Comments

1. I agree WN is a terrible airline service period, especially for the disabled. I need a wheelchair as I can’t walk 45 minutes to the gates that are miles away or stand for long periods of time. I have two total knee replacements and four autoimmune diseases.

   Southwest has broken my wheely walkers on three separate flights really screwing me for my trip and I have to replace them. I am now always bring crutches instead if I fly with them. They have attendants put me down in front of other passengers on different flights before about being disabled which is completely illegal.

   I have had Southwest never come with wheelchairs when it’s time to deplane. Making us wait sometimes hours and have even been left in corridors for over an hr because there was no one to push the wheelchair.

   I travel alone mostly leaving me completely unable to get through the airport. If anything elderly and disabled should always be able to board first and people with kids and the rest of the entitled people can pay more who aren’t disabled as they have no idea what disabled go through on a daily basis of pain, discrimination and jerkoffs who don’t understand what it’s like living with a daily chronic illness.

   Until it happens to them. I believe in karma and all who wrote dumb comments about being disabled will one day be put in the situation and then realize how ignorant they truly are. Hopefully Southwest goes out of business soon enough. I watch their stock drops constantly. They are known as South Worst for a reason. Watching their stocks drop often and they are always having problems. Putting down the disabled is the least of their problems. You want a decent airline fly anything but frontier and Southwest.

2. Those who speak derisively of the wheelchair users are missing so many variables. As someone noted, invisible disabilities require assistance at times. The packing, leaving, travelling, early arrival, check-in, etc is exhausting for those of us with limited energy. The distance to the gate and amount of people will also factor in. I can’t walk the distance in Fort Lauderdale but after resting on the flight, Islip is no sweat to walk off. I’m young. I can barely move most days. I have back braces, pain patches, a cane & a dear husband who helps me get where I’m going. Some do not. “Judge not lest you be judged.”

3. This is an age old problem dating back to my Pan Am days. Not only did they walk off under their own power, they took the silverware with them. Now, at least, there’s no silverware to take.

4. I was boarding one day and the gate attendant told the people in wheelchairs- if you can walk, please do because I am not pushing all 30 of you in the jetway. Everyone but 1 got up to walk.

5. I might fly Southwest a few times right after assigned seating is implemented just so I can kick a scammer out of my seat.

6. What I will say here will be called racist, even though easily verified by going to Hobby (Houston) and observing at any gate, any flight, any day. Here goes – I fly Southwest out of Hobby Airport routinely and, without fail, the majority of those sitting in wheelchairs waiting to board are of one race, plus their able bodied family members. I see this month after month, year after year. Don’t believe me? Just go and watch. And where do they sit? They take up the majority of the seating of the first few rows. Hopefully this blatant seating scam will end when Southwest assigns seating when booking. These same people will find a way around this for sure, but it will stop much of the blatant seating scam that they have utilized.

7. I sprained my ankle when I was running for a flight at BWI. I tried to prop it up waiting at the gate, but I assumed it was just a strain. By the time we were boarding, I couldn’t get my boot back on because it was so swollen. I asked for a wheelchair to get to baggage claim in New Orleans, because there was no way I could walk that far. It was excruciatingly embarrassing to see all the dirty looks I was getting. When I came back for my return flight the next day, I deliberately took the ankle brace off and exposed the gruesome looking ankle wound thinking maybe people would realize that I was legitimately injured. I had called ahead to notify Southwest that I would need assistance and I got the last available wheelchair. When I got to the gate, there was already five wheelchairs waiting and two of the people kept getting up and walking to the restaurant down the concourse. They walked just fine.

8. Every one of them should be forced to wait for a wheelchair to deplane while everyone else gets off first on penalty of a $100+ fine payable to Southwest before they’re allowed to board any other WN flight. That’d stop a lot of them in their tracks.

9. It is called “ The Miracle at 30,000 Feet”.

10. I fly regularly. Multiple times a month or more. My employer provides us the option to choice which airline to fly as long as it is within policy. I have flown Delta, United, American, and Southwest all within the last 2 years alone.

    I REFUSE to fly Southwest unless I have to. Even if they do provide a companion pass after 100 flights.

    I experienced this in Baltimore and Detroit. It’s a story I tell often when I talk to others about flying. Some people love Southwest and I honestly don’t understand why. The whole process is like herding cattle onto a cattle trailer with a smaller herd in front all trying to get on.

