Boarding

First Southwest flight since the switch to assigned seating and honestly… it felt bizarre. DCA to Kansas City. Maybe 50 people on the whole plane. I’m in 3A, extra legroom. There’s a disabled elderly woman a couple rows back on the other side. First two rows completely empty....

Maybe just bad luck, but all four of my flights were completely full. I’m ALP, CP, and a cardholder. Got Group 2 on every segment. Boarding order was preboard, priority and military, then Group 1. Pre and priority were about 15 to 20 people, Group 1 around 30 to 35. By the time...

Just read this and I can literally picture the whole thing playing out. Guy walks up like “this is my seat.” Other guy just sitting there calm like “nope, mine.” Then the name check starts and it just unravels from there. The part that gets me is the seat guy just casually...

Upgraded my seat and paid with my Southwest credit card that I’ve had for years… and still ended up in the last boarding group. By the time I got on with one carry on, there was zero overhead space near my seat in the first ten rows. My bag had to go toward the back, which is...

Booked a Ryanair flight and recently dealt with the new rule where boarding passes are only available through the app. Downloaded it and everything was fine at first. About a month later the airline changed the flight time. After that the boarding pass in the app became locked...

Took an American Airlines flight recently after mostly flying Delta for years, and noticed something interesting during boarding. Their scanners apparently alert the gate agent if someone tries to board before their group is called. The agent just tells them to wait until their...

Just pushed back from DEN. That’s two on time departures for me today. Three pre boarders. No priority circus. Group 2 boarding. And somehow… no carry on chaos. On a 700 series. How is this even possible? Did I enter an alternate timeline?

I saw a post from someone flying Southwest after the recent policy changes and honestly the whole thing sounded like a mess. They said boarding took about 30 minutes longer than usual and even people sitting near the front had their bags end up way in the back. On top of that,...

On a United flight from Newark to Los Angeles, the boarding process was done in an unusual way. Passengers seated in rows 30 and above were allowed to board first. Pre-boarding passengers in those rows went first, followed by groups 1 through 4 also seated in rows 30 and above....

I saw this post from a Southwest flyer and honestly it made me laugh a bit. They said when the bins are full near their seat but clearly nobody sitting there owns the bags, they’ll start asking whose bag it is. If nobody claims it, they’ll pull it out and tell the flight...

I keep seeing posts about people with assigned seats having to stash their bags way in the back, then fight upstream to get to their seat because others toss bags in the first open bin they see. I’ve been flying for 30+ years and honestly haven’t experienced this in a big way....

About to board in San Diego and the gate agent made an announcement I have never heard before. They said seats are assigned based on load distribution and you cannot change your assigned seat after boarding because it could throw the plane off balance. On a regular sized...

This is my first time at an airport and I am traveling alone, so I am a bit nervous. I already went through TSA and now I am sitting at my gate, but nobody has scanned my ticket yet. Do I need to go to a desk before boarding time to get it scanned? Or does that happen later? My...

I see this all the time and it drives me nuts. Roller in one bin, backpack in another, coat spread out like it bought a ticket too. Meanwhile someone three rows back is circling looking for a single inch of space. On a 717 especially, those bins aren’t huge to begin with. If...

The old system rewarded effort. If you were disciplined about checking in right at T-24, you could usually land a solid seat without paying extra. That felt fair to a lot of people who weren’t A-List but were consistent. Now it’s basically pay to sit where you want, and boarding...

Every time I see a line forming on the jet bridge for valet bags, I think I understand how lines work. Then someone just walks straight to the front and stands there like that’s completely normal. No hesitation, no eye contact, just… new system I guess.

Trying to understand this. We paid for carry ons and seats in Groups 1 and 2, boarded early, and still got forced to check our bags. They said it was a full flight. What doesn’t make sense is that later boarding groups were allowed to bring theirs on. If overhead space was the...

Honestly, I’m glad to see that too. Nothing worse than sitting up front and watching half the back of the plane stuff their bags in row 5, then you board and there’s zero space left near your seat. Even if the flight isn’t full, it sets the right tone. Use the bins near your...