SWA Boarding Question
Good Evening,
thought I'd ask the experts for their opinion\advice. Shoot, if you can't turn to the internet for advice you're likely to ignore where can you turn
;-)
Background info is I'm a FedEx pilot and I was traveling home on a Business Select ticket, A03 as a matter of fact.
Gate agent took pity on me, recognized the ALPA lanyard, who knows...in any case she let me meander down to board the plane early. In fact I was the 1st person to board. So, stuck my mellon into the cockpit to see if I knew\recognized the crew. (Retired A-10 guy and a lot, of A-10 guys retired out of Tucson and are domiciled in Phoenix. Same is true for a whole slew of Lawndart drivers)
Normal crew question of are you Jumping-welcome aboard, No I'm ticketed, Business Select #3 as a matter of fact...just in case the Flight Attendants get jumpy is it okay with you if I grab an aisle seat in the Exit row. Sit anywhere you like, thanks for spending the $$ on us.
So, I meander on back, introduce myself to the FA in the Galley-No I'm not Jumpseating. Introduce myself to the FA in the Exit row, walk back to introduce myself to the FA in the Aft cabin as Preboarding commences..no I'm not Jumpseating, Business Select.
Head on back to the Exit row. Regular boarding starts, Woman who's #1 about row 4 and the FA says you can't sit there. What? You pre-boarded...No, I boarded early and I'm the #3 guy (no exit rows taken at this time). If that woman, who's #1 or the guy behind her want to sit here happy to move.
You can't sit there.
Capt told me I can sit anywhere I like but if He tells me to move...then I'll move.
FA meanders away and talks to Numero Uno Senor FA, who goes and talks to the Capt. And comes back and says...per FAA restrictions, you can't sit there. Preboarding people can't sit in an exit row. I'm not a preboarder, I boarded early. I'm the #3 guy. Per FAA guidance you can't sit there, but I know the Capt said you can sit wherever you'd like but the next time you JS just tell them to make you #1 and then it'll be okay.
And I'm thinking, WTF. How many times do I have to say I'm a ticketed passenger. The number 3 guy. Clearly, Clearly not someone who would need preboarding. And, I'd like to think one of the most qualified Pax to actually Sit in an Exit Row in the unlikely event Emergency Evac is actually needed.
In all honesty, on the rare occasions I'm on early I've never had an FA so hardcore on the You can't Sit there mindset after I say I've got the Capts OK. And, had it been anything other than a 3+ hour flight, I would've moved.
But darn it, I paid friggin 500$ in the hopes of a bit more legroom being available...and I pre-board pretty darn frequently on Delta out of my home airport with a Confirmed Exit row seat, and nary a word.
It's Not like I'm trying to Upgrade my C45 boarding pass.
So, what say you APC.
Standing up to the FA a good thing or a bad thing. (Certainly could've gone Ugly)
New hardcore SWA Policy? Or simply an older FA anti-pilot unable to make the mental leap between boarding early as compared to pre-boarding.