South West Airlines

"Shawn Hirn" wrote in message
...
In article . net,
"Von Fourche" wrote:

Also, a friend flew on South West once and said that some of the
seats
face each other. Instead of looking at the back of someone's head you
are
looking at that persons face. True?

Not sure, but I would be surprised if you couldn't find that info on the
airline's web site or simply by asking the same agent with whom you
booked your tickets.

I haven't seen those seats in about a year now. I think they were all
eliminated.

I flew on Southwest one time about two years ago from Austin to Houston
Hobby airport. We drove to the airport in a severe thunderstorm, so of
course the traffic was moving quite slowly. I was not too worried,
because I thought the flights would all be delayed due to the weather.
Since my flight was booked one-way and paid for by someone else I got
the full security screening and much to my surprise I was advised that
the flight would leave on time. I rushed to the gate and was told to
hurry as they were about to close the door. I ran down the jetway and
onto the plane managing to grab one of the rear facing seats in the
front row. We took off and the FA's were able to serve us drinks when
the Capt. announced that everyone should stay seated due to rough air
ahead. The FA's were able to collect all of the drinks, but when she
went to grab my cup and can of beer we hit a pocket of air which sent
her flying into the jump seat without my drink. Since I was facing to
the rear I was able to keep my arms extended away from my body and with
allot of effort I was able to drink the whole thing. In the seat next to
me was an 8
year old girl on her way back home from Disneyland with her father.
Well she must have thought she was still on one of the roller coasters
as the 737-200 rock and rolled through the sky. We had a blast both of
us laughing and screaming watching the faces of the people behind us.
Most did not look to happy as the water from the forward lav started to
come out from under the door and down the aisle of the plane, As we got
off the plane in Houston I asked the FA's if that was the worst
turbulent flight they had ever been on and they all said it was in the
top 3.

On Thu, 08 Sep 2005 21:13:08 -0700, Alan Street
wrote:


Sort of. You board in groups of 30, and each group takes available
seats. Get to the airport early, or "check-in" on line early in the day
and you can print out an "A" group boarding pass and be part of the
first 30.

As others have said it's 45. We flew Southwest in May and our
situation was different than others. There were three of us and only
our daughter had an e-ticket because my wife and I had tickets that
were fully or partially bought with vouchers from a previously
cancelled flight. Purchasing the tickets was hectic and confusing and
we had to go to the airport to do it. I won't even go into hassles on
the way down. Only e-tickets are eligible for on line checkin.
On the way back I checked our daughter in just after midnight. We got
to the airport pretty early. I was #45 being checked in so I was in A.
My wife was #46 so she was in B. It worked out OK but it was a hassle.
I'm not saying I'd never fly them again but there's have to be really
good reason such as their flight being the only non-stop to our
destination.
We did find that almost all of their employees seemed friendly which
we can't say holds true for all airlines.

In article , A Guy
Called Tyketto wrote:

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Von Fourche wrote:

I just booked a South West Airlines flight and noticed I did not get any
seat numbers info. Someone told me South West Airlines has open seating -
you sit anywhere you want. Is this true?

This is true. You board in groups, A, B, and C. the earlier you
get to your gate, the better your chances of getting into the first
group and having your choice of seats.

No, that's wrong.

There are indeed 3 groups, priority A, B and C.

Anyone who has bought their ticket online gets "checked in" early, and
is in group A. Or B. Or maybe C, depending on when they bought their
ticket.

You just show up early at the airport, and you are behind everyone who
bought their ticket online. It seems that's most folks.

So, if you haven't bought your ticket electronically, you're hosed, no
matter how early you get to the airport.

That's been my experience. Admittedly a small sample, but the one (and
last) time I flew Southwest a few weeks ago, I got my ticket the night
before the flight, at the airport. I got to the airport more than 4
hours before the flight departed, and I stil got stuck in the "C"
group. I asked, and SW staff told me that if I hadn't bought my ticket
online, I would have no chance to be in A or B.

