1st time southwest from buffalo-any probs?

[bell02fantasy]

hi
1st time booking with southwest...i called after booking and they told me that boarding is 1st come 1st serve? no seat bookings when u check in? i have 3 kids and the guy told me to request " early booking" to ensure i get my wife and i and the 3 kids in the same row? that scary

[HighFlyer]

that's correct. WN uses the 'cattle call' for its boarding process (one of the reasons I don't fly them). your best bet is to check in online 24 hrs prior to get yourself into group A (the first group).

[fireguy9]

that's correct. WN uses the 'cattle call' for its boarding process (one of the reasons I don't fly them). your best bet is to check in online 24 hrs prior to get yourself into group A (the first group).

I have flown them and there is no problem with the so called cattle call. If you have kids,,, you get in on the preboard.

[HighFlyer]

I have flown them and there is no problem with the so called cattle call.
I'm sure the process is fine with you. But when the competition (ie. UA/AA/US) offer complimentary advance seat selection on a fare that's not much more than southwest, then I'm not going to risk getting stuck in a middle seat.

[GT108]

I flown with them before too.
No problem with cattle call but admit I would hate to be stuck in a middle seat.
On the positive side, great service and very helpful staff.
They kinda remind me of Westjet, with the over the top friendliness.
Also, flying out of BUF was a breeze.
Easy terminal to navigate.

[chasbos]

Flown SWA with our family of 6 exclusively within the US for the past 4 years (about 12 flights total) and we have never had a problem with seating.

Always sat together 3 & 3 beside each other and even when it was only DH and I we have never had to sit with a 3rd person.

Just remember to log on 24 hours before your flight and print your boarding passes. They load A B C and even if you have a B boarding pass - there are still plenty of seats available.

SWA is actually the only airline that we get to sit together as a family. We have flown to Europe and had 2 seats & 4 seats a couple of rows back and flying to St. Maarten we sat 2, 2, & 2 scattered throughout the plane.

I enjoy there cheap fares, on time schedule and they rarely if ever change their flights.

[industry_killer]

The system may not be great for people like me who like their seats pre-selected, but Southwest makes money turning their planes around quick and this system allows them to do that, since no one wants to get a crappy seat if they can help it.

[bell02fantasy]

that's correct. WN uses the 'cattle call' for its boarding process (one of the reasons I don't fly them). your best bet is to check in online 24 hrs prior to get yourself into group A (the first group).



what exactly does 24 pre boarding mean if i cant book my seat? does this mean i dont go to the counter?

[Carnage]

what exactly does 24 pre boarding mean if i cant book my seat? does this mean i dont go to the counter?

They load the plane in sections. If you check in 24 hours beforehand you get into group A. That way you're in the first group to board the plane.

[chasbos]

If you arrive at the airport with your boarding pass - after printing it off at home, you can drop your luggage off with the skycap and proceed right to security! No need to stand in line, well except for the security line.

[bell02fantasy]

If you arrive at the airport with your boarding pass - after printing it off at home, you can drop your luggage off with the skycap and proceed right to security! No need to stand in line, well except for the security line.

ahh...now i got it! just one more ?....

i change planes in baltimore......
my buff dep is 3:35
my balt is 7:20

can i print off boarding passes 4 both at the same time? or do i have to print my pass at 3:35 (24 hours earlier) and 7:20 (24 hours earlier).....why cant i do both at once

[chasbos]

With a connecting flight you get to print all of your boarding passes off 24 hours before your 1st departure time!

So you will definately have A's for your connecting flight in Baltimore and more than likely your Buffalo deaprture as well.

[bell02fantasy]

With a connecting flight you get to print all of your boarding passes off 24 hours before your 1st departure time!

So you will definately have A's for your connecting flight in Baltimore and more than likely your Buffalo deaprture as well.


Thank you very much! this is such a relieve as this is my first time travelling from buffalo with 3 small kids

[Carnage]

With a connecting flight you get to print all of your boarding passes off 24 hours before your 1st departure time!

So you will definately have A's for your connecting flight in Baltimore and more than likely your Buffalo deaprture as well.

How does it work for those people already on the connecting flight who don't change planes?

At least some of the people on the plane could not be changing planes?

My flight in a couple weeks is like that, where I don't change planes. Do I stay on the plane? Or do they take everyone off and re board?

[chasbos]

We were on a flight last month where we stayed on the plane.

The crew lets everyone else off but those who are continuing the flight. We had to stay in our seats until they did a head count and then we could change seats if we wanted.

DH & I did move closer to the front but there were still plenty of seats for everyone to sit together if they wanted too.

My kids love flying SWA - the flight attendants are really nice!

[vistaway]

If you have young kids, you are eligible to pre-board. There's no need to check-in online early. You can, but it doesn't help you any. Makes no difference if you hold an A, B or C. Lately, we have just checked-in at the airport since there's seldom a queue and we always pre-board anyway.