[jo-jo]

Just wondering how the "boarding by letter and number" system is coming along? The SW site says early Nov for all airports. Anyone been thru it yet?

[jo-jo]

Has no one flown SW in the last week? Or maybe those who did are still away and haven't seen this? Oh, well, just curious, I was hoping the new boarding system was running nice and smooth.

[lovemysons]

Haven't yet, will be in 3 weeks. I am wondering the same thing. We are going to be there the same time again. Shall we plan to not meet again?? HEHEHE

[woohoo]

A friend of mine said that they had to do it that way and it really was not much different than before- its just that instead of just ABC its A 1-10 A through 20 ,B 1-10 B through 20 etc... just more organized

[lovemysons]

Originally Posted by woohoo

A friend of mine said that they had to do it that way and it really was not much different than before- its just that instead of just ABC its A 1-10 A through 20 ,B 1-10 B through 20 etc... just more organized

AH yes, organized chaos. Much better.

[jo-jo]

Originally Posted by woohoo

A friend of mine said that they had to do it that way and it really was not much different than before- its just that instead of just ABC its A 1-10 A through 20 ,B 1-10 B through 20 etc... just more organized

I'm hoping it works as well as they planned. We flew just after the switch to "no more pre-boarding with little kids" went into effect. There were lots of unhappy parents. Plus you had all the ABC people lined up, and then kids and strollers and car seats. Really, really crowded. We had gotten "A" tickets so it didn't matter to us, but I think it caught some people unaware.

[SuiteDisney]

I'm sure I'll still get there early and park my chubby butt on the floor in front of my gate.

[rlcarmichael]

Originally Posted by SuiteDisney

I'm sure I'll still get there early and park my chubby butt on the floor in front of my gate.

That's what they are trying to get away from. Your ticket will have both a letter and a number.

What I saw, the gate area will be divided by numbers only. The A, B & C still applies but when they call for "A"s you stand in your group (1-10, 11-20, etc)Then after the "A"s are boarding the "B"s line up.

There is still kiddie preboarding for the really little ones but they limit the number of people. You'd have 12 people getting on with 1 kid.

[jo-jo]

Originally Posted by rlcarmichael

There is still kiddie preboarding for the really little ones but they limit the number of people. You'd have 12 people getting on with 1 kid.

Really? When we flew in early Oct, the families with young kids boarded between the "A" and "B" groups.

[Elmo]

Here is what I pulled from SWA tonight:

Boarding Procedure
Each Customer will be issued a boarding pass grouped by A, B, or C (in that order) based on when the Customer checked in online at southwest.com, at the Skycap Podium, Ticket Counter, Departure Gate, or E-Ticket Check-In kiosk (where available).

Prior to general boarding, Customers with disabilities or unaccompanied children between the ages of five and 11 may preboard. Customers who choose to preboard cannot sit in an emergency exit seat.

Effective October 2 in all Southwest cities, an adult traveling with a child four years old or younger will board between the “A” and “B” boarding groups.

If you have an “A” boarding pass, please feel free to board with that boarding group. With an all-jet fleet outfitted with comfortable, leather seats, our families with small children are easily accommodated together.
Because Southwest Airlines maintains an open-seating policy, general-boarding Customers may sit in any open or unclaimed seat. Customers holding boarding pass "A" will begin general boarding, followed by Customers with boarding pass "B," and then "C." General-boarding Customers who choose an emergency exit seat must meet all requirements set forth by the Federal Aviation Administration and Southwest Airlines.

[rlcarmichael]

I misunderstood the kids boarding. Unless you are traveling with an infant preboarding shouldn't be that big of deal. Most people I see will work with FAs to see that families are at least near each other and kids don't get seperated from parents.

[jo-jo]

When we boarded in the A group the FAs were standing about 1/2 down the length of the plane blocking you from picking a seat all the way in the back. I'm guessing when the "family group" boarded they probably moved back so the families were sort of grouped together.

I agree with what you said about 12 people boarding with one toddlar. A few times even after SW said "only parents, not grandparents, not neighbors, not people you just met......" but when all of the above when to board, SW didn't stop them. Wonder if that had anything to do with the change to the "between A&B group" system.

[rlcarmichael]

Well, I'm not happy unless I'm in one of the two seats to the left as you board...the cockpit. That's the REAL first class seats.

[ddoll]

We just came back from WDW flying on SW and I can tell you they are set up at MCO for the new system. They had numbers and arrows on new signs for the boarding. They were divided into much smaller groups. I got excited when I saw them, but there was no number on my boarding pass. And they were still using the old A,B,C system with cardboard signs.

So the change must be coming soon, if not already.

[lovemysons]

Just printed our boarding passes, and we do have a letter (A!! YEA!!) and a number. :)