This is why I won’t fly SW at all. I’ll pay more on another airline for guaranteed seats with my kids. Not worth the stress IMHO, no way. SW, the cattle call airline, is what my
travel agent called it once LOL! If you are solo I guess it might be a good idea but as a party of 5 I don’t think so.
You know that guarantees mean that unwanted things can still happen, yes? Like if UPS says “guaranteed by Tuesday” it just means I’ll get some sort of compensation if it doesn’t arrive on Tuesday.
I *started* flying SW (pre internet) when too many times my carefully-chosen seat was given to someone else at some point between booking and boarding.
I always roll my eyes at 2 people traveling together and taking a window and aisle seat. The flight attendants announce repeatedly that the plane is full, yet they don't move. I guess they really like having a stranger sit between them.
Why assume all those people are traveling together in the first place? I’m an avid people watcher, but by the time I’m boarding a plane I rarely remember who at the gate seemed to be together etc.
And why roll your eyes?
AND why assume everyone hates the middle seat? When I’m smaller I don’t mind the middle at all. I’m short and legroom is never an issue. When smaller I can take up a tiny amount of room between people and have a perfectly nice flight.
I’m with you!
I haven’t flown since 2004. Things have changed so dramatically. I remember when flying was a thrill. Meals were expected.
If you haven’t since then you have NO idea what boarding is like now for SW or for the legacy airlines.
SW is incredibly decent compared to the madness of other airlines. You know exactly where to stand and they tell you when. As long as the others in line aren’t playing the “it doesn’t matter what number I am so don’t worry about being in numerical order” game (funny how they don’t mind if you get behind them despite being 20 compared to their 25, eh?) it’s incredibly civilized. I never minded the previous way they had of boarding to begin with, but their former way is pretty much what legacies have become once your group is called.
SW is a vacation compared to others sometimes. Even compared to legacy first class. My ex was routinely upgraded to first. He dresses very casually. And people would step in front of him and even actually block him while he waited or walked to board when first was called. People assumed he didn’t belong there since he was wearing cargo shorts. And he knew that that’s what they were doing because they would use their voices to speak to him to chide him for moving to board when he obviously didn’t have a first class seat.
And first on a domestic flight is so rarely worth paying for.
As for meals...when meals were a given, tickets were very very expensive. When I flew in the early 80s for my 8th grade DC trip the tickets were $800 from SFO. There is zero chance I would book a flight like that for $800. If flight costs went along with inflation then I’m sure we’d all still be getting meals, but thankfully they haven’t, and I’m ok with a $400 cross country roundtrip ticket and getting food in another way.
As for well fed...you can order a perfectly lovely cheese plate or tapas box for $8-9 on many airlines (not SW) that’s better than anything I’ve gotten even in First (when then-husband was upgraded and gave me the seat) and for far cheaper.
Add to that that First seats are generally longer from back to front (so my feet don’t hit the ground) and slippery, but domestic lines don’t really give the width enough to curl up on the seat so my legs aren’t dangling, and ugh.
I hope you like your first class trip better and that it’s all that you hoped for. Maybe, though...don’t dress casually.
My husband is likely to get an earlier boarding position than me.
Why?
But if he does, have him sit in the aisle for you.
I"ve seen a lot of people get upset when someone sits down in that seat when they were expecting it to remain empty.
Again, decades of people watching experience have told me that I cannot rely on my interpretation of the emotions of others. Nor do I see the point in projecting my understanding onto others. I prefer to think that any supposed upset or nasty looks simply have to do with their underwear literally bunching while moving, or thinking of something sad or irritating, etc. Makes things nicer for me thinking everyone is irritated at the things happening right around them.
And I say that to people because my face is so often misread, and it makes me sad, and I’d like to help people stop judging expressions and considering them fact.
Genetics gave me RBF-extraordinaire, and it gets old old old to have people only pay attention to that and not to my kind soft voice or smile or helpfulness.
I once took a flight from PHX to LAX on a legacy airline. They let status fliers board first...after that, the remaining 6 of us boarded. I think there were too many regular commuters between these 2 cities.
