it seems that going on vacation is more stressful than work lately!

It was completely awesome flying Southwest a couple of weeks ago when the passive aggressive mom to the right kept telling her kids, "No honey, they have a new rule now and you have to wait to get on the airplane" in a voice loud enough for the boarding agent to here. And then repeatedly asking the same question over and over again just to "clarify the new boarding rules". For someone without kids, this new policy is great.

It's a good policy. I will fly Southwest agian.

How dare they make parents get in line like everyone else.

I would pay thrice as much to not have any children at all on a plane. My latest flight was an absolute horrorshow. I wasn't even safe in first class, little snot comes barreling down the aisle like a heat seeking missile for the elbow of any hand with a drink in it.

I have a 13 month old and I think its a good rule. There is nothing so special that we need preferred treatment to get on.
I'm more likely not to use them in the future, but its still a good rule.

@vx001: While your snark seems well aimed, let me just point out that the extra time provided by early boarding allows many parents to get their child settled and calmed enough so that they behave on the plane.

@Electoral College Dropout: That is exactly why every time I get on a plane with my 2.5 year old son (3-4 times a year), I get nasty looks on the way in, and smiles and compliments on the way out. Unfortunately for me, and many other parents, there are enough irresponsible parents that don't know how to prepare a kid for flight.

As for Southwest's policy, it seems like a reasonably idea to let them reward the early check-in folks, but still give parents a general head start to help them get their kids settled.

You cant please everyone I guess

This is a great, fair rule. The whole reason they let them on the plane early in the first place I assume is so parents can sit next to their kids before the plane gets full. I fly SW all the time and as long as you are A or B seating, you're guaranteed a window or aisle seat. This means that these parents getting in before even B starts are guaranteed to sit next to their kids, likely even if they need all 3 seats in an aisle (likely then on back of plane).

The sense of entitlement with these petitioners pisses me off. I give SW a TON of my money and business for work trips, why should they automatically get the best seats on the plane with their brats? Or, here's a novel idea...check in online 24 hrs before your flight and just get A seating like the rest of us. I hope SW sticks with their stance. Good for them.

@Cassifras: You are still in the easy stage. Wait 6-12 months. When they can run and scream and generally make more ruckus, you'll have a harder time keeping your kid behaving nicely. That said, the policy is reasonable

Oh, badly written petitions. How is this "outrageous"? They still board early enough to get seats with their kids, they're just not "first." Our world is not so population-starved that people who reproduce need the red carpet laid out for them.

Oh, badly written petitions. How is this "outrageous"? The families still get to board quite early, so they won't be separated from their kids and they have time to get them settled down. Our world isn't so population-starved that people who reproduce deserve kid-glove treatment.

Sounds like some parents have entitlement issues here. Of course, I'm still in the 'easy stage' of parenting too. But I still wouldn't ask for special treatment without expecting to pay for it.

@JKinNYC: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I didn't mean to imply that all children are like that, but it seems like many parents don't teach their children what is expected of them in public. They seem to think it's a better idea to be their child's friend. As a consequence there's a wealth of children who can't behave themselves in public. I don't want anyone thinking I hate children, but to be trapped 30,000 ft in the air with just one kid like that (which would only have to be like 3% of the kid population) is a nightmare.

My most sincere appreciation goes out to parents like you who have established boundaries with their kids.

As a side note, has an online petition alone ever done anything?

@svreader: Argh. It told me there was an error and it couldn't post.

@Electoral College Dropout: I must have been on the same flight.

Though the worst person I have ever had the *pleasure* of sitting next two was a fifty-something man who decided to bitch loudly that he was being inconvenienced by the flight being lateish (due to a siezed motor pump American replaced in 15 minutes) for the ENTIRE FLIGHT from OHare to Newark. Not like there weren't 100 other people on the plane who were late too or anything. And he fidgeted the whole time like a toddler.

Just needed to get that off my chest.

ohh an online petition! Wow, I'm so going to join everyone from my middle school and we'll save the world , too!

The nice thing about kids boarding early is that you can avoid sitting next to them.

It would be nice if there was a crying baby section on an airplane with a noise barrier from the rest of the cabin.... or maybe kids can wear special noise insulated muzzles and anti-seat kicking leg braces.

