Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

So reading these comments about the family boarding/EBCI, I am getting nervous. I am flying to MCO June 25-July 2 with my 7 year old niece. I purchased EBCI because it is just the two of us and I don't want to be separated from her and she doesn't qualify for family boarding. I will be very upset if even with EBCI we end up in a situation where we cannot sit together. We will probably be fine, but you never know.
No guarantees, but there is a strong probability it will be fine. My daughter and I often travel together, always purchase EBCI, and we have always been able to sit together and usually toward the front/middle of the plane, which is my preference.
 
So reading these comments about the family boarding/EBCI, I am getting nervous. I am flying to MCO June 25-July 2 with my 7 year old niece. I purchased EBCI because it is just the two of us and I don't want to be separated from her and she doesn't qualify for family boarding. I will be very upset if even with EBCI we end up in a situation where we cannot sit together. We will probably be fine, but you never know.
I wouldn't be nervous. As a regular flyer on SW to MCO and I never buy EBCI, I have always sat with my family (3+1 or 2 and 2; and 2 and 2 was our last flight with boarding groups B58-C1. We had just decided to take the first groups of 2. I could see that there were still a few empty rows in the back)
 
So reading these comments about the family boarding/EBCI, I am getting nervous. I am flying to MCO June 25-July 2 with my 7 year old niece. I purchased EBCI because it is just the two of us and I don't want to be separated from her and she doesn't qualify for family boarding. I will be very upset if even with EBCI we end up in a situation where we cannot sit together. We will probably be fine, but you never know.
Don't be. With EBCI, especially purchased this far ahead I would guess you'll have mid B, plenty of spots for two together. Usually it's only when it's one adult with two small kids is there an issue.
 
The dirty looks I get for pre boarding with my 19 year old are infuriating. He “looks” extremely healthy. Would people prefer that he wear a sign indicating his issue? Should we check with other passengers to make sure they find his need severe enough to pre board?
 
The dirty looks I get for pre boarding with my 19 year old are infuriating. He “looks” extremely healthy. Would people prefer that he wear a sign indicating his issue? Should we check with other passengers to make sure they find his need severe enough to pre board?

They way I look at it, after I get my bags at the destination airport, chances are, I will never see any of these people again. As I make myself otherwise fairly unmemorable, even if we run into each other again at Epcot, they probably won't bother engaging, or probably won't remember me. So I do what I do. The person at the counter said I was eligible for a preboard, so I don't care what anyone else thinks.
 
I have been informed it depends on the personnel at the Gate to how many can board with a child in family boarding.
We travel to MCO a lot. It’s supposed to be 2 up to adults with children 6 and under. On many occasions I have overheard families assigning one of their children under 6 child to grandma and grandpa and another to aunt and uncle and they board with one of the children. Another way is flyers scam the Southwest system to avoid paying for early bird.

Southwest policies should be enforced system wide, not at the whim of an employee..
 
So reading these comments about the family boarding/EBCI, I am getting nervous. I am flying to MCO June 25-July 2 with my 7 year old niece. I purchased EBCI because it is just the two of us and I don't want to be separated from her and she doesn't qualify for family boarding. I will be very upset if even with EBCI we end up in a situation where we cannot sit together. We will probably be fine, but you never know.
Like others have said, you really should be fine. My family and I flew from Baltimore to Denver this past summer and both ways, even with EBCI, we had mid Bs. I was nervous we’d be all over the plane, but both ways my boys and I got to sit together with DH across from us on the way there and two rows in front of us on the way home. There were plenty of two seats together that we could have sat in but we headed to the back where we could get a whole row.
 
Even if the flight is full there is usually a kind person who will make sure at least a parent and child are together. Unless you have one guy like I did who refused to move a seat and I popped my 5 year old down right in the middle seat and let him talk to the guy the entire 6 hour flight.
 
