Anyone not been able to sit next to their kids on Southwest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have kids, they let you board between the A and B groups.

Several flights lately people have boarded at the last minute with kids, and the flight attendant offered a free drink to anyone who would move.

Don't be the jerk that shows up 4 seconds before the plane leaves and makes a ton of people move around. Just get there early and board after A.

Except your youngest child must be no older than 4 to do family boarding. 5 & up does not qualify for family boarding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd like to see some of the never-seat-swapping posters answer the question of the last PP below!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a family of 4 and all had to sit separately. (kids were 8 and 10) The flight attendant tried desperately to get someone to move so my 8 yr old who was freaking out about sitting alone would be able to sit next to one of us, but no one budged!!

After the 4th announcement by the flight attendant a man moved to another seat and asked the man next to him, whom he didn't know, to move too in a kind of "come on man, let's do this" kind of way. I'm so thankful for him.

I'll always look for other airlines before I look for Southwest again. It's not the service, the flight attendant was so nice and really tried, but I will always opt for any airline with assigned seats from now on.

I posted this on a different thread about SW and got dogged out because of it. I was told my child is old enough to get over it, that I was acting entitled, why should they give up their seat, etc. Typical DCUM nastiness, but I never thought that people were as nasty as they sometimes act on here in real life. I was dead wrong because that must have been some of the thoughts of the people on the plane since they wouldn't move.

It is astounding to me that we as a society in a first world country where we pride ourselves on our civilized lifestyle and high education that we have become so selfish and arrogant that it is too inconvenient to switch seats so a crying child could sit next to their parent on a cross country 6 hour plane trip.

I feel for you, PP. There are a lot of selfish, nasty people in the world.

It's actually selfish and self-absorbed to assume people have to move to meet your needs. People often pick their seats for specific reasons, they have that right and judging them for it because things aren't going your way is selfish as well.

Would you be willing to assist a 5 year old sitting next to you in s crisis? You know, put their oxygen mask on and all that and help them evacuate?

I'm going to take care of my dog first. After she's all right, I would probably help the abandoned kid next to me with their mask, if their absentee parent hasn't shown up by then.

You're supposed to fix your own mask before helping others, to make sure you're not incapacitated. How is the child's parent supposed to show up if they're tethered to an oxygen mask? The parent isn't an absentee on purpose if you've refused to switch with them, jerk.

Of course they are. There are 1000 different ways you can MAKE SURE you're seated next to your child. You just just didn't try hard enough or spend the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd like to see some of the never-seat-swapping posters answer the question of the last PP below!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a family of 4 and all had to sit separately. (kids were 8 and 10) The flight attendant tried desperately to get someone to move so my 8 yr old who was freaking out about sitting alone would be able to sit next to one of us, but no one budged!!

After the 4th announcement by the flight attendant a man moved to another seat and asked the man next to him, whom he didn't know, to move too in a kind of "come on man, let's do this" kind of way. I'm so thankful for him.

I'll always look for other airlines before I look for Southwest again. It's not the service, the flight attendant was so nice and really tried, but I will always opt for any airline with assigned seats from now on.

I posted this on a different thread about SW and got dogged out because of it. I was told my child is old enough to get over it, that I was acting entitled, why should they give up their seat, etc. Typical DCUM nastiness, but I never thought that people were as nasty as they sometimes act on here in real life. I was dead wrong because that must have been some of the thoughts of the people on the plane since they wouldn't move.

It is astounding to me that we as a society in a first world country where we pride ourselves on our civilized lifestyle and high education that we have become so selfish and arrogant that it is too inconvenient to switch seats so a crying child could sit next to their parent on a cross country 6 hour plane trip.

I feel for you, PP. There are a lot of selfish, nasty people in the world.

It's actually selfish and self-absorbed to assume people have to move to meet your needs. People often pick their seats for specific reasons, they have that right and judging them for it because things aren't going your way is selfish as well.

Would you be willing to assist a 5 year old sitting next to you in s crisis? You know, put their oxygen mask on and all that and help them evacuate?

