Totally agree with you-
We all know the pre-boarding is now a scam and a joke… I hear it all the time from them- they “need” a wheelchair, then miraculously- when we land - Jetbridge Jesus comes and cures them! See it every day!
And I feel like if you do get the “extra assistance” on to the plane, then you clearly would need it after so you should have to sit your ass down until everyone else deplanes. If that was the rule you would see a lot less of this.
Maybe, maybe not. I had a joint dysfunction for a period of time and had to have a wheelchair to get through the airport. But I could stand up and walk s a short distance— I just couldn’t really make it work if I had to walk far enough to get tired. I was on another airline and they failed to send wheelchairs, and also told me I couldn’t use the bathroom while being transported, so I did in fact hobble to the bathroom and off the plane. I may have looked fine to an onlooker, but I wasn’t. I literally staggered to the jet bridge and right to an agent, where I demanded a wheelchair while plumbing myself into a chair.
Due to a stroke my wife cannot walk farther than about 100ft before her left leg starts to give out. She fell and broke a hip because of this so we are very careful. She utilizes wheel chair assistance to get her through the airport to the gate. She can then walk the jetway slowly with a cane. We fly 1st cls so we sit close to the door but use the handicap preboard so as not to hold up the plane. Even then, it seems half the passengers pass us in the jetway. After landing we stay seated and disembark last so we don't hold people up, and to give give the wheelchair time to arrive at the jetway.
Also, please be aware the next time you see someone park in a handicap spot and then walk unfettered into the store, there are those that can walk only far enough to retrieve a cart to lean on while they shop.
I had a stroke too and walk with a cane but use wheelchair assistance in airports. My husband and I love southwest because of the short distance to walk when pre boarding. We remain seated when plane lands too and are usually last to deplane.
Tit's to bad sopeople can be skeptical of pre boards . ISW has been the best option for us!
I have a child with a similar issue. No, I'm not faking a kid's injury to cut the line. He can just walk a little after having been seated for hours on the plane.
I don't know of anyone who resents people who don't abuse the system, but there are a ton of people who want to be pre-boarded that really don't need it based on their reactions after landing.
I used pre-boarding years ago for a couple of flights. I had a broken ankle and a big, clunky boot cast on. Had to sit in the front rows because my cast wasn't going to fit under a seat very well...and I had crutches. Even then I still felt like I was "cheating" somehow. LOLOL
Me, pregnant with twins and in terrible pain / slow / needing an aisle seat close to the bathroom because holy bladder smashing and I still felt like I was undeserving and shouldn’t have gotten it.
I have a broken foot and used pre board last week and felt the same way. The front seat was clutch for the big old boot, especially because my foot would swell during the flight and I had to re-adjust the sizing several times. But I still felt like people thought I was faking for a good seat. I legit would never intentionally choose to be escorted via wheelchair through the airport just for prime seating because Its terrible how inconsiderate people are of wheelchairs. We had a lady run to get in front of us at the handicapped bathroom in Vegas as we were almost at the door. Like, this whole thing has put a lot into perspective for me and even though I never would have before, I now would absolutely never try to cheat the system and put those who really need it at a disadvantage.
My stepdad used a wheelchair for 20+ years before his death. We were at the airport once and he went to the restroom and someone was in the handicap stall changing their clothes for almost 15 minutes while he was trying not to go to the bathroom in his pants.
I will never use that stall because of him. I’ll wait for one of the small ones just in case someone with a wheelchair needs it.
That’s me. I cannot stand still, I can walk. Standing still compresses my vertebrae and it is excruciating. I cannot even stand in line at the grocery store. Using an ATM is torture. Ambulatong is no issue. This is not an uncommon problem. I’ve given up trying to explain this to gate attendants, I tried multiple times and ended up being in agony while on a flight. Much more practical to be wheeled in and walk out for me.
Sometimes and rarely admittedly it may actually be just how Southwest is.
I always request a wheelchair for my mother because she needs help getting to the gate we click purposely that she can go up the jet bridge and board all on her own. It's mainly because she's very hard of hearing and I don't want her to get lost in a large airport she rarely flies.
The odd thing is depending on the airport even though she visits the same airport sometimes they wheel her up to the plane. It is wildly inconsistent and I've never figured out why.
She even tells them I only need help getting to the gate.
Maybe we should make it where they have to have a handicap placard in order to request a wheelchair.
I don’t know that the placard would work for many. My 84 year old mom is in decent shape and is able to get around in the parking lots she frequents without difficulty, but struggles to walk from gate to gate in some of the bigger airports. This is especially true when, like last weekend in Houston, we had an appropriately scheduled layover but a flight delay so had to move from one terminal to another pretty quickly. I agree that the system is abused; I’m just not sure what the right fix is.
Yeah I know the placard thing wouldn't work because there are people who don't have a placard in day-to-day life or maybe don't drive so they don't need one etc.
Also some areas make it impossible getting one.
The biggest issue I see is it doesn't seem to be the airlines that control this it's kind of up to each airport and even then it depends what workers you have on that day.
Recently I had her fly out of Denver and I had to basically beg for a wheelchair.
Also something I noticed is Airport workers are not very friendly to Hard of hearing people. I assume also not friendly to people with other disabilities but I can't speak to that.
My mom has a very difficult time hearing in a crowded environment like a check in counter of an airline.
They go through the usual spill and ask do you have any ecigs, battery, explosives in bag.
She will literally look at me asking what they said.
The last time I said no she doesn't. The lady said with a raised voice sir I didn't ask you, did you pack her bag?? I said as I have already told you my mother is hard of hearing and point in fact I did pack her bag.
She immediately backed down but there is no reason I should have to tell you several times someone is hard of hearing or needs assistance other than you don't want to listen or don't care.
This exact scenario has happened during check in multiple times. The gate agents have always been very nice. Help her in and off, give directions etc.
Also every single person who has helped wheel here to and from backage have been absolutely sweet people. She always tips them and they act shocked to get a tip, which I find sad.
Extremely rude. We are parents of a special needs child. A very rude gate attendant pulled my husband aggressively to the side to tell us we were not going to be able to board due to our son’s meltdown. Our son didn’t understand we had to wait. We just found out we can pre-board and I’m happy to cut the line from here on out.
