Southwest / AirTran on-line check in question

[sunlover13]

We booked our flight to MCO through SW, but it is an AirTran plane. The flight is at 2:00 on a Saturday. Do I checkin online at 2:00 on Friday OR am I allowed to checkin at 12:00am Friday?

I believe if we booked directly with AirTran, you can checkin at 12:00am the day before your flight. I'm just not sure if I book through SW, an AirTran plane, if I can checkin at 12:00am the day before or exactly 24 hours before my flight leaves the day before which would be 2:00PM on Friday in this case.

TIA!

 

[ktate82]

This is interesting and a question I would want to know the answer to as well. We are in the same boat (booked an AT on SW).

 

[ticketwm35]

I would like to know the answer also.When I talked to customer service at southwest she made it sound like I couldn't check in early cause I was flyng on air tran said I had to check in at counter.Does anyone really know the answer.

Thanks

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You can check in 24 hours before the actual flight departure time. If your flight leaves at 2 pm Saturday, the earliest you can check in is 2 pm Friday.

You do not have to check in at the airport.

 

[airplanegod]

You can check in 24 hours before the actual flight departure time. If your flight leaves at 2 pm Saturday, the earliest you can check in is 2 pm Friday.

You do not have to check in at the airport.

This. Although if you get assigned a seat you dislike on the Airtran segment you can't change it until you are at the gate.

 

[nervous1sttimer]

Follow-up question: can people flying AT through SW use RAC?

 

[ohiotodds12]

We actually just had this same question come up this week. I called Southwest and this is what I was told by the agent and then her supervisor confirmed it.
She said that even though both Air Tran and Southwest show each others flights, whoever you book through is the rules you follow. So if you book through AT and it is a SW operated flight, you do not get the luggage for free, you still need to pay the luggage fees. So my next question was I know some AT people pay to pick their seat, how does that work? She told me that at the 24 hour mark when you check in, your party will be assigned whatever available seat that was left on the the flight, that you can not pick your seats ahead of time. If you need to change, it will have to be at the airport but be aware, those who paid for their seat selection through AT, will not have to move, your party may be all over the plane depending on what was left to pick from. So if you travel a Sunday, you may be harder to find seats together since so many people use that day to fly. I can see it being a bit of a headache for some. Good luck!

 

[Mkrop]

We actually just had this same question come up this week. I called Southwest and this is what I was told by the agent and then her supervisor confirmed it.
She said that even though both Air Tran and Southwest show each others flights, whoever you book through is the rules you follow. So if you book through AT and it is a SW operated flight, you do not get the luggage for free, you still need to pay the luggage fees. So my next question was I know some AT people pay to pick their seat, how does that work? She told me that at the 24 hour mark when you check in, your party will be assigned whatever available seat that was left on the the flight, that you can not pick your seats ahead of time. If you need to change, it will have to be at the airport but be aware, those who paid for their seat selection through AT, will not have to move, your party may be all over the plane depending on what was left to pick from. So if you travel a Sunday, you may be harder to find seats together since so many people use that day to fly. I can see it being a bit of a headache for some. Good luck!

This is what happened to DH on a recent business trip to ATL. He booked through SW for an AT flight. He could not checkin before 24 hours, my DS15 was trying. Checkin at T24 and he got assigned a middle seat. He was not a happy camper. Went to the gate, got it moved to a window seat all the way in the back, and the middle seat never showed, so he was happy. At least he was traveling by himself, but I would be worried as a family to be checked in like that and risk us being all over the plane.

 

[sunlover13]

Thanks everyone!