Flying SW with a kid too old for family boarding

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People send their little kids alone on flights all the time to visit grandparents or non custodial parents but now they can’t sit alone on the trip to Disney?

Sure, but they are unaccompanied minors and airline staff check in on them

Right but the parents are On the plane so they could do the same thing right? You can't say "Oh flying to California alone at age 8 is fine" but "Flying with my family and not sitting with my 8 year old isn't fine."

OK so in this scenario the parents, who are sitting in a different part of the plane, are going to get up multiple times to go check on the kid, as a flight attendant would for an unaccompanied minor. And that makes more sense then just letting the kid sit with their parents?

What 8 year old needs to be checked on multiple times in a couple of hours?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People send their little kids alone on flights all the time to visit grandparents or non custodial parents but now they can’t sit alone on the trip to Disney?

Sure, but they are unaccompanied minors and airline staff check in on them

Right but the parents are On the plane so they could do the same thing right? You can't say "Oh flying to California alone at age 8 is fine" but "Flying with my family and not sitting with my 8 year old isn't fine."

OK so in this scenario the parents, who are sitting in a different part of the plane, are going to get up multiple times to go check on the kid, as a flight attendant would for an unaccompanied minor. And that makes more sense then just letting the kid sit with their parents?

What 8 year old needs to be checked on multiple times in a couple of hours?

So have you posted a rant about this on the childfree subreddit yet

[Anonymous]

Time to interject a little humor. One of my favorite SNL skits - Boarding Flight 314.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DptGBVPnvKE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For $15 you can check in early in SW and get A group.

Pony up.

The price is dynamic, it can be $20 or $30. So for my family of 5, I'm not paying $150 extra when I can board in family boarding.

Then don't complain if your family of 5 can't all sit in row 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For $15 you can check in early in SW and get A group.

Pony up.

The price is dynamic, it can be $20 or $30. So for my family of 5, I'm not paying $150 extra when I can board in family boarding.

Then don't complain if your family of 5 can't all sit in row 2.

No one was complaining about that. Family boarding (between A and B) still has plenty of empty rows. It really isn't until late B that seats together become limited. Group C then good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Time to interject a little humor. One of my favorite SNL skits - Boarding Flight 314.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DptGBVPnvKE

Okay, but Key & Peele did almost the same skit, and it's even funnier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole point is southwest wants your family to be able to sit together. They want you to board together after the special people who paid extra for group A so as not to anger them. When my kids were slightly older than the age cut off, we stood in our assigned boarding area, and the gate agent told us to go ahead and board with the families. They do not want to deal with kids sitting alone more than anyone else (well, except for the one bitter child-free PP above)

Wow, nobody has ever told us to board with families! I always board in a low level panic that we won't find 2 seats together. My husband has had to sit separate from DS and I, but we always manage to get DS and I together.

Otherwise, I would expect someone to move for us. Only an idiot would think it's ok for a small child to sit next to a stranger on a plane.

Only an idiot would think it's a stranger's responsibility to see that your kid is traveling in a way that is comfortable to him/you.

No really. You think it's cool for an 8 year old to sit next to strangers on a plane? Unsupervised? And what, you'd rather sit with the unsupervised kid that switch seats so he can sit with him parent? WHY? Please explain your reasoning.

What is an 8 year old going to do on a plane that needs supervision?

Tell me you've never worked in a public school without telling me you've never worked in a public school....

Anyway, it doesn't really matter. By implementing its boarding policy the way it does, Southwest shows it wants to be efficient and minimize conflicts. If that means letting an 8yo board with the rest of their family rather than be separated or try to figure it out once everyone is on board, that is what they'll do. There are plenty of other airlines that will nickel and dime you for everything if that's your preference.

I'm a former public school teacher who wouldn't have any qualms about my 8 year old sitting next to someone else on a plane.

I think that the correct thing to do, if your youngest kid 6 and up is to try your best to get A or B boarding. If you can't, and your don't think your kid is developmentally ready to sit by themselves, then ask for family boarding. But at least try.

OP's situation is different. I think OP is fine. One purpose of family boarding is because people with little kids board more slowly, and family boarding helps with that. An 8 year old without little siblings doesn't need the extra time.

I didn't say I was worried about my own kid. But I've worked with kids who could not have handled themselves on a flight like that without being disruptive, or understand what to if, god forbid, they had to deploy oxygen masks or something. Think of it from a flight attendant's point of view and what is easier.

Anyway, it seems like SOuthwest should adjust the age upward for family boarding if that's what they do in practice, but I agree OP is fine just letting their 8yo board then.

But isn't that on the parents to teach their kid to behave on the plane? Why should the rest of us who paid extra to board early be punished because parents can't control their kids?

