Taylor Swift is in the midst of her Eras Tour, which began on March 17, 2023 and ends on August 17, 2024. The Grammy-award winning singer will perform 131 concerts across five continents, making the Eras Tour Taylor Swift’s most expansive. And while she may travel in style these days (she has an estimated worth of $740 million), that wasn’t always the case. She reminisced about her old Southwest Airlines days recently. RELATED: How to Vacation Like Taylor Swift This Summer
Taylor Swift received an honorary degree from NYU in May, 2022 and she delivered the commencement address to the Class of 2022 at Yankees Stadium. My nephew was one of the graduates, so I read the transcript of her speech, which you can watch below:
One thing that stood out to me was when she spoke about people thinking she had such a glamorous life (in her earlier years) when in reality, it wasn’t as she ended up homeschooling and spending a lot of time on the road.
In her words: “I never got to have a normal college experience per se. I went to public high school until 10th grade and then finished my education doing homeschool work on the floors of airport terminals. Then I went out on the road for a radio tour, which sounds incredibly glamorous, but in reality, it consisted of a rental car, motels and my mom and I pretending to have loud mother/daughter fights with each other during boarding so no one would want the empty seat between us on Southwest.”
Ha! Now that’s funny and effective … and if you want to see an even funnier way, check out this hilarious video of another way to keep that seat next to you empty on Southwest or on a bus or train! But there’s another way that works even better. First of all, Southwest Airlines (SWA) is one of the few airlines that doesn’t assign seats, which is why this tip works. The reason Southwest doesn’t assign seats is because it speeds up the boarding process as it eliminates passengers trying to figure out where their seat is located. As easy as it sounds, it’s difficult for many first-time flyers and sometimes even seasoned fliers. Believe it or not, I’ve sat in the wrong seat (row) multiple times so I understand SWA’s rationale.
Tips for flying Southwest Airlines:
1. Check-In ASAP
Check-in as soon as you’re allowed, which is 24 hours before your flight. I mean, set your alarm for 24 hours and five minutes before and then check-in when the clock strikes 24 hours prior. Boarding assignments are first come, first serve. You can also pay extra for a Business Select fare to guarantee Group A1-A15 (meaning they will be one of the first 15 people to board and they usually choose the first few rows or the exit row).
2. Be on Time
Show up to the gate on time so you don’t miss your spot in line.
3. Split Up
If there are two of you in your party or four adults and you know the flight isn’t sold out (ask the gate agent), then pick a row at the back of the plane and have one person sit in the window and the other in the aisle, leaving the middle seat open. Southwest only flies 737 aircraft, which all have six seats across (three on each side of the aisle). Here are Seatguru’s pick for the best seats.
4. Taylor’s Tip or Tissues or ?
If the plane isn’t full, then you can try Taylor’s tip of fighting with your partner so no one wants to sit in between you. But you can also put a box of Kleenex on the middle seat with some crumpled up tissues next to the box. That might be more effective but with COVID still fresh on people’s minds, it also might get you kicked off the plane!
What’s your best tip for keeping the middle seat open on a Southwest flight?
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Jamie K : “..Low-class flyers who employ these types of juvenile and nasty behaviors just confirms why I don’t fly Southwest.” Guess you didn’t read the article above talking about Taylor Swift flying Southwest. Other notable SW fliers: Matthew McConaughey, James Franco, Snoop Dogg, Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laura Bush..just to name a few. And guess you haven’t flown Southwest in a while. Some of the planes are exactly like what United flies. And it’s not low-class people who fly Southwest, just smart people.
This is on the SWA Community of SWA website
In normal circumstances, while the flight attendants will not stop people from trying to save seats, they will also not make you move if you sit in a seat someone has “saved”. So here is what you can do:
Ignore the person trying to save the seat, and just sit in the seat.
If something is on the seat, just pick it up and sit in the seat. Then give the item that was on the seat to the person who is trying to save the seat.
If the person saving the seat objects, simply tell them Southwest has an open seating policy during boarding, first come first serve.
If the person saving the seat calls over a flight attendant, don’t worry about it. Under normal circumstance, the flight attendant is not going to ask you to move, because they are not supposed to be taking a position on the saving of seats. Video record the situation if you can.
Clearly, open seating during boarding means any seat not actually being occupied is available to be sit in. Clearly, the people in line first get the choice of available seats before those in line behind them. By having an open seating policy but not taking a position on saving seats, Southwest has setup a situation where passengers must confront fellow passengers to get the seat they deserve for the position in line they paid for, increasing the likelihood of problems in the cabin, and giving all involved a negative feeling about the experience of flying on Southwest.
Why play games? Just buy the second seat and book it normally EXECEPT one change when you are filling out the ‘passenger name’ portion: For the middle name, on that 2nd seat, put in capital letters, “XL” as the middle name. You will need to check in at them counter on flight day. They will print out 2 boarding passes. One is for you, the other gets placed on your 2nd middle seat. Flight crew and other passengers see this and know that the seat is taken. SWA spells this out on thier website for “Persons Of Size”. When your trip is completed, round trip or one way, call the airline and request a refund for that 2nd seat you paid for. Its why you put ‘XL’ as the middle name on the first place. It tells the airline you are using thier “Persons Of Size” policy and are due a refund after the travel. Viola!! No one in the middle seat. No games. No shenanigans. Enjoy!
I love flying SW. I really dont have any tips but I do tend to sit st the back of the plane because most folks dont want it. Its close to the restroom. The flight attendents are friendly and fun. My favorite way to travel!
Alicia, You can’t buy AND extra seat…… WHAT?
I look for rude travelers’ signs that they don’t want you to sit with them. It’s the only time I wish I was bigger so I could make them more uncomfortable.
I avoid SW airlines for these very reasons. Everytime I flew SW I’d see 20+ wheel chairs just to get early boarding. Upon arrival these same people knock you down getting off the plane, no wheelchairs needed. People feel so proud screwing other passengers it makes me sick. Give me assigned seating anyday.
Well, CEC, as a supervisor for SWA, I wish you would have used your full name! Lol ? seriously, you can’t buy a second seat to keep someone from sitting next to you, we won’t won’t sell it to you. You can buy a seat for your cello, that will definitely let you have the arm rest!
As a big fella, I am always amused at the front row sitters trying to make the middle seat unappealing. I usually wait and board with the last 20 passengers or so, and there is almost always a front row (more legroom) middle seat available. Last On, First Off, saves me almost an hour of sitting in a cramped airplane seat. I miss the good old days of Midwest Express which used 4 leather seats per row for the entire plane, and poured free champagne & drinks to everybody. It was about 20% more costly, but so worth it. Random thoughts.
You can’t buy and extra seat unless you are a customer of size.
Robert Ramsay….fat shaming is not cool! I am 5’ 7” and weigh 140. Pretty skinny for an old 60 year old gal. Seven years ago I weighed 289 lbs. Fat people are usually aware that they are on the bigger side. I flew SWA a few weeks ago. A last minute guy sat in the middle seat. When he sat down he said ”Thank God there are 2 skinny people here.” Normally that would be a compliment. I know first hand what fat shaming does to the overweight individual. ?
My son actually gave me this tip. Just head for the rear seats. Always open usually. Talk it up with the rear attendant especially if female. They kinda get bored back there. Drank free to vegas and back. Works every time. Yes you will be last to get off but by then you don’t mind!