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Saving Seats

Sweber288
Explorer C

Firstly, I would like to mention I love SW and will continue to fly with them... BUT, Does anyone else have an issue with people saving seats? I just saw a woman who was an A-lister and who saved four seats for her family.. I was on before all of them, but saw a passenager get very upset and honestly it would have annoyed me too.. SW has an option to pay for preboarding.. Anyone else think they should enforce that more? As a frequent flyer and A-list preferred/ companion passenger I would like to see everyone else be required to respect the culture and rules! Sometimes rules are made to be broken, but not in this case in my opinion... Thoughts?! 

 

A loyal Southwest flyer! 

57 REPLIES 57

Re: Saving Seats

dfwskier
Aviator A
Solution

If you've read these boards, you know that saving seats is a controversial topic.

 

For the record: Southwest does NOT have a policy prohibiting the practice.

 

Due to it's boarding prcess, Southwest cannot assign seats to family members. So if you are A-List,

and the rest of your family is not and the best they can do is buy EBCI, and they end up with B boarding positions, what do you do so you can all sit together?

 

Answer: save seats.

 

Re: Saving Seats

SWDigits
Aviator A
You're not alone, as @dfwskier noted the topic gets a ton of discussion. It's something I personally think Southwest should address. I tried to capture this and other boarding issues, I would love to hear any suggestions you may have: https://www.southwestaircommunity.com/t5/Boarding/Military-Boarding-Policy/m-p/87856#M2666

Customer | Home airport DCA

Re: Saving Seats

SWDigits
Aviator A

@dfwskier wrote:

Due to it's boarding prcess, Southwest cannot assign seats to family members. So if you are A-List,

and the rest of your family is not and the best they can do is

Answer: save seats.

 


What are thoughts about having a save seat section? Meaning if you want to save seats then don't do it in the front or emergency exit rows?

Customer | Home airport DCA

Re: Saving Seats

StAugustine
Frequent Flyer C

What if the saved seat section fills up early in the boarding process? 

Re: Saving Seats

SWDigits
Aviator A
FYI that my post about trying to come up with constructive solutions to the boarding discussion was marked as spam and removed...

Customer | Home airport DCA

Re: Saving Seats

spacecoastbill
Frequent Flyer B

@SWDigits wrote:

@dfwskier wrote:

Due to it's boarding prcess, Southwest cannot assign seats to family members. So if you are A-List,

and the rest of your family is not and the best they can do is

Answer: save seats.

 


What are thoughts about having a save seat section? Meaning if you want to save seats then don't do it in the front or emergency exit rows?

Most likely if you tried to save a seat in the rear of the plane, nobody would care.

 

Those trying to save seats in the bulkhead and exit rows are where the majority of the problems arise.

 

Just ignore them.  If they say the seat is saved, and there is not a person sitting in it...just sit there.

 

Let them try to complain to a FA.  It wont help them... but let them try.

Re: Saving Seats

RSH_Houston
Adventurer C

"Answer: save seats."

 

Are you kidding me?

 

You are correct, SWA has no policy prohibiting the saving of seats, this is simply unwritten airline etiquette subscribed to by most frequent flyers, like the person in the center seat getting both armrests, or NOT reclining your seat if there is someone sitting behind you, and numerous others.

 

Saving seats undermines the entire concept of fare levels, Rapid Rewards tier levels, and available seating order upgrades available for purchase. If one is, infact, an A-Lister he/she can appreciate the money spent in obtaining that level.

 

As an A-List Preferred and Business Select SWA Flyer, I am insulted simply by the audaciousness and self-entitlement of one to suggest such a thing.

 

Think of it this way - You buy a box seat to a game, someone else buys one also, but whose entire entourage has nose-bleed seats. Once in, however, one can sit wherever one wants, as no one monitors where people sit. That other person with the box seat gets in ahead of you and takes the last box, saving all the seats left for his group. Your simply effed!

 

The system is already abused badly enough by the purported, physically challenged, pre-boarders (I've seen upwards of fifty get on one flight), the wheelchair "riders" getting on, but walking off flights, and oh yes, the relatively new "emotional support animal" thing [no certification is required for an emotional support animal, simply a doctor's note from the flyer alluding to the need (my Daughter, also entitled, pulled this to get a pet Pit back from Costa Rica)]. 

 

Here are the simple solutions to the "family seating" dilemma, in order of their assurendness of your sitting together.

1. Purchase Business Select seats for everyone.

2. Purchase Early-Bird Check-in for ALL the tickets.

3. Upgrade your cheap seats or point seats at the gate, when available.

4. If flying with young children (6 and under), "family boarding", regardless of assigned boarding position, is after Boarding Group A has boarded, and still assures you pretty much of sitting together, just not in the seats typically claimed by the Business Select or A-Listers flying alone.

5. Book your flight on off-times (non-peakload flights). Reservations can help you with finding those more lightly traveled flights. Red-eyes are sure bets!

5. Ask people who are already seated if they would be kind enough to change seats to accomodate your party, just not the ones sitting in the "high-dollar" seats, Front rows and over the wings. The further back in the plane the more success you will have. You might be amazed at how accomodating people can be, if approached in the right way.

6. Maybe this should actually be #1 - If your kids (if that is the situation) are over 7, and you can't do "family boarding", and your not an over-protective parent, consider letting them fly elsewhere in the plane (behind you assures they don't get off the plane ahead of you). They will gravitate to seats next to other children natually, or ask a flight attendent to find them a flyinf "buddy". My kids, when they were young, and now my Grand-Daughters (7 and 12), both of whom have there own Rapid Rewards memberships,  love to fly with each other (alone with out a parent), or completely by themselves. SWA allows children as young as 5 to fly unaccompanied.

7. Then, of course, you could always fly on one of those other airlines, who charge you for everything! I've even had to book on flights with different charges for different seats in coach. WTF?

 

Your NOT entitled! Do the right thing! 

 

Re: Saving Seats

Hurst1961
Explorer C

Great response. 
someone saves a seat in an exit row I'm sitting down. 
you can bet especially if I have PAID for the advantage of boarding before those that decide NOT to pay extra. 
this self entitlement is getting really old. 

Re: Saving Seats

Osroy
Explorer C

Answer: board together in B or in whatever position the rest of your family has.  Isn’t this obvious?  It does not matter if you’re A list...if the rest of your party is further down, and you want to sit with them, then board with them.