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The only thing I disliked about the cattle call is when you're traveling with someone anal who has to get there two hours early to get is "A" pass. I didn't realize you could get that online, is it true?
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Oh, and coming back - I think you can check-in on-line, and if there is no printer in the hotel, you can print the boarding passes later at the airport. Same 24 hrs rule :)
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Interesting thread. I made reservations yesterday for a short trip in October. I checked SW against other airlines, and chose USAirways specifically because we'd have assigned seats. Fares were identical.
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mlgb - absolutely true. As others have said, check in online at 24 hrs and you can print boarding pass. And, as Faina said, if you don't have access to print, go ahead and check in online and print boarding pass at airport. If you checked in and were in A group, you'll still be A when you print at airport.
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hands won't work today - "print" should have been "printer"
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This seems like the same old cattle car approach with a new twist. It's still not enough to make me want to fly w/them unless I absolutely have to.
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LT, doesn't the fact that you'll board in groups of ten instead of sixty appeal to you? That would cut your wait time from 40 minutes to less than ten. I like it!
I also read today that Southwest is now boarding families AFTER Group A and before Group B. Disabled, and unaccompanied minors remain at the head of the A line. I like that too. |
"...passengers now are given assigned numbers in groups of A, B, or C and get in line only after their letter and number is shown on an airport monitor or called by Southwest employees."
Are you kidding me? Only get in line AFTER their letter has been called? Has anyone ever flown any airline where boarding groups are called where half the people totally ignore the letters being called and get in line or board anyway? |
I've seen that happen many times, but not on Southwest. Their "routine" is pretty well-established; if they let "C" people board with the "As", there'd be anarchy.
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OK-a question-bear with me on this for all of you already in the know-24 hours before in which time zone ? From wherever you are checking in or the departure time zone of the flight ?
So, If I am leaving OAK at 1:00 PM on Wed and checking in on-line from the Bay Area I check in at 1:00 pm Tuesday PDT. When I return on Monday from MCI at 3:00PM, I simply check in on-line at 3:00pm Kansas City time (CST)from Kansas City. Is that right ? Yet, what if I'm in Indianapolis (which is Eastern time)on Sunday and want to check in on-line for my 3:00 PM Monday flight from Kansas City-would I wait until 4PM to check in from Indy ? R5 <i>Wherever you go, there you are</i> :) |
Well, I live so close to the SW hub that there has scarcely been a fare to underride it near me, nor any carrier I have ever used that gets close to its on-time and quickest of in/out routine- especially with luggage (Midway Airport Chicago with this is a A plus for SW & ATA especially).
And I just don't get the angst at all, because I never push to the head of the A's, nor go into the "line" but follow up my section call ending when it occurs, and even in the past have had the dreaded C once without being cheek to jowl in a line, because I just don't "do" that myself. And I've never had a "bad" seat. Ironically, I have had the dreaded kicking kid seat in assigned seating twice. I've also given up my precious "A level" picked seat on a SW flight to a women with a sick kid who had been bumped from a former cancelled SW flight (coming home from Vegas)- and so she was added last minute. She was desparate to get home with him and needed to sit next to him too, as he was basically dehydrated- with gazed looking eyes and they had already been in an airport for about 18 hours (snow out East), and at least 20 people would not deem to switch or even move down one seat. And this would have given them even greater distance from the "germ" on top of it. It was a 3 hour flight and they couldn't help someone because of this seat fixation. I just don't get the importance people put upon these flight seat locations, especially if the flight is no longer than 4 or 4-1/2 hours for instance. My six foot 5" son doesn't even complain about SW because he can pick the exit or end seat. Thanks, Faina, I will check in from the hotel online about 24 hours before the return flight time. But I may not be so rigid as to get the A, I may actually be having fun and forget and get the dreaded C. But I doubt I'll get there any faster to my destination than the A #1 person. Nor I doubt any more limb cramped, or any less content either- if it's safe, fast, and I have my luggage (NOT CARRYON- but checked luggage) within 10 minutes, I'm a happy camper. Every time I see people sitting on the floor, smashing into the well by the loading windows, or any of that I just wonder what the hay! I know some people are large, some require "princess who felt the sweet pea under her mattress" care, but come-on! As if in an assigned seat your are so extremely comfortable outside of 1st Class. LOL- triple times over! And I agree with NeoPatrick's commment precisely. Who and where do you always see crowds listen and response to the posted or announced circa 2007??? From what I've seen- certainly nowhere near the majority. I think there will be delay and conflict with delayed "listeners". I think it is a big mistake, and they should remain just as they are, but with the possible exception as noted of changing the accompanied "kids" with parent category to be included within the main body and playing the A, B, C game like everyone else. |
razzledazzle -
It's 24 hours - in absolute time - before departure when you check in. Yes, if it's 3pm flight from MCI, then you check in 3pm Central time the day before, or 1pm Western time, or 4pm Eastern time (Indianapolis). |
rkkwan -
Thank you ! @};- R5 |
Unfortunately, 25% of their passengers won't know which comes first, 9 or 19.
