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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,724 posts, read 58,067,115 times
Reputation: 46190
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pikabike
If SW actually caves to selfish people, that’s a good reason not to fly on them with their “open” seating that really isn’t, in such cases.
I have never seen a SWA crew member 'cave', tho they are apt to avoid escalating a situation / causing tension. (I see them walk away from confrontational / irate situations, rather than make it an ordeal (good idea / most successful resolution in their business)) In 2 hrs they will have another 180 selfish 'crisis' / 'basket cases' to deal with.
Can you imagine waking everyday at 4AM to meet (and serve) 600 - 1200 loonies per day!,
Flight this last weekend, I spent a few minutes in the galley sharing lots of laughs with SWA FA's. (Over passenger behavior)
Southwest seating etiquette the proper 'good customer' etiquette is to be the most pleasant passenger / customer possible. (To the successful service of the company, and to your fellow passengers).
Life is short and fragile, Handle (everyone) with care.
When you are in the waiting area at the gate, waiting for your flight and the person you are travelling has stopped to use the rest room or buy a cup of coffee, does that mean that someone else in the waiting room is now entitled to demand you remove a bag or jacket from the seat next to you because that other person isn't going to be there for another couple of minutes?
Of course not, and it sounds absurd, same as the idea of a person demanding that you give up a seat you are saving in a movie theater because your friend or spouse was getting popcorn. Or they are free to take the extra chair at your table in a restaurant if your dining companion hasn't arrived yet.
The seat is taken even if it's not occupied at that second. And Southwest has said they are ok with that.
When you are in the waiting area at the gate, waiting for your flight and the person you are travelling has stopped to use the rest room or buy a cup of coffee, does that mean that someone else in the waiting room is now entitled to demand you remove a bag or jacket from the seat next to you because that other person isn't going to be there for another couple of minutes?
Of course not, and it sounds absurd, same as the idea of a person demanding that you give up a seat you are saving in a movie theater because your friend or spouse was getting popcorn. Or they are free to take the extra chair at your table in a restaurant if your dining companion hasn't arrived yet.
The seat is taken even if it's not occupied at that second. And Southwest has said they are ok with that.
Except people don't pay to sit in a waiting room. People do pay more to board a plane early and get their pick of the better seats.
Besides, the OP's wife and child were never sitting in those seats. They didn't get up once on the plane to use the bathroom or find a blanket. That would be a completely different situation is they had already been in the seats and the OP had to tell people someone was already sitting there.
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.
... then they should leave home early enough to get to the gate in plenty of time? I mean, if they're cutting it so close that they might not be at the gate at the time boarding starts, that's a problem right there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blisterpeanuts
Wrong, even the cheapest rate $15 x 3 = $45.
It's cheaper to upgrade one passenger to business select, then save seats for the rest of your party.
It's not cutting in line if you paid for it. Some of these responders are incredibly holier-than-thou.
.
YOU paid for it. The rest of your family did not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheShadow
The thing with having a child sit separate from the parent is twofold...1) that child might annoy the passengers he/she is next to, and 2) the adult stranger sitting next to the child is weird (pervy) or has unrealistic expectations of how a child should behave. I could see both of these happening in today's weird world of air travel. And yes I know children fly unaccompanied minor all the time. But unaccompanied minors are seated near the flight attendants and are watched over by them (I flew that way as a child).
Personally I couldn't care less where I'm seated, as an adult, and I don't see what all the fuss is about saving a seat for a family member. In fact I'd MUCH rather that passengers with children sit with their germy, noisy, wiggly, seat kicking kids. I fly SW (and others) all the time and pretty much every seat is just as awful as the next, unless you get exit row or bulkhead seats. Now saving those would be unfair.
If you must take your child on a plane, then yes, you should do what is needed to ensure they don't annoy others and are safe. If that means you have to pay extra to make sure your seats are together, then that's what you do. Sometimes having kids is an inconvenience. That's life.
Except people don't pay to sit in a waiting room. People do pay more to board a plane early and get their pick of the better seats.
Besides, the OP's wife and child were never sitting in those seats. They didn't get up once on the plane to use the bathroom or find a blanket. That would be a completely different situation is they had already been in the seats and the OP had to tell people someone was already sitting there.
First of all, I explicitly stated that this was a person who hadn't arrived in the waiting room yet, vs. someone who had been sitting there and gotten up - I did it that way because I knew someone would quibble over what's really an irrelevant point. The seat was claimed in a manner that the airline has said is acceptable. That means it's not an empty seat anymore.
