southwest airlines

[DAZY3BYZ]

Anyway, We love SW, never have a problem. I don't pay for EB service, but I do check in exactly at the 24 hour mark and I'm generally in the 50's as far as boarding assignment which is just barely an "A". Still, have never had any problem finding seating even as an early "B" assignment.

So I take it that you have flown SW since EBCI has been in effect? We always fly SW to Orlando and always just check in at the 24 hr. mark. Now with EBCI, I'm concerned that if I don't purchase it (another $50 each way for my family!) that I'll get stuck in boarding group C. I really don't care where we sit as long as we are not scattered throughout the plane in single seats. What has been your experience with checking in at the 24 hr. mark now that SW has EBCI? What boarding group did you get? Thanks for any help!

 

[Jestocost]

This is the first time that we are flying in to MCO with SW. I am confused by this statement. Does this mean they will automatically check us in or does this mean we can check in using RAC? Thanks!

Both, apparently. SWA passengers staying at most Disney resorts can now use RAC to check bags and get boarding passes. They can continue to use EBCI to be checked in at the 36-hour mark or check themselves in at the 24-hour mark OR, allegedly, RAC is doing 24-hour (or shortly thereafter) check-ins for SWA passengers provided they have used DME for their inbound transfers. In addition, apparently if you have flights before noon they are leaving your boarding passes and temporary luggage tags in your room the night before your departure.

I qualify those statements with "allegedly" and "apparently" only because I haven't seen enough definitive evidence to 100 percent confirm that this is the way the process is working. Posters who seem to know have indicated that this is the way it is supposed to work and a number of posters have said it worked that way for them. I personally would not rely on RAC to check me in at 24 hours until I see more evidence that things are working as advertised.

 

[Jestocost]

So I take it that you have flown SW since EBCI has been in effect? We always fly SW to Orlando and always just check in at the 24 hr. mark. Now with EBCI, I'm concerned that if I don't purchase it (another $50 each way for my family!) that I'll get stuck in boarding group C. I really don't care where we sit as long as we are not scattered throughout the plane in single seats. What has been your experience with checking in at the 24 hr. mark now that SW has EBCI? What boarding group did you get? Thanks for any help!

I have yet to get anything but an A boarding pass when checking in at the 24-hour mark even since EBCI has been in place and have not read a single report of anyone getting a C boarding pass when checking in at 24 hours. There have been a number of reports of getting B boarding passes at 24 hours and one report of a passenger getting a B when using EBCI, but the latter was at Chicago Midway, where SWA does a ton of connections, and most of the issues have been at airports where there also are a lot of connections.

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

I have yet to get anything but an A boarding pass when checking in at the 24-hour mark even since EBCI has been in place and have not read a single report of anyone getting a C boarding pass when checking in at 24 hours. There have been a number of reports of getting B boarding passes at 24 hours and one report of a passenger getting a B when using EBCI, but the latter was at Chicago Midway, where SWA does a ton of connections, and most of the issues have been at airports where there also are a lot of connections.

Thank you so much for this information! We will be flying out of Providence with a direct flight to Orlando so it sounds like we'd be fine checking ourselves in and saving that money to spend on something else. I've had B boarding passes before and we always found seats together. I just didn't want to end up scattered throughout the plane since I have children. I wasn't sure if EBCI was having a big impact on the boarding groups but it doesn't sound like it is. Thanks so much!

 

[richcook99]

We are staying at Caribbean Beach in October. Will Magica Express be available?

 

[Jestocost]

We are staying at Caribbean Beach in October. Will Magica Express be available?

Magical Express? Absolutely.

All guests at all WDW resorts travelling on any airline can take advantage of DME bus transfers between their resort and MCO, as well as luggage transfer service from the airport to the hotel. The one caveat is that luggage transfers are only available for flights arriving between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Resort Airline Check-in, which allows you to check bags and get boarding passes at your resort on the way home, is a different story. CBR is one of two resorts where RAC is not yet available for SWA passengers. It may be available when you go in October, but no dates have been announced yet.

 

[richcook99]

Magical Express? Absolutely.

All guests at all WDW resorts travelling on any airline can take advantage of DME bus transfers between their resort and MCO, as well as luggage transfer service from the airport to the hotel. The one caveat is that luggage transfers are only available for flights arriving between 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Resort Airline Check-in, which allows you to check bags and get boarding passes at your resort on the way home, is a different story. CBR is one of two resorts where RAC is not yet available for SWA passengers. It may be available when you go in October, but no dates have been announced yet.

