Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s)
Well, we made the next leg of the trip, but it feels like barely! We got to Chicago just after 9:15 maybe, local time, and had to get the flight to San Jose, CA at 9:55 local time. Seems like plenty of time right? Jen took a needed pregnancy bathroomo trip, and we headed through the airport to Gate B1 (all the way to the other end of the concourse!) only to find tthat the lines were already completely full!
This is my first time flying Southwest, and overall I would just give it an “average” rating.
Here’s why the lines matter. When you buy a ticket, you are not buying a seat. You get put into one of three groups. A, B, and C. Theoretically, the first people to arrive, get boarding passes in group A, then B, then C. That is also how they board the plane. Since it’s every man (or woman) for himself, you take what you get as far as seating.
We lucked out on the first flight, finding the last pair of seats together. Not so on this flight. Only middle seats left. Not to worry, I told Jen. I trusted in the goodness of humanity. Someone will move to the middle so that the pregnant lady can sit with her husband….
Not so. 🙂
So, Jen is in the row behind me. I am squeezed between two guys… and it’s a four hour flight.
I don’t think we’re going to fly Southwest again. I want to buy seats, not try to “get lucky”.
So, we’ll see what the flight holds. I’m sad for Jen. She’ll have to try to get out to go to the bathroom a time or two! 🙂 We’ll see if we can work the system on the way back so we don’t have to do this on the return flight!
More to come….
Southwest allows you to check in online well before your flight. It’s either 24 hours before your flight or midnight of the day of your flight. Not sure which but if you’re proactive about it, you’ll score an A seat.
The one time this worked out for me was when I was flying to Las Vegas. I checked in at midnight and got an A.
Then due to all sorts of airline shennanigans, I ended up being in five different states that day and like five hours behind schedule. There was a group of seven or eight of us trying to get to Las Vegas from Buffalo. Finally, at whatever the city was, we marched up to customer service and made a stink.
They said they had four or five seats available on a direct flight to Las Vegas. They decided that the fairest way to decide who got the seats would be based on who checked in first.
Since I checked in like 15 hours earlier, I was in like Flint, baby.
A small victory in a disastrous day. Also, the last time I’ve flown Southwest.