding verification document (lap child version of boarding pass). Without a BC SW won't issue the BVD and you won't get the lap child through security without that document. Other carriers only require the BC if the child appears to be close to 2.

So in short you do need a BC to get a lap child (under 2) through security. Ticketed children don't need ID to fly or go through security.

 

[yitbos96bb]

Ticketed children don't need ID to fly or go through security.

There is a bit of a caveat to that.

From the SWA website, children 2-11 must be aged verified before they travel. They can pre age verify by sending in documentation to SWA so they can check in online, but at some point they have to show SWA a BC or they aren't flying SWA. This is for the Children or youth fares. I'm not sure if they would have to for an adult ticket, but given the security restrictions, it wouldn't suprise me.

http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/children.html

 

[tjmw2727]

There is a bit of a caveat to that.

From the SWA website, children 2-11 must be aged verified before they travel. They can pre age verify by sending in documentation to SWA so they can check in online, but at some point they have to show SWA a BC or they aren't flying SWA. This is for the Children or youth fares. I'm not sure if they would have to for an adult ticket, but given the security restrictions, it wouldn't suprise me.

http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/children.html

We are getting way OT here but :

That quote has nothing to do with clearing security, this is simply to verify that a child is eligible for a child or youth fare if you book one. 99.9% of the time the adult web fare is significantly cheaper than a child fare so rarely would anyone have to do this.

I have been flying SWA and may other airlines with my kids since they were born and have never, ever had to show ID for them. This includes many airlines (including SWA) and never has security asked for ID.

Again the exeption is to prove your entitled to a fare - or for an under 2 to
fly free on a parents lap.

I apologize for opening this can - I just wanted to make a pp aware that SWA is very strict about BC's for lap children.