Southwest Airlines has a unique boarding policy, where no passenger has an assigned seat.
Instead, people are assigned to boarding groups, "A," "B" or "C," and given numbers 1-60. Broadly, the A group boards first in numerical order, followed by B and C in the same fashion.
There are some exceptions. Top-tier Southwest Airlines (LUV) loyalty members not in the A group board after A but before B. That's also true for families traveling with young children, and for active-duty military personnel.
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People want to be in the earlier groups because seats and overhead bin space are on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you board early you can keep your group or family together, decide exactly where you want to be, and get your bag stowed right above. Passengers in the C group are almost guaranteed to have middle seats and some will find that they have to gate-check their bags.
But another quirk to the Southwest boarding process sometimes leads to angry passengers. It enables a passenger in a wheelchair to pre-board with a companion.
A recent Twitter post that accuses people of taking advantage of this policy has gone viral.
"@SouthwestAir 20 passengers boarding using a wheelchair and probably only 3 need one to deplane," posted Paul (@TrendReady) along with a picture of the preboarding area.
On Southwest the complaint is common enough that it's often referred to as the "Southwest Miracle."
Image source: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Southwest Policy Is Unclear
On its website, Southwest explains its preboarding policy.
Preboarding is available for Customers who have a specific seating need to accommodate their disability and/or need assistance in boarding the aircraft or stowing an assistive device. If a Customer with a disability simply needs a little extra time to board, we will permit the Customer to board before Family Boarding, between the “A” and “B” groups
...Customers should request preboarding from our Customer Service Agent at the ticket counter or departure gate. Our Agents are trained to ask fact-finding questions to determine if the Customer meets the qualifications described above.
That does not match how the airline answered Paul's tweet.
"We're sorry for any disappointment, Paul. We work hard to maintain the integrity of the boarding process while providing appropriate accommodations for all who fly," the airline answered on Twitter. "Since many disabilities aren't visible, we're unable to question the validity of preboarding requests."
Southwest Has a Boarding Problem
Preboarding does not cause similar problems on other airlines because most airlines have assigned seats. Many passengers routinely suggest that Southwest simply require its preboarding passengers to be the last people off the plane, which would theoretically deter people seeking to scam the system.
That's impractical (and maybe illegal) as airplanes generally deplane from front to back. If people sitting in aisle seats aren't able to get off the plane, a bottleneck is created for the people in the middle and window seats in those rows.
It's also hard for flight attendants to police the order in which people leave a plane, and they can do little to insist that someone to stay seated.
Southwest does not control the rules regarding preboarding. Some are federal law as part of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
"If you are someone who needs additional time or assistance to board the plane, stow your accessibility equipment, or be seated you qualify as someone who can use preboarding," the law states.
"So this goes well beyond only people who need wheelchairs and includes a very broad spectrum of people," wrote Upon Arriving's Daniel Gillaspia as part of a guide to preboarding.
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