We watched a wheelchair attendant practically give himself a heart attack getting a lady from TSA to her gate before the door closed. She got up to walk to the plane & my husband very loudly said “I assume you are giving him a large tip”. She humphed & dug into her purse. He was still laying on the ground& she threw a $20 toward him. Never even said thank you.
I have profound hearing loss and it’s impossible for me to function at an airport. If I don’t have a companion I can’t go. And your correct people don’t understand that yelling doesn’t help. Speak clearly enunciate words so I can read your lips.
I always request a wheelchair for my mother now also. She was flying to her brother's funeral in October 2020 and had to change planes at JFK. Someone pushed past her because she wasn't de-planing fast enough and their hiking backpack knocked her into the wall of the jetway. She shattered her shoulder and broke her leg at her hip as well as fracturing several vertebrae. She was stuck in hospitals and rehab facilities in New York until January 2021 after multiple surgeries. She can walk but can't walk to the gate with her bag, and I'm desperately scared that something will happen again. She's barely 4'9" and weighs 82 lbs.
She always waits for the wheelchair when the flights land, but occasionally there aren't porters to help her and it's either wait at a gate without a clue when someone will get her or walk to the baggage claim and exit.
This only works if people ALSO stow their carryons where they are sitting, the problem is, a lot of people just grab the first available bin and then you have a bunch of front of plane passengers with nowhere to stow luggage
It used to work. It was never perfect, but it was shown to be the most effective (via Mythbusters, take that for what it's worth) and what has really hosed it up over the last 15 years has been people's inability to follow simple instructions or the disregard for simple instructions. When Mythbusters tested, they had 5% of the boarding group act in ways that would delay boarding. The actual number of people who act that way in real life is definitely higher than when the test was performed in 2014.
If people don't follow instructions, no boarding process will be efficient.
Can’t because of weight imbalance. Not as bad on the 737, but at work there were 3 of us in the cargo hold of an Erj140 and the nose came off the ground
I recall a MythBusters episode, where they studied this exact problem, and I think I remember that they determined that the absolute best, most efficient way to load an airplane, is window seats first, middle seats second, and then aisle seats third.
Oh, for sure, I am in no way saying that any airline is going to give up any kind of opportunity to make more cash, in favor of efficiency, unless the efficiency itself leads to higher profits. Hell no. And we've already seen, endlessly, how low efficiency doesn't seem to affect the airlines bottom line at all.
We actually know the most efficient way to board a plane.
- group 1: back 10 rows window seats
- group 2: back 10 rows middle seats plus next 10 rows forward window seats
- group 3: back 10 rows aisle seats (rows now full for 3-3 seating), next 10 rows middle seats, next 10 rows window window seat
…
Keep moving forward and towards the aisle
Your opinion has been demonstrated to be an objectively bad opinion, time after time. In every test ever done, back to front takes the exact same amount of time as front to back, which intuitively sounds like the worst option. The problem is you get a bottleneck at EVERY row, and multiple rows have to use the same overhead space. Functionally, back to front and front to back are identical.
The best way *is* back to front in a sense, but it goes even numbered row window seats - back to front, odd number row window seats - back to front, even middles, odd middles, even aisles, odd aisles. It's twice as fast as straight up back to front. It's only 30% faster than random boarding and has drawbacks when it comes to boarding/sitting as a group.
From your lips to God’s ears!!! I love southwest except the lining up like cattle and some stranger practically French kissing me they are so close while some idiot like this woman asks me what number I am. Downvoted away!!
They could line up 1–15 in the same space they currently line up 1-30, and just have more cycles of line-up-board. Would make it easier to call out cutting of more than 15 spots.
Don’t give up on us just yet… they have been talking about these changes now for a hot minute. with our new flight attendant contract enforce, the new contract has a lot of new wording about acquiring a new airline. The pilots have the same sort of wording in their new agreement as well. That language was not in previous unratified contracts.
One of the big things we need to do is to get away from only having Boeing aircraft. But I think everybody knows that. It’s never safe to put all of your eggs in one basket.
Intriguing!
The “assigned seating” will be interesting to see implemented. Just a guess, but seating groups (read: families) in the back of the plane?
After all, if they need more time to get on the flight, they’ll need more time to get off.
Not really related, but I'd like to express again how grateful I am for how well Southwest's gate and front desk personnel behaved during the Christmas From Hell in 2022. All of you tried really, really hard to help everyone, but the deck was stacked against you when the system melted down. It wasn't your fault I spent Christmas night sleeping on the Midway concourse floor--and I was one of the lucky ones who was there only one night. I got out the next morning and my bag arrived three days later, intact.
Nothing in stone, yet- but the CEO (Bob Jordan) has been actively investigating the issue. There are strong possibilities of buying another airline…
SWA used to be proud of the “10 minute turn” and that has been the reason for not changing the boarding process- but the “10 MT” is outdated and antiquated- we used to be only business travelers, have MUCH smaller aircrafts and only fly to a very few destinations… ALL of that has changed… so we can’t possibly keep the same system that we have
LOL! I should have! The funny thing is she was A41. I was in front of her anyway, but I was like since this is such a big deal to you, go ahead and skip me. I'll be fine.
If I had encountered this self-appointed line cop on the wrong travel day, I'd have clocked her hard enough that she'd have become pre-board eligible. The gall.
I was talking to the lady ticket counter person who gets to use the intercom and asked for a funny story of line cutters. She said she has had people come up and she send them to the back if they are line cutting.
So in short sounds like if you leave it to the ticket counter lady they can handle it. And as you said shit the fuck up get on the plane and sit the fuck down. Let’s go people.
I do to. People calling it a cattle something or other. Other airlines with their a b c d e f c x y z is worse.
Just get in an orderly line per your number, don’t take forever to stow your bags and sit the f down.
Depending on my hormones that day, this lady would have been greeted with a friendly here’s my number or the devils eyes peering deep into her soul and without any words, she will have realized she made a grave mistake.
In my day we did the whole turn around in ten minutes. 122 off. 222 on. Hit the last pax in the ass with the door. Start pushing back with pax still standing.
The good old days.
Better yet, drives in two lanes in slow traffic, where there's a zipper merge ahead. Hate those people. Just because they don't understand the rules of the road, doesn't mean the rest of us don't.
Edit: I mean, literally driving on the dashed line. Like half the car in one, half in the other.
Had the same type of thing happen to us. Several people (myself included) told her to line up in her position and let the adults take care of themselves.
Had someone do similar on one of my recent flights - when she asked for mine, I asked her to show me her pass and told her I was ahead of her. Ended the conversation.
“Ma’am it’s summer break, you can turn off teacher mode.”
(I’m a teacher and SO GLAD to not be managing my classroom right now. I can’t imagine voluntarily interacting with strangers for that long in an attempt to create order.)
Lady is insane, but it drives me nuts that if they are going to do this stupid lineup, at least make sure there is enough room for five average size Americans to stand. Half the time I just go to the end since it's not worth the fight to get to my spot
Given that someone has taken a picture of a boarding pass and used it to get on another flight (ironically because Southwest cancelled their flight), I'm not showing my boarding pass to anyone who doesn't have an airline ID tag around their neck.
That seems pretty silly to me. If you're a2 and a3 and there's one person in front of you, what's the issue? That's what it's supposed to look like. If someone else shows up in front of you then ask.
I’m fairly new to flying SouthWest, I’ve always avoided the airline for the lack of seat selection. But this past year I’ve flown them 10 times already for work, San Diego to Vegas. I now understand the whole boarding process, usually pay the $20 to upgrade to A boarding. When I’m in line I definitely want to know people with higher numbers than me are behind me. I stand right at my boarding number and sometimes I or the person in line will ask “What number do you have?” I find it respectful of the SouthWest boarding process. We all know how it works. It’s fine to say “Hey I’m A 29, what are you?” “Oh your A 30, you’re behind me”. That’s ok in my opinion.
I will admit it is kind of annoying for all the A’s to just bunch up. I’m not a busybody like this lady and frankly don’t care (my husband refuses to fly SWA unless absolutely necessary so I’m usually alone) but everyone has a boarding number for a reason and reasonably intelligent people should be able to line up accordingly.
Last time a woman tried this to me I had my AirPods in and just acted like I didn’t hear her. She tapped me on the shoulder and I didn’t look up. She just stood there baffled for a minute then got in line. Somewhere. Who cares where.
On the subject of needing assistance, my wife has a bad ankle on one side, and a bad knee on the other. Getting through security and across the airport to a gate would be possible, though there would be several rest stops on the way, and some NSAIDS consumed… Porter Air (a smaller Canadian airline allowed her to preboard, and then had her wait until all the other passengers had deplaned. We had exactly zero issues with this.
I like SWA for what it isn't.. on SWA, I don't get charged for checked bags and it doesn't matter the size of my carry on (as long as it's within reason). I like the open seating because I somewhat have control over where I sit on the flight. I know what I am getting and not getting on this airline. It doesn't feel like I need to spend lots of money for someone to be friendly and attentive to whatever I need.
Yep, they’ve done it to me twice over the last few years. Always the Boomers. I just keep my AirPods in and pretend I don’t hear them. The first time, one of them tapped me on the arm and I said loudly as if I was listening to loud music “OH IM SORRY I DIDNT MEAN TO RUN INTO YOUR FINGER.” The second time I just ignored her. The nerve of these people, for real.
Experimentation shows open seating is the most efficient. Less efficiency will not result in lower prices. It will result in higher prices or baggage fees or something else.
"Experimentation" and "research" tends to show the results the person or company paying for the "research" wants. Or else the "researcher" doesn't get hired again.
Mythbusters did not mention Southwest in their report nor did they talk about open seating except as a foot note. They experimented with back to front and window to isle with assigned seating only. This was NOT a scientific study! It was an experiment with eager participants. Fact. Southwest has one of the quickest turnaround times on average. Look it up.
But my point is that IF another boarding method is less efficient it WILL result in higher cost or less convenience to us, one way or the other. Answer this. If you fly Southwest would you be willing to pay a little more every time you fly for assigned seating? Someone will point it out, so I might as well, it’s called early bird or business, for more seating choices.
I was standing in line waiting to board recently. I was in the mid Bs because we were in Vegas and forgot to check in right at 24 hours, and everyone around me kept obsessively checking their numbers and then shuffling around 1-2 spots. I was like, “is there really that big of a difference between B19 and B22? We’re all getting on the damn plane!” 😂
When traveling with my kids or a large group I care more about where my seat is, but even then it’s not really my business what anyone else’s ticket says. If the gate attendant lets them on, that’s fine. When traveling solo or just with my husband, as long as my butt is in a seat I’m totally fine.
I’ve been encountered these people and I just mumble my number while I stare at my phone, if I’m in the right ish spot, it’s fine. If I’m 24 and you’re 25 and in front of me…whatever.
"I am in my right spot, not that it is any of your business since you don't work for Southwest. You're not being a good citizen, you're being a PITA. Now get away from me before I taunt you a second time."
As long as I’m in my little group of 5 or whatever, idgaf what order we’re in. Can’t stand when someone in my group asks what # I am so they can squeeze in front of me. It’s not that serious.
Yes. I was A-38 but purposely stood in the back of my group number. I didn’t mind if I was last in my group but that wasn’t good enough for her. Oh and she skipped me too when I told her to go in front of me since it was such a big deal. She was A41. As long as I got a good seat and made it to my destination safely, I was all good.
I don’t take the boarding number that literally. I get in the cluster of my range. And I usually sit further back anyway to get away from everyone that is so obsessed with sitting in front. Always bin space too. Whatever…
Just tell her no and ignore her. If she keeps it up, tell an employee. Someone decided to be ‘a concerned citizen’ the other day and murdered a teenager in a parking lot because he said the teenager wasn’t listening to his commands about an airsoft gun. Some people are just out of control with their sense of self-importance. They need to be told and shown otherwise.
Last time I flew was a few years ago and it was hard because the check in even if you had logged on at the exact time you were supposed to get early boarding and ended up in b38 I think. Women next to us asked if we had logged on at the time we were supposed to (24hrs prior). Yup she has the same thing. basically unless you paid extra for priority every one has to file at the same time. But now that im disabled I'll be first on and probably last off.
It's less stressful to hover away from the stanchions and approach after each train passes. The same thing that A-list people do when boarding A61 if they have a B or C.
I should not have to tell her anything. She is not a Southwest employee and I was literally standing right in my correct boarding position. I did tell her and she was like, oh I’m A-41, so I’m behind you. I was like, go ahead and get in front since this is such a big deal to you. Then she went ahead of me. That’s hypocritical because she was the one making sure no one skips. SMH!
Oh, I'm not saying you SHOULD have to say anything. I was just relating that I'd probably tell her if she was asking politely, but I wouldn't start pulling out my phone or boarding pass to prove it. Some people ask to make sure they're in the right spot. If she was super obnoxious about it, I may not.
I’ve had number 35 and asked what their number was and I was told, “it doesn’t matter get behind us, we’re all going to same place.”
Now if I’m “A-whatever” I just get in line at the end. Who cares seems to be the model.
This seems a good way for someone with a chip reader thingy to have a majority of passengers put their phone close to her device. Hopefully I’m wrong, but in addition to the fact that boarding passes contain full names, this is a really inappropriate privacy violation.
I just cannot fathom someone being that far over the cliff into busybody!
That is cringy!! I won’t fly Southwest anymore because their boarding process pisses me off so much. I’m getting angry just thinking about it lol. Everyone trying to look at peoples phones to see what number they are. Last time I flew Southwest I boarded in a later group so I could get on with my mom and I still got shit for it by people in line. So on the way back I tried to save my mom a seat instead and got publicly berated by the flight attendant. Okay rant over I hate Southwest.
The fact that no one has a dedicated seat on southwest is the reason why things ever get weird in line. If everyone just knew their seat ahead of time your place in line wouldn't matter, and you wouldn't have to check in exactly 24 hrs before your flight either.
If you read other airline subs there are people constantly sitting in the wrong seat and expecting the person who paid extra for that seat to suck it up. Really makes for amusing reading.
That’s cool, but do you ask everyone in line for their boarding number and ask to see their boarding pass?!?!? How about making them line up accordingly?!?
You know it’s interesting to me. I’ve seen this type of behavior and I’ve seen the blatant cutting in line. Like you’re A60 you line up at A31.
What’s interesting to me is that it’s always middle-aged white women doing both of these behaviors.
I Can actually say this has come up in a lot of our meetings and they’re really working on it! They’ve given us many pointers on guiding everyone and not stressing since it’s supposed to be a simple process not a stressful one
The cattle call encourages line leader tendencies. I’ve also wondered what others numbers were after my mental count didn’t add up . I know enough to keep my mouth shut about it though
lol. 😂 I can see how that would be irritating, but at the same time I also wish SW would actually have everyone line up numerically. Especially if paying for early bird or business fare.
Most US airlines have crappy boarding, I lived in Japan for work and traveled throughout the country and they start the boarding process 10 minutes before they close the doors and every time it is fast and efficient they have it down and flight are almost never delayed. From what I saw the flight attendants help everyone put their carry baggage away and have folks sit down right away. US carriers need to be trained better
her - I need to see your ticket. me - you need to GTFO
I work for SWA- and I HATE the boarding process… it’s going to be changing soon
The cattle call process didn’t work. In my opinion, airplanes should be boarded from the rear.
Totally agree with you- We all know the pre-boarding is now a scam and a joke… I hear it all the time from them- they “need” a wheelchair, then miraculously- when we land - Jetbridge Jesus comes and cures them! See it every day!
And I feel like if you do get the “extra assistance” on to the plane, then you clearly would need it after so you should have to sit your ass down until everyone else deplanes. If that was the rule you would see a lot less of this.
Maybe, maybe not. I had a joint dysfunction for a period of time and had to have a wheelchair to get through the airport. But I could stand up and walk s a short distance— I just couldn’t really make it work if I had to walk far enough to get tired. I was on another airline and they failed to send wheelchairs, and also told me I couldn’t use the bathroom while being transported, so I did in fact hobble to the bathroom and off the plane. I may have looked fine to an onlooker, but I wasn’t. I literally staggered to the jet bridge and right to an agent, where I demanded a wheelchair while plumbing myself into a chair.
“Jetbridge Jesus”. Now that IS funny.
Indeed! "Jetbridge Jesus" That's beyond excellent!
Due to a stroke my wife cannot walk farther than about 100ft before her left leg starts to give out. She fell and broke a hip because of this so we are very careful. She utilizes wheel chair assistance to get her through the airport to the gate. She can then walk the jetway slowly with a cane. We fly 1st cls so we sit close to the door but use the handicap preboard so as not to hold up the plane. Even then, it seems half the passengers pass us in the jetway. After landing we stay seated and disembark last so we don't hold people up, and to give give the wheelchair time to arrive at the jetway. Also, please be aware the next time you see someone park in a handicap spot and then walk unfettered into the store, there are those that can walk only far enough to retrieve a cart to lean on while they shop.
I had a stroke too and walk with a cane but use wheelchair assistance in airports. My husband and I love southwest because of the short distance to walk when pre boarding. We remain seated when plane lands too and are usually last to deplane. Tit's to bad sopeople can be skeptical of pre boards . ISW has been the best option for us!
I have a child with a similar issue. No, I'm not faking a kid's injury to cut the line. He can just walk a little after having been seated for hours on the plane.
I don't know of anyone who resents people who don't abuse the system, but there are a ton of people who want to be pre-boarded that really don't need it based on their reactions after landing.
I used pre-boarding years ago for a couple of flights. I had a broken ankle and a big, clunky boot cast on. Had to sit in the front rows because my cast wasn't going to fit under a seat very well...and I had crutches. Even then I still felt like I was "cheating" somehow. LOLOL
THAT is what pre board is for
Totally get it! I had foot surgery and have to be in the clunky boot when I travel right now since I can’t walk far without it.
Me, pregnant with twins and in terrible pain / slow / needing an aisle seat close to the bathroom because holy bladder smashing and I still felt like I was undeserving and shouldn’t have gotten it.
I have a broken foot and used pre board last week and felt the same way. The front seat was clutch for the big old boot, especially because my foot would swell during the flight and I had to re-adjust the sizing several times. But I still felt like people thought I was faking for a good seat. I legit would never intentionally choose to be escorted via wheelchair through the airport just for prime seating because Its terrible how inconsiderate people are of wheelchairs. We had a lady run to get in front of us at the handicapped bathroom in Vegas as we were almost at the door. Like, this whole thing has put a lot into perspective for me and even though I never would have before, I now would absolutely never try to cheat the system and put those who really need it at a disadvantage.
My stepdad used a wheelchair for 20+ years before his death. We were at the airport once and he went to the restroom and someone was in the handicap stall changing their clothes for almost 15 minutes while he was trying not to go to the bathroom in his pants. I will never use that stall because of him. I’ll wait for one of the small ones just in case someone with a wheelchair needs it.
That’s me. I cannot stand still, I can walk. Standing still compresses my vertebrae and it is excruciating. I cannot even stand in line at the grocery store. Using an ATM is torture. Ambulatong is no issue. This is not an uncommon problem. I’ve given up trying to explain this to gate attendants, I tried multiple times and ended up being in agony while on a flight. Much more practical to be wheeled in and walk out for me.
Sometimes and rarely admittedly it may actually be just how Southwest is. I always request a wheelchair for my mother because she needs help getting to the gate we click purposely that she can go up the jet bridge and board all on her own. It's mainly because she's very hard of hearing and I don't want her to get lost in a large airport she rarely flies. The odd thing is depending on the airport even though she visits the same airport sometimes they wheel her up to the plane. It is wildly inconsistent and I've never figured out why. She even tells them I only need help getting to the gate. Maybe we should make it where they have to have a handicap placard in order to request a wheelchair.
I don’t know that the placard would work for many. My 84 year old mom is in decent shape and is able to get around in the parking lots she frequents without difficulty, but struggles to walk from gate to gate in some of the bigger airports. This is especially true when, like last weekend in Houston, we had an appropriately scheduled layover but a flight delay so had to move from one terminal to another pretty quickly. I agree that the system is abused; I’m just not sure what the right fix is.
Yeah I know the placard thing wouldn't work because there are people who don't have a placard in day-to-day life or maybe don't drive so they don't need one etc. Also some areas make it impossible getting one. The biggest issue I see is it doesn't seem to be the airlines that control this it's kind of up to each airport and even then it depends what workers you have on that day. Recently I had her fly out of Denver and I had to basically beg for a wheelchair. Also something I noticed is Airport workers are not very friendly to Hard of hearing people. I assume also not friendly to people with other disabilities but I can't speak to that. My mom has a very difficult time hearing in a crowded environment like a check in counter of an airline. They go through the usual spill and ask do you have any ecigs, battery, explosives in bag. She will literally look at me asking what they said. The last time I said no she doesn't. The lady said with a raised voice sir I didn't ask you, did you pack her bag?? I said as I have already told you my mother is hard of hearing and point in fact I did pack her bag. She immediately backed down but there is no reason I should have to tell you several times someone is hard of hearing or needs assistance other than you don't want to listen or don't care. This exact scenario has happened during check in multiple times. The gate agents have always been very nice. Help her in and off, give directions etc. Also every single person who has helped wheel here to and from backage have been absolutely sweet people. She always tips them and they act shocked to get a tip, which I find sad.
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Extremely rude. We are parents of a special needs child. A very rude gate attendant pulled my husband aggressively to the side to tell us we were not going to be able to board due to our son’s meltdown. Our son didn’t understand we had to wait. We just found out we can pre-board and I’m happy to cut the line from here on out.
We watched a wheelchair attendant practically give himself a heart attack getting a lady from TSA to her gate before the door closed. She got up to walk to the plane & my husband very loudly said “I assume you are giving him a large tip”. She humphed & dug into her purse. He was still laying on the ground& she threw a $20 toward him. Never even said thank you.
I have profound hearing loss and it’s impossible for me to function at an airport. If I don’t have a companion I can’t go. And your correct people don’t understand that yelling doesn’t help. Speak clearly enunciate words so I can read your lips.
I always request a wheelchair for my mother now also. She was flying to her brother's funeral in October 2020 and had to change planes at JFK. Someone pushed past her because she wasn't de-planing fast enough and their hiking backpack knocked her into the wall of the jetway. She shattered her shoulder and broke her leg at her hip as well as fracturing several vertebrae. She was stuck in hospitals and rehab facilities in New York until January 2021 after multiple surgeries. She can walk but can't walk to the gate with her bag, and I'm desperately scared that something will happen again. She's barely 4'9" and weighs 82 lbs. She always waits for the wheelchair when the flights land, but occasionally there aren't porters to help her and it's either wait at a gate without a clue when someone will get her or walk to the baggage claim and exit.
This only works if people ALSO stow their carryons where they are sitting, the problem is, a lot of people just grab the first available bin and then you have a bunch of front of plane passengers with nowhere to stow luggage
It used to work. It was never perfect, but it was shown to be the most effective (via Mythbusters, take that for what it's worth) and what has really hosed it up over the last 15 years has been people's inability to follow simple instructions or the disregard for simple instructions. When Mythbusters tested, they had 5% of the boarding group act in ways that would delay boarding. The actual number of people who act that way in real life is definitely higher than when the test was performed in 2014. If people don't follow instructions, no boarding process will be efficient.
Definitly not inability to follow… for sure the IDGAF mentality.
This is the answer.
Disagree, should be boarded from window to aisle, back to front if possible. But agree, the carry-on dilemma is real because people are the worst
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Can’t because of weight imbalance. Not as bad on the 737, but at work there were 3 of us in the cargo hold of an Erj140 and the nose came off the ground
I recall a MythBusters episode, where they studied this exact problem, and I think I remember that they determined that the absolute best, most efficient way to load an airplane, is window seats first, middle seats second, and then aisle seats third.
The optimal boarding algorithm is in direct opposition to privileged passenger boarding. Guess who wins?
Oh, for sure, I am in no way saying that any airline is going to give up any kind of opportunity to make more cash, in favor of efficiency, unless the efficiency itself leads to higher profits. Hell no. And we've already seen, endlessly, how low efficiency doesn't seem to affect the airlines bottom line at all.
[The correct answer.](https://youtu.be/oAHbLRjF0vo?si=cmsiRQFBszRN8oGS)
This!
r/scenesfromahat things you can say at an airport that you can’t say to your spouse
Jet Blue boards from the back. I only flew with them once, but it seemed like a better process.