Thanks for the info!

 

[TiaMaria]

Thank you so much for this information! We will be flying out of Providence with a direct flight to Orlando so it sounds like we'd be fine checking ourselves in and saving that money to spend on something else. I've had B boarding passes before and we always found seats together. I just didn't want to end up scattered throughout the plane since I have children. I wasn't sure if EBCI was having a big impact on the boarding groups but it doesn't sound like it is. Thanks so much!

You are correct, I don't think it adversely affects boarding groups if you still check in on your own at 24 hours in most cases.

I enjoy it because it is such a relief not to have to plan my last day around getting to the Front Desk or Guest Services in order to reserve my number. Then I got an IPhone which lessened that inconvenience a bit - as long as I set an alarm and remembered to do it!

I always joked - My love of Southwest Airlines forced me to buy an IPhone

Now with RAC and EBCI I wouldn't be able to get away with that justification - good thing I got it before they started! LOL

 

[The.Epcot.Man]

Tia....you can still justify the iPhone with The Undercover Tourist!

 

[pickles]

I have a samsung moment which means I have browser ability now. I assume I can use my phone to check in?
where/how do you print your tickets once you check in?

 

[Jestocost]

I have a samsung moment which means I have browser ability now. I assume I can use my phone to check in?
where/how do you print your tickets once you check in?

Yes, check in at mobile.southwest.com.

It's the checking-in part--not the printing-out part--that's important.

If you are using RAC, they will print your BPs for you. The front desk at your hotel can do it too, as can the guest services locations in any of the parks or at DTD. You also can just print them out at a kiosk once you get to the airport, or the curbside check-in or SWA counter can do it for you too.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

When flying SWA using connecting flights, you will be checked in for all legs of your travel when you check in for your first flight and do not have to check in separately for later flights. This does give you a head start on boarding numbers vs. the people who are starting their travel on your second flight.

Would you please clarify this a little bit? I'm not sure I understand th EBCI process...
We are flying SWA out of Buffalo, NY to MCO and I purchased EBCI for all 7 of us both ways. Does this mean that we don't have to check in at all (I'm referring to the 24 hr ahead check in online)? I'm pretty sure this is what it means.... I'll just have to print out my boarding pass before I leave home, and hopefully the resort will print mine out for the trip home. We will be using ME.
If I'm correct about this, at what point will my boarding pass be ready to print on the first leg of my trip?
Thank you all for your patience.
Gretchen

 

[3happydancers]

Would you please clarify this a little bit? I'm not sure I understand th EBCI process...
We are flying SWA out of Buffalo, NY to MCO and I purchased EBCI for all 7 of us both ways. Does this mean that we don't have to check in at all (I'm referring to the 24 hr ahead check in online)? I'm pretty sure this is what it means.... I'll just have to print out my boarding pass before I leave home, and hopefully the resort will print mine out for the trip home. We will be using ME.
If I'm correct about this, at what point will my boarding pass be ready to print on the first leg of my trip?
Thank you all for your patience.
Gretchen

Correct, you will not have to do the 24 hr check in. SWA will check you in and then I was told by SWA that you can print your boarding passes anytime from the 24 hr mark up until the time of departure.

Also, I do believe, if you are staying onsite, the resort will print your boarding passes out for you. Make sure you have ID with you for this, because they sometimes ask for it.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thank you.

 

[DebbieB]

Would you please clarify this a little bit? I'm not sure I understand th EBCI process...
We are flying SWA out of Buffalo, NY to MCO and I purchased EBCI for all 7 of us both ways. Does this mean that we don't have to check in at all (I'm referring to the 24 hr ahead check in online)? I'm pretty sure this is what it means.... I'll just have to print out my boarding pass before I leave home, and hopefully the resort will print mine out for the trip home. We will be using ME.
If I'm correct about this, at what point will my boarding pass be ready to print on the first leg of my trip?
Thank you all for your patience.
Gretchen

Are you checking luggage? You can just print them at the airport at the same time. If not, you can print them at home or at the resort so that you can go straight to security.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Yes, we're checking luggage.
I'm happy to know we can print both legs of our journey.
Thanks for letting us know.
Gretchen

 

[lllGurulll]

How does boarding work now with the new system. I know they board by groups A B and C but I also understand that there are now numbers after the letter. Do they call you by number as well or do they just say group A and everyone jumps in line?

