Weird experiences lately in BC
Dec 5, 2013, 9:39 pm
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: Avis Preferred Plus
Posts: 622
They should have thrown that idiot out of the plane if he refused to move. On one flight, one lady was screaming at the WN rep at the gate that she deserved to sit with her family. Why the hell didn't she book on the AirTran website if she wanted the luxury of seat assignments and get them for free at the 24 hour checkin?
The WN rep was so rattled at the end of the boarding process, he was asking people to hurry iup and sit wherever.One lady ended up sitting in BC and then a late arriving passenger arrived and this ladywho was sitting in his seat had to move, but she didn't make it clear she was just sitting in the first availale seat. She also said she misplaced her Boarding pass and didn't know which one was her seat
The WN rep was so rattled at the end of the boarding process, he was asking people to hurry iup and sit wherever.One lady ended up sitting in BC and then a late arriving passenger arrived and this ladywho was sitting in his seat had to move, but she didn't make it clear she was just sitting in the first availale seat. She also said she misplaced her Boarding pass and didn't know which one was her seat
Dec 5, 2013, 10:16 pm
#17
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,813
The entire incident was handled quite amicably. The young lady was quite pleasant and the guy never got excited. The FA's were merely following the line of least resistance. If it had been me I would have retreated to the doorway and insisted the FA's provide the seat I had selected or an upgrade 
I am convinced this and other related issues will only ever be straightened out if Southwest goes to assigned seating.
FWIW - I noted an error in the seat numbers mentioned in my last comment and have corrected it.
I am convinced this and other related issues will only ever be straightened out if Southwest goes to assigned seating.
FWIW - I noted an error in the seat numbers mentioned in my last comment and have corrected it.
Dec 21, 2013, 9:47 pm
#18
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: ORD
Programs: AA EXP,2MM, DL Gold,Starwood PLT
Posts: 3,876
I got upgraded last month from HOU-ATL. Got in after all the BC passengers. u BC was NOT full. yet all the overhead bin space was full. I only had one laptop bag. Since I am tall, I prefer to put it above me. Some airtran employees hogged one of the bin spaces with a lot of their gear. FA was kind of curt and told me to place it near my feet. I wonder where the other two BCs would have put theirbags if BC sold out instead.
THen I had a flight from PBI-ATL 3 weeks ago. The FA told one idiot that he could sit in my seat 1D when he goofily asked her if he could sit there(according to the guy in 1F who told me whathappened after the flight). I walk in and see my seat occupied by goofball. Then the goofball feigns confusion about his seat number and stands around looking confused. At no point, the FAs ask him to leave. I see an empty seat in 3F and since I prefer that seat anyway, decide to take that seat and since I was last on the plane, I had a feeling 3F was a no show in a full BC.
Then I had a flight from ATL-PHL last week. I am given 1D at the ticket counter when checking in my bag. Since I already got upgraded, I decide to take my sweet time going to the gate. I arrive at the gate 20 -25 min early. The GA scans my boarding pass and tells me that something was wrong and directs me to the main gate counter further away from the door. The lady told me she gave away my ticket to someone else. I am not happy. But I can't demand anything as it is a free upgrade. I asked if my exit row seat was still there. She said yes. When I walk in, I notice 2 empty seats in BC and tell the FAs what happened andasked them if they could let me upgrade if the no shows remained no shows. They dont show up. THere are two Airtran FAs sitting in Row 4. The FAs to their credit ask me to go to the BC cabin before departing. Those FAs in row 4 probably hogged the overhead speace again in BC and despite 2 no shows, the BC bins were already full. So I had to put my bag underneath again. I talked to the lady next to me and she told me she was on a buddy pass and she got upgraded at the gate. Shouldnt the Ga have waited until the last minute before giving a buddy pass passenger on standby the opportunity to get the upgrade?
PHL-ATL today: I have someone with me on my reservation. So i go the GA 50 min before departure since he made some announcement of someone needing to pick their boarding pass . I asked him how the elite upgrades looked. He said you can pay 89 bucks. even if he misunderstood my question, it's ony 69. When I repeated ELTE, he asked me for my name. I then reminded him my mom was on my reservation too. he then told me upgrades were only for elites and not anyone else. I told him she was on my reservation. This guy is a Southwest guy. He looked confused for asec, but processed the upgrade anyway. He kind of mumbled that there might not be seats together. I said that's not a problem. But he ended up giving us two seats next to each other anyway. There ended up being 3 empty seats in BC after all that.
THen I had a flight from PBI-ATL 3 weeks ago. The FA told one idiot that he could sit in my seat 1D when he goofily asked her if he could sit there(according to the guy in 1F who told me whathappened after the flight). I walk in and see my seat occupied by goofball. Then the goofball feigns confusion about his seat number and stands around looking confused. At no point, the FAs ask him to leave. I see an empty seat in 3F and since I prefer that seat anyway, decide to take that seat and since I was last on the plane, I had a feeling 3F was a no show in a full BC.
