Does Southwest Airlines Know if You Board in a Different Group Than Youre in
With the Oakland Airport simply 12 minutes from my front door, my family flies Southwest Airlines a lot. Southwest is ofttimes a favorite airline of flying families as well, and with good reason. Since it has different rules and practices than other airlines, yet, it tin can sometimes trip up inexperienced flyers, particularly travelers with kids. But don't let that worry you — Southwest likewise has a a number of unique perks that are of great value for family travelers. You only need to know how to take advantage of all that the airline offers!
That'southward what this post is all about. Don't be unprepared for your next Southwest Airlines flight when you lot travel with your children. Whether yous are flying with a lap kid on Southwest, young kids in their own seats, or older tweens and teens, Southwest does things a scrap differently. Here are all the details you need to know to make the about of Southwest's policies and perks and make your side by side trip on Southwest with kids a cakewalk.
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What You Need to Know Well-nigh Flying Southwest Airlines with Kids
1) Free checked bags will save you a bundle.
You've probably seen the ads: "Bags Fly Free." Southwest is the last of the U.S. domestic airlines to still offer free checked numberless – ii bags per person up to 50 lbs each.
This is a real benefit for families who travel, as it is oft difficult to pack lite with all the gear that little ones require. I find that even when Southwest has slightly higher base fares than other airlines on like routes, when yous factor in bag fees, Southwest actually comes out every bit the cheaper overall pick many times.
If yous do have reward of the free numberless, be enlightened that lap children do not get a baggage allowance. Also, checked strollers and auto seats practise not count towards your free handbag allowance. Those items always fly free no matter what!
2) Family boarding will allow you to go seats together equally a family.
Southwest doesn't accept assigned seats unlike near other domestic carriers. Instead, it assigns boarding group numbers (A, B, & C, each numbered i-sixty) to passengers, who are then free to take whatsoever open seat as they lath. As you can probably estimate, the adept seats like leave rows, then aisles and windows go fast. Passengers who board later in the process find that oftentimes simply scattered middle seats are available.
This might seem like a sticky situation for families who usually want to secure iii or more seats together. But never fearfulness! Southwest allows all families with children ages 6 and under to board between the A & B groups no matter what their assigned boarding numbers. In my many dozens of flights with Southwest, I have always been able to secure three or four seats together for my family when nosotros board during family unit boarding. I've been near separated from my kids far more than often on the airlines that supposedly hope assigned seats.
three) There are other tricks for ensuring you sit together with older kids also.
If your children are older than six and you want to brand sure you lot get seats together, there are options for sitting together too.
Commencement, there's ever the "fastest finger" choice, which is totally free. Southwest's boarding group numbers are assigned starting at exactly 24 hours before a flight. Equally long equally you check in (using the Southwest website or Southwest app) at that very moment, you lot have an splendid take a chance of getting at least an early B grouping boarding pass. In my experience, this is certainly early enough for a family to notice seats together. Merely you do take to be very fast – every 2d counts! Now that my younger child is over the age for family boarding, I set an warning on my phone for 5 minutes before the 24 60 minutes mark as an actress reminder.
Let's confront it – decorated parents don't e'er think to cheque in at exactly 24 hours in advance, even if yous do ready an alert. For longer flights when sitting together actually matters, my advice is to consider paying for "Early Bird bank check-in." The price varies from $15-25 each way, depending on need. Paying for this option puts you lot in the front of the cheque in line. This means you will commonly secure an A grouping or early B group boarding pass.
Merely that's non the only viable shortcut. If y'all concord either the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Bill of fare or the Southwardouthwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card from Chase, yous are also entitled to 4 priority boardings per yr when bachelor. This is a smart backup to have in a pinch for those times you forgot to cheque in at 24 hours and risked it without Early Bird. See my guide to Southwest credit cards for all the details.
four) Birth certificates are required for ALL lap children.
Flying with a child under age ii on your lap? Southwest is the simply airline that requires you to show a birth certificate for your lap kid.
This rule applies no affair what the age of your lap child and even for domestic flights. If you accept flown another airline with a lap baby, chances are pretty good you would not accept been asked for proof of age unless the kid looked to be nearing the age of 2. Not so with Southwest. Fifty-fifty if you manifestly have a newborn who would never be mistaken for a toddler nearing the two year cutoff, pack that birth certificate!
