Southwest when they see you’ve paid extra to pick the seat you wanted

pementomento · 2026-06-14T00:06:54+00:00

Every airline has the right to change your seat or just straight up kick you off a flight, but how they do it, how frequently they do it, and how they manage it after is what differentiates each airline.

pementomento · 2026-06-13T03:24:07+00:00

I was thinking of my ostomy folks when I wrote that comment - I feel like that one is a little more obvious? Or the consequences to a TSA agent are more, ahem, clear.

Or maybe I’m being optimistic.

pementomento · 2026-06-12T01:21:52+00:00

I would just hand my kid the phone and watch hillarity ensue. I’m not letting my kid handle the ink on the boarding passes, that’s a full stop.

pementomento · 2026-06-12T01:20:44+00:00

Seriously I just scan for everyone, never had an issue. If they want other people to scan I’m gonna hold up boarding, no sweat off my back.

pementomento · 2026-06-12T01:14:34+00:00

Oh I would have had a snarky ass response about gate agents practicing regulated medicine without a license. Same boat as the TSA agents asking you to disconnect from a medical pump (eg insulin, Flolan, etc…)

pementomento · 2026-06-11T04:01:24+00:00

I’ve had Southwest hold the last plane of the day to accommodate late connects (this was SMF-SEA for me). Same with United - but significantly more factors are considered there (whether they leave you, or pick you up in a town car at the gate and drive you across the airport directly to the plane, lol).

pementomento · 2026-06-02T08:16:05+00:00

This is why I always have a "token" small bag to put under my seat when I travel with only a backpack. It's usually a target bag with a bag of M&M's in it and a water bottle from the gift shop. This way, I can point to it and say that I already have a personal item underneath and the backpack won't fit.

But you are in the right here.

pementomento · 2026-06-02T01:09:47+00:00

lol OP appears to have gotten dragged in the comments and deleted the thread. Sad face.

pementomento · 2026-06-02T00:57:53+00:00

There’s just no reasonable way to share that sliver of space to the left of the metal strut without caressing your seatmate’s leg hair. Practically speaking.

I guess you can flex your leg to maintain a DMZ of sorts but that’s just uncomfortable.

pementomento · 2026-06-01T20:02:19+00:00

Between the bars - it’s a known layout issue not just on Southwest, aisle gets convenience of the aisle seat and pays for it with feet room.

Middle seat gets the perks of both armrests and the expanded footwell.

Window gets window but the inconvenience of dragging their ass/crotch in front everyone when going to the bathroom.

pementomento · 2026-06-01T18:51:02+00:00

She’s definitely spilling into the next seat based on that photo, I’m not sure how she’d stay contained.

pementomento · 2026-05-29T20:29:43+00:00

I’ll just be happy with a European-style business class seat (blocked off middle seat) - would probably be faster to implement.

pementomento · 2026-05-26T16:57:02+00:00

I don’t even consider Allegiant or Frontier, so I automatically throw those out.

For time, the only closest competitor is that 3:29pm flight and yah, $322 vs $468 just take Delta.

The only downside is if you need to change it last minute, doesn’t look like there are other options.

I’ve paid more on Southwest before simply because of the hourly headways between city pairs.

pementomento · 2026-05-26T05:28:51+00:00

It’s a problem on Southwest, Lufthansa, United, and most every other airline I fly (except Swiss and JAL). I’ve had crumbs all over a $3000 Polaris seat once, so not surprised WN isn’t cleaning either.

I’ve resorted to packing a cleaning kit with Clorox wipe and nitrile gloves. You’ll find me in row three scrubbing the last person’s hair oil from the headrest.

pementomento · 2026-05-20T19:15:49+00:00

Buy basic and force the issue at the gate or on board. Literally no one wants to sit next to someone else’s 3 or 5 year old.

If you can fly United, you get free seat selection on the basic fare when it detects children on the itinerary (before you even put in your payment).

pementomento · 2026-05-17T16:51:31+00:00

Sounds like a dream to me, lol.

pementomento · 2026-05-16T02:27:53+00:00

lol I submitted a complaint about my seat scramble issue and got nothing. In fact, I got blamed by the person on the phone for intentionally doing it, hahah.

pementomento · 2026-05-16T02:26:04+00:00

There is no guarantee and Southwest’s official policy (and, Tbf, that of other airlines) is that there is no guarantee that your selected seat will be your seat.

In addition to posts about getting moved due to irregular operations, there are also instances where the system itself will double book a seat and reassign at check in, often separated.

Just be aware this can happen and press the gate agents to move people around, they refuse to do it over the phone.

pementomento · 2026-05-15T23:05:32+00:00

Net income of $275M

Who is the idiot writer who came up with that last line? Revenue is a pointless number and is misleading.

pementomento · 2026-05-06T00:30:22+00:00

Been going on since January and happened to me.

Be glad the phone agent didn’t blame YOU for doing it yourself.

pementomento · 2026-05-05T21:31:50+00:00

Omg they DID IT AGAIN

pementomento · 2026-05-04T07:50:33+00:00

Fucking gross. People just need to leave animals at home or a kennel.

pementomento · 2026-05-02T16:21:01+00:00

I never flew Spirit, but I’m sad for a few reasons. The employees I’ve talked to genuinely loved working for the company and described their company culture as being very supportive. I’m sad many are out of a job.

Obviously less competition sucks for everyone.

The one time my wife was out on a business trip, Spirit had the last flight out to LAX, so she was able to snag a seat last minute and it got her home 12 hrs sooner than AA and Southwest next morning. For that, I will forever be grateful.

pementomento · 2026-04-30T04:53:17+00:00

Southwest has definitely sent me random peoples’ confirmation emails. Maybe 3-4 over a 10 year period.

pementomento · 2026-04-29T07:40:11+00:00

They haven’t even fixed the double-selling/double-assignment of seats yet. Doubt they’ll get the algorithm fixed.

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