 

[Jestocost]

How does boarding work now with the new system. I know they board by groups A B and C but I also understand that there are now numbers after the letter. Do they call you by number as well or do they just say group A and everyone jumps in line?

They board in number order within each letter group. There are posts in the boarding area with the numbers on them and you are asked to line up by your number at the appropriate time.

So, for example, all of the As line up--30 on either side of the poles--and they board A1-A30. Then, while they are boarding A31-A60, they have B1-30 line up, and so on and so on.

Medical preboards and unaccompanied minors board first before the A group. Families with children under five board between the A and B groups.

 

[lllGurulll]

I am very curious to see how the airline attendants deal with this. I would certainly hope they would be on the side of the PAYING customers.

Well this was disappointing. this is there response to my question regarding seat saving....

Thank you for your inquiry regarding our new Customer offering, EarlyBird Check-In. We appreciate the opportunity to respond.

As you probably know, all flights on Southwest are "open-seating," and Customers are free to take any available seat onboard the aircraft. In light of this, it is not uncommon for a Customer to want to reserve a seat (or seats) for a friend, family member, or associate who will be boarding behind them.

Truthfully, we don’t have a policy either way--for or against--saving seats. In fact, we share our perspective on this issue on southwest.com as follows: "because Southwest Airlines maintains an open-seating policy, general-boarding Customers may sit in any open or unclaimed seat." With this in mind, as long as there is no Safety concern, it would be acceptable for a Customer to "claim" a seat for one of their family members or traveling companion who may be in a later boarding group. We are aware that the saving of seats is a by-product of our policy, and as long as the boarding process is not delayed and other Customers aren't inconvenienced, it usually isn’t a significant issue.

Again, we appreciate your contacting us. We look forward to welcoming you onboard a Southwest flight soon!



Sincerely,

Cynthia, Southwest Airlines

I guess, according to that, they should only be saving one seat. It is still a ridiculous policy though considering most of us paid for every family member because we felt we had no choice. In my case, I had no choice since both my kids are 8 and under and couldn't board by themselves.

 

[NotUrsula]

I guess, according to that, they should only be saving one seat. It is still a ridiculous policy though considering most of us paid for every family member because we felt we had no choice. In my case, I had no choice since both my kids are 8 and under and couldn't board by themselves.

Sorry if I missed something in a previous post, but I'm not following. No one is going to make underage children board alone. There is no requirement that children use EBCI, and in many, many years of flying SWA with kids I have never once been separated from them on a SWA flight even with "B" bp's. There is always a choice.

The reality of the unwritten rule on seat saving is that the FA's will turn a blind eye to saving ONE seat as long as that seat is NOT in the first 10 rows or an exit row, as long as it is being saved for a real passenger, and as long as no one else wants it. (Part of the unwritten understanding is that savers need to head aft if they want to be successful.) If another passenger challenges you for the seat, the FA will always take that person's side. Attempts to seat-save using "stuff" in the seats will be frowned upon by the FA's -- they really HATE that practice. If you want to save a seat, be prepared to politely verbally defend it, and understand that you will always be expected to graciously concede if challenged. Saving for a phantom passenger in the hope of holding open an empty seat is considered to be very bad form, and the FA's *will* call you on it if all expected passengers have already come through the jetbridge. (Larger passengers who have paid for the add'l seat get an official "reserved" placard to be placed there.)

EDITED to add that you should NEVER take the word of a ticket agent on questions of what an FA will or will not do on board the aircraft when called upon to adjudicate a dispute. They simply don't know, and they are guessing. The fact is, in reality, no one is going to be allowed to insist on saving an entire row unless they have paid for it for medical reasons. All you have to do if you want it is to sit, unless it has an official placard in it. If there is "stuff" there, just call the FA, and it will be removed, believe me. (I've seen FA's put belongings out on the jetway even when the seat-saver belatedly claimed them; because she was ticked off at being put in that position.) That bit in the letter about "other passengers aren't inconvenienced" is them telling you that no seat-saver will be allowed to keep a seat that someone else wants.