We won’t be making our annual coast-to-coast flight with Southwest this year.

We compared all the prices and with so little difference among many of the airlines, we decided to treat ourselves to the luxury of reserved seats on Delta. Who cares about pre-boarding with kids, when Aisle 22, seats A through D, will display our names etched in gold.

But it's not either-or. You can still pre-board with your little ones. You just have to choose the right airline. This convenient and frequently updated site lists major carriers and their pre-boarding policies.

We used to always fly with Southwest, precisely because I knew we'd be allowed to board first. But their recent change in family pre-boarding policies made the low-cost carrier with first-come-first-serve seating the least attractive of our options. No way could we get to the airport hours and hours before take-off to secure a position in the coveted Group A. No way could we split up the four of us. No way could we suffer uncertainty when waiting for three benevolent travelers to sacrifice their choice aisle and window seats for our selfish little family outing.

Standing for hours in line so that we could then sit for hours in flight seems only slightly more appealing than sitting for hours in flight next to a talker while my kid screams “nurse me, Mommy, nurse me!” three rows back.

Bonus secret, especially if you've already booked your travel: many of these carriers seem to have pre-boarding policies “upon request.” Request, Mom and Dad, request.