Such a disappointing experience with Southwest Airlines

My family and I—13 people in total—decided to take a spring break vacation to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We are 8 adults and 5 kids, ranging from 1 to 11 years old. We had a direct flight from BWI to Punta Cana.

Here’s where the issues started: When we checked in, we were given boarding passes, but the seats for the kids were assigned separately from their parents. I can understand that an 11-year-old might be okay sitting alone, but how is it possible to expect a 1-year-old, 2-year-old, 4-year-old, and 5-year-old to sit by themselves?

When we boarded the plane, it was full, and there was so much tension because of the seating mix-up. As a result, the flight was delayed for about an hour to resolve the issue. The manager who came onto the plane to help was incredibly rude. She threatened to have us kicked off the flight if we didn’t resolve the situation immediately. We were told that if we couldn’t find passengers willing to switch seats, they would start pulling our bags off the plane.

Thankfully, my sister-in-law went into the plane, and after talking to a few passengers, we managed to switch seats. Some kind souls helped us out, and everything was eventually settled.

But the issues didn’t end there. When we arrived in Punta Cana, one of our 7 checked bags didn’t arrive—likely because of the manager’s earlier threats to remove our bags. When we returned to BWI today, I went to the baggage counter, and they had no idea what happened to the missing bag. They gave me a claim form and said they’d follow up within 5 days, but I haven’t heard anything back yet.

This was by far the worst flying experience I’ve ever had, and I am extremely disappointed with Southwest Airlines.