Skip to main content

Southwest Airlines Community

Families with children treated better than Companion

spurkapile
Explorer C

I generally give SWA kudos over the past 4+ years  flying as an A List Preferred. However, I'm reaching a point of frustration when I see the volume of occasional travelers boarding either as pre-boarders or families traveling with children. Normally it's not a major issue when I'm traveling alone as I still get early boarding.  However, when my Companion (my spouse) travels with me, she gets treated worse than either of these two groups   That makes no sense.  It got worse on a recent trip when the plane's wifi didn't work and we had a flight the next day and could not check her in at the 24 hour mark which was while we were in the air.  This was a flight to HI for our 34th anniversary so we really wanted to fly together.  She ended up with C22.  That just seems ridiculous.  Yes, I could have purchased Early Bird but that seems like a penalty when you have no other perks to attain with SWA and it's their equipment that is not working.  Having flown about 1,000,000 miles with southwest over the last 4+ years, it seems like they could do better. I'm still a fan but currently not feeling the love. 

7 REPLIES 7

Re: Families with children treated better than Companion

gsking
Aviator C

Just to clarify, your boarding position is no longer determined by when you check in.  It's set 12-24 hours before that.  So the loss of internet didn't matter. 

 

Granted, you should still get better treatment as a Companion. 


My suggestion?  Run to the back, grab a window seat, and chat with the FA until your spouse gets on.  You'll definitely get seats together without a hassle.  You could even throw your second bag up top if you need to reserve bin space for the spouse.

 

Fighting to get on and off first really is over-rated if you think about it.

Re: Families with children treated better than Companion

NicoleAshley
Employee
Employee

Thanks for your participation on the Community, @gsking! I did want to jump in and clarify that while our Tier Members' boarding positions are determined prior to check-in, their travel companions still need to check in manually at the 24 hour mark if they are not also Tier Members. 

Nicole
Community Manager

Re: Families with children treated better than Companion

NicoleAshley
Employee
Employee

Hi @spurkapile, we apologize for the frustration. As a peer-to-peer forum, we aren't equipped to assist you here, but we encourage you to reach out to us via the options at Contact Us.  Thanks!

Nicole
Community Manager

Re: Families with children treated better than Companion

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

As someone who has enjoyed using a Companion Pass I've never quite understood complaining about a poor boarding position when the companion is flying completely free. Maybe "splurging" and paying a little bit for EarlyBird Check-In or purchasing an upgraded boarding position at the gate and having to spend a whopping $40 for a flight to Hawaii only seems reasonable to me. It's also not that hard or even frowned upon by many to save a non-emergency exit row middle seat so the upgraded boarding position isn't even really necessary for a couple flying together. Yes, it sucks when the wifi doesn't work, but too many things can go wrong getting Internet access while in a big metal tube flying around 35,000 feet up in the air that I wouldn't recommend relying on it to work if checking in right at T-24 is important to you. Buying EarlyBird Check-In can help you enjoy your vacation instead of worrying about checking in, that doesn't seem like a penalty to me.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Families with children treated better than Companion

ronnyradio
Adventurer A

Better yet, get the SWA Chase signature card and get 4 A1-15 upgrades free annually...great workaround

Re: Families with children treated better than Companion

jtminneapolis
Explorer C

This is the complaint......Companion flyers are a reward for spending a boat load of money and being loyal to SWA airlines in order to qualify.  They ruin the experience of a "reward" when the companion is not treated like the member.  Why can the not attach the companion ticket to the Rewards Member and check them simultaneously.  

 

The reward program is great and appreciated....they are meant to incent loyalty, and say thank you.  When your companion has to wait to get on the plane separately, putting the rewards member in the position of "saving" a seat   just takes away from the experience.

 

With volume of pre-boarders growing, then the A-Listers, then family boarding, the purchase of Early bird has proven to be absolutely worthless.  In fact, I bought early bird for my wife and got B43.  What a waste of money!!!

 

 

Re: Families with children treated better than Companion

dfwskier
Aviator A

@jtminneapolis wrote:

This is the complaint......Companion flyers are a reward for spending a boat load of money and being loyal to SWA airlines in order to qualify.  They ruin the experience of a "reward" when the companion is not treated like the member.  Why can the not attach the companion ticket to the Rewards Member and check them simultaneously.  

 

The reward program is great and appreciated....they are meant to incent loyalty, and say thank you.  When your companion has to wait to get on the plane separately, putting the rewards member in the position of "saving" a seat   just takes away from the experience.

 

With volume of pre-boarders growing, then the A-Listers, then family boarding, the purchase of Early bird has proven to be absolutely worthless.  In fact, I bought early bird for my wife and got B43.  What a waste of money!!!

 

 


You can always buy an a1-a15 spot (if available) at the gate.

 

It's amazing how many people who benefit from companion pass to the tune of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars a year find something to complain about.

 

Does ANY other airline provide an equivalent benefit?