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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never had to sit them with strangers. People have moved for us and are generally polite about it.

You think someone is going to kidnap the kid on the plane.

I pay for early boarding and you should do the same if you want to sit together.

OP here. Ticket agent said early boarding wouldn't help and we'd be better off boarding after the A's. We did purchase early boarding for one of us, in the hopes that it would yield an earlier board than Southwest family boarding. No, I don't think anyone is going to kidnap my child, but I do prefer to sit with them since they would be nervous with strangers.

We're traveling with two adults and two kids, so don't need a whole row together or anything.

NP here. Family boarding is after the A group, but the groups are sized so that there are always full rows left after A boards. They will be toward the back of the plane, but they will be there. Even if you are late boarding, people will for sure move to accommodate you. Other parents get it (usually!).

[Anonymous]

I have Southwest a lot and have never had a problem, we have in fact always gotten a whole row. Normally this is when doing family boarding but it was once when boarding in the late C group when flight delays and gate changes left us running through the airport - when we got to the gate the boarding flight attendant called onto the plane and the rear attendant held the last row for us.

With 2 adults / 2 kids you just need aisle OR window + middles and should have no problem.

[Anonymous]

Most people are pretty nice about moving so you can sit together. We have been seated apart from our kids but the flight attendants and passengers always make it work so the children are next to a parent. (the parents may be in separate areas- but I don't mind if DH isn't right next to me). We found out that having the kids separate from each other actually makes the flight better.

[Anonymous]

Yes - it's great! Why didn't someone think of this years ago!

[Anonymous]

Early bird is before family boarding so I don't understand why the agent would tell you that wouldn't help.

[Anonymous]

I've flown a lot alone with my children. My oldest has sat across the isle a few times when I was in sight starting when he was 5 out of necessity. I could see him and it was always fine. Only once was one of my children in a completely separate row when they were 2 and no one would switch seats. I calmly said "that's fine, have a good flight" then gave tips on on to keep him calm in the air. Someone volunteered to switch quickly and we ended up together. It will fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never had to sit them with strangers. People have moved for us and are generally polite about it.

You think someone is going to kidnap the kid on the plane.

I pay for early boarding and you should do the same if you want to sit together.

Yikes you are a rude one! The problem is the second leg when you get on a flight which is a continuation for it is loaded with the people from their original leg also.

OP, the PP is one you want to sit the 3 year old by and then go to the back and close your eyes.

It happened once, 5 yr old, and we got along fine. Read him a couple of stories.

[Anonymous]

We've never had a problem boarding after the A's. But once your youngest is 5 they don't allow you to anymore. That will be next year for us. But I rarely fly SW. Much prefer Jet Blue whenever possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're flying Southwest soon and I just realized we're the second leg of a flight originating elsewhere. The ticket agent said they have a large number of people already signed up for early bird boarding, so she said we'd likely be better off doing family boarding after the A group. The hitch is that the flight is completely sold out (both legs) and people from the first leg will already be on the plane when boarding starts here. Should I be preparing my kids (3 & 6) to sit with strangers? I'm suddenly feeling anxious!

We had this happen on a 20 hr international flight on Lufthansa. I near about lost my head! Never flying Lufthansa.
Sorry but it just brought back bad memories

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just flew Southwest with my twin 5-year olds. We were on a non-stop flight so we didn't have your problem when we boarded after A group. But the last people to board the flight was a family of 3 - mom and two young daughters, maybe 6 and 9. The flight attendant made an announcement that there was a family aboard that would like to sit together and asked if some people would give up their seats. The flight attendant offered one free drink ticket to each passenger willing to move. Wasn't a problem.

Same situation when I flew SW last weekend. Family needed to sit together; free drinks offered; problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're flying Southwest soon and I just realized we're the second leg of a flight originating elsewhere. The ticket agent said they have a large number of people already signed up for early bird boarding, so she said we'd likely be better off doing family boarding after the A group. The hitch is that the flight is completely sold out (both legs) and people from the first leg will already be on the plane when boarding starts here. Should I be preparing my kids (3 & 6) to sit with strangers? I'm suddenly feeling anxious!

We had this happen on a 20 hr international flight on Lufthansa. I near about lost my head! Never flying Lufthansa.
Sorry but it just brought back bad memories

Sorry not the same scenario as OP you booked on airline that assigns seats and people have an right to and an expectation of a specific seat that they purchased. Don't get mad at the airline for that.

Southwest is a different ball game.

[Anonymous]

Just flew on southwest a week ago with 2 young kids- our first flight was delayed so we had to run to make the connecting flight. The flight was completely full and everyone else had already boarded, but the flight attendants knew that a family of four was on the way and had gotten four seats together for us on the back of the plane- we didn't have to ask anyone to move, they had already taken care of it for us (I assume they used free drink coupons). They earned my eternal loyalty for that, when flying with family I will stick to southwest whenever possible from now on.

[Anonymous]

Maybe a dumb question, but how can I figure out whether my flight is a connecting flight originating from somewhere else? We are travelling as a family on southwest soon and I've been thinking of this issue as well.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.