Related: Tips for Flight with a Lap Todder
What if you don't have a birth certificate however for your kid? Ofttimes hospital belch papers or vaccination records from your child'due south pediatrician can suffice. Call the airline in accelerate if you find yourself in this situation, because enforcement differs from drome to airport and amanuensis to agent.
5) Programme for actress time to become boarding verification documents for lap children.
In order to board your Southwest flight with a lap child, yous need to obtain what is called a boarding verification document. This document is similar to a boarding laissez passer and confirms that the kid has been age verified by showing a birth certificate.
Y'all tin can only become this boarding verification document at the ticket counter (or the Skycap curbside counters) at the airports pre-security. You lot cannot print or download it in advance similar yous tin can with other Southwest boarding passes. And so, exist certain to leave yourself actress time to check in at the ticket counter at the airport if you are traveling with a lap child, even if you aren't checking bags.
half dozen) Southwest has minimal food, so pack lots of snacks.
At that place are a lot of things that will brand your kids cranky when y'all fly, simply don't let hunger be ane of the causes! Air travel is hectic, and I never rely on being able to accept fourth dimension to buy food at the airport – particularly non in 2021 with many airport restaurants closed or overrun with demand. Packing meals and snacks is merely a must when you have kids.
Related: 50 Child-Friendly Snacks to Pack for Airplanes
It's even more than of import though when y'all wing Southwest because of the airline'due south limited food choices. Don't wait a sandwich or a hot meal for purchase like many other airlines have. Southwest has simply pre-packaged snacks.
The snack options in Southwest have changed a bit in contempo years, peculiarly since the hiatus in flying that many travelers took in 2020 and early 2021. If you lot were used the pretzels of old, you won't run across them reliably anymore (and if you lot were planning for peanuts, those were discontinued awhile back due to allergies). The Nabisco snacks that used to be served on longer flights like shortbread cookies, Oreos, and Ritz cheese crackers also appear to be gone now.
In 2021, my family has generally been served a Southwest branded snack mix (with pretzels, bagel chips, and cheese crackers) and sometimes also Brownie Brittle on almost flights. Flight attendants normally permit you help yourselves to as many of these packaged snacks every bit you'd like, just the snacks are not plenty for nearly kids on anything but the shorter haul flights.
If you are bound for Hawaii on Southwest Airlines, there are boosted food options on these flights. Run into my review of a Southwest flight to Hawaii for all the details and photos.
vii) Southwest has ample kid-friendly entertainment (only you need to download Southwest's app earlier flight!)
Keeping kids entertained on planes is essential for a less stress flying for parents. While we try in my family to pack a few tech-costless entertainment options for our kids, electronic devices area besides a crucial part of our strategy for passing the time.
Southwest's WiFi and in-flight entertainment options accept really come a long mode in the last few years. The airline pioneered $8 WiFi – cheaper than every other carrier – and has had live streaming TV channels for many years.
In 2018, Southwest expanded its entertainment offerings. Messaging apps iMessage and WhatsApp are now free, but what will make most families happiest are the costless in-app movies. In guild to admission the movies on smartphones and tablets, however, you must have the Southwest app on your device. Be certain to download it before your trip, as you tin't do information technology in the air without paying for WiFi too.
There is usually a wide-diversity of recently released kid-friendly movies bachelor mixed in amid a few classics, so chances are good you will find something new to keep your kids engaged. In September 2021, for example, choices included the new Pixar picture Luca, Despicable Me, Pokémon Detective Pikachu, Raya and the Terminal Dragon, Shrek, Soul, and more.
viii) If there are extra seats on the plane, you can snag them for your lap kid – for free.
Back to lap children for a second. Although I often purchased seats for my kids as babies and toddlers on other airlines, I didn't as oft on Southwest. Why? Because of Southwest's unique seating policy!
Because Southwest has open seating, if there are open seats to be had anywhere on the plane, you lot tin can usually snag them for your lap child without paying for a ticket. Very few people will choose to sit next to you when you have a baby in total view.
You can better your chances of securing that empty seat past choosing seats at the very back of the plane. Alternatively, claim the seat by bringing your car seat on board to occupy the extra space. Of course, exist sure to check with the gate agents to brand sure there are sufficient empty seats to allow yous to bring the seat on board outset. They'll requite yous the go ahead on flights that are not sold out.
9) Southwest'south unaccompanied modest program is one of the all-time (and least expensive).
Speaking of money saving tricks, Southwest has one more that families with older kids demand to take note of. If your kid is gear up to fly every bit an unaccompanied minor, Southwest's policies are some of the best.
