Southwest Early Bird Check-in worth it?

[disny_luvr]

Right now, while my boys are still traveling with us, we buy EBCI. I like knowing that we'll be able to find four seats together. I also appreciate the convenience of it. I'm sad to leave Disney to begin with, and I don't want to spend my last full day in the parks worrying about checking in at the 24 hour mark.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

I heard that if you use EBCI you cannot check into your return flight from the resort (meaning you have to take your bags to the airport yourself). Does anyone have a different experience?

We always use EBCI, and we also always use the resort airline checkin service to get our bags to the airport. Never had any problem doing this at the BoardWalk.

 

[Shanti]

I have a 12:55pm flight on Friday through Southwest from Philadelphia.

From anyone's experience, is Early Bird Check-in worth it?

I don't really care too much where I sit (aisle seat preferred), however don't want to end up having to check a bag when overhead space is no longer available. I have heard several people indicate this occurs, delaying arrival to the magical express.

This trip I'm feeling a little indulgent, but don't want to be totally frivolous...

Early Bird check-in is worth it if you care where you sit or need/want to sit next to travel companions. Since neither of those seem to be the case for you, I would not recommend spending the extra $30 round trip.

I'm not sure why you're worried about checking a bag. SWA gives 2 free checked bags to all guests. Why not just check your bag in at check-in with your Magical Express tags attached? That way you won't have to worry about getting it into an overhead bin or waiting at the bag carousel after the flight. Magical Express will collect your bag and transport it to your resort room for you. It's a nice perk.

 

[Shanti]

I heard that if you use EBCI you cannot check into your return flight from the resort (meaning you have to take your bags to the airport yourself). Does anyone have a different experience?

We always purchase EBCI and always use Disney's Resort Airline Check-In Service. So what you heard is completely untrue.

 

[LisaS]

I've read in the past that while yes, EBCI assigns boarding position based on the order of purchase, if someone with EBCI changes or cancels, the next passenger to purchase EBCI gets that slot.

I imagine they generate the boarding order right at 36 hours out. If someone with EBCI cancels prior to that time, then they are never assigned a boarding position. The slot they would have been assigned would go to the next EBCI passenger in order of date/time of purchase, as usual.

If someone with EBCI (or an A-List passenger) cancels after they were assigned a boarding position (in other words less than 36 hours from departure), that leaves a hole in the boarding order. That open position goes to the next person to check in, most likely someone checking in 24 hours or less from departure who didn't even purchase EBCI.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

We always just factor EBCI to ticket prices. I don't want to worry about where I am to check in at 24 hours. On cruise I'm not going to worry about paying for internet, at Disney I'm not going to worry about stopping or skipping ride, even at home I don't want to worry about being at work (sub) to check I . We've always gotten A's and sit aisles near each other as a family this is important to us and I'll pay for each of us.

 

[AngiTN]

I heard that if you use EBCI you cannot check into your return flight from the resort (meaning you have to take your bags to the airport yourself). Does anyone have a different experience?

This is incorrect and always has been. Crazy how this stuff spreads online

 

[Jake]

Really depends on if your plane is going to be complete filled. If you know that your plane is most likely going to be completely filled no empty seats. And you are doing the lowest fair. Then wheelchair people board first, can be a lot of them. Then people who payed the higher fairs get A. Then familys with young children, there always 3 or 4 or 5 people in those groups. Then B people.
Family's with children could have C seating but board after A. That makes your B seating really C seating
Can you gets seats at the 24 hour mark. Had to do that in the middle of MK on my phone.
It could just be easier to pay the $30
I find SW not that cheap, it could and at times does cost more than other major airlines

 

[goofy4tink]

Early Bird check-in is worth it if you care where you sit or need/want to sit next to travel companions. Since neither of those seem to be the case for you, I would not recommend spending the extra $30 round trip.

I'm not sure why you're worried about checking a bag. SWA gives 2 free checked bags to all guests. Why not just check your bag in at check-in with your Magical Express tags attached? That way you won't have to worry about getting it into an overhead bin or waiting at the bag carousel after the flight. Magical Express will collect your bag and transport it to your resort room for you. It's a nice perk.

There are many reasons someone might want to have their bag with them. I travel with carry on bags a lot, for a reason. I may have something in the bag that is valuable, