Advice from the Back of the Plane - Making Travel Easier on Southwest Airlines

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Sky Etiquette

Advice from the back of the plane from those who want to get underway on time includes:

- As you board, go directly to your chosen row, stow your luggage and sit down. Please do not chit chat with your friends or take time to change your jacket.

- As the plane fills up, just head to the back. You will find more seats there and open bins.

- Never, backtrack. Once you are headed toward the back, you can’t go against the current!

- If you are an unlucky “C traveler” realize that you may not be able to sit with your traveling companions. Just take a single seat as you come to it.

- If you bring a heavy carry-on and are unable to lift it into the overhead bin, please don’t do that in the future. We are all responsible for lifting our own luggage. It isn’t fair to wait for you to struggle and then watch you beg a fellow traveler to handle your luggage for you.

- Once you are seated, laugh at the staff jokes. Loosen up and have fun. They really try to be entertaining. On one flight we had a flight attendant that was a darn good vocalist.

- And last but not least, don’t try to reserve an empty middle seat next to you by putting your briefcase in the seat. Odds are that you will need to be seated three to a row anyway!

Five Unspoken Rules of Seatmate Etiquette

I am sure you have experienced someone who breaks these simple rules. I surely have! Read this great article on seatmate boors. This gem was found on Jaunted - The Pop Culture Travel Guide.

Appropriate Dress on Southwest Airlines

In order to save yourself embarrassment or avoid being delayed on your trip, don't dress inappropriately by wearing something like a "show it all" mini-skirt or a t-shirt with foul language printed on it. Southwest does care about the other passengers and have been known to request an offending passenger to either cover up or leave. Come on, folks, it's just common decency! Article: How to Dress for Flying

I hope these tips are helpful. If you have other suggestions, please e-mail the Southwest for Visitors guide and we will add them.