Southwest charges just $50 each way, while many other airlines charge triple that! And Southwest only charges for v-11 twelvemonth olds. Kids who are 12 and upwards are free to travel without the service. Other airlines keep requiring it until kids plough 15, even if they don't demand information technology.
My daughter flew equally an unaccompanied pocket-size on Southwest for her one and only time then far. She was ten years erstwhile and went down to Southern California for a weekend with her uncle. The gate agents and flying attendants took great care of her, and I was happy the service didn't cost an arm and a leg for such a short trip. Now that she's 12, I'yard also happy I will no longer have to pay to use the service once I determine she's set for solo travel. Since we fly so much and she's independent and savvy, I'd be totally ok with letting her fly on a similar Bay Area to SoCal flight without help.
ten) Southwest's Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program is the most flexible and usable for family unit travelers.
Have you lot ever nerveless airline miles for years only to find them side by side to incommunicable to redeem at a decent rate when you actually want to use them? Or have you had trouble finding plenty honour tickets for a family unit of four or more on a unmarried flight?
You lot'll take no such problems with Southwest. Why? If there are seats bachelor for purchase with cash, you tin can redeem your Southwest Rapid Rewards points for them. This someday availability makes Southwest'south frequent flyer program the most practical and easy to utilise for traveling families in my experience.
Then be sure to sign you and your kids up for Rapid Rewards accounts the very beginning time you plan to fly Southwest. Information technology takes seconds. You'll accrue miles you can actually use! Points on Southwest as well never elapse, and then information technology's non another date to runway.
And exist sure you are doing all yous can to earn points for your family'southward next trip. Chase partners with Southwest to offer three different personal credit cards with big signup bonuses that tin can aid add to your Rapid Rewards balance.
Exist sure to read my guide to which Southwest credit carte du jour is right for you for all the details on these offers and the specific card choices. There are two business card choices likewise if you are eligible for a business carte du jour (and it'due south possible to take both a personal and business Southwest credit card also, like I do!).
eleven) Southwest's no change fee policy affords flexibility to families.
For families, flexibility in travel is a huge benefit. With kids, things come up up – from sickness to a school or extracurricular scheduling conflict.
For a long time, Southwest was the only U.s. domestic airline that did not accuse modify fees when yous had to abolish or change a booked trip. Other airlines have added this benefit in 2020 and 2021, but Southwest'due south policy is even so far more generous that the competition. (Related: Comparison Airline No Change Fee Policies: Which is the Best?)
So how does this work? If yous need to cancel a trip, Southwest volition hold the full value of your ticket for a total twelvemonth from when you booked information technology equally a credit. There'south no additional penalization or fee for this privilege.
If you demand to change to a different flying, the same principles employ. If the new flight you book costs less money, you get the difference as a credit proficient for one year. It's but of course if the new flying costs more that y'all have to pay the extra fare deviation. Only again, there are no extra fees involved in whatever of this.
12) Southwest can even save your family unit money when fares drop.
Last only certainly not least is my favorite and nigh-used feature of traveling with Southwest. Not only can you modify flights with no penalties with Southwest, but Southwest will also give you a credit back when a flight you already have booked drops in price. For families buying iii, iv, or more tickets, even small per ticket savings can actually add upwardly.
This isn't automatic – you lot have to phone call or rebook your flight online at a lower rate yourself. But if yous watch for Southwest fare sales, yous tin can often salve your family some real money on future travel. Notation that these credits must be used within a year of the date you originally booked the flying, and then don't miss the expiration dates.
If you booked your flight with Rapid Rewards points, your miles will be fully refunded to your account with taxes and fees refunded in full to your credit card. For travel that y'all aren't sure you will have or for flights you retrieve are likely to drop in toll, it's oft best to book with points for but this reason since you won't have a one year credit expiration to track and worry nearly.
Be certain to check out Southwest'south Travel with Children section on its website for the latest information. And delight share your tips for flight Southwest with family in the comments!
Disclosure : I was a paid Southwest Airlines #SouthwestStorytellers brand administrator in 2018. I originally published this post back in 2014 before I had whatever relationship with the airline. As ever, all opinions are my own.
Editor'southward Note: An earlier version of this article referenced discounted child fares. Southwest discontinued those fares on June i, 2021.
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Source: https://tripswithtykes.com/the-complete-guide-to-flying-southwest-with-kids/
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