When the kids are along, we still fly Southwest.

OK, Southwest Airlines, dropped the family pre-boarding that so helped us avoid banging our fellow passengers with the car seat as we walk down the aisle. This ended the love affair with the airline for some families. And some families are apparently just too much for the airline’s friendly flight attendants. (I can’t help thinking that one of the sterner, less fun crew members from United or American would have put an end to those kids’ shenanigans.)

But my husband and I just flew across the country with our kids this morning, and I can still say that Southwest is our favorite airline to travel with kids. Here’s why:

1) Ability to change booking with no fees. While some airlines are increasing their change fees, Southwest still lets you change for free, paying only any difference in ticket prices. Parents especially can appreciate such a policy since we have more unexpecteds in life and more schedules to coordinate. Kids get sick? Change the flight. Or you’re a scatterbrained mom like me and you forgot your daughter’s skating in an ice show the weekend you planned to leave? Just change to a later departure date and you’re golden.

2) Generous bag policy. We showed up at Chicago Midway this morning with four people and five bags to check (actually 3 bags, a Pack N Play and a booster seat) for a domestic flight. On American, that would have cost us an extra $85 in fees. Not on Southwest, which still allows two checked bags per passenger.

2) Kids’ area at the gate with cartoon TV. This morning we were delighted to see a mite-size table surrounded by small padded stools in a children’s area. The table was great because we wanted to feed the kids their breakfast, and you know how great small children are at balancing sandwiches and drinks on their laps. There are also rocking chairs, which I will appreciate once we have our new baby (if we EVER fly again once we’re a family of 5). And while the Cartoon Network, which was showing, is usually my first choice in children’s viewing, I really welcomed anything that helped keep my kids in the right area, not bothering other passengers, and not watching CNN on the other TVs. My kids are 4 and 2 — too young to watch the news in my view.

3. Seat yourself policy. Although they now have boarding groups, at least you get to pick your own row and seat once you get on the plane. This is really handy for parents bringing on a carseat for a lap infant and looking for a free window space. With assigned seating, you may have to beg people to move around for you, but with pick-your-own, any unpurchased seat on the plane can be your baby’s.

Now that our youngest is 2, we of course had purchased a seat for her, but the policy still helped us snag a good seating arrangement and allowed us to self-select sitting near another family. All our kids entertained each other and we knew we weren’t bothering one another.

4. Genuinely nice crew. Now, I don’t always blame the flight attendants at certain other airlines for being cranky, after all they’ve been through, but it doesn’t help me get through my traveling day any. But on Southwest our flight attendants went out of their way to point out an empty row for us and helped us get settled.

5. Snacks! No matter how many snacks I pack from home, a little packet of something unfamiliar — like Lorna Doones and cheese crackers — always distracts the kids more. It just breaks up the flight and I really appreciate it that Southwest hasn’t dropped the free snacks like other airlines have.

Photo by Acomment, used via Creative Commons license.