cabanafrau
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 10, 2006
I don't like to knuckle under to entitled bullies, but a plane isn't somewhere I'm likely to venture into any behaviors or conversations that in any way make people get testy.
I hope less people will utilize it! I’m a 24-hour checker-inner (how’s that for grammar?) and I’m usually mid-B boarding group even though I check-in the second I can just because of all the early birds.
My issue with it is that 2 people bought EBCI. They proceeded to board in A group and each save an entire row. We were also in A group, but behind them.
People in C group then boarded and sat in those rows saved for them.
We were not prevented from sitting together. I just think it's a crappy thing to do.
This actually happened to me on a flight from BWI to MCO in June. I boarded a flight with an EB ticket and 19 position...the couple just in front of me boarded and sat in the aisle seats across from each other Proceeded to place hats/small bags on rows of seats in front of them and behind them saving 6 rows of seats! I ended up in row 16! The woman boarding just behind me was furious and asked the flight attendent to intervene. The flight attendent simply told her to "please take a seat ma'am the sooner everyone is seated the faster we can take off." She sat with me and complained the whole time. I was annoyed too as I expected a to be able to get a seat closer to front of plane and most irritating was the fact that I PAID for the EB and those seats were saved for those that did not.
You do realize that Southwest has no policy against seat saving? You are not "playing by the rules" because there are no rules.I am not even defending a price increase---I started off with agreeing that it is not for the benefit of customers or to limit use unless they actually place a hard limit on sales, which so far as I know, they have not. It is clearly a money grab.
I commented about the seat saving as a general thing, building on someone else's post---I am just not someone who caters to jerks who save seats when they are not supposed to. No, I do not intentionally choose seats that will annoy people for me to sit in them---but if it is the only bulkhead left, or one of 2 and i am with my tall husband, or it is the only aisle left---yeah, I prefer to sit next to someone annoyed with me that I played by the rules and didn't let them push me around than to sit in a window or middle.
The one time it happened one person was on and had sat in the bulkhead and placed a jacket also in bulkhead, leaving the middle empty. we asked who was sitting there---he said his wife, we asked where she was, um, well, she be on soon, we sat down. As it turned
out, we did not sit next to an annoyed jerk as he decided to move back to sit with his wife (I wouldn't have cared if he stayed and they sat apart).
I find it odd that we are discussing others are breaking the rules and circumventing the system saving seats and you think I am in the wrong for simply not catering to it. Why on earth am i the bad guy in that scenario?
In effect, Southwest DOES have a policy on seat saving. Their policy is VERY clear that if you want to board with your group, you need to all board with the highest numbered person. If it was OK for a lower number person to "save" seats for a higher number person, then their policy would be that it's ok to the group to board with the lower number person because the end result is the same. Since their written policy is exactly the opposite of that (that you board as a group with the highest number person), it's clear to me that seat saving is not allowed.
Here's the policy:
Can groups assigned to different boarding positions board together?
Yes. However, in order to maintain the integrity of the boarding process, we ask that earlier boarding positions board with the later positions. For example, if a passenger is assigned position A16 and wants to board with a passenger assigned position A45, the passenger holding the A16 boarding pass should board with the A45 passenger.
In effect, Southwest DOES have a policy on seat saving. Their policy is VERY clear that if you want to board with your group, you need to all board with the highest numbered person. If it was OK for a lower number person to "save" seats for a higher number person, then their policy would be that it's ok to the group to board with the lower number person because the end result is the same. Since their written policy is exactly the opposite of that (that you board as a group with the highest number person), it's clear to me that seat saving is not allowed.
Here's the policy:
Can groups assigned to different boarding positions board together?
Yes. However, in order to maintain the integrity of the boarding process, we ask that earlier boarding positions board with the later positions. For example, if a passenger is assigned position A16 and wants to board with a passenger assigned position A45, the passenger holding the A16 boarding pass should board with the A45 passenger.
Some years ago, when we first started flying Southwest I was on the phone purchasing four tickets for me, my mom and my two kids who were maybe 9 and 11 years old at the time. I was on the fence about purchasing EBCI, and wasn’t really an experienced flyer at the time. The Southwest agent on the phone with me encouraged me to purchase EBCI for two of us and save seats for the other two. I ended up getting EBCI for myself and DS and my mom and DD waited and boarded after us.
I’m glad I didn’t run into any of you people on the plane because I would have been horrified. I really didn’t realize that it was so frowned upon at the time since the SW agent was the one who suggested it.
I have since flown SW many times and I now purchase EBCI for everyone, not only because I have read multiple threads about this, but mostly because my kids would argue about who gets to board first. I just get it for all of us to keep the peace.
I would never touch anyone’s personal items and move them so I could sit. I think that’s a recipe for disaster.
I’ve only flown Southwest a few times, as my SO used to use them as his secondary airline when Delta was too impractical. Every time, I remember an FA coming over the loudspeaker and telling everyone that no one can save seats, and if there isn’t a body in a seat, anyone can and should sit there.
I am not even defending a price increase---I started off with agreeing that it is not for the benefit of customers or to limit use unless they actually place a hard limit on sales, which so far as I know, they have not. It is clearly a money grab.
I commented about the seat saving as a general thing, building on someone else's post---I am just not someone who caters to jerks who save seats when they are not supposed to. No, I do not intentionally choose seats that will annoy people for me to sit in them---but if it is the only bulkhead left, or one of 2 and i am with my tall husband, or it is the only aisle left---yeah, I prefer to sit next to someone annoyed with me that I played by the rules and didn't let them push me around than to sit in a window or middle.
The one time it happened one person was on and had sat in the bulkhead and placed a jacket also in bulkhead, leaving the middle empty. we asked who was sitting there---he said his wife, we asked where she was, um, well, she be on soon, we sat down. As it turned
out, we did not sit next to an annoyed jerk as he decided to move back to sit with his wife (I wouldn't have cared if he stayed and they sat apart).
I find it odd that we are discussing others are breaking the rules and circumventing the system saving seats and you think I am in the wrong for simply not catering to it. Why on earth am i the bad guy in that scenario?
Reading posts about Southwest and the seating fiasco is the reason I have never flown them and never have any intention of doing so.
poniting at seat with a bag or jacket on it: "is someone sitting there?"
"my wife"
"where is she?" looking around for her---if no actual person is already on the plane to be pointed out to me, I shrug, move the bag/jacket to the floor and sit down.
(OK, I only did that once---but I would again if someone were saving seat inappropriately. I'Ve done it in the theatre on ships many times. For a while there it was common to walk inn to find 1-2 people saving entire rows. )
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