Southwest Airlines boarding gets a lot of criticism, because instead of having assigned seats their passengers line up based on their ‘boarding number’ and it’s first board, first pick. Some people cheat and board before it’s their turn. Others fake a disability to get on early. And then those who want a free seat next to them try to be as unpleasant a potential seatmate as possible so nobody sits down next to them. My personal favorite technique is placing crumpled up tissues down on the seat next to you.
Underappreciated, though, is the way that passengers boarding later in the process are strategizing whom to sit next to – not just whom to avoid.
- If I’m going to be stuck sitting next to someone for sure, I’d like it to be the smallest person possible.
- Some people are just looking for a passenger they find cute.
If two people sit together on a plane and hit it off, and they wind up together in the end, then it’s an adorable story – like the couple who met on a Southwest Airlines flight, had the pastor from their row officiate at their wedding, and made it all airline-themed.
Credit: Southwest Airlines
Usually, though, it’s just a little bit creepy. But women, knowing men are on the hunt for a more attractive seatmate, are using this knowledge to their advantage in the hunt for seats at the end of boarding.
Got catfished during boarding yesterday
I was in 4D (aisle) with another passenger already in 4F (window) during boarding for what I knew was going to be a pretty full flight – i.e. I expected the middle seat to be taken so I hadn’t put my seatbelt on yet.
A petite woman (5′, 100 lbs or so) asks whether someone was sitting in the middle seat and I said “no – you’re welcome to join us” and I start getting up. She then turns around to her boyfriend/companion (6’2″, 220#) and says “sit here, I’ll go back to this one.”
Sold a total bill of goods on that one.
The seat is open, anyone can sit there, but an attractive woman frequently makes those open seats more available. The crumpled tissues magically disappear. And when it turns out she’s doing the asking for someone else? What are you going to say!
Here’s another one where the Southwest seating preferences seem suspect. A man chose to sit next to a young mother, when the entire row behind her was completely empty?
i noticed that they were in row 7, mom+baby in carrier in aisle seat and grandma in the window. there had to have been at least half the plane empty behind them. full rows, seats at ur heart’s desire! FA’s were encouraging people to space out since the flight was pretty empty. then the man in front of me stops at the row with the 2 women and the baby and asks for their middle seat. the mom holding the baby kinda looked at him like “really?” and the people sitting in the rows around had the same expressions. but he insisted and she ended up asking if he’d be “okay” with the aisle seat so she could at least be next to her mother. HE had the audacity to be like “yeah fine” over an aisle seat in a row he really didn’t need to sit in.
i’d understand if it was a full flight and he wanted to be close to the front but the row behind them was completely empty. it was so strange and i felt bad for the 2 women; the “younger” mom clearly had been stressed and overwhelmed with flying w a newborn and finally seemed settled in their seats until he came along. plus this whole ordeal held up the rest of the boarding.
I’ve had young women that I’ve worked with tell me that when they fly, they often see the men sitting next to them take off their wedding bands. Who they were sitting next to is just happenstance. On almost any airline, you don’t know in advance who will be next to you. But on Southwest Airlines, you actually choose it.
lol
“my small service dog (on my lap)”
ie.Not a service dog.
I would have simply got up and move to the row behind and told him, “you can have this row to yourself”.
I only fly Southwest. If they don’t go there, then either I drive or I don’t go there. And I take my service dog, and I always buy an extra seat to be fair to the other passengers. They let me pre-board first so I can get a bulkhead with her and no other airline has been that accommodating.
Airline should only allow handicap passenger and just one family member to board after first class passengers board first and not the other way around or have handicap passengers pay a $25.00 dollar fee for boarding first service
I will sit by the first hotty I lay eyes on whether she likes it or not.
I am disabled & have my own wheelchair that I take on trips with me. My Southwest account has my information for my chair & that I need assistance. I can walk short distances, with difficulty.
But I have noticed since start ng back flying after the Pandemic there are those that are using airport wheelchairs to get on the plane, but when we arrive at the Destination. They get off without wheelchair service.
This makes me mad, just like people who use handicapped parking & are not handicapped.
I even carry a letter from my Doctor with my Diagnosis & disability information.
I don’t care who I sit next to or who sits next to me. I’m gonna put on head phones and sleep. Enjoy.
So tired of overweight people not buying a second seat. The last flight was overflowing with body fat over the arm rests onto my seat space and body! It is not enforced.
There are unusually many passengers on wheelchairs at Southwest Airlines. Some of them look quite healthy! They board first.
Once, I saw a woman on a wheelchair. Next thing, I saw her walking capably at the rest room!
I don’t fly southwest for this reason and many more…. If you don’t want to worry about what seat you are going to sit in fly an airline that gives you an assigned seat. It may cost more but at least you know your seat prior to boarding and can assume there won’t be and ghetto ass people on the flight too.
I needed the w/c both directions and did defer in seats to people more in need than I
Thanks for the service not to be abused! SW reigns supreme.
I use the handicap service out of necessity and not convenience. There are so many people using this service that sometimes you even have to wait for the service to be rendered. I flew last month with another passenger that was using the handicap service. When we got to baggage pick up, she told the person that picked her that she used the service because it made it faster to get around. She and others like her will get this service ruined for those that really need it.
I flew last months with my daughter’s we were able to sit together with no problem, but on our way back I saw a lot of people using wheelchair’s and the whole family boarding first should be only one person for each handicap, when we got to ORD mostly everyone were walking on their own, pretty shameless if you ask me, they are ruined for other people that really need the services.
He wanted to watch her breast feed. He’s such a perv.
Yes SWA I too have seen people get on plane sitting in wheelchairs and as soon as they get off plane power walk all the way to baggage claim with family members. It isn’t fair. I believe some people need to use wheelchairs and I feel bad but ithey aren’t the people I’m talking about here. Im talking the ones using the system.
I need a wheelchair and am capable of shortwalks to rerlstroom etc. None of that lady’s business I don’t need an assistant to help. I’m not paralyzed. . Youvseecl8cky to be able to walkbby yourself in airports. So quit complaining and fork over more money.
You don’t know a persons disability so you shouldn’t judge if you see them doing something you don’t think is “disability worthy”. Just because a person can’t walk the full length of the airport (which could be at least half mile or more depending on the airport) and endure long lines at the security gate, doesn’t mean they can’t get up walk to the bathroom if it’s a very short distance from them. This is the case with my fiancé’, who has had to have surgery on his back several times. He can walk. He has legs that work. However, he can not walk long distances or stand for long periods of time, without causing excruciating pain, therefore I always order an “airport wheelchair” at the airport for him and I don’t apologize to anyone who thinks we shouldn’t be able to have that privilege.
What is MOST annoying on southwest is , for ex, swa starts in mia , then to mco then to Seattle , here is the most annoying thing, some creep will move from the back of the plane, as if he is getting off then take a quality front seat ,away from someone who may have paid extra to get a chance at that seat ( business select) , Bob Jordan should chance the policy, more in line like the others
The Southwest pre-boarders are actually prohibited from sitting in certain seats. If you fly “business class”(× < A10), you still have the option of sitting in your desired seat. #IYKYK
Southwest creates these situations with their policy. They are not always cheapest, they are not always the most direct route. Sometimes they get you to a destination in one layover in the shortest amount of time, but not always again!