June 1, 2009 - Southwest up and running as participating for RAC at Pop Century

[TDC Nala]

I'm excited about this!

If we check in via computer 24 hours in advance and get our boarding passes printed then, could we still use the RAC service for luggage??

Yes - this is what I just did only I checked in with a web-enabled cell phone. You do not have to print the pass when you check in. They will reprint it for you when you check the luggage.

I am not sure I really care whether or not anyone else doing business at the Orlando airport is upset that there are a lot of people in the airport from Disney World...

 

[disney 4 5]

I am so excited. We fly down on Tuesday on SW staying at POP this time. The pixie dust is starting already.

 

[dburg30]

POP is the largest resort. I don't think they'll need to try it out in any other resorts. Unless adding SW requires adding more terminals, staff and storage space I'd expect the rest of the resorts would be added at almost the same time.

Given the state of the economy I'll speculate RAC will select longer lines over the alternative of adding more staff/terminals.

I agree, POP is the best one to start with. It will 'stress' the system the most IMO. Being the largest, being a value, and probably drawing a large number of SW folks in the first place makes it the ideal place to test it out.

If it goes well, as Lewisc stated, I bet you'll see it added to the rest all at the same time. Or if it goes bad, it will go away.

 

[Lewisc]

A moderator on FT quoted an unnamed SW representative as saying the systems issues were solved years ago. The issue was how to handle the expected volume of bags. Most of us check bags at the airport 1-2 hours before our flight. Most airlines won't let us check a bag more then 4 hours before our flight. RAC lets us check in 12 hours before our flight.

SW accepts 2 checked bags/passenger at no charge. I think SW flies more passengers to MCO then any other airline. We're looking at a lot of additional bags.

It's not clear if Disney will be storing the bags, the airport will store them or if SW will accept the bags hours before the flight. Perhaps this is the reason POP is complaining about the space occupied by swappers fridges.

 

[goofy4tink]

The existing participating airlines haven't seemed to have had an issue with checked luggage building up more than 4 hrs before flight time. I have heard that if RAC takes care of the bags, there is less strain on the airline employees overall. Less time spent at the checkin counters, checking bags. But, I could have misunderstood.

Personally, I don't think that anyone is going to care where your boarding pass came from. If I have an A28, it's an A28 whether I have it on plain paper or on a sheet with a picture of Mickey on it. Doesn't matter one way or the other.

 

[Lewisc]

Legacy airlines charge for the first checked bag. SW still allows two checked bags per passenger. Coming home I'll check my larger carry on bag. I don't care if my bathing suit and change of clothing gets home late.

Adding SW will significantly increase the number of bags handled by RAC. Not only will SW be adding a significant number of new RAC customers but I'm sure the average number of checked bags per SW passenger will be higher then other airlines.

At least part of the time RAC holds bags in the resort, they're shipped to MCO closer to the flight time.

I'm sure Disney, MCO and SW have come to an agreement regarding who gets how many bags and when. I don't know how much extra storage space is available in the RAC spot in the resorts or in MCO.

 

[TDC Nala]

I should probably mention that I checked my suitcases at Pop on Monday at about 9 to 9:30 AM for a 5 PM flight. My luggage was the first off the plane - which might mean that it was among the last to be put on the plane. So it could be possible they do hold them somewhere. All that matters is the fact that I have the luggage.

 

[DVC-Don]

Great news as my son is staying at Pop in early July and flying SW.

 

[mom2mizmous]

Well I guess I am going to be a whinny baby/ (and risk sounding like a deluxe resort snob here but...-) If they are providing this service for a value they should be providing it for mods and deluxes too! hope they add it to the rest of hotels asap- we arrive July 9th! BCV already suffers from lousy bus service to parks and DTD , so it woud be nice to have one less headache!

 

[swabikedude]

The test period is for an unspecified amount of time to evaluate many factors...so the feedback y'all provide is excellent and needed!

SWA should be rolling out to ALL the DISNEY Resorts soon - as we see this service as something that has been lacking for many years to our valued Customers!

I am there next week and can't wait to visit - although I am NOT staying at the Pop - will have to tote my bags on my own - I come back in December at the Poly and know that SWA will be in place all over at that time for sure!

Local SWA Employees are evaluating and reviewing the service and tracking baggage to make sure quality is upheld during this test period!

Thanks again for all the feedback and KEEP IT COMING!!!

 

[swabikedude]

OH - one more thing - be sure to add the http://mobile.southwest.com site to your internet-capable phone so you can now access the latest features for your return SWA Flights!

