With the news on Allegiant, I'm looking at other options for our trip in May. I already bought our tickets with Allegiant but I just don't think I can step foot in one of their planes now.
I'm looking at driving 2-3hrs to another airport and fly Jet Blue and/or Southwest. Our cheapest option would be to fly Jet Blue one way and Southwest on our return.
Can you tell me about the following regarding each airline?
I've never flown on Jet Blue but we fly Southwest often. There are no assigned seats, instead there are assigned boarding positions and you can choose any open seat once you board. You can check in 24 hours in advance of the flight, and get a decent boarding position. If you don't want to deal with that, you can pay $15/person for early bird check in and you will be automatically checked in - I have always received a first group boarding when doing so.
We have flown southwest several times and i love them. They are our preferred airline over any other. Everything (in my opinion) is hassle free. Their boarding depends on when you check in for your flight. The sooner you do, the earlier you get to board. If you’re flying with children or in the military, you can board after group a boarders.
I’ve not flown jet blue.
We’ve never had a bad experience with southwest. When we flew with our girls, they were fantastic!!
Post by lucygoosey on Apr 16, 2018 19:51:56 GMT -5
I only fly JetBlue.
They offer priority boarding to people travelling with kids under the age of 2 or you can purchase an Even More Space seat which costs $50/person and boards before everyone else.
These seats are usually the first 5 rows on the plane and the exit rows so an added perk of sitting in the front is you can exit the plane sooner at your destination.
I've never flown SW, but have flown Jet Blue a ton. Yes, they charge for checked bags. I never travel with checked luggage, but always volunteer when they ask if anyone will gate check their bags. They priority board for certain customers, but since we choose our seats ahead of time it's not a big deal. Jet Blue also has snacks, wi-fi, and tv and the seat room is good for my hubby who is 6'1" .
I would fly JetBlue for every trip if I could but they only fly one route out of here.
I find that Southwest is a mixed bag, but I would consider it miles better than Allegiant. I'm one of those people who hates the whole no assigned seats aspect of it. It's fine when I'm on my own, but it stresses me out when I'm with my kids. That being said, we still fly them a good bit when we're going to the west coast because there are more options for us.
I fly Southwest a lot for work. 2 bags are free. Either you can check in 24 hours prior to your flight time (and if you go this route I suggest doing it exactly 24 hours before you board - to the second or you can pay $10 each way (I believe it's still $10) to get preferred seating in the A line (SWA boards in numerical order A 1 - 60, then families with children, then B 1 - 60, then C 1 - 60). You can sit anywhere on the plane you want. The earlier you are in the line, obviously the earlier you get to choose your seat.
If you are checking your bags I wouldn't be overly concerned with where you fall - I mean, you might get a middle seat but typically the flights aren't that long on SWA. If you aren't checking your bags, usually all of B has room in the overhead. Depending on destination it gets iffy in the C line.
I fly Southwest a lot for work. 2 bags are free. Either you can check in 24 hours prior to your flight time (and if you go this route I suggest doing it exactly 24 hours before you board - to the second or you can pay $10 each way (I believe it's still $10) to get preferred seating in the A line (SWA boards in numerical order A 1 - 60, then families with children, then B 1 - 60, then C 1 - 60). You can sit anywhere on the plane you want. The earlier you are in the line, obviously the earlier you get to choose your seat.
If you are checking your bags I wouldn't be overly concerned with where you fall - I mean, you might get a middle seat but typically the flights aren't that long on SWA. If you aren't checking your bags, usually all of B has room in the overhead. Depending on destination it gets iffy in the C line.
I fly Southwest a lot for work. 2 bags are free. Either you can check in 24 hours prior to your flight time (and if you go this route I suggest doing it exactly 24 hours before you board - to the second or you can pay $10 each way (I believe it's still $10) to get preferred seating in the A line (SWA boards in numerical order A 1 - 60, then families with children, then B 1 - 60, then C 1 - 60). You can sit anywhere on the plane you want. The earlier you are in the line, obviously the earlier you get to choose your seat.
If you are checking your bags I wouldn't be overly concerned with where you fall - I mean, you might get a middle seat but typically the flights aren't that long on SWA. If you aren't checking your bags, usually all of B has room in the overhead. Depending on destination it gets iffy in the C line.
Overall I love flying with SWA.
You're not guaranteed an A position with the fee.
Right. Because what if everyone paid the fee? Lol You can buy A 1-15 for, like, $55 I think, though.
We have flown southwest several times and i love them. They are our preferred airline over any other. Everything (in my opinion) is hassle free. Their boarding depends on when you check in for your flight. The sooner you do, the earlier you get to board. If you’re flying with children or in the military, you can board after group a boarders.
I’ve not flown jet blue.
We’ve never had a bad experience with southwest. When we flew with our girls, they were fantastic!!
I have a 4yo and 8yo. What's the age limit to board after group A?
We have flown southwest several times and i love them. They are our preferred airline over any other. Everything (in my opinion) is hassle free. Their boarding depends on when you check in for your flight. The sooner you do, the earlier you get to board. If you’re flying with children or in the military, you can board after group a boarders.
I’ve not flown jet blue.
We’ve never had a bad experience with southwest. When we flew with our girls, they were fantastic!!
I have a 4yo and 8yo. What's the age limit to board after group A?
