Southwest Airlines Launches Pilot Program To Help Families Board First — What to Know
Southwest will designate a space in the gate area where families can gather so they can pre-board before the start of the normal boarding process.
Southwest Airlines is testing a new program that will allow families with children to board first.
Ashlee Duncan/Courtesy of Southwest Airlines
The new pilot, which will be rolled out in phases throughout the first quarter of 2023, will allow families to pre-board the plane first, the airline confirmed to Travel + Leisure.
The pilot will be tested in Atlanta.
“We continuously test enhancements to our legendary Southwest Turn and other aspects of our Customer journey to evaluate effects on our Customers and Employees,” Southwest told T+L in an email. “We recently shared that we’re testing the boarding process for families at an innovation station in our network as part of a broader evaluation of passenger movement. This will take place in several phases through the first quarter of 2023 and is not an indication of a forthcoming policy change and not a Network-wide test, at this time.”
As part of the trial, Southwest will designate a space in the gate area where families can gather so they can pre-board before the start of the normal boarding process, according to the airline. There will be “several different iterations” of this during the pilot.
Southwest does not assign seats and instead offers "open seating," assigning travelers a boarding group (A, B, or C) and a position (1 through 60 or more) when they check in, according to the airline. Currently, families are welcome to board after the “A” group boards and before the “B” group.
In August, the airline introduced an option that allows travelers to upgrade their boarding number for a fee when checking in. Southwest also offers an "EarlyBird Check-In," which will automatically check customers in for their flight before the typical 24-hour check-in period, also ensuring a more desirable boarding slot.
Over the summer, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) called on U.S. airlines to stop charging families to sit together on a flight.
Other airlines have differing policies. Delta Air Lines, for example, has rolled out dynamic seat maps that block off certain rows in the main cabin so only groups of three or more people traveling together can book them.
Low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines, on the other hand, charges for seat assignments or randomly assigns them at check-in.
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