Everyone stood in line for several hours - the flight was delayed and
the terminal staff were unhelpful, at times rude. I thought the whole
process was chaotic. People elbowed each other and arguments broke out
between people who accused each other of line jumping (some people
camped out in line for hours, some came and went, and the mob sorted
out the 'rules" for waiting in line themselves).

It was one of the more miserable airline experiences I've had.

I don't care how cheap their tickets are, or if they were free. You
couldn't pay me to fly Southwest. It's truely the WalMart of the air.

On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 20:19:15 -0700, zingzang
wrote:


There are indeed 3 groups, priority A, B and C.

Anyone who has bought their ticket online gets "checked in" early, and
is in group A. Or B. Or maybe C, depending on when they bought their
ticket.

You just show up early at the airport, and you are behind everyone who
bought their ticket online. It seems that's most folks.

So, if you haven't bought your ticket electronically, you're hosed, no
matter how early you get to the airport.

That's just wrong and misleading. It doesn't matter where you bought a
ticket as long as it's an e-ticket. And it doesn't matter when you
bought it. What matters is how long after 12:01 AM that you checked in
in some way.

If you bought your ticket on the internet (or in any manner) and show
up at the airport shortly before your flight without checking in
online, that's when you've got problems.

On Sun, 11 Sep 2005 02:53:17 -0400, Brian
wrote:

On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 20:19:15 -0700, zingzang
wrote:


There are indeed 3 groups, priority A, B and C.

Anyone who has bought their ticket online gets "checked in" early, and
is in group A. Or B. Or maybe C, depending on when they bought their
ticket.

You just show up early at the airport, and you are behind everyone who
bought their ticket online. It seems that's most folks.

So, if you haven't bought your ticket electronically, you're hosed, no
matter how early you get to the airport.

That's just wrong and misleading. It doesn't matter where you bought a
ticket as long as it's an e-ticket. And it doesn't matter when you
bought it. What matters is how long after 12:01 AM that you checked in
in some way.

If you bought your ticket on the internet (or in any manner) and show
up at the airport shortly before your flight without checking in
online, that's when you've got problems.


Here's an example of NOT checking in online and NOT having a problem.

I traveled SJC TO PVD with stops at PHX and BWI.

I checked in at the SJC SWA counter one and a half hours early and
received a B card.

Return trip:

PVD to SJC with stops at BNA and SAN.

I checked in at the PVD SWA counter one and a half hours early and
received a B card.

"john" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 11 Sep 2005 02:53:17 -0400, Brian
wrote:

On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 20:19:15 -0700, zingzang
wrote:


There are indeed 3 groups, priority A, B and C.

Anyone who has bought their ticket online gets "checked in" early, and
is in group A. Or B. Or maybe C, depending on when they bought their
ticket.

You just show up early at the airport, and you are behind everyone who
bought their ticket online. It seems that's most folks.

So, if you haven't bought your ticket electronically, you're hosed, no
matter how early you get to the airport.

That's just wrong and misleading. It doesn't matter where you bought a
ticket as long as it's an e-ticket. And it doesn't matter when you
bought it. What matters is how long after 12:01 AM that you checked in
in some way.

If you bought your ticket on the internet (or in any manner) and show
up at the airport shortly before your flight without checking in
online, that's when you've got problems.


Here's an example of NOT checking in online and NOT having a problem.

I traveled SJC TO PVD with stops at PHX and BWI.

I checked in at the SJC SWA counter one and a half hours early and
received a B card.

Return trip:

PVD to SJC with stops at BNA and SAN.

I checked in at the PVD SWA counter one and a half hours early and
received a B card.

NO problem. Here's what I see quite often. Some carry collapsible canes.
The slowly walk to the counter, get a preboard pass, and their on the plane
first. Collapse the cane, and walk off at the end of the flight. Pretty
low,
but if I flew SouthWest on a regular basis, I might consider doing the same
thing.

"zingzang" wrote in message
...
In article , A Guy

No, that's wrong.

There are indeed 3 groups, priority A, B and C.

Anyone who has bought their ticket online gets "checked in" early, and
is in group A. Or B. Or maybe C, depending on when they bought their
ticket.

You just show up early at the airport, and you are behind everyone who
bought their ticket online. It seems that's most folks.