From their website: An adult traveling with a child six years old or younger may board during Family Boarding, which occurs after the “A” group has boarded and before the “B” group begins boarding. If the child and the adult are both holding an “A” boarding pass, they should board in their assigned boarding position.
We have flown southwest several times and i love them. They are our preferred airline over any other. Everything (in my opinion) is hassle free. Their boarding depends on when you check in for your flight. The sooner you do, the earlier you get to board. If you’re flying with children or in the military, you can board after group a boarders.
I’ve not flown jet blue.
We’ve never had a bad experience with southwest. When we flew with our girls, they were fantastic!!
I have a 4yo and 8yo. What's the age limit to board after group A?
We fly SWA a lot with our kids. It’s our preferred airline. Definitely don’t pay for the A boarding and do the family boarding. They board in between a&b so there is always good seats still available.
For Southwest with a child 6 or under your whole immediate family can board after A group. I have always been able to find the seats I want boarding then and even up to middle/end of the B group. You get 2 checked bags per person for free (kid things like carseats or strollers are free and not included in the 2 bags). I always check in right at 24 hours and have never got below a B boarding position. I fly Southwest anytime I can with my kids, they make it easy with younger kids to sit together.
Post by mrs.jacinthe on Apr 17, 2018 0:52:25 GMT -5
We have companion status on Southwest, so obviously we love SWA. But, of the two, for a cross-country flight, if JetBlue is an option on the route, take it. They have larger seats and more legroom and are just overall more comfortable. On a short flight, I just pick whatever is cheaper and/or has the better time for me. I do admit I prefer picking my seat like on SWA. I have wide shoulders and it's nice to be able to select a seat with the window that aligns with my shoulder.
If your flight is not an originating location (as in, it's coming from somewhere else and not emptying completely at your airport before you get on), be aware that even in A group, you may not be able to get great seats. That's always disappointing. I paid once for A1 and there were farking 56 through passengers. I had to sit by the bathroom to get my damn window seat. LOL
I fly Southwest for work and really like traveling with them. I love that I can swap flights easily, cancel easily and that you can actually earn something with their rewards. Hello free flights to Cabo every year! I travel them frequently with my 9 year old and we have always gotten a seat together. It’s never been an issue and when I traveled with him as an infant we did family boarding and loved all the kids stuff checked for free plus the two free bags.
We prefer Southwest, hands down. My H works at the airport (for the fire department, not an airline) and he will choose Southwest over any other airline. JetBlue, in his opinion, is decent but questionable.
Post by georgeglass on Apr 17, 2018 8:33:07 GMT -5
When we fly Southwest, we pay the extra (I think it's $12.50 now) for the Early Bird Check-in. We have always gotten A boarding spots. We have flown once - to Orlando - that they didn't do the Family Boarding (or they super-limited it) because EVERYONE on the plane was flying as a family with young-ish kids.
We prefer Southwest, hands down. My H works at the airport (for the fire department, not an airline) and he will choose Southwest over any other airline. JetBlue, in his opinion, is decent but questionable.
can you elaborate? questionable safety wise?
I'm paranoid about flying now in general after reading about Allegiant.
My H loves Jet Blue, it's his favorite because their seats are roomy, he's tall and that's the only airline he's found where he's comfortable in an economy seat.
We prefer Southwest, hands down. My H works at the airport (for the fire department, not an airline) and he will choose Southwest over any other airline. JetBlue, in his opinion, is decent but questionable.
I prefer jet blue over southwest. However where we usually fly jet blue isn't an option.
I don't like that southwest is literally stand in a line and pick any seat on the plane when your group is called. I usually get stuck in group C which is the last to board so I get stuck in the middle seat and my carry on bag which does fit in an overhead bin has to be checked because they're always full.
Whenever we fly SW they always do the family boarding after the B group, so we always pay for the early bird check-in. That's weird that its supposed to be after the A group.
We fly SW a ton and love them, but we also liked Jet Blue when we flew them in January. the leg room was nicer (and we did not have the upgraded seats) and it was nice to have the screens on every seat (I am not sure that is on every plane yet though), especially with two small kids.
laurack, goldengirlz, I'll ask him when he wakes up (he's catching up on sleep right now). I know Jetblue is one of his less favorite airlines to work with, but it could be from the business side of what he does, rather than a safety issue. Didn't mean to freak anyone out, sorry. Probably should have worded that better.
I fly Southwest for work and really like traveling with them. I love that I can swap flights easily, cancel easily and that you can actually earn something with their rewards. Hello free flights to Cabo every year! I travel them frequently with my 9 year old and we have always gotten a seat together. It’s never been an issue and when I traveled with him as an infant we did family boarding and loved all the kids stuff checked for free plus the two free bags.
We also fly SW with points (I have their credit card). I like that if the price/points drop after you reserve your flight, you can call customer service and they'll refund you the difference. They also do this if you pay cash, but they keep it in an "account" and you have a year from the original purchase date to apply it to another flight. Since A-boarding isn't guaranteed with the Early Bird, one can pay at the gate for A-boarding (usually $40 a leg, unless it's increased recently).
Well, since an engine just exploded and sucked someone partially out the window today on Southwest, I’d go with JetBlue. But I’m still taking Allegiant in a couple of weeks, so you probably shouldn’t listen to me.
ETA- I’m starting to get anxiety just thinking about flying at al.