Correct me if I am wrong (and I might be) but isn't the "A" section business class and therefore the seats that people actually pay MORE for? Shouldn't someone who pays more for their luxury be allowed to board first anyway? I mean I've never flown anything other than coach because it costs too damn much but if you're gonna pay that, you should board before the rest. The "outrage" is bullshit anyway. It's not like they are making the parents and kids go last! It's only second rather than very first. Anything to complain about I guess.

It's about time.

families and kids belong in the BACK of the plane.
They take forever to get off the plane with strollers, noisy kids, and their diaper bags. The crying babies (who are too young to fly) are the WORST. I had to sit next to this mom who refused to go into the restroom to change a diaper. Plus the kid smelled like crap for a whole hour before she did anything.

Yeah, don't know why it's so *outrageous* when, geez, just plan ahead and get an A pass. Plus, I so hate parents who feel they should be entitled to board first. These same folks are probably the one who have one child with 5 plus adults accompanying them. You know the types as we have seen them all. When my son was younger, I just planned early and always got the A pass. Now he's 16 and boards with the rest of us cattle.

It is unfortunate that these parents are inconvenienced, because now that Southwest is the only method of air transportation they have nowhere else to go.

Wait, you say there are other airlines with other seating policies? Then they have no reason to whine.

I love Southwest, and the last three trips I've taken have been with them. Their staff is the friendliest by far.

Thanks all for your comments.

As the originator of the site with a link to the petition, I can say that parents are not looking for special treatment.

What were are looking for is a reduction in stress. Other airlines provide it, and we will be taking our business elsewhere.

Cranky kids = cranky parents AND cranky passengers.

This is what occurs with the new policy.

BEFORE - parents could get on board quickly and create a "cheerio section" where we could stay together.

NOW - parents and kids are EVERYWHERE.

What does that mean to you? It means that there is a higher chance of sitting next to that crying baby than before.

And yes, I once was a "baby hater" who wondered why parents couldn't get the child to stop crying.

No longer.

Regards,

Shaun Dakin
[www.StopSouthwestPreboard.com]

@hexychick: A isn't more (yet). It's just the people who plan ahead enough (or care enough) to get their passes online.

@MountainRooster: True enough. I do like when I can see where all the kids are located so I can be on the opposite end.

@Hexychick - No, on Southwest your boarding group is determined by how quickly you get your boarding pass, i.e. the first 45(?) people to check in are group A, the next batch are group B, etc.

If they point of letting parents with kids board early is to let them get the bulkhead seats (which most airlines used to do because they offer more room and the kid isn't kicking a seat in front of them the whole flight), then block off the bulkheads and let them board with everyone else. Personally, I liked having the kids corralled over in the pre-board area so they weren't bothering the folks in line, and it seemed to take some stress off of their parents as well.

Is Southwest still letting the people in wheelchairs pre-board?

Heaven forbid the breeders might have to check-in on line to get the A boarding like everyone else. I like kids, I like people with kids, I've even moved seats on planes to let families sit together, but the sense of "I have a kid so I deserve preferential treatment" bullshit is simply that, bullshit. It's not like they're banning families from the plane. Mind your own spawn, or fly an airline that lets you choose your frigging seats.

@hexychick: You are, in fact, wrong. Southwest doesn't have a business class. "A" seating is simply the people who checked in and got their boarding passes first.

As a responsible parent, this blows. My child doesn't make a racket or bother the other passengers. We make sure to keep our 20 month old son occupied and entertained.

If some old lady gets to hobble down the jetway first, I find it ludicrous that we can't get in and settled give our "extra needs" as well.

Even when we flew in Group A without our child I NEVER ONCE thought the families getting on first caused me much of a headache or delay. So I'm 2-3 rows back. Worst things have happened.

*worse* things have happened. sorry bout that

@Electoral College Dropout: I've got it "easy" because my son flies often (wife is from france) and has done it since he was 6 weeks, so he is used to it. Parents need to acclimate their child to flight and planes. That's why some measure of early boarding is nice.

Most other airlines will board elite/platinum boarders before kids, and thats reasonable too. Just give us some kind of head start to get the seatbelt on them, the books out, and the sedatives flowing (HA!) and for the most part, it'll be ok.

@ironchef: Just because some parents are awful, I have to be punished? Should fat people and loud talkers get their own section? Or the people who have never flown before and don't know how to sit the hell down and get out of the way? Or the elderly in diapers?

