Southwest Airlines

• Midstate01

  

  They have direct flights from Oakland to Columbus. Found some for 120 each way which beats every other airline by 50 bucks or more. But I've never flown with them. Obviously this price is the wanna get away one.. so what's that mean and are they worth flying with?
  
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• wildcats20

  

  Midstate01;1783781 wrote:They have direct flights from Oakland to Columbus. Found some for 120 each way which beats every other airline by 50 bucks or more. But I've never flown with them. Obviously this price is the wanna get away one.. so what's that mean and are they worth flying with?
  
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  Yes. Plus 2 bags free.
  
  Wanna get away is non-refundable.
• Belly35

  

  First come first seating ... buy your tickets early online and arrive early to get first pick of your seating.
• sleeper

  

  Southwest is good.
• like_that

  

  Southwest sucks.
• Midstate01

  

  wildcats20;1783784 wrote:Yes. Plus 2 bags free.
  
  Wanna get away is non-refundable.

  That per person or total?
  
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• Midstate01

  

  I mean with a kid, it's hard to pass up nonstop flights. And 120 each way is way cheaper than everyone else.
  
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• Midstate01

  

  So is your ticket a guaranteed seat or can you miss out? That's the only thing I'm confused with.
  
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• wildcats20

  

  Midstate01;1783794 wrote:So is your ticket a guaranteed seat or can you miss out? That's the only thing I'm confused with.
  
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  They board in groups. So group A will go and you just pick the seats you want. I believe they place you in groups by check in time.
  
  And it's 2 bags per person free.
• Laley23

  

  You get your seat based on check in. You are guaranteed a seat though. But, you arent guaranteed to be with your kid (though, most likely youre fine).
  
  At 24 hours prior to take-off, you check in. Its basically first come first serve on check-in...and people are crazy and do it RIGHT at 24 hours prior. Wait an hour and youll be stuck with 2 middle seats. When you check in, it gives you a number A1-A60, then B1-B60, then C1-C60. As are almost always guaranteed to the frequent flyers, but you may snag a late A. If your in the Cs, your gonna be in a middle seat.
  
  Belly, per usual, is completely wrong lol. Has no bearing on when ticket is purchased or when you shot up at gate. All about Check-In.
  
  I hate SW as a preferred airline because they offer no benefits to the business traveler, but they are a fine airline for the casual flyer because you can get cheap flights.
  
  When you get to the gate, they board you in order by the number from check-in...first come first serve when you get onto the plane at that point.
• Midstate01

  

  Laley23;1783801 wrote:You get your seat based on check in. You are guaranteed a seat though. But, you arent guaranteed to be with your kid (though, most likely youre fine).
  
  At 24 hours prior to take-off, you check in. Its basically first come first serve on check-in...and people are crazy and do it RIGHT at 24 hours prior. Wait an hour and youll be stuck with 2 middle seats. When you check in, it gives you a number A1-A60, then B1-B60, then C1-C60. As are almost always guaranteed to the frequent flyers, but you may snag a late A. If your in the Cs, your gonna be in a middle seat.
  
  Belly, per usual, is completely wrong lol. Has no bearing on when ticket is purchased or when you shot up at gate. All about Check-In.
  
  I hate SW as a preferred airline because they offer no benefits to the business traveler, but they are a fine airline for the casual flyer because you can get cheap flights.
  
  When you get to the gate, they board you in order by the number from check-in...first come first serve when you get onto the plane at that point.

  Awesome. That was really helpful, thanks.
  
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• wildcats20

  

  wildcats20;1783799 wrote:They board in groups. So group A will go and you just pick the seats you want. I believe they place you in groups by check in time.
  
  And it's 2 bags per person free.

  It's what Laley said, sorry.
• Midstate01

  

  So doing the early bird check in is probably how people get the better seats because it's automatic? Seems to be how people could always be on top of it. 12.50 per person each way. I'll just check in myself and get what we get. Not worried about the middle I guess. Just wanna make sure one of us is seated with our daughter who's 4.
  