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Hi Joan:
"LT, doesn't the fact that you'll board in groups of ten instead of sixty appeal to you? That would cut your wait time from 40 minutes to less than ten." No, it doesn't, for the simple fact that I still don't know where I'm going to end up once I get on board. I have a feeling that there will still be the hordes lining up in the "A-B-C chutes," anyway. With Frontier, JetBlue, and now Virgin America all offering superior products at competitive prices, WN is going to have to change the way it operates. Like it or not, most people do not like the "cattle car" boarding process, and if WN expects to remain competitive, they're going to have to make some changes. Came across this article that discusses this: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...1.35ad4b0.html |
Agree totally with JJ5. Is there some magic seat or seats that you can obtain by having assigned seats or by getting on the plane first? I have never had a comfortable ride on any plane with the sole exception of a drunken ride back from Bermuda on an L10-11 with what seemed like 600 other drunks all of whom were smoking. Ah the good old days!
JJ, you sound like my kind of relaxed, go with the flow traveling companion. |
I fly SWA often and like the open seating too, especially being able to pick and choose who I sit next to or close to, to some degree! See that person rubbing his eyes and blowing his nose...move far far away. That family looks like trouble...head the other direction, etc. It is very honestly, no big whuh to board in groups.
My last Southwest flight a couple of weeks ago I forgot to check in until 10:30 PM before an 11 AM flight, but still got a B boarding pass on a full flight. It was fine...I chose my aisle seat about mid-plane. I don't understand the problem with this. Even making reservations online and selecting seats on other airlines, that is generally the only area left anyway, even when reserving quite a few weeks out. Plus you are stuck with that assigned seat, quite possibly next to Sneezey, Dopey and/or Grumpy. :) |
Hmmm...25% of Southwest passenegers are.......well, gotta be a reason Southwest is the Number One carrier of passengers in the Good Ole US of A....Number One domestic carrier means they are doing something right.....
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Exactly, OO!
Whatever the "perceived" dislike (and I do NOT think it is majority SW flier market at all- just that the nay-sayers of any group are the most vocal and used to getting their squeak /whine heard the most- have great practice at in this 2007 juncture absolutely). The fact is in practice SW's past- boarding has worked the best for me, for exactly the reasons OO stated. Yes, shaz60, I am that- as you describe. I once was cancelled by two airlines during a March continental wide snow, and was stuck at NYC-LaGuardia and initiated during the beginning of a second day wait a group drive back to Chicago consisting of round robin driving with 4 other people we had never laid eyes on each other before the ordeal started. We did it and had a real good time too, coming back. One still emails me 7 years later. Every WN-MDWY frequent flier I know much prefers the original human bus method. I still just don't get the great sigh over not having an exact seat number? And I have read all the many threads with the "I need", "my business" etc. reasons- they are quantitatively not a smidgen difference in their eventuality and outcomes GETTING the seat assignment. I've seen some fight like it was the last 2 ounces of water in a desert over a seat change with ASSIGNED seats? You aren't going to live their for two months, folks! Can you imagine if there were real scarcities or REAL suffering (no bathroom, no water- 12 hours hostage etc.) ensued! Why someone might even attack a kid for talking too much! LOL! Today I'm going to write a letter to SW myself. I think they need to start hearing from the great number of us who understand what works fastest, and is best, and is not always what is expert/media "forced" to be done. It also has been one of the signature advancements in the innovations of their carrier's conception and success. And it IS an advancement, because much of the other methods are hierarchy bs with little actual reality differences, and just waste time. Hopefully, this test will be a no go and they will return to their long standing methods. Maybe if enough people like myself write to them or email, they will. Some of you who are so aghast at not having seat assignments, and the ones who posted on this particular thread are not foremost among them. For them, I truly wish they could rise the CTA Chicago buses of my youth, just once. We had another entire scenario of boarding methods, especially in the winter. And it wasn't A, B, C but Catholic school kids, publics, adults- all different rules for each. LOL! Our most coveted spots in winter were standing on the step to get out the back door for the entire ride- as it was close to the exhaust heat blower and you could also pull more people in through the back door. And then we would collect the tokens/money and hand them up to the driver. And rarely were any missing on the way. Kind of like the ball park beer man at the end of the 15 person row. |
People have been happy and satisfied with WN's open-seating policy for years. But WN has been trying to fly longer routes, and recent history indicate they're not very successful. They just recently canceled a bunch of transcon or near-transcon.
My guess is that they feel like they're failing to get the business travelers to pay higher fares on the transcon, and one of the problem is the seat assignments. [They also lack live-TVs like Jetblue, Frontier and Virgin America.] They really have some decisions to make in terms of future directions. They had been profitable for so long that they had fallen behind other startups. A product that works very well for HOU-DAL or intra-California flights in the 90's don't necessarily mean it will work for PHX-BWI or LAS-PHL in 2007. |
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