Outrage as Southwest passengers use dirty trick to abuse pre-boarding process

Frequent flyers are not pleased with Southwest Airlines' aggravating pre-boarding process. 

According to the New York Post, travelers who fly with Southwest called out passengers who take advantage of the airline's relaxed attitude for those who 'need a little extra time' to board a plane.

Passengers also discussed the issue on Reddit, leading to a Southwest Airlines subreddit moderator writing in November 2023 that 'posts regarding pre-boarding' will be scrutinized.

'It seems very little information or helpful perspectives are being shared on this topic, and we have no interest in this sub being used as a sounding board for ill-informed, unsympathetic Redditors,' the moderator wrote.

Steve Maziarka shared his unfortunate Southwest experience with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) earlier this month.

Frequent flyers have been complaining about the amount of Southwest Airlines passengers that could be taking advantage of its relaxed attitude about assigned seating 

Reddit users complained about pre-boarding and it led to Southwest Airlines creating a post in November 2023 to indicate that comments about the issues would be scrutinized 

Maziarka, an account manager from Illinois, noticed about 30 pre-boarders in line on his Southwest flight from Denver to Chicago on Thanksgiving weekend.

He noticed just as many pre-boarders were in line while he was flying back to Chicago from Philadelphia in February.

Pre-boarders had an advantage in getting on their Southwest flight early since the airline does not have an assigned seat policy.

However, this didn't work in Maziarka's favor, and he was left with little seat choices on both of his flights.

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'People are taking advantage of the system,' says Maziarka, who has a top frequent-flyer status with Southwest. 'It’s just gotten out of control.'

He 'wasted plenty of time' trying to solve the pre-boarding problem, but he has since reached a dead end.

Several Reddit users wrote similar opinions on Southwest's pre-boarding post, and one person referred to the abuse as 'a real issue.'

'Stifling the attention & discussion around this issue because of a few bad actors who don’t recognize hidden disabilities as a real thing detracts from legit Redditor discussion,' they added. 

Passenger Steve Maziarka described his bad experiences with the Airline in November 2023 and February 2024

Reddit users shared similar stories and opinions based on Maziarka's experiences on the post that was created by Southwest Airlines in response to the pre-boarding complaints 

Mike Worley discussed with the WSJ how Southwest's mayhem had led him to fly more with Delta Airlines.

Regarding Delta, Worthley said: 'You just never see pre-boarders go up to the counter en masse to get on.'

Worley has managed to be part of a Southwest flight's first boarding group, but it sometimes still leads him to the back of the plane.

'Ten or 12 rows back is 10 minutes to get off the plane. That's crucial time to me,' said Worley. 

Chris Perry, a Southwest spokesperson, shared a brief statement with the Wall Street Journal about the matter. 

Perry emphasized that all airlines must allow passengers with a disability who 'self-identify' at the gate to pre-board flights.

Chris Perry, a Southwest spokesperson, emphasized that all airlines must allow a traveler who identifies as a person with a disability be allowed to pre-board an aircraft

Southwest officials responded to at least three pre-boarding complaints made by X users this week with a word-for-word response

Depending on the disability or medical issue, passengers could take a while to board the aircraft.

Southwest Airlines officials have also responded to pre-boarding complaints made by their travelers on X this week.

'Pre-boarding is offered to customers needing assistance for various reasons,' they wrote.

'We work hard to maintain the integrity of the boarding process while providing appropriate accommodations for all who fly.'

Southwest officials added another tweet in their pre-boarding statement that the airlines is not able to question if one of their flyers truly has a disability since many of them 'aren't visible.'

These two tweets have been word-for-word responses to complaints made by at least three X users.