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• Zoltan

  Midstate01;1783794 wrote:So is your ticket a guaranteed seat or can you miss out? That's the only thing I'm confused with.
  
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  It's guaranteed like any other airline. The only real quirk is there are no assigned seats. You are given a boarding number which is mostly based on how quickly you checked into your flight online when it's available 24 hours prior to leaving. Some people who are frequent southwest flyers will board before you no matter what, but as long you check in quickly when it's available, you should get a decent boarding position where you can pick a decent seat.
• QuakerOats

  Never had a problem with Southwest, plus their employees are Type A personalities.
• lakeflyerMike

  

  Let them know when you arrive at the gate that your flying with a young child and they will make sure your seated together. Flew SW to Houston this past summer with a 3 year old and we kinda jumped a few people in line thanks to the wonderful SW employees.

  Midstate01;1783804 wrote:So doing the early bird check in is probably how people get the better seats because it's automatic? Seems to be how people could always be on top of it. 12.50 per person each way. I'll just check in myself and get what we get. Not worried about the middle I guess. Just wanna make sure one of us is seated with our daughter who's 4.
  
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• Laley23

  

  Also, didnt realize you had a 4 year old. Even if you dont jump anyone, hard to imagine nobody would move for you if all seats were taken.
• raiderbuck

  Midstate01;1783804 wrote:So doing the early bird check in is probably how people get the better seats because it's automatic? Seems to be how people could always be on top of it. 12.50 per person each way. I'll just check in myself and get what we get. Not worried about the middle I guess. Just wanna make sure one of us is seated with our daughter who's 4.
  
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  Pretty sure you can get family boarding on Southwest with a four year old. AKA, you board between A and B groups. So at most, you'd have 60 passengers boarding before you're child. You will be fine.
  
  Edit...Should probably clarify: each group typically has 60 spots. A1-15 are reserved for upgrades and business travelers, A16-60 is everyone else.
• Belly35

  

  Midstate01;1783794 wrote:So is your ticket a guaranteed seat or can you miss out? That's the only thing I'm confused with.
  
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  They do over book ... so you could have to wait for the next flight if you are in the back of the line.
  The idea is simple... you arrive early and start to form a line behind this sign.
  When the flight is ready to board the line begins to load into the plane ... you are not assigned a seat you can pick the seat you want if you are some of the first people in line.
• ZWICK 4 PREZ

  

  Belly35;1783828 wrote:They do over book ... so you could have to wait for the next flight if you are in the back of the line.
  The idea is simple... you arrive early and start to form a line behind this sign.
  When the flight is ready to board the line begins to load into the plane ... you are not assigned a seat you can pick the seat you want if you are some of the first people in line.

  no
• ZWICK 4 PREZ

  

  Southwest is ok. Better than a lot of bargain airlines. It's cheap for a reason. No reserved seats and non-refundable. if you're ok with that, then do it.
• Midstate01

  

  But do you have to actually arrive early or is it more about checking in 24 hours prior?? Seems like the check in online is what is important.
  
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• ZWICK 4 PREZ

  

  Midstate01;1783837 wrote:But do you have to actually arrive early or is it more about checking in 24 hours prior?? Seems like the check in online is what is important.
  
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  no earlier than any other airline
• fish82

  

  Flown them a couple times...they're okay. The crew was fun at least. The downside is that they don't turn clean the AC at all...so if you fly later in the day the cabin starts getting pretty sketchy.
  
  Not worth giving up elite status on a traditional carrier for, but easily the best of the "bargain" carriers.
• wildcats20

  

  Midstate01;1783837 wrote:But do you have to actually arrive early or is it more about checking in 24 hours prior?? Seems like the check in online is what is important.
  
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  The earlier you check in, the better the chance of being in the first group that boards.