[Anonymous]

Southwest is trash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Time to interject a little humor. One of my favorite SNL skits - Boarding Flight 314.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DptGBVPnvKE

Okay, but Key & Peele did almost the same skit, and it's even funnier.

I hadn't seen either of these, but they were both funny. Thanks to both of you.

Here's the Key & Peele one if anyone wants to see it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Southwest is trash.

You’re trash

We’re so mature

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole point is southwest wants your family to be able to sit together. They want you to board together after the special people who paid extra for group A so as not to anger them. When my kids were slightly older than the age cut off, we stood in our assigned boarding area, and the gate agent told us to go ahead and board with the families. They do not want to deal with kids sitting alone more than anyone else (well, except for the one bitter child-free PP above)

Wow, nobody has ever told us to board with families! I always board in a low level panic that we won't find 2 seats together. My husband has had to sit separate from DS and I, but we always manage to get DS and I together.

Otherwise, I would expect someone to move for us. Only an idiot would think it's ok for a small child to sit next to a stranger on a plane.

Only an idiot would think it's a stranger's responsibility to see that your kid is traveling in a way that is comfortable to him/you.

No really. You think it's cool for an 8 year old to sit next to strangers on a plane? Unsupervised? And what, you'd rather sit with the unsupervised kid that switch seats so he can sit with him parent? WHY? Please explain your reasoning.

What is an 8 year old going to do on a plane that needs supervision?

Tell me you've never worked in a public school without telling me you've never worked in a public school....

Anyway, it doesn't really matter. By implementing its boarding policy the way it does, Southwest shows it wants to be efficient and minimize conflicts. If that means letting an 8yo board with the rest of their family rather than be separated or try to figure it out once everyone is on board, that is what they'll do. There are plenty of other airlines that will nickel and dime you for everything if that's your preference.

Exactly. This is how they accomplish boarding everyone in half an hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The whole point is southwest wants your family to be able to sit together. They want you to board together after the special people who paid extra for group A so as not to anger them. When my kids were slightly older than the age cut off, we stood in our assigned boarding area, and the gate agent told us to go ahead and board with the families. They do not want to deal with kids sitting alone more than anyone else (well, except for the one bitter child-free PP above)

Wow, nobody has ever told us to board with families! I always board in a low level panic that we won't find 2 seats together. My husband has had to sit separate from DS and I, but we always manage to get DS and I together.

Otherwise, I would expect someone to move for us. Only an idiot would think it's ok for a small child to sit next to a stranger on a plane.

Only an idiot would think it's a stranger's responsibility to see that your kid is traveling in a way that is comfortable to him/you.

No really. You think it's cool for an 8 year old to sit next to strangers on a plane? Unsupervised? And what, you'd rather sit with the unsupervised kid that switch seats so he can sit with him parent? WHY? Please explain your reasoning.

What is an 8 year old going to do on a plane that needs supervision?

Tell me you've never worked in a public school without telling me you've never worked in a public school....

Anyway, it doesn't really matter. By implementing its boarding policy the way it does, Southwest shows it wants to be efficient and minimize conflicts. If that means letting an 8yo board with the rest of their family rather than be separated or try to figure it out once everyone is on board, that is what they'll do. There are plenty of other airlines that will nickel and dime you for everything if that's your preference.

I've never worked in a public school! But there is such a limited amount of space that the kid has in which to be naughty, I feel like they can't be that awful. Surely an 8 year old is past the seat kicking and yelling phase. And they can deal with food and drink on their own by then.

Maybe visit a third grade classroom and see what happens

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For $15 you can check in early in SW and get A group.

Pony up.

The price is dynamic, it can be $20 or $30. So for my family of 5, I'm not paying $150 extra when I can board in family boarding.

Then don't complain if your family of 5 can't all sit in row 2.

Literally no one has complained about that.

[Anonymous]

It always amazes me that people who hate kids post on DC Urban Moms.

The issue is not whether the 8 year old kid can behave. The issue is what happens if something goes wrong. What if there is severe turbulence? What if the oxygen masks deploy? What if a passenger gets drunk and starts threatening people? What if, God forbid, one of the windows fails and someone gets sucked out of the plane, like what happened a few years ago? What if there is some sort of attack? Do you really want your 8 year old fending for him or herself? Do you want to be responsible for someone else's 8 year old in those circumstances?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It always amazes me that people who hate kids post on DC Urban Moms.

The issue is not whether the 8 year old kid can behave. The issue is what happens if something goes wrong. What if there is severe turbulence? What if the oxygen masks deploy? What if a passenger gets drunk and starts threatening people? What if, God forbid, one of the windows fails and someone gets sucked out of the plane, like what happened a few years ago? What if there is some sort of attack? Do you really want your 8 year old fending for him or herself? Do you want to be responsible for someone else's 8 year old in those circumstances?

I’m maybe you need to teach them some resilience. Do you never leave your 8yo alone for a few minutes ever?