I'm going to take care of my dog first. After she's all right, I would probably help the abandoned kid next to me with their mask, if their absentee parent hasn't shown up by then.

You're supposed to fix your own mask before helping others, to make sure you're not incapacitated. How is the child's parent supposed to show up if they're tethered to an oxygen mask? The parent isn't an absentee on purpose if you've refused to switch with them, jerk.

Of course they are. There are 1000 different ways you can MAKE SURE you're seated next to your child. You just just didn't try hard enough or spend the money.

(This is immediate PP.) Hey, whoa. That was my first comment on this thread. I actually DO check in exactly 24 hours before my flights, to make sure I'm in A group. I'd be happy to pay--or not fly Southwest--otherwise. I also have TSA pre-check, mostly so I don't have to wait in interminable security lines with my kid d, and can make it to the gate early. I know lots of different ways to make sure we're all where we need to be.

But if someone else doesn't, or can't, make that happen, someone else has to take care of their kid. The parent can't come over to help with an oxygen mask if they have one on themselves, and they have to put theirs on first, or risk injury to themselves or others. That was my point. (And I apologize for the incendiary "jerk." Kind of.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd like to see some of the never-seat-swapping posters answer the question of the last PP below!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a family of 4 and all had to sit separately. (kids were 8 and 10) The flight attendant tried desperately to get someone to move so my 8 yr old who was freaking out about sitting alone would be able to sit next to one of us, but no one budged!!

After the 4th announcement by the flight attendant a man moved to another seat and asked the man next to him, whom he didn't know, to move too in a kind of "come on man, let's do this" kind of way. I'm so thankful for him.

I'll always look for other airlines before I look for Southwest again. It's not the service, the flight attendant was so nice and really tried, but I will always opt for any airline with assigned seats from now on.

I posted this on a different thread about SW and got dogged out because of it. I was told my child is old enough to get over it, that I was acting entitled, why should they give up their seat, etc. Typical DCUM nastiness, but I never thought that people were as nasty as they sometimes act on here in real life. I was dead wrong because that must have been some of the thoughts of the people on the plane since they wouldn't move.

It is astounding to me that we as a society in a first world country where we pride ourselves on our civilized lifestyle and high education that we have become so selfish and arrogant that it is too inconvenient to switch seats so a crying child could sit next to their parent on a cross country 6 hour plane trip.

I feel for you, PP. There are a lot of selfish, nasty people in the world.

It's actually selfish and self-absorbed to assume people have to move to meet your needs. People often pick their seats for specific reasons, they have that right and judging them for it because things aren't going your way is selfish as well.

Would you be willing to assist a 5 year old sitting next to you in s crisis? You know, put their oxygen mask on and all that and help them evacuate?

I'm going to take care of my dog first. After she's all right, I would probably help the abandoned kid next to me with their mask, if their absentee parent hasn't shown up by then.

You're supposed to fix your own mask before helping others, to make sure you're not incapacitated. How is the child's parent supposed to show up if they're tethered to an oxygen mask? The parent isn't an absentee on purpose if you've refused to switch with them, jerk.

Of course they are. There are 1000 different ways you can MAKE SURE you're seated next to your child. You just just didn't try hard enough or spend the money.

(This is immediate PP.) Hey, whoa. That was my first comment on this thread. I actually DO check in exactly 24 hours before my flights, to make sure I'm in A group. I'd be happy to pay--or not fly Southwest--otherwise. I also have TSA pre-check, mostly so I don't have to wait in interminable security lines with my kid d, and can make it to the gate early. I know lots of different ways to make sure we're all where we need to be.

But if someone else doesn't, or can't, make that happen, someone else has to take care of their kid. The parent can't come over to help with an oxygen mask if they have one on themselves, and they have to put theirs on first, or risk injury to themselves or others. That was my point. (And I apologize for the incendiary "jerk." Kind of.)

I am the PP you actually aimed the jerk comment toward, and I accept your half-apology. But I am still going to take care of my dog first, and 'kind of' take care of someone else's kid if I have time afterwards.