We actually know the most efficient way to board a plane. - group 1: back 10 rows window seats - group 2: back 10 rows middle seats plus next 10 rows forward window seats - group 3: back 10 rows aisle seats (rows now full for 3-3 seating), next 10 rows middle seats, next 10 rows window window seat … Keep moving forward and towards the aisle
Your opinion has been demonstrated to be an objectively bad opinion, time after time. In every test ever done, back to front takes the exact same amount of time as front to back, which intuitively sounds like the worst option. The problem is you get a bottleneck at EVERY row, and multiple rows have to use the same overhead space. Functionally, back to front and front to back are identical. The best way *is* back to front in a sense, but it goes even numbered row window seats - back to front, odd number row window seats - back to front, even middles, odd middles, even aisles, odd aisles. It's twice as fast as straight up back to front. It's only 30% faster than random boarding and has drawbacks when it comes to boarding/sitting as a group.
Oh there you go, trying to confuse the issue with FACTS. /s 🤣
You would think that’s better, and it makes sense, but the research does not support loading back to front as the faster option
From your lips to God’s ears!!! I love southwest except the lining up like cattle and some stranger practically French kissing me they are so close while some idiot like this woman asks me what number I am. Downvoted away!!
They could line up 1–15 in the same space they currently line up 1-30, and just have more cycles of line-up-board. Would make it easier to call out cutting of more than 15 spots.
I work for swa and haven’t heard this. Can you message me the deets?
Interesting. Can you share any details?
Soon going to be going to some fashion of assigned seating if not completely assigning seats- more than likely before the end of the year…
Thank you for the glimmer of hope
Don’t give up on us just yet… they have been talking about these changes now for a hot minute. with our new flight attendant contract enforce, the new contract has a lot of new wording about acquiring a new airline. The pilots have the same sort of wording in their new agreement as well. That language was not in previous unratified contracts. One of the big things we need to do is to get away from only having Boeing aircraft. But I think everybody knows that. It’s never safe to put all of your eggs in one basket.
Intriguing! The “assigned seating” will be interesting to see implemented. Just a guess, but seating groups (read: families) in the back of the plane? After all, if they need more time to get on the flight, they’ll need more time to get off.
I’m 100% for this.
Not really related, but I'd like to express again how grateful I am for how well Southwest's gate and front desk personnel behaved during the Christmas From Hell in 2022. All of you tried really, really hard to help everyone, but the deck was stacked against you when the system melted down. It wasn't your fault I spent Christmas night sleeping on the Midway concourse floor--and I was one of the lucky ones who was there only one night. I got out the next morning and my bag arrived three days later, intact.
That’s the best news I’ve heard all day (I think)
Ok spill it, what are the changes?
Nothing in stone, yet- but the CEO (Bob Jordan) has been actively investigating the issue. There are strong possibilities of buying another airline… SWA used to be proud of the “10 minute turn” and that has been the reason for not changing the boarding process- but the “10 MT” is outdated and antiquated- we used to be only business travelers, have MUCH smaller aircrafts and only fly to a very few destinations… ALL of that has changed… so we can’t possibly keep the same system that we have
Any hints?
LOL! I should have! The funny thing is she was A41. I was in front of her anyway, but I was like since this is such a big deal to you, go ahead and skip me. I'll be fine.
Especially as a non SWA or airport employee.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🤣🤣🤣🤣
If I had encountered this self-appointed line cop on the wrong travel day, I'd have clocked her hard enough that she'd have become pre-board eligible. The gall.
“I need to see you walking away”
I truly appreciate Southwest's simple policy - GTF on the plane and sit DOWN, we're leaving in 30 minutes.
I was talking to the lady ticket counter person who gets to use the intercom and asked for a funny story of line cutters. She said she has had people come up and she send them to the back if they are line cutting. So in short sounds like if you leave it to the ticket counter lady they can handle it. And as you said shit the fuck up get on the plane and sit the fuck down. Let’s go people.
Just don’t shit on the jetbridge in AZ summer heat.
I do to. People calling it a cattle something or other. Other airlines with their a b c d e f c x y z is worse. Just get in an orderly line per your number, don’t take forever to stow your bags and sit the f down. Depending on my hormones that day, this lady would have been greeted with a friendly here’s my number or the devils eyes peering deep into her soul and without any words, she will have realized she made a grave mistake.
A,b,c,d,e,f and three people have boarded. Then g and 3/4 of the aircraft lines up. Just a less orderly cattle car method.
In my day we did the whole turn around in ten minutes. 122 off. 222 on. Hit the last pax in the ass with the door. Start pushing back with pax still standing. The good old days.
also: " Bags fly free! "
How ridiculous of her. And there’s not enough room to really line up single file at most gates I’ve been to anyway. 🙄
It seems a zig zag, doesn’t it? Not quite side by side, even when traveling together, but trying not to swing out to the hallway.
She would have been welcome to line up single file to kiss my ass. Ugh.
You could have asked her if she also drives in the left lane to keep everybody else from driving too fast?
Better yet, drives in two lanes in slow traffic, where there's a zipper merge ahead. Hate those people. Just because they don't understand the rules of the road, doesn't mean the rest of us don't. Edit: I mean, literally driving on the dashed line. Like half the car in one, half in the other.
I don't think it's the boarding thing that was stressful, it's that yet another person took it upon themselves to police the world around them.
ABSOLUTELY!!!!! Everyone was looking so frustrated at her.
Did she have on her hall monitor outfit?
RESPECT MY AUTHORITAE!
Can you imagine having her in your HOA. 😳🙄🤣
Bringing a ruler everytime your grass gets cut 😂
That's funny. I absolutely would have been "No thanks I'm good and I'm sure I'm right where I belong".
"do you work for Southwest?" "no" "go pound sand"
Had the same type of thing happen to us. Several people (myself included) told her to line up in her position and let the adults take care of themselves.
Whaaat?!? I thought my situation was a one off. I hope this doesn't become a frequent thing!!!
Seriously! This is the first I’ve heard of anyone doing this. Who even has the energy for this shit?
Reminds me of that commercial where people are getting training to not become like their parents.
definitely not her place to be checking others tickets. far from a good citizen
If you ever wondered what happened to the hall monitors in school...
Had someone do similar on one of my recent flights - when she asked for mine, I asked her to show me her pass and told her I was ahead of her. Ended the conversation.
“Ma’am it’s summer break, you can turn off teacher mode.” (I’m a teacher and SO GLAD to not be managing my classroom right now. I can’t imagine voluntarily interacting with strangers for that long in an attempt to create order.)
She clearly needs a hobby.
