Assigned Seats on Southwest??

Well, that would be music to our ears, although we probably wouldn't be getting $37 flights to Orlando anymore!! Truth be told, Southwest is awesome if you are flying alone, can sign in via the internet for that coveted "A" ticket and then make it early to the airport to line up in the "A" line hoping that families with babies don't take all the good seats!! While we loved the rate last year, I have to say the entire experience flying a family of four to Orlando was very stressful for all these reasons. What if we can't sit together? What if we don't all get "A" tickets? Can we make it to the airport on time?

Not to mention, I had the stomach flu all night before the morning we were to leave that January. When we called the airline to see if there was any way to change our flight out (in the middle of a snowstorm) they replied, "Yes, there is, for about $300! A person!" When you purchase a $37 one way ticket, you don't shorten your stay for another $1200!! They were not at all accommodating for contagiously ill patrons - not good news for it's customers. Fortunately, with an even worse snowstorm brewing we WERE able to change our return flight due to BWI closing. Great news because by that time Em (and probably several of my fellow passengers that fateful day) had the stomach flu and there was no way she could have pulled off a flight home the way I had pulled off the flight down there.

All in all, just having assigned seats would make Southwest once again my first choice for travel. We are not picky travelers, but for this summer's trip, we switched to JetBlue for many reasons, first being we knew we could get seats for 5 people together. We also knew we could get a non-stop flight (as opposed to one that had one stop in Paris, or some other out of the way destination!), which is important when taking kids on such a long flight. Comfort was our remaining factor, and we've heard nothing but great things where comfort is involved with JetBlue. Southwest? Well, let's just say, been there, done that, not going there this time!