Stop Southwest Airlines Family PreBoard Policy Changes

Tell SouthWest to Change Their Family Pre-Board Policy

NOTE:  Please read the comment policy and the About Us section before you proceed.

Are you outraged with Southwest's new revised family pre-board policy in which parents and their children under 4 no longer pre-board?

!!! Then sign our online petition here !!! (Note:  This is a "campaign".  You must certify that you are a parent of a child that uses Southwest or you will not be allowed to sign the petition)

Are you a parent of a toddler who has had it with air travel?

We have.

Do you know that Southwest changed their pre-board policy 10.02.2007 so that families with small children no longer pre-board but must wait until Group A has already boarded?

• We call it A and a half boarding. 
• We also call it outrageous and extremely short sighted for Southwest.

I know that, as a parent of a toddler, the Southwest pre-board policy is a real negative change that may have my family moving our business to another airline.  Here is a great quote from the San Francisco Chronicle:

"... Southwest had become our preferred carrier," wrote Dyana, on Wednesday. "It gives Southwest that characteristic 'nice' vibe. This change puts Southwest right back in the pool as just another unsatisfying option," she said.

 

Sign this online petition to let Southwest know your thoughts and that you want this to change.  Let Southwest know that families are also business travelers and that families grow up and that they travel.

"We know that you have a choice in making your travel arrangements.  Thanks for selecting Southwest."   

Not any longer.

Shaun Dakin

CEO and Founder

The National Political Do Not Contact Registry

StopPoliticalCalls.org

Southwest Air Faces Record $10.2 Million Fine For Safety Abuses

Yet another reason not to ride SW.  What happened to the LUV?

From the New York Times today.   Full story at this link.

WASHINGTON  — The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a record penalty of $10.2 million against Southwest Airlines on Thursday, saying the carrier had continued to fly 46 Boeing 737s that it said it had grounded because they had not been properly inspected for fuselage cracks.

At least one F.A.A. employee was aware of the airline’s misrepresentation, and told the airline it could keep flying the planes but that it should inspect them as soon as possible, an agency spokeswoman said. A supervisor at the F.A.A. who was aware of the arrangement has been removed from that job, said the spokeswoman, Diane Spitalieri.

The inspector general of the Transportation Department is investigating the F.A.A.’s handling of the incident, which occurred over several days last March, at the request of the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Four of the planes had four-inch-long cracks, requiring repairs, said Ms. Spitalieri, although no deaths or injuries resulted.

“They knowingly flew those aircraft,” Ms. Spitalieri said. “They knew they shouldn’t be.”

A spokeswoman for the airline, Beth Harbin, said six of the planes had “the start of small cracking.”

   

StopSouthwestPreboard.com in the news Again

We were in the news again with a great article in the Arizona Republic this weekend.

Here is a clip:

Shaun Dakin, a frequent-flying Virginia father of a 3-year-old, thinks the new rule is unfair:

"It adds to the stress of traveling with children," he said.

He started a Web site, www.stop southwestpreboard.com, to urge Southwest to change its policy. He's trying to get 2,000 Southwest fliers to agree to take business elsewhere. But he's taking his breakup with the airline hard.

Dakin has been flying Southwest since he was a graduate student at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, graduating in 1995. He used to drive out of his way to fly the airline, but doesn't plan to fly it again anytime soon.

"I loved the low prices. I loved the great customer service," he said. "I expected more from them, and I was just really disappointed."

Families MIA - Dallas Morning News Video Of New Boarding Procedure - NO Interviews With Families With Children

Interesting that this latest clip from the Dallas Morning News showing the new boarding procedure does not show any families with children.

There are a few quotes from business travelers as well as an older couple.  Families are MIA.

This is clear evidence that Southwest's family values are disappearing (losing the LUV) and they are attempting to service the business traveler. 

I guess they forgot that the business traveler also has a family.

Here is a link to the clip.

Don't forget to sign the petition!

Contest - Create Your Family Videos To Tell Southwest What You Really Think

What better way to show Southwest what we think than videos and photos from parents and children?

What:   Submit your YouTube videos with your family asking Southwest to change their preboard policy.  OR your photos of the chaos that is boarding at Southwest.

Be creative, be funny, but tell the Southwest big wigs that this is an important issue and it will impact their bottom line.

How:   Simply upload them to YouTube and then send us note via email and we'll post them to this website.

You'll be famous!

LUV Lost - Southwest I never knew ya

LUV Lost.  Can I get it back?

It started 20 years ago.   I had been flirting with a young upstart fun airline.  I had heard through the grapevine that they were different.   They were fun.  Heck their Flight Attendants wore shorts!

So, it began.   Cheap, clean, fun.   Particularly for a young man out of college looking to save money.

Then I moved into Southwest territory, Phoenix, for business school and learned to LUV Southwest for quick, cheap and fun flights to interview for jobs, enjoy Las Vegas, and get to San Diego!

The relationship continued strongly as I grew up, got a job, married and had a wonderful son.

As the son was born my Wife and I continued to use SW to get to family reunions and vacation events.   The preboard policy was perfect for harried parents of a new born and we enjoyed the customer service and care that we received.   That was 2004.

Now, the LUV is lost.   

Last week, traveling alone with my 3.5 year old son, I was looking forward to a trip from BWI to PVD for a short vacation.   I checked in online, got to the airport early, bought some food for us and decided to saunter on down to the gate agent and get my stroller checked in for preboarding.

Innocently she asked me, "Do you know about our new preboard policy?"

"No," I answered.

She told me that children were no longer considered part of the preboard and handed me a leaflet that explained that 10.02.2007 the policy changed.  The leaflet was like a divorce paper.  Sterile, produced in a "legal" department somewhere in the bowels of Southwest. 

All "fun" was gone. 

All the guises of "customer service" was missing.

The LUV was lost.

SouthWest Airlines Customer Service Contact Information

Once you have signed the petition online, take a moment to call SouthWest's Customer Service Center in Dallas Directly and tell them that you are not satisfied with this preboard policy for families traveling with children.

• 214-792-4223 Option #2

Or you can write to them at:

Southwest Airlines
V.P. Customer Relations
P.O. Box 36647
Dallas, TX
75235-1647