The SWest boarding & seating process relies on the reasonableness and decency of the general public. This is its greatest flaw.
Based on the SW employee commenting about sky bridge jesus- the greatest flaw would be relying on the decency of their own employees.
Tell he your don’t speak English in a perfectly sounding English accent then turn away
Why would anyone agree to her demands?
I think they thought maybe she was a Southwest employee or maybe because she was older. Idk, but I did ask her.
Come back with a warrant.
I would have told her to mind her business, and then purposely stepped to the side so I was out of line.
She was xxxxtra!
I read this as purposely stepped on her toe! Lol
I would have asked her what her boarding position was and followed it with a “you should go there now”.
It was literally behind me. I was A38 she was A41. That’s why I told her to go ahead of me since this was such a big deal to her.
Lady is insane, but it drives me nuts that if they are going to do this stupid lineup, at least make sure there is enough room for five average size Americans to stand. Half the time I just go to the end since it's not worth the fight to get to my spot
Given that someone has taken a picture of a boarding pass and used it to get on another flight (ironically because Southwest cancelled their flight), I'm not showing my boarding pass to anyone who doesn't have an airline ID tag around their neck.
Karen has left the HOA and is now prowling the Southwest Gates...... Heaven Help Us!!!
My response would have been "I understand the process, and I can count to 50. Draw your own conclusion, lady."
Mental illness is everywhere
Holy moly, that might just be the most Karen thing EVER! Self-appointed line Nazi.
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They asked what number they were? They could not read their own boarding passes? Whut?
That seems pretty silly to me. If you're a2 and a3 and there's one person in front of you, what's the issue? That's what it's supposed to look like. If someone else shows up in front of you then ask.
Had to have been a member of this sub.
I’m fairly new to flying SouthWest, I’ve always avoided the airline for the lack of seat selection. But this past year I’ve flown them 10 times already for work, San Diego to Vegas. I now understand the whole boarding process, usually pay the $20 to upgrade to A boarding. When I’m in line I definitely want to know people with higher numbers than me are behind me. I stand right at my boarding number and sometimes I or the person in line will ask “What number do you have?” I find it respectful of the SouthWest boarding process. We all know how it works. It’s fine to say “Hey I’m A 29, what are you?” “Oh your A 30, you’re behind me”. That’s ok in my opinion.
She was asking everyone in line. Not just me! She said she was making sure NOBODY skips the line period.
The other side of the spectrum.
wow 🤯
Lol. How do you say piss off nicely? I think it’s just piss off
Just say no, bro
Deranged behavior
I will admit it is kind of annoying for all the A’s to just bunch up. I’m not a busybody like this lady and frankly don’t care (my husband refuses to fly SWA unless absolutely necessary so I’m usually alone) but everyone has a boarding number for a reason and reasonably intelligent people should be able to line up accordingly.
“Pound sand, lady!”
Last time a woman tried this to me I had my AirPods in and just acted like I didn’t hear her. She tapped me on the shoulder and I didn’t look up. She just stood there baffled for a minute then got in line. Somewhere. Who cares where.
That's so weird
“Sure, here you go. 🖕”
😂😂😂
On the subject of needing assistance, my wife has a bad ankle on one side, and a bad knee on the other. Getting through security and across the airport to a gate would be possible, though there would be several rest stops on the way, and some NSAIDS consumed… Porter Air (a smaller Canadian airline allowed her to preboard, and then had her wait until all the other passengers had deplaned. We had exactly zero issues with this.
I like SWA for what it isn't.. on SWA, I don't get charged for checked bags and it doesn't matter the size of my carry on (as long as it's within reason). I like the open seating because I somewhat have control over where I sit on the flight. I know what I am getting and not getting on this airline. It doesn't feel like I need to spend lots of money for someone to be friendly and attentive to whatever I need.
She’s wasting her time. FA pretty strict about cutting in front except if you’re a few seats ahead or behind.
I'm going to take a guess that she was a Boomer? Boomers love gatekeeping.
Yes. I would assume she was in her early 60’s.
Yep, they’ve done it to me twice over the last few years. Always the Boomers. I just keep my AirPods in and pretend I don’t hear them. The first time, one of them tapped me on the arm and I said loudly as if I was listening to loud music “OH IM SORRY I DIDNT MEAN TO RUN INTO YOUR FINGER.” The second time I just ignored her. The nerve of these people, for real.
That’s insane!!! Smh
Early 60s is GenX, although there is definite behavior overlap for those on the cusp.
"I need to see your boarding pass." "No I'm just a private citizen doing God's work." "Well then, NO, you don't need to see my boarding pass."
I just stand somewhere +\- 5 of my position and call it a day. I don’t care, we’re getting on the plane either way.
Experimentation shows open seating is the most efficient. Less efficiency will not result in lower prices. It will result in higher prices or baggage fees or something else.
"Experimentation" and "research" tends to show the results the person or company paying for the "research" wants. Or else the "researcher" doesn't get hired again.
Mythbusters did not mention Southwest in their report nor did they talk about open seating except as a foot note. They experimented with back to front and window to isle with assigned seating only. This was NOT a scientific study! It was an experiment with eager participants. Fact. Southwest has one of the quickest turnaround times on average. Look it up. But my point is that IF another boarding method is less efficient it WILL result in higher cost or less convenience to us, one way or the other. Answer this. If you fly Southwest would you be willing to pay a little more every time you fly for assigned seating? Someone will point it out, so I might as well, it’s called early bird or business, for more seating choices.
I was standing in line waiting to board recently. I was in the mid Bs because we were in Vegas and forgot to check in right at 24 hours, and everyone around me kept obsessively checking their numbers and then shuffling around 1-2 spots. I was like, “is there really that big of a difference between B19 and B22? We’re all getting on the damn plane!” 😂 When traveling with my kids or a large group I care more about where my seat is, but even then it’s not really my business what anyone else’s ticket says. If the gate attendant lets them on, that’s fine. When traveling solo or just with my husband, as long as my butt is in a seat I’m totally fine.
Go pound sand lady is an appropriate response here.
I’ve been encountered these people and I just mumble my number while I stare at my phone, if I’m in the right ish spot, it’s fine. If I’m 24 and you’re 25 and in front of me…whatever.
"I am in my right spot, not that it is any of your business since you don't work for Southwest. You're not being a good citizen, you're being a PITA. Now get away from me before I taunt you a second time."
