lost*in*cyberspace
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2005
Please note EBCI is NOT early boarding.
Unless you booked her flight within 36 hours of departure, it is a puzzle how she got that boarding position.She was 15 at the time and flew less than DH and I.
A1-A15 is only for Business Select..you have to pay for that fare or get an upgrade at the gate. A-Listers do not get boarding positions A1-A15 (they could IF they paid for the Business Select or did the upgrade at the gate which anyone can do that).
A1-A15 are for Business Select passengers. The lowest position an A-List passenger can get if they did not purchase a Business Select fare is A16. Any boarding positions in the A1-A15 group that are still open just prior to boarding may be offered for sale by the gate agent at $30-$40 per person.
That can only occur once you are within 24 hours of departure. At 36 hours out, the system assigns boarding positions to Business Select passengers, A-Listers and those who purchased EBCI. At 24 hours out, everyone else can check-in. If anyone who has received a boarding assignment cancels their flight, their boarding position goes back into the pool and the next person to check-in gets it.
No problem.Sorry for misspeaking, the A listers I know only purchase business select fares because in the event they have to change their travel, their companies want refunds not flight credits restricted to their names.
Your post reminded me of another benefit A-Listers get. If they do not get an "A" boarding pass (which can happen if they book/change their flight within 24 hours of departure) they can board at the end of the A line. That A-List perk can add more people to the "A" group, meaning a few more seats are occupied when those in family boarding or the "B" and "C" groups board.Generally speaking with A-list my husband gets A20s and when he was traveling a bunch for work he bought his ticket 1-2 weeks before the flight date(s).
The A1 to A15 spots are for A listers (those are the frequent flyers) and for ANYONE who purchased a business class fare.
Also, SW doesn't allow the gate agents to skip family boarding. It's listed on the website and doesn't say subject to availability or if offered. We fly out of BWI which has become SW hub. 75% of our flights to MCO are families. They have never skipped family boarding either way. Why??? Because skipping family boarding causes MORE DELAYS in departure trying to get people to move to accommodate those with younger children!
there is a rumour out there when something like that happens, it is because someone who had EBCI recently canceled their ticket and you were the first person to buy a ticket w/EBCI. So your newly purchased ticket took the canceled ticket's spot. Instead of everyone getting bumped forward a number when someone cancels, the next EBCI purchaser hops into that canceled ticket holder's spot.
Yup that is true.Your post reminded me of another benefit A-Listers get. If they do not get an "A" boarding pass (which can happen if they book/change their flight within 24 hours of departure) they can board at the end of the A line. That A-List perk can add more people to the "A" group, meaning a few more seats are occupied when those in family boarding or the "B" and "C" groups board.
Maybe that was because you used SWA points to buy your tickets??
ETA: That's the only thing I can think of is that because you used points but bought the other ticket not using points that the ticket bought not using points was given higher priority with regards to assigning boarding positions.
lol I hear you though. A-list is hard though an average person isn't going to fly 25 1 fly flights in a year (or fly booking flights to earn 35,000 pts unless they are doing Business Select or possibly Anytime Fare all the time in one year) but after 12/31/17 when my husband's current A-list status expires he'll be back to a normal person lol.if true, that stinks . Points can be purchased as well as being earned. If anything, they should prioritize their boarding for those who patronize them enough to earn substantial points to book tickets IMO. Ok, ok, quite laughing A listers.
if true, that stinks . Points can be purchased as well as being earned. If anything, they should prioritize their boarding for those who patronize them enough to earn substantial points to book tickets IMO. Ok, ok, quite laughing A listers.
We did that for the sake of getting Companion Pass. My husband had a little over 60,000 points for just Jan-June. The bonus miles from the credit card put him to the Companion point. We've only got to use it once so far but we looked at it from a standpoint of next year we'll use it for Disney World in Sep and we're thinking about visiting a friend in San Francisco in the early part of 2017.Or got their credit card. I've received the 50,000 miles twice.
LOL....I know I have said it a billion times on here, but I have never been on an SWA flight that had family boarding. It's always been "too many families, just not doing it". I will keep my eyes on it when we fly in 33 days
Have been on several flights out of MCO where they announce family boarding is being suspended but they were all oversoldLOL....
I have never been on a flight that has NOT had family boarding. And I fly BWI to MCO a good bit between WDW, cruising, and visiting family and my adult kids that live in Florida...
Unless you booked her flight within 36 hours of departure, it is a puzzle how she got that boarding position.
I know I have said it a billion times on here, but I have never been on an SWA flight that had family boarding. It's always been "too many families, just not doing it". I will keep my eyes on it when we fly in 33 days
I'm sure it also depends on the gate agents and depending on your on-time factor of that flight.It must depend on the airport. At STL, I have never been on a flight where they denied family boarding.