    I’m supportive of those that need it to have the extra time to board. However, these cattle abuse the system. What happens? Your regular, and often very loyal business travellers are pushed away. And attract the pathetic cheapskates looking for a cheaper flight and a better seat.

    Until Southwest changes and enforces a better policy, I won’t fly then again unless I’m desperate.

11. I fly Southwest a lot! Over 80 segments this year alone. In my experience this year, the wheelchair using passengers average 3 per flight. I have had 2 flights with no wheelchairs at all! I had one flight with 8 wheelchairs. It isn’t something to be concerned about, really, unless you have control issues or like to complain. As for others who are not in wheelchairs who preboard, that is between the airline and the passengers, and thankfully the other passengers have no say in that. They will still be able to preboard once assigned seating takes effect. I suggest that if you really don’t like the way Southwest operates their airline, there are other airlines for you to choose from.

12. Most of the flying public is trash

13. That’s why after 10 years as an A List Preferred I will avoid SWA at all cost.

14. @Deborah,
    Take the greyhound.

    Or at least have the decency to tak a middle seat in the back of the plane. If you need favors or special treatment, return it.

    Bless your heart

15. This whole thing is bogus because @Mark here hasn’t seen it.

    80 segments y’all. That’s 90% of all segments flown by LUV in the whole year, right? Right?

    Bless your heart, Mark

16. @Deborah. I would have imagined that you’d be at the front of the list of people condemning the cheats. As someone who needs the help, you risk being judged because of the large quantity of cheaters. I have no hesitation judging cheats and criminals, and what strange self-help book did that “lest you be judged” thing come from?

17. @gary, you have a serious problem, quit worrying about crap like this. It’s clear you fly WN now since that’s where your obsession currently lives. It used to be AA but you’re pretty silent on that front now

18. I flew as a Flight Attendant from 1972-1991, many of those trips up the FL-NYC-FL corridor. We used to call them, “Miracle Flights,” because so many W/C pax were miraculously able to walk after arriving in FL!

19. I get what most people say here. I need wheel chair to the gate but am able to walk about 10-20 yards fairly easy but then my knee, which will get replaced in February, starts locking up. I don’t need the chair to get off the plane, I need it at the end of the jet bridge to baggage claim. That being said, standing long in lines and waiting adds to my issues. If Southwest just did assigned seating I wouldn’t pre-board but I need an aisle seat to minimize any need to crawl out of my seat to use the restroom if/when needed.

20. I quit flying SW due to so many Southwest Miracles. Before that became common they were my favorite airline, esp with a hub at BWI. After they do assigned seating, perhaps I will try them again. I used to get roughly one flight free for every eight – wonder if that’s changed…

21. My solution thought was let them board first, BACK OF PLANE ONLY, and everyone gets off before them. I had a LV flight we ith 36 wheelchairs and accompanying “helpers”. That was half of the 737 700.

22. I’ve flown Southwest 400+ times with my wheelchair daughter. They are by far the best airline for helping and handling her chair and changes due to medical needs.

    It’s funny how everyone without a wheelchair needs think they know what’s best.

    First, my daughter can’t walk, but I can carry her to the first or maybe the second row. Any farther and everyone will be waiting 20 times longer because we will need to use an aisle chair in the middle. We’ve never left on time with other airlines because of this huge delay but we never hold up a Southwest flight.

    Second, saying we need to wait to be last is punishing her for being born disabled. We usually wait until the end, but if we have a tight connection, we need to get off like everyone else and I’m thinking you only want me to carry her 1-2 rows instead of holding up many more if we are towards the back.

    And you probably don’t even know that airplanes don’t have accessible bathrooms so she has to hold it and again I promise I’ll do everything to help her off as fast as possible. Again, you don’t want her toward the back.

    I agree Southwest has a huge problem with liars, cheats, and thieves! But, I worry this will only hurt those fully dependent on wheelchairs.

    PS – I call it the Mile High Miracle and I’ve been waiting 25+ years for my daughter’s miracle.

23. Southwest does not push or provide wheelchairs, so they are not” late” to pick u up at the gate. The wheelchair companies. Provide this service and charge the airline.

24. You’ve not heard of hyperbaric therapy?

    Planes are pressurized to 6000 feet.

25. I have a hard time walking the distance to the gate.
    I would be happy to get assistance to gate .
    I could then walk onto plane and sit … wherever.