So, if you haven't bought your ticket electronically, you're hosed, no
matter how early you get to the airport.

That's been my experience. Admittedly a small sample, but the one (and
last) time I flew Southwest a few weeks ago, I got my ticket the night
before the flight, at the airport. I got to the airport more than 4
hours before the flight departed, and I stil got stuck in the "C"
group. I asked, and SW staff told me that if I hadn't bought my ticket
online, I would have no chance to be in A or B.

Everyone stood in line for several hours - the flight was delayed and
the terminal staff were unhelpful, at times rude. I thought the whole
process was chaotic. People elbowed each other and arguments broke out
between people who accused each other of line jumping (some people
camped out in line for hours, some came and went, and the mob sorted
out the 'rules" for waiting in line themselves).

It was one of the more miserable airline experiences I've had.

I don't care how cheap their tickets are, or if they were free. You
couldn't pay me to fly Southwest. It's truely the WalMart of the air.



Ok, I've been on the Southwest web site looking at their security
documents/boarding passes/rapid check-in kiosk/Online check in pages. Some
what confusing.

So, there are two of us flying. We bought tickets over the net. We have
luggage - each of us have one big suitcase for check in and one carry on.
So, what's the best way to check in? What's the online check in all about?
What are those security documents?

What happens if we check in online? I print something out? I will
still have to go to a desk to check in my luggage wont I? So why not skip
the online check in and just go to the desk and check in regularly?

What do we need to do to get in the A group and be sure we can get seats
that are together?

Thanks!

Brian wrote:
On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 20:19:15 -0700, zingzang
wrote:


There are indeed 3 groups, priority A, B and C.

Actually, there are 4 groups. A,B,C and "preboard". Ya
have to qualify for preboarding, but here in mouse land
there seem to be alot of folks that qualify.


Anyone who has bought their ticket online gets "checked in" early, and
is in group A. Or B. Or maybe C, depending on when they bought their
ticket.

You just show up early at the airport, and you are behind everyone who
bought their ticket online. It seems that's most folks.

So, if you haven't bought your ticket electronically, you're hosed, no
matter how early you get to the airport.

That's just wrong and misleading. It doesn't matter where you bought a
ticket as long as it's an e-ticket. And it doesn't matter when you
bought it. What matters is how long after 12:01 AM that you checked in
in some way.

Yup.


If you bought your ticket on the internet (or in any manner) and show
up at the airport shortly before your flight without checking in
online, that's when you've got problems.

Even if it's not shortly before, you run the "risk" of getting
a C. I bought a ticket about 2 hours prior to departure (well
my travel agent did, on line/e-ticket, I was at the airport) and
I checked in immeditately. I got the C card. I was flying solo
so it was only so much of a deal, I managed to get an aisle seat
anyway.

I strongly suspect that WN could improve their image greatly
if they had some form of assigned seating. It is the #1
complaint I hear about them. Personally, I could do without
the juvinile humor too, but that's just a matter of taste.
But I suspect they won't ever change the former because it
creates the impression that somehow the customer is saving
money by standing in line so much.

"Von Fourche" wrote:

So, there are two of us flying. We bought tickets over the net. We have
luggage - each of us have one big suitcase for check in and one carry on.
So, what's the best way to check in? What's the online check in all about?
What are those security documents?

What happens if we check in online? I print something out? I will
still have to go to a desk to check in my luggage wont I? So why not skip
the online check in and just go to the desk and check in regularly?

What do we need to do to get in the A group and be sure we can get seats
that are together?


Relax - this isn't that difficult. You are not consigned to Dante's 3 level of
Hell if you do not get a "A" group bording pass.

Starting at 12:01 the day of the flight you have the option of checking in
online and printing out your boarding passes from home. If you do, you improve
your chances of getting an earlier boarding group.

Whether you have checked baggage or not is immaterial. If you can't checkin
online, you can go to the airport and check in a bit early there.

If you checkin online, you go to the baggage checkin counter, show your boarding
pass and proceed to the gate. You do not have to wait in the typically long SWA
ticketline.