You can NOW check the status the morning of your flight - so you can enjoy that last breakfast @ Chef Mickey's before you get on the DME to the airport!

You can ALSO check yourself IN 24hours prior to your departure...so go ahead, stand in line for Pirates of the Caribbean and then CLICK - A-Boarding Passes all around! That was 'sweet' and a bottle of rum! Yo ho ho!

SO - check it out and let us know what you think!!!!

DISNEYWORLD & SOUTHWEST - what could be better than that???

 

[dburg30]

Just for the heck of it, I emailed SW about this. It's obvious it hasnt made the rounds yet in the SW circle.

Thanks for contacting us with your inquiry. We welcome the opportunity to respond.

Disney’s Remote Airline Check In program requires airlines ticketing systems to be completely electronic. Since paper tickets are still used for our group reservations and for Southwest Airlines Vacations packages, we cannot currently partner with Disney's Remote Airline Check In program. I hope you'll be pleased to know that we are working feverishly to make all Southwest tickets available in electronic form (we are in the process of changing our ticketing software). While I’m afraid that I don't have a definitive date to provide you (since these changes require extensive time and programming to implement), please know that it is our goal to convert the tickets that are still produced on paper stock to an electronic version as soon as possible.

Thanks again for contacting us. We look forward to our next opportunity to welcome you onboard one of our flights as your patronage is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

 

[seashoreCM]

Adding just one or a few resorts at a time avoids dumping a lot of load and stress onto the systems at the airport all at once. Also gradual implementation lets Southwest adjust the number of their people at the airport more gradually instead of suddenly finding a lot of ticket agents and skycaps idle.

Any known instances of a one day or several hour total meltdown of RAC and the resulting load on baggage handling back at the airport?

 

[DISNEY FIX]

The test period is for an unspecified amount of time to evaluate many factors...so the feedback y'all provide is excellent and needed!

SWA should be rolling out to ALL the DISNEY Resorts soon - as we see this service as something that has been lacking for many years to our valued Customers!

I am there next week and can't wait to visit - although I am NOT staying at the Pop - will have to tote my bags on my own - I come back in December at the Poly and know that SWA will be in place all over at that time for sure!

Local SWA Employees are evaluating and reviewing the service and tracking baggage to make sure quality is upheld during this test period!

Thanks again for all the feedback and KEEP IT COMING!!!

You da man!
This is great to hear.
We will be going down to the BCV at the end of Sept. and hope it is in full force by then. If not by when we return for Thanksgiving, all with SW Airlines!

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Anyone else give it a try?

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Just for the heck of it, I emailed SW about this. It's obvious it hasnt made the rounds yet in the SW circle.

If I'm not mistaken, SW Vacations uses a different type of ticket than your standard Southwest ticket. For a long time, if you booked a SW Vacation package, you had to check in at the airport... you were unable to check in online at the 24hr mark. I wonder if that's what they mean with that response.

 

[mom2two2]

Can anyone confirm this? Does this mean that I can now check my bags on my way home right in the POP lobby like we did with AirTran and ASMO?

We are going Aug 16-23.

That would be such a convenience!

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Bump.

 

[goofy4tink]

Well I guess I am going to be a whinny baby/ (and risk sounding like a deluxe resort snob here but...-) If they are providing this service for a value they should be providing it for mods and deluxes too! hope they add it to the rest of hotels asap- we arrive July 9th! BCV already suffers from lousy bus service to parks and DTD , so it woud be nice to have one less headache!

Wow....lousey bus service at BCV??? They have the same service as BW and YC do. Add to that that any time a resort has alternative transportation, the bus service suffers. Just a fact of life at Disney.
In any case....SW is trying out the system at POP. Why? Because a lot of guests at POP use SW it would seem. So..if it works there, it will be then be offered at all resorts. This is in test phase...it's not as if they are saying it's going to be offered at only POP, and not at any other resorts.

If I'm not mistaken, SW Vacations uses a different type of ticket than your standard Southwest ticket. For a long time, if you booked a SW Vacation package, you had to check in at the airport... you were unable to check in online at the 24hr mark. I wonder if that's what they mean with that response.

This is my understanding as well. dburg30's response from SW involved group/package flights. They have always been different. Those of us that use SW as regular passengers have gotten electronic tickets for awhile now. Shouldn't be an issue with RAC. I would imagine that you can check in at the 24 hr mark, but then check your bags the morning of your departure with no trouble.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Bump.

Too important to be on the third page.