26. The problem I have is when connecting to my next flight, there is no wheelchair waiting on the gangway. Therefore I have to walk to my next gate which sucks because I suffer from Large Fiber Neuropathy due to 2 bulging discs in my lower back. (L4-L5 and (L5-S1). Yes, I am disabled and have the handicap symbol on my driver’s license.

    I don’t understand why the airlines/airports don’t have wheelchairs waiting at the gate when the manifest says how many wheelchairs are needed.

    I fly in April and October. This year, I’m flying in March and September. I hope it won’t be as difficult this time.

27. I’m an aircraft engineer in Las Vegas. This is actually quite the norm. Ir really makes the wheelchair attendants and gate agents mad.

28. What a disgrace and insult to passengers who really need wheelchair assistance. I unfortunately needed it for a while due to an injury and often long waits . When I read about other passengers abusing the system, I can only hope they get fined or banned from flying.

29. Ok, how about the “children under 2” who, along with their whole villages, board early. Is it microplastics that causes facial hair (need to shave) in toddler

    It makes sense they would need to bring all the provisions necessary for the village to survive the winter in carry ons.

30. I have an adult daughter with cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability. She needs to board first so that she isn’t jostled which makes her fall. She also needs to take her time walking down the uneven jet bridge. And time to get settled into a seat. I like my husband to sit with me so that I have an extra pair of hands when dealing with her. I hate to see people taking advantage of this because it only makes it harder for Those of us who really need it. I hope that they aren’t going to ruin it for the people who really do need it.

31. Just came back from Cancun last night and saw that pregnant women also fake and abuse this to get better seats. They are super healthy and perfectly capable of walking, why should they be allowed to prepared? Another abuse like HOV lanes.

32. My wife and I fly FL to PR frequently. We now set bets of how many wheelchairs. The one closest to the actual number get to buy the drinks.

33. I fly SWA one time in 1995 and vowed to not give them a penny until they got rid of their ridiculous boarding policy.

    They have single-handedly created the current ‘gate lice’ problem.

    Now that they are moving to a civilized boarding model, I will be returning to SWA just to see how their regulars handle it.

34. @david r miller, your observation isn’t racist, only the assumption that it is limited to the one race that you observed would be. I am a black woman and, like you, I have observed this phenomenon happen with entirely one race – and it wasn’t us. It just depend on the departure and arrival cities.

    Because I travel almost weekly for work to various places I get a more representative sample and thus have seen the bell curve while you likely have only seen one outlier or another. As a nation we have to stop assuming that our experiences constitute a norm and begin to understand that with experiences and exposure comes deeper understanding.

35. Just have people in wheelchairs bored when their zone is call and no more pre.Boarding.

36. It sounds like a new kind of Mile High Club.

37. The magical healing powers of flying. I see it all the time. They get a wheelchair and get off without one truly a miracle. They should be handed a bill for wheelchair service when they get off without the chair. That would quickly put an end to the nonsense. Getting a wheelchair should require a doctor’s note. I used to get on early because I paid extra now paying to get on early is not worth it.

38. It’s usually the severely obese who game the system and “hog” the better seats by faking a disability to pre board. It’s disgusting.

39. Posting about preboarding abuse on Southwest is a guaranteed way to stimulate engagement and comments without adding anything of value to a post. I guess it’s best to get all of this in before Southwest goes to assigned seating and ends the clickbait material, at least until there’s a new current thing to rage about. ChatGPT could probably write the comments all by itself, since they generally are nothing more informative than:

    1. “I fly Southwest gazillion times a year and this never happens.”
    2. “I fly Southwest a gazillion times a year and this happens every time because of ___ (insert minority group or ethnicity here).”
    3. “I’ve flown Southwest a gazillion times but never again.” (As if readers of this blog and WN management care).
    4. ” Hilton is the best hotel chain because I always get late checkouts, suite upgrades, and sumptuous banquets because of my lifetime Diamond status. I don’t care that this has nothing to do with Southwest. G’Day.”

40. There are obviously people abusing this policy, but a whoooooole lot of commenters have never so much as talked to someone who uses mobility aids in their daily life, and it shows. It is, in fact, EXTREMELY normal to have different requirements for different situations, which boarding and deplaning are. Boarding requires a lot of unpredictable standing and walking. But when you’re getting off, you can just stay seated, wait a handful of extra minutes for everybody else to get off, then walk entirely at your own pace, while not delaying your exit from the plane for an amount of time that would be significant for anyone without an extremely tight layover.