Even if the flight is full there is usually a kind person who will make sure at least a parent and child are together. Unless you have one guy like I did who refused to move a seat and I popped my 5 year old down right in the middle seat and let him talk to the guy the entire 6 hour flight.
I'm trying to think of what seating situation you're describing that happened but I'm not getting it
 
I'm trying to think of what seating situation you're describing that happened but I'm not getting it
Open middle one side…open aisle on the opposite. I asked the person in the window and aisle if they would swap for my aisle. They wouldn’t so I sat my child down in the middle seat and I took the aisle. I suspect they were together and were trying to keep someone from sitting in the middle.

Edit: Should have prefaced we were late to our flight and nearly missed it due to a late connection hence no family boarding.
 
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So reading these comments about the family boarding/EBCI, I am getting nervous. I am flying to MCO June 25-July 2 with my 7 year old niece. I purchased EBCI because it is just the two of us and I don't want to be separated from her and she doesn't qualify for family boarding. I will be very upset if even with EBCI we end up in a situation where we cannot sit together. We will probably be fine, but you never know.
I was sitting at the gate one time and they called for family boarding near a family with kids that looked 9 or 10. The wife is getting nervous because they have C numbers, she said I should have got online sooner. The dad jumps up and says we're a family. Grandma says 6 or under, he said let's go. And they boarded. You paid for EBCI, I wouldn't hesitate to get in the family boarding line if you got a high number.

With many airlines raising the age for family seating because of new DOT rules, I wouldn't be surprised to see SW change their rules. They are testing family boarding with a older age where they board first but they have to sit past the exit row.
 
Southwest has had higher ticket prices for our last six trips we’ve taken (2 for WDW) so we’ve been using United or American. I’m sure it depends where you’re traveling to and from, but I’ve been disappointed in SW lately. We used them almost exclusively in the past so it’s been a big change for us. Though I don’t miss all the boarding hassle - i do enjoy an assigned seat!
 
We usually book the WGA levels but for our upcoming flights to Vegas in October I'm thinking of booking Anytime - and i wanted to make sure I'm not reading too much into the highlighted line - that we have access to Priority Lane/Express Lane..

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so if I go down the page and read the little bitty "8" it clarifies what the Priority Lane and Express Lane is...

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BUT, that would be the same as the A-List check-in line that I would have used at my local airport and then flying out of the departing airport - we had A-List las year and were super spoiled by using that shorter check-in line...


Thanks!
 
Just a friendly reminder, SWA will be opening their schedule tomorrow, 3/9 for flights through November 4, 2023.
Just an extra month from their current schedule end date, but I know I'll be scoping out flights for our F&W trip in mid to late October!
thanks for the reminder! they seem to release pretty far behind other carrier's schedules, anyone know if that's normal? we're looking at flying SWA in December for the first time and other carriers have had their schedules out for more than 1.5 months (and have been going up in price since! 😢)
 
thanks for the reminder! they seem to release pretty far behind other carrier's schedules, anyone know if that's normal? we're looking at flying SWA in December for the first time and other carriers have had their schedules out for more than 1.5 months (and have been going up in price since! 😢)
It is normal for SW especially since the pandemic though I think it started earlier than that due to the issues with new planes.
 
thanks for the reminder! they seem to release pretty far behind other carrier's schedules, anyone know if that's normal? we're looking at flying SWA in December for the first time and other carriers have had their schedules out for more than 1.5 months (and have been going up in price since! 😢)
SW has never released schedules 11 months out like the legacies have. It had been about 6 months, now we are seeing 8.
 
thanks for the reminder! they seem to release pretty far behind other carrier's schedules, anyone know if that's normal? we're looking at flying SWA in December for the first time and other carriers have had their schedules out for more than 1.5 months (and have been going up in price since! 😢)
SWA has usually been a carrier (even before the pandemic) to only release about 5-6 months in advance, sometimes less sometimes more.

Yes other carriers are usually much further out than that but they also tend to have more frequent changes in their schedules.
 
much appreciated everyone! will keep that info, in addition to whatever the December prices turn out to be, in mind for next year!
 

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