Then I had a flight from ATL-PHL last week. I am given 1D at the ticket counter when checking in my bag. Since I already got upgraded, I decide to take my sweet time going to the gate. I arrive at the gate 20 -25 min early. The GA scans my boarding pass and tells me that something was wrong and directs me to the main gate counter further away from the door. The lady told me she gave away my ticket to someone else. I am not happy. But I can't demand anything as it is a free upgrade. I asked if my exit row seat was still there. She said yes. When I walk in, I notice 2 empty seats in BC and tell the FAs what happened andasked them if they could let me upgrade if the no shows remained no shows. They dont show up. THere are two Airtran FAs sitting in Row 4. The FAs to their credit ask me to go to the BC cabin before departing. Those FAs in row 4 probably hogged the overhead speace again in BC and despite 2 no shows, the BC bins were already full. So I had to put my bag underneath again. I talked to the lady next to me and she told me she was on a buddy pass and she got upgraded at the gate. Shouldnt the Ga have waited until the last minute before giving a buddy pass passenger on standby the opportunity to get the upgrade?
PHL-ATL today: I have someone with me on my reservation. So i go the GA 50 min before departure since he made some announcement of someone needing to pick their boarding pass . I asked him how the elite upgrades looked. He said you can pay 89 bucks. even if he misunderstood my question, it's ony 69. When I repeated ELTE, he asked me for my name. I then reminded him my mom was on my reservation too. he then told me upgrades were only for elites and not anyone else. I told him she was on my reservation. This guy is a Southwest guy. He looked confused for asec, but processed the upgrade anyway. He kind of mumbled that there might not be seats together. I said that's not a problem. But he ended up giving us two seats next to each other anyway. There ended up being 3 empty seats in BC after all that.
Dec 23, 2013, 9:23 am
#19
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: East Coast
Programs: AA CONCIERGE KEY & 1MM, HILTON DIAMOND
Posts: 11,970
Dec 23, 2013, 9:18 pm
#20
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,813
I wish I could worry about these issues for the foreseeable future. Airtran is a superior product. Every change made by Southwest has eroded my flight experience and raised my cost. 
Dec 24, 2013, 1:00 am
#21
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: ATL
Programs: Delta Platinum, WN A-List Preferred, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 296
I think it's safe to say that there isn't a single benefit for FL Elites now suffering through this painful transition to WN. Especially those based in ATL. It's just a travesty what WN is doing to this market...and it ain't gonna get any better by the end of the year while we watch our final perks - BC, assigned seating, low fares -- disappear.
Dec 24, 2013, 7:06 am
#22
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: Avis Preferred Plus
Posts: 622
The annoying thing is Delta is doing so well financially now that they may not feel desperate to undercut WN especially with WN no longer being a low fare leader. Delta will be happy that they do not have to match the low prices on direct routes that AirTran would have.
And with WN taking over AirTran's traffic, there won't be much room for a new airline to come in and get enough volume needed as a buffer to be a low fare leader on the kind of routes AirTran used to go after in addition to the big routes.
I am just flabbergasted how the WN crowd actually think unassigned seating is still a superior idea in the age of online booking where any user can pick one's seat in advance with convenient seating charts that were not this directly accessible to the average traveler in the 90s.
And with WN taking over AirTran's traffic, there won't be much room for a new airline to come in and get enough volume needed as a buffer to be a low fare leader on the kind of routes AirTran used to go after in addition to the big routes.
I am just flabbergasted how the WN crowd actually think unassigned seating is still a superior idea in the age of online booking where any user can pick one's seat in advance with convenient seating charts that were not this directly accessible to the average traveler in the 90s.
Dec 24, 2013, 8:31 am
#23
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,813
I just flew a Holiday Run, three flights in 3 days. One on Southwest, One BC on a mixed itinerary booked at Airtran and one on Airtran booked at Southwest.
The Southwest Flight went fine I even got and unexpected TSA Pre.
On the mixed itinerary the initial Southwest Flight was running late. Since I was flying Business Class I asked to be put on an earlier flight (also running late) which would guarantee I would make my connection. The Southwest GA could not figure out how to change the flight and tried to talk me out of the change since I might still be able to make my connection. He also said BS was sold out so I wouldn't get the same boarding order (we were A-1 & 2). My wife called Airtran Elite and they changed it in a few seconds and we got a low boarding numbers (A-11 & 12). Turned out out original flight was delayed again and I would have missed my connection. On the good side our luggage made the change and ended up on the right plane. I did discover that in spite of the bar codes that are put on bags they apparently do not track bags in real time. The Baggage Office at our destination could not tell us whether the bag made the flight or not. As we were departing we also witnessed a bag fall off a carts and get left on the tarmac.