    Not to mention, airlines are absolutely awful about accommodating anything outside an extremely short list of disabilities (and even those they do poorly). Need an aisle seat because you have a history of life-threatening blood clots? Tough shit, pay extra. It’s extremely hard to begrudge people who have to game the system because of a legitimate need for specific seats that can’t be addressed any other way without being financially penalized.

41. I agree 100% with the problem pre-boarding wheelchair passengers first has caused on Southwest. I am glad to see someone else is paying attention to the problem. However, some of us are truly handicap and need assistance. I travel with my OWN scooter or wheelchair and I ALWAYS preboard before ANYONE in a airport wheelchair! Why? Because the airlines can tell I truly have mobility issues otherwise I wouldn’t have my own chair. I flew out of Hobby airport once without my own chair and was treated badly by the wheelchair people! People can’t see that I have mobility issues until I try to walk! They see a normal looking person who should have no problems! Bottom line is the airlines have to find a way to weed out those flying and trying to use services for handicap people who are not handicap!

42. Took a Southwest flight last week, it was ridiculous the number claiming disabilities. I was number 4 to board and there was 20-30 preboards, most just walked on. They showed no shame. I am a firm believer in Carma. It will bite them in the butt one day. It is also a problem with other airlines but not as bad by far. I’ll wait for the assigned seats before I take another flight with them.

43. My father needs a wheelchair because he can’t walk long distances. He will take a wheel chair from check to the gate. Sometimes he walks down the ramp sometimes he has them roll him down. When they arrive how long he uses the wheelchair depends upon how far he has to walk and how he is feeling.

    I have used one once, after knee replacement. I could walk slowly and short distances but not fast or long. So in the small airport I started in I walked to the gate because I had lots of time. In CLT I used a wheelchair between gates because of the distance and time.

    I boarded early other times after knee and hip replacement because I wanted to minimize people bumping me as it would have caused me a lot of pain.

    So be careful who you are thinking are cheating the system

44. I am one who is disabled and cannot walk or stand long. I have seen people who abuse the use of wheelchair boarding which hurts the one who really need it. But this assigned seating will hurt people like me who can’t walk to the back of the plane. I always carry a letter with me for my disability

45. Why not require they use a chair to get off and wait until.all other passengers get off

46. The best way to solve this is all wheelchair passengers are the last ones on and the last ones off. Oh, and they have to sit at the very back of the plane, you know, in case of an emergency so able-bodied persons can evacuate ahead of them due to their inability to walk during an emergency.

47. This happens on 80% of flights, there should be a service charge of $20, and if you use the chair the $20 is given back to the passenger. This would stop some of it. The best way is a bye from a doctor, but this is illegal according to yo the American disability act.

48. I’ve noticed flights to Las Vegas are the same. Lots of wheelchairs to get on but none to get off. I will no longer take a layover in Vegas because of this.
    On a flight in Midway I noticed a women with a carry on, a dog in a carrier and a large purse sitting in a wheelchair waiting to board. They announced they would pay 650.00 dollars to anyone to give up their seat. She jumped up grabbing all her belongings and dog yelling it’s mine. She was cured for $650.00. It was a miracle.

49. The number of people defending this fraud by such a broad assumption of good faith is utterly hysterical. Are all people wanting wheelchair assistance in boarding faking it? No. Are all of them being honest? No.

    Assuming the defenders in these comments are themselves serious, they should be equally if not more frustrated. As noted, the faked are negatively impacting the quality of service for those who legitimately need the help. I saw it myself on a recent flight where folks in wheelchairs were left waiting at the gate due to a lack of staff.

    You know a lot of these people are faking it. Stop excusing it.

50. It’s funny how some people claiming legitimate, limiting disabilities are saying they hope nothing changes. I am not against wheelchairs boarding first but I AM against them automatically getting all the first seats. I pay for bigger, better seats but by the time I get in they’re all taken by wheelchair users. Our last flight to TX had 18 wheelchair and there were 17 coming back. Once the free seat policy ends it will be amazing to see how many people can actually walk. I am a physically challenged army veteran but I refuse to use take a wheelchair over a truly needed individual. I’ll get there early and take breaks as I walk to my terminal. Bottom line, you can use a wheelchair but you have to pay for a better seat just like everyone else.