I do not understand the sense of entitlement that parents have. Children aren't magical, they're just smaller humans. Breeding isn't some sort of higher calling, it's a simple biological imperative.

Get over yourselves parents! Don't make the rest of us miserable simply because you're inconvenienced with a child.

@foghat81:
"If some old lady gets to hobble down the jetway first, I find it ludicrous that we can't get in and settled give our "extra needs" as well."

You've got to be joking. Please tell me you're joking.

the backlash is overrated.

I wish US Air would to this as well. Now if only Southwest would stop harassing trashily dressed women...

@AndyDuncan: I agree 100%. If parents want assigned seats, go fly united or american. I don't understand why they should get any special treatment. Check in early, or wait in line like everyone else.

Oh boo hoo. Free ride is over, cue the whining. I welcome this change -- I'm sick of having to wait for everyone who abuses the preboard rules to get on before those of us who are prepared and ready and registered promptly the day before the flight.

If you don't like it, you can fly, oh, any other airline that offers assigned seats.

Call the whaaaaambulance.

Now that I know that the kind of parents who are self-absorbed and me-me-me will be boycotting SW Airlines, I will be happy to start flying with SW more often. Thanks for the heads-up!

@darkjedi26: And the silly thing is that they're still being given special treatment, and by all accounts that treatment is just as effective at solving the main issue (sitting together) as their previous system. They're just bitching that they don't get as special of treatment. ridiculous.

Wow, all you anti-parents people...go to your mom's house, and tell her what she should have done the night you were concieved.

While I have not yet done an airplane flight with my three-year-old, we have been on a number of train rides, on both NJ Transit and the New York Subway. My son sits in a seat quietly, and enjoys the ride. He may stand on the seat to turn and look out the window. But he never bothers anyone else, same as when we take him out to a restaurant.

I've said it before in posts about this SouthWest policy - I'm happy to see it go because I've seen it horribly abused, time and time again.

I fly into and out of Orlando primarily, and obviously planes full of families w/ children are commonplace. What's also commonplace on these SouthWest flights are four-foot tall children under four years of age.

The abuse of the policy is likely a large factor in getting it scrapped. I've choose what airline I fly for business, and after standing near the front of the A group only to board half full planes full of families abusing this benefit one too many times I don't even bother to look at SouthWest fares.

The assigned seats part of it doesn't bother me. It's the getting in and settled w/ a baby. That's significantly more time-consuming and difficult than for non-children travelers.

And in regards to my comment about old people, I was half joking. I've seen MANY who don't really need the extra time to get on the plane. They just do it b/c they're old and, here's that word, feel entitled. Crack down on those shifty grannies while you're at it Southwest.

sdakin@usa.net Why not contact the "President" of this organization and give him a piece of your mind.

@radleyas: I doubt it. Some people can't comprehend the fact that people with kids are a huge inconvenience to a large majority of people, and should also not jam up the front of the plane. I've yet to see an airline that assigns seats that has figured out that loading the back of the plane first would be easier -- they always load the front first! And then everyone has to shove their way past occupied seats.

I am still not clear why their personal choice to have children somewhat gives them preferential treatment. I am also not clear why they can't just get to the airport in a timely fashion (or log in) and secure an "A" themselves.

Don't get me wrong - I would not fly SouthWest to begin with. The whole "on your mark, get set, RUN RUN RUN" mentality for boarding just adds insult to injury in an already stressful flying environment. But it was certainly not fair or appropriate to have people board before those who made a concerted effort to secure an "A", just because they manage to bring a bunch of kids (who will no doubt ruin the flight for anyone unlucky enough to find themselves within 5 rows) with them.

I applaud SouthWest for the removal of undeserved preferential treatment.

@Caswell:

"I've choose"... I've got the ability to choose...

Gotta love it when the mind gets ahead of the fingers.

Wow before I became a parent I never knew there was such hatred for children. I mean I know a lot of lesbians and gays who detest "breeders" but damn people. My child is 1 and he does not act up in public. We take him outside or calm him down. Yes I see bad parents but seriously does me getting on the plane 5 min ahead of you really kill anyone? I hate taking up other peoples time but it just takes longer to get a child on the plane than an adult.

@Nemesis_Enforcer: And before anyone takes out the flamer. I do check in online early and I usually show up at least 3 hours early. Cause getting thru security with a child takes extra time.