The final flight, Airtran booked on Southwest, when I got to the gate at T-40 the seat map showed 7 unassigned seats in BC. I asked the GA to upgrade us (we are both Elite) she put us off. Sitting in the gate I watched as the number of seats starts going down we asked again and were put off again. Finally my wife was pleasantly insistent and eventually the GA told her she could not reassign seats on a Southwest itinerary. We called Airtran Elite, and they could not do anything. We didn't try calling the A-List line. She marked up our boarding passes and we got upgraded. Most of the other 7 seats appeared to be Airtran or Southwest employees I know at least 3 were for sure.
Ain't Integration Grand?
The Southwest Flight went fine I even got and unexpected TSA Pre.
On the mixed itinerary the initial Southwest Flight was running late. Since I was flying Business Class I asked to be put on an earlier flight (also running late) which would guarantee I would make my connection. The Southwest GA could not figure out how to change the flight and tried to talk me out of the change since I might still be able to make my connection. He also said BS was sold out so I wouldn't get the same boarding order (we were A-1 & 2). My wife called Airtran Elite and they changed it in a few seconds and we got a low boarding numbers (A-11 & 12). Turned out out original flight was delayed again and I would have missed my connection. On the good side our luggage made the change and ended up on the right plane. I did discover that in spite of the bar codes that are put on bags they apparently do not track bags in real time. The Baggage Office at our destination could not tell us whether the bag made the flight or not. As we were departing we also witnessed a bag fall off a carts and get left on the tarmac.
The final flight, Airtran booked on Southwest, when I got to the gate at T-40 the seat map showed 7 unassigned seats in BC. I asked the GA to upgrade us (we are both Elite) she put us off. Sitting in the gate I watched as the number of seats starts going down we asked again and were put off again. Finally my wife was pleasantly insistent and eventually the GA told her she could not reassign seats on a Southwest itinerary. We called Airtran Elite, and they could not do anything. We didn't try calling the A-List line. She marked up our boarding passes and we got upgraded. Most of the other 7 seats appeared to be Airtran or Southwest employees I know at least 3 were for sure.
Ain't Integration Grand?
Dec 25, 2013, 12:11 am
#24
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: ATL
Programs: Delta Platinum, WN A-List Preferred, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 296
The annoying thing is Delta is doing so well financially now that they may not feel desperate to undercut WN especially with WN no longer being a low fare leader. Delta will be happy that they do not have to match the low prices on direct routes that AirTran would have.
And with WN taking over AirTran's traffic, there won't be much room for a new airline to come in and get enough volume needed as a buffer to be a low fare leader on the kind of routes AirTran used to go after in addition to the big routes.
I am just flabbergasted how the WN crowd actually think unassigned seating is still a superior idea in the age of online booking where any user can pick one's seat in advance with convenient seating charts that were not this directly accessible to the average traveler in the 90s.
And with WN taking over AirTran's traffic, there won't be much room for a new airline to come in and get enough volume needed as a buffer to be a low fare leader on the kind of routes AirTran used to go after in addition to the big routes.
I am just flabbergasted how the WN crowd actually think unassigned seating is still a superior idea in the age of online booking where any user can pick one's seat in advance with convenient seating charts that were not this directly accessible to the average traveler in the 90s.
And I join you in the land of the flabbergasted about the WN fans who love unassigned seating. The handful of times I've been forced to fly WN, that whole boarding/seating thing was more stressful than flying in turbulence with a toddler kicking the back of my chair. Just not my thing.
And I also love how they think they're getting free bags. Yeah. Check those fares. On many routes now, at least out of ATL, Delta is $30-$50 cheaper than WN. You're getting nada for free on WN.
Jan 14, 2014, 12:29 pm
#25
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,813
I have a new one.
Wife A-List, A+ Elite has ticket booked through Southwest using Standard Award transferred from Airtran Credits arrives at the gate and is told points flights cannot be upgraded!. This is a direct conflict with written confirmation from CS. Called Airtran Customer Service, they transferred me to Southwest Customer Service (a first hooray!). Southwest confirmed CS confirmed I was right. Said whe would try to fix it, put me on hold.
Wife waiting at gate. Flight boarding. They are trying to contact the gate to fix it.
Wife told to sit in Business. Victory.
Meanwhile back in the queue get another Southwest agent who denied eligibility for upgrades.
Wife A-List, A+ Elite has ticket booked through Southwest using Standard Award transferred from Airtran Credits arrives at the gate and is told points flights cannot be upgraded!. This is a direct conflict with written confirmation from CS. Called Airtran Customer Service, they transferred me to Southwest Customer Service (a first hooray!). Southwest confirmed CS confirmed I was right. Said whe would try to fix it, put me on hold.
Wife waiting at gate. Flight boarding. They are trying to contact the gate to fix it.
Wife told to sit in Business. Victory.
Meanwhile back in the queue get another Southwest agent who denied eligibility for upgrades.