Originally Posted by
justhere
Must be really nice to be able bodied and not have to worry about this stuff.
Most preboarders need assistance
boarding, not
sitting. I would love to not have to preboard as the reason that I have to preboard affects many aspects of life not just getting on a plane. I realize that many people's issue with preboarding is the abuse of it. I get that and agree with those people. It's those that legitimately need it and are being lumped in with everyone else that I have a problem with.
And if someone is preboarding because they need to I have no issue with it. But their entire family shouldn't be preboarding with them and the person boarding with them should take the middle seat. If they need assistance to getting their seat they are probably going to need assistance from that person going to the lav or deplaning.
I broke my femur a few years ago and couldn't weight bear for a few months. While I didn't fly during that time period, if I would have flown on WN and had a companion preboard with me (which I would have needed to stow my bag) I wouldn't have had an issue at all asking him to sit in the middle seat or me taking the middle and him an aisle.
Fortunately I didn't have to fly until after I was walking without an assistance device and until I was fully recovered I didn't chose an exit row on any flight.
And I know people needing assistance also suffer as a result of people abusing the system. There were several times when I was on crutches I couldn't find a handicap parking space or had to wait on a cart at a store.