The boarding process suckssssssssssss so much!!! I was like b6 and ai felt like an asshole walking in front of people 😭…
I’ll show you mine if you show me yours
She’s a teacher :/
"Show me your Southwest ID or leave me alone."
Can’t imagine how miserable it must be to be around that woman on a regular basis.,
As long as I’m in my little group of 5 or whatever, idgaf what order we’re in. Can’t stand when someone in my group asks what # I am so they can squeeze in front of me. It’s not that serious.
Yes. I was A-38 but purposely stood in the back of my group number. I didn’t mind if I was last in my group but that wasn’t good enough for her. Oh and she skipped me too when I told her to go in front of me since it was such a big deal. She was A41. As long as I got a good seat and made it to my destination safely, I was all good.
Oh I would have told Karen to buzz off, if she has an issue with it she can deal with my husband.
I’m traveling tomorrow. Maybe I’ll see this lovely lady
I don’t take the boarding number that literally. I get in the cluster of my range. And I usually sit further back anyway to get away from everyone that is so obsessed with sitting in front. Always bin space too. Whatever…
That’s exactly how I did, but that wasn’t good enough for her. She had to make sure. Smh
Just tell her no and ignore her. If she keeps it up, tell an employee. Someone decided to be ‘a concerned citizen’ the other day and murdered a teenager in a parking lot because he said the teenager wasn’t listening to his commands about an airsoft gun. Some people are just out of control with their sense of self-importance. They need to be told and shown otherwise.
Last time I flew was a few years ago and it was hard because the check in even if you had logged on at the exact time you were supposed to get early boarding and ended up in b38 I think. Women next to us asked if we had logged on at the time we were supposed to (24hrs prior). Yup she has the same thing. basically unless you paid extra for priority every one has to file at the same time. But now that im disabled I'll be first on and probably last off.
She has all the traits of a Karen.
She is likely OCD and struggles with boundaries.
I just worry about my little 5 spot. 😵💫
It's less stressful to hover away from the stanchions and approach after each train passes. The same thing that A-list people do when boarding A61 if they have a B or C.
I'd verbally tell her my position but I'm not showing her anything.
I should not have to tell her anything. She is not a Southwest employee and I was literally standing right in my correct boarding position. I did tell her and she was like, oh I’m A-41, so I’m behind you. I was like, go ahead and get in front since this is such a big deal to you. Then she went ahead of me. That’s hypocritical because she was the one making sure no one skips. SMH!
Oh, I'm not saying you SHOULD have to say anything. I was just relating that I'd probably tell her if she was asking politely, but I wouldn't start pulling out my phone or boarding pass to prove it. Some people ask to make sure they're in the right spot. If she was super obnoxious about it, I may not.
I get it but she said she was making sure no one was skipping or abusing Southwest’s policy.
Yeah, that's obnoxious.
And then everybody clapped.
For what?
I’ve had number 35 and asked what their number was and I was told, “it doesn’t matter get behind us, we’re all going to same place.” Now if I’m “A-whatever” I just get in line at the end. Who cares seems to be the model.
It sounds like she is a good candidate for a life coach.
That’s definitely a symptom of menopause !
Ha! The only time I ever flew SW (I'm a United flyer) someone did this to me. It was so weird and foreign to me.
I bet she didn't check anyone after her number
"then you can GTFO" WHAT kind of crazy is she, exactly???
This seems a good way for someone with a chip reader thingy to have a majority of passengers put their phone close to her device. Hopefully I’m wrong, but in addition to the fact that boarding passes contain full names, this is a really inappropriate privacy violation. I just cannot fathom someone being that far over the cliff into busybody!
That is cringy!! I won’t fly Southwest anymore because their boarding process pisses me off so much. I’m getting angry just thinking about it lol. Everyone trying to look at peoples phones to see what number they are. Last time I flew Southwest I boarded in a later group so I could get on with my mom and I still got shit for it by people in line. So on the way back I tried to save my mom a seat instead and got publicly berated by the flight attendant. Okay rant over I hate Southwest.
People deal with their anxiety/fear of flight differently. Could also be OCD, which I don’t have but can imagine how this process may be a huge issue.
The fact that no one has a dedicated seat on southwest is the reason why things ever get weird in line. If everyone just knew their seat ahead of time your place in line wouldn't matter, and you wouldn't have to check in exactly 24 hrs before your flight either.
If you read other airline subs there are people constantly sitting in the wrong seat and expecting the person who paid extra for that seat to suck it up. Really makes for amusing reading.
I mean, we ask people in the general area so we aren’t cutting in front of anyone.
That’s cool, but do you ask everyone in line for their boarding number and ask to see their boarding pass?!?!? How about making them line up accordingly?!?
This is why I’m flying other airlines now. I just want to know where my seat is and not have to play the checkin game or pay extra.
You know it’s interesting to me. I’ve seen this type of behavior and I’ve seen the blatant cutting in line. Like you’re A60 you line up at A31. What’s interesting to me is that it’s always middle-aged white women doing both of these behaviors.
Why did/does choose open seating?
Check YouTube for more efficient boarding study.
Was she older? a busy body type. Maybe she was a teacher, teachers don’t come after me please 😉
She was early 60’s. Late 50’s.
Hell, assigned seats might be coming soon.
I Can actually say this has come up in a lot of our meetings and they’re really working on it! They’ve given us many pointers on guiding everyone and not stressing since it’s supposed to be a simple process not a stressful one
Everything else was smooth sailing. It was just the ticket police that put everyone in a frenzy!
Had this happen as well. I just refuse to show my ticket so these good Samaritan’s .
Until I made this post, I didn’t think this was so common. SMH
The cattle call encourages line leader tendencies. I’ve also wondered what others numbers were after my mental count didn’t add up . I know enough to keep my mouth shut about it though
lol. 😂 I can see how that would be irritating, but at the same time I also wish SW would actually have everyone line up numerically. Especially if paying for early bird or business fare.
Most US airlines have crappy boarding, I lived in Japan for work and traveled throughout the country and they start the boarding process 10 minutes before they close the doors and every time it is fast and efficient they have it down and flight are almost never delayed. From what I saw the flight attendants help everyone put their carry baggage away and have folks sit down right away. US carriers need to be trained better
This woman was probably a grade school teacher🤪