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On a recent trip, my family of three took Southwest on a 4 hour flight across the country. I love SW and always try to use them when possible.
This last trip, I didn't get Early Bird seating, and we ended up in the C boarding group for a sold-out flight.
When we got to the airport, I upgraded myself to A-12 for $40, and reserved a row for the family, spreading my stuff around to make it clear. As seats filled up, people began asking if the seats were free. When my wife got there, I joked that I had to fight to defend our seats, and she scolded me for being "insensitive" and "selfish". The people in the row behind us overheard, and apparently gave me a disapproving look.
I don't see how it's selfish to save seats when you're traveling with a child. I don't want us split up, my kid maybe forced to sit with strangers. But maybe there is some unwritten etiquette that you shouldn't save seats for your loved ones on airlines with unassigned seating. Thoughts? Opinions?
If you wanted everyone to sit together, you should have paid to upgrade everyone. Southwest seating is first come, first serve. Those who boarded the flight before your wife should have had priority over those seats, especially as many of them might have also upgraded or paid the early bird.
Southwest doesn't have an official policy on seat saving, so do what you want. But I'd rather not start off a 4-hour flight by pissing off the rest of the passengers.
I know there have been other threads aboutbpeo0pe needing to sit with each other for their 4-hour flight. I don't think it's a big deal to be a part for a few hours. If your child is too young to sit alone, then that is something for the flight attendant to help resolve. But again, if it's that important to sit all together, pay the extra amount to all board together. Or at least board with your child who can't sit alone.
If you wanted everyone to sit together, you should have paid to upgrade everyone. Southwest seating is first come, first serve. Those who boarded the flight before your wife should have had priority over those seats, especially as many of them might have also upgraded or paid the early bird.
Southwest doesn't have an official policy on seat saving, so do what you want. But I'd rather not start off a 4-hour flight by pissing off the rest of the passengers.
I know there have been other threads aboutbpeo0pe needing to sit with each other for their 4-hour flight. I don't think it's a big deal to be a part for a few hours. If your child is too young to sit alone, then that is something for the flight attendant to help resolve. But again, if it's that important to sit all together, pay the extra amount to all board together. Or at least board with your child who can't sit alone.
So you're saying, if you don't board together, you don't have the right to sit together?
So you're saying, if you don't board together, you don't have the right to sit together?
If they are not assigned seats they don't. You chose to pay for only your early boarding. Saving/taking seats away from others that also paid an extra fee is very selfish in my opinion.
If they are not assigned seats they don't. You chose to pay for only your early boarding. Saving/taking seats away from others that also paid an extra fee is very selfish in my opinion.
No way! You must never fly Southwest. The others who paid an extra fee all got seated in aisle or window seats. Usually early bird gets you into an "A" or early "B" group and those people all get good seats.
It's when it got to be the late "B" and early "C" boarding groups that it was mostly middle seats in the forward part of the plane and probably just a few aisle/windows toward the back.
If you are early to the movie theater and you save a seat for your spouse, who is coming 30 minutes later, are you being selfish? What if you save two seats for your spouse and your child?
No way! You must never fly Southwest. The others who paid an extra fee all got seated in aisle or window seats. Usually early bird gets you into an "A" or early "B" group and those people all get good seats.
It's when it got to be the late "B" and early "C" boarding groups that it was mostly middle seats in the forward part of the plane and probably just a few aisle/windows toward the back.
If you are early to the movie theater and you save a seat for your spouse, who is coming 30 minutes later, are you being selfish? What if you save two seats for your spouse and your child?
No i have never flown Southwest. If there is no assigned seating it does not matter who usually sits anyplace. If you wanted to all set together pay the fee. There is a good reason you got that talk from your wife and looks from the row behind you.
I'm not sure why your wife scolded you, I could see another passenger doing it but it seems weird that she would.
I fly SW all the time. My understanding that technically, you aren't supposed to save seats but there is no official policy prohibiting it. In reality it happens all the time. I was even told to do it by a gate agent when we ended up with C group. She had me buy early bird for my son so he could get an A number and then told him to put his jacket in the middle seat and say it was for his mother. He was old enough that we weren't eligible for early boarding but still young enough that it was better for everyone to not have him sitting next to a stranger.
I think saving a single seat, maybe even both seats in the row is ok esp if a child is involved. I would only start to have an issue if one person got on early and then tried to save 4 or more seats. More than 3 people, another person needs to pony up for early boarding.
No way! You must never fly Southwest. The others who paid an extra fee all got seated in aisle or window seats. Usually early bird gets you into an "A" or early "B" group and those people all get good seats.
It's when it got to be the late "B" and early "C" boarding groups that it was mostly middle seats in the forward part of the plane and probably just a few aisle/windows toward the back.
If you are early to the movie theater and you save a seat for your spouse, who is coming 30 minutes later, are you being selfish? What if you save two seats for your spouse and your child?
Why ask if you refuse to accept the answer? I fly Southwest all the time. Saving seats is a **** move by people who invariably feel they have a valid excuse to put themselves ahead of others who have the right to choose any open seat.
Why ask if you refuse to accept the answer? I fly Southwest all the time. Saving seats is a **** move by people who invariably feel they have a valid excuse to put themselves ahead of others who have the right to choose any open seat.
I'm not refusing to accept the right answer. I'm definitely going to question a questionable answer. If you don't like being disagreed with, maybe find another discussion to join.
Why is it a "**** move", as you so diplomatically phrase it, to save seats for your family? I can see if someone saves seats for random strangers that they would prefer to have sit near them, for example "I am waiting for a super skinny person to take the middle seat". Now that I would agree is a selfish move. But I can't see why it's selfish to want to sit next to your own family. In fact it's hard to imagine why any decent person would say that unless they themselves have no family and therefore can't relate to wanting to be with loved ones.
Actually it's easy to envision just this type of circumstance. For example, you are coming from work and the rest of your family from home, and meeting at the gate. You have no idea when they're going to get to the gate, so you get on the plane as early as allowed in order to secure seats next to each other. This probably happens all the time. Is Southwest seriously going to say "Sorry, you can't sit together; you have to let whatever random person comes along take the seats next to you!" Families would quickly stop flying Southwest and, you may not be aware, Southwest is a rather family-oriented airline.
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