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Early Bird checkin and family boarding

susanmanner
Explorer B

I am traveling with a mother who will be with her 5yo and 9yo sons.  I understand the mother can do family boarding with the 5yo.  My question is, should we purchase early boarding for the 9yo or ill he be allowed to board with his mother?  The grandmother is also on the reservation.   Another part of this question is, if we purchase early boarding for the 9yo will he have it for both portions of the flights?

11 REPLIES 11

Re: Early Bird checkin and family boarding

spacecoastbill
Frequent Flyer B
Solution

Family boarding between the A and B groups would allow them to board together.

Re: Early Bird checkin and family boarding

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

@spacecoastbill what if grandma saved seats? 

Re: Early Bird checkin and family boarding

spacecoastbill
Frequent Flyer B

She can try, but anyone that wants to sit in them is perfectly entitled to.

 

Open seating does not guarantee you will sit with your group, and does not provide a way for you to save a seat if someone wants to sit in it.

 

Its been proven time and again.

 

Those with the entitlement attitude who think they can save seats on this airline, theaters, pool decks are often the first to voice their disapproval when someone sits in the territory they have staked out their claim.

Re: Early Bird checkin and family boarding

chgoflyer
Aviator A

It's not entitlement IF THE AIRLINE ALLOWS IT.

 

SOUTHWEST ALLOWS SEAT SAVING.

 

I wish they had a tighter policy about it, but they don't.

 

Your opinion changes nothing.

Re: Early Bird checkin and family boarding

spacecoastbill
Frequent Flyer B

It is absolutely entitlement to believe you deserve to either scam a preboard or only pay for one of your group of 12 so the others in C48-59 can have the rows you have designated as your fiefdom.

 

Entltlement meaning that you should be able to screw others for your personal selfishness.

 

 

Re: Early Bird checkin and family boarding

chgoflyer
Aviator A

I wasn't specifically referencing preboarding, only seat saving.

 

Entitlement refers to a person feeling they have a right to something, often privledges or special treatment.

 

In the case of seat saving, the right to save seats is granted by Southwest. To anyone who want's to use it.

 

In some cases -- the saving of a middle seat next to a companion, for example -- it ultimately isn't much of a privlege. Middle seats aren't special.

 

In the case of saving say, an entire row... or a bulkhead or exit row seat, then there is definitely a special treatment earned by those who excersise the right to save a seat, and it's often at the expense of someone else. And that's unfortunate.

 

And I agree that the entitled are more likely to do these things. But, ultimately, these things are allowed by Southwest. There is no rule against it and no action is taken by the carrier to prevent it.

 

 

 

 

 

Re: Early Bird checkin and family boarding

Haipham2017
Adventurer B

@TheMiddleSeat wrote:

@spacecoastbill what if grandma saved seats? 


I believe if the Grandma said nicely I would like to save these seats for my grandkids, everyone would be glad to sit some places else.

Re: Early Bird checkin and family boarding

susanmanner
Explorer B

Thank you all for your suggestions.   I am planning to do the 24 hr checkin.  As long as the 9yo is not seperated from an adult we will be fine.  There will actually be 8 of us traveling.  I will be traveling with my 4yo granddaughter.  My 37yo Down Syndrome daughter will also be traveling with us as well as my 80yo mother and the grandmother of the other 2 boys.  I think what we will do is...  I will board with my granddaughter during the family boarding, She will travel in her car seat so I will put her by the window.  I am hoping to have her just behind our other family since she   does kick the seat at times and I would feel better if it wasn't a stranger who could reasonably become frustrated.  Would it be terribly wrong then for me to sit in the aisle seat?   This would essentially be saving a seat for my Down Syndrome daughter.  I do understand saving seats is frowned upon and if someone chooses to sit between the 4yo and myself they would have every right.  May not even be such a bad option for meSmiley LOL  When my mother and daughter board if there are two seats together I can just move to the middle seat and mom and Becky can just sit together in another area of the plane.  

Re: Early Bird checkin and family boarding

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@Haipham2017 wrote:

@TheMiddleSeat wrote:

@spacecoastbill what if grandma saved seats? 


I believe if the Grandma said nicely I would like to save these seats for my grandkids, everyone would be glad to sit some places else.


 

Sadly, not everyone. (See previous posts.)