How early to line up for Southwest?

[emmabelle]

How early do I need to get in line for Southwest? I hope to have A passes in hand when I line up. We're leaving from Manchester, NH. Thanks!

 

[DVCisME]

If you look on the Southwest website it gives you an idea of how much time to allow for boarding.

 

[salmoneous]

If you have A passes, there is no need to wait in the A line. Hangout, relax, shop, whatever. I don't usually get in line until after almost all the A's have boarded.

Now, having said this, I'll point out the three possible exceptions:

1) If you really want an exit row seat try to be at the very front of the A line, which can mean being in line an hour ahead of time.

2) There are a handful of flights that will be so packed with preborders and continuing passengers that the folks at the back of the A line won't be able to get the seat configuration they wish. But this is very rare and is something people worry about 100x more often than it actually happens. If you are worried about this possibility, look around at the B and C lines. If there people in them, you are fine.

3) If it really, really important for you to get off the plane as soon as possible you can wait in the A line. Folks at the back of the A line can generally get any seat configuration they want, but it may be towards the back of the plane. To me, it's never worth standing in line for 30+ minutes to get off the plane 2 minutes quicker. But it must be worth it to some people.

 

[kaytieeldr]

One advantage of flying from Manchester is that it's not a connecting point on Southwest - so while there may be a lot of preboarders, there won't* be anybody staying on the plane when it lands in Manchester.

*Well, there shouldn't be.

 

[emmabelle]

Thank you for the replies! Thanks salmoneous, that was concise! I just want to sit three and one (my poor DH always gets the solo seat ) I can deal with the back of the plane, we're checking luggage anyways so it doesn't matter if we're on for a while longer.

 

[Tinkerbell10403]

If you would like to be first in line, then get there around an hour early. I always find that works well for me.

 

[Pinnie]

1) If you really want an exit row seat try to be at the very front of the A line, which can mean being in line an hour ahead of time.

On Sunday, DH and I flew SWA from BNA to DTW. We had A boarding passes. We sat and waited until ALL the As were boarded and were the last ones. DH and I both snagged EXIT Row seats. The gentleman sitting next to us boarded in the middle of the B group and he got the seat on the aisle next to me.

pinnie

 

[beccasmom]

In Philly, folks seem to get lined up as soon as they get to the gate. It's pretty interesting to watch them. I've even seen a few fights We've found that flights to MCO are usually the ones with lots of pre-boarding, as would be expected. We try to wait as long as we can. We generally have an "A" pass. Standing in line prematurely is a drag, IMHO.

 

[Slsguy]

As the others have stated, just get the A boarding pass then sit around and wait for the A line to start boarding, don't bother getting in line. You can log onto the southwest website and print them from home starting at midnight.

I do it and get to the airport an hour early, coast right through security, grab a cup a joe and read the paper while I watch all the people standing in line and doing the things being discussed in the thread titled "what were they thinking" - it's getting pretty heated in there so watch out

Of course as kaytieeldr mentioned Manchester is not a conencting airport and is pretty small in comparison so getting there and to your get is pretty quick so you may want to get there a little earlier - depends on your airport...

 

[Gary M]

As the others have stated, just get the A boarding pass then sit around and wait for the A line to start boarding, don't bother getting in line. You can log onto the southwest website and print them from home starting at midnight

The printing boarding passes at midnight changed a few months ago. You now can print out the boarding passes 24 hours before departure time.

 

[puffkin]

IF you have A's, just hang out in your seats and jump in line when the A line is almost done boarding. Make sure you chuckle to yourself about how silly people are to stand in line for al that time when it doesn't make a difference

Note: We fly out of Philly and there is always a line up. I have heard that this doesn't happen in some other airports, but it can get quite interesting in Philly.

 

[hjd0411]

IF you have A's, just hang out in your seats and jump in line when the A line is almost done boarding. Make sure you chuckle to yourself about how silly people are to stand in line for al that time when it doesn't make a difference

Note: We fly out of Philly and there is always a line up. I have heard that this doesn't happen in some other airports, but it can get quite interesting in Philly.

I had a laugh to myself last year. I flew SW from Las Vegas to Orange County, and when I got to the gate (about 40 mins before departure), there was a line of people waiting to get on. I sat and relaxed instead of joining the line. The funny thing was that there was only about 40 people on the flight - I think everyone had an A b/pass!!! So they stood for perhaps an hour to get on a flight that they could have chosen any seat at all anyway!!
And we had to wait for our baggage at the carousel, so it really didn't matter that we were a little further back on the aircraft.
I say relax and stay sitting down at the gate!!!

 

[emmabelle]

I think I'm going to like not having seat assignments, I can then check out who the seat kickers are and avoid those seats. My DD(14) has an absolute fit when there is a toddler kicking her seat for the whole flight, it happened in March on Song, I thought I was going to lose it listening to my DD for three hours. I told my DD I would switch seats with her just for some peace and quiet, but she only likes the middle seat. I can't win.

 

[Slsguy]

The printing boarding passes at midnight changed a few months ago. You now can print out the boarding passes 24 hours before departure time.

Thanks for letting me know - thats even better!

 

[Poohbear123]

Its to see People waiting on line for A boarding. Especially since I get to the Airport 1 hour before the flight, sometimes its delayed, and you have to wait longer, I just sit in the seat, and wait till about 15 people are in line, and than I join.

 

[Snoozan]

As my DH always tells me, the people at the back of the plane get to their destination at the SAME TIME as those on the front of the plane! I wish I could be so nonchalent, but I get stressed thinking about seating(mainly to keep my DH happy), so I have to confess, I'm one of those who lines up early. If I'm with my sister, we grab our breakfast and a newspaper and sit down in the line while we wait. We figure we're going to be sitting anyways. One of these days I'd like to be patient enough to sit in the chairs until the A passes have started boarding..................

 

[mrsstats]

We are ones who wait in line. My dh cannot sit in the back of the plane as the noise level is too high for him and he believes it brings on a migraine. So for peace of mind, I dont mind standing in line so we can sit where he wants on the plane.

 

[slruud]

Another line stander here. If we're going to be on a 3 1/2 flight, standing at the front of the A line is no problem...especially if we can get the exit rows. We are some of the few people that don't immediately stand up when the plane gets to the gate. We wait until most of the plane has left and get a straight shot down the aisle. Can always use the time to check into hotel, this time Hyatt via 1-800-checkin.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

My dh cannot sit in the back of the plane as the noise level is too high for him and he believes it brings on a migraine.

He should invest in some noise-cancelling headphones. While they don't block out all engine noise, they do cut out quite a bit.

 

[cjsmom5]

Here in Phoenix we have to be careful as many flights come in full and about 1/3 of the people stay on to continue. In those cases, being at he front of the A line can make a difference. I always ask at the desk at the gate how full the flight is ...they always tell me..they can also tell you how many "thru" passengers are on the flight. These days with the dings, SWA is filling many of their flights as I've noticed fewer and fewer with empty seats going out of here but that could be because we are a hub.

Typcially with an A boarding pass one is okay unless the preboarders and the thru passengers are large in number.