Second, you have no idea whether the people complaining about not getting the seat they want have paid extra or not. OP said "as the seats filled up" which means those people could have simply gotten higher boarding numbers through the luck of the draw, not that they paid extra for them. And they were still going to get the seat they paid for - which is to say A seat, not a SPECIFIC seat. People who want the right to have temporary ownership over a specific seat need to fly on an airline which provides that but Southwest does not.
We fly SW several times a year and it never occurred to DH or me to just buy one early boarding pass and save a seat for the other. We always purchase that pass because we prefer to get on the plane with more open seating rather than hunt for seats.
No way should a whole row(s) ever be saved, especially up front or particularly a window or aisle seat - really rude. Others may have paid because they have a tight connection and need to get off quickly or they want to ensure sitting together, particularly with a child.
SW may not have an official policy but you are gaining an advantage for free that others have paid for. That’s cheating in my book plus being a real cheapskate. No wonder our society is becoming so crass if people feel this entitled.
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 8 days ago)
35,634 posts, read 17,975,706 times
Reputation: 50663
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74
People are just getting ridiculous now.
When you are in the waiting area at the gate, waiting for your flight and the person you are travelling has stopped to use the rest room or buy a cup of coffee, does that mean that someone else in the waiting room is now entitled to demand you remove a bag or jacket from the seat next to you because that other person isn't going to be there for another couple of minutes?
Of course not, and it sounds absurd, same as the idea of a person demanding that you give up a seat you are saving in a movie theater because your friend or spouse was getting popcorn. Or they are free to take the extra chair at your table in a restaurant if your dining companion hasn't arrived yet.
The seat is taken even if it's not occupied at that second. And Southwest has said they are ok with that.
I TOTALLY AGREE. What if someone gets up during the flight to use the restroom - does their seat suddenly come up for grabs by these people who think they have a right to any unoccupied seat?
Can't we all just get along?
'Parently not. Some people have to whine and gripe.
It's just a flight, people. Southwest Flights tend to be under 4 hours.
When you are in the waiting area at the gate, waiting for your flight and the person you are travelling has stopped to use the rest room or buy a cup of coffee, does that mean that someone else in the waiting room is now entitled to demand you remove a bag or jacket from the seat next to you because that other person isn't going to be there for another couple of minutes?
Of course not, and it sounds absurd, same as the idea of a person demanding that you give up a seat you are saving in a movie theater because your friend or spouse was getting popcorn. Or they are free to take the extra chair at your table in a restaurant if your dining companion hasn't arrived yet.
The seat is taken even if it's not occupied at that second. And Southwest has said they are ok with that.
In none of those situations is there an established queue with numbered assignments.
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 8 days ago)
35,634 posts, read 17,975,706 times
Reputation: 50663
Quote:
Originally Posted by hertfordshire
In none of those situations is there an established queue with numbered assignments.
What about if you go to a restaurant, where you order at the counter. La Madeleine, for example.
You arrive early for lunch, and the restaurant is filling up, and you know 8 of your friends are on the way and will be there within 5 minutes.
You pull two tables together, and assemble chairs, and put your jacket across a chair.
At that restaurant, there is clearly an established queue with numbered orders. It's very obvious who arrived, and when.
What do you think of someone who plops them self down with their salad to eat at your table?
Honestly, I'd like to know. Because that's exactly what you're saying should happen on a plane. People who get there early shouldn't be allowed to say these two chairs are occupied, sorry.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,724 posts, read 58,067,115 times
Reputation: 46190
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74
People are just getting ridiculous now.
When you are in the waiting area at the gate, waiting for your flight and the person you are travelling has stopped to use the rest room or buy a cup of coffee, does that mean that someone else in the waiting room is now entitled to demand you remove a bag or jacket from the seat next to you because that other person isn't going to be there for another couple of minutes?
Of course not, and it sounds absurd, same as the idea of a person demanding that you give up a seat you are saving in a movie theater because your friend or spouse was getting popcorn. Or they are free to take the extra chair at your table in a restaurant if your dining companion hasn't arrived yet.
The seat is taken even if it's not occupied at that second. And Southwest has said they are ok with that.
Yes, you have the right to ask / take a vacant seat in terminal or on SWA.
I would have no problem removing a 'bag' or 'coat' on a SWA seat if that was my choice of seat and the person was not already on board. SWA staff would have no problem with me doing that I can assure you
Nearly every flight you will hear... "There are no reserved seats on SWA, any unoccupied seat is an available seat." (sometimes followed by... "Find a new friend!")
I'm with the thought... your family / spouse / SO probably doesn't want to be stuck with you on a flight anyway, they have seen, heard, and smelled (and put-up-with) enough of you already for one day.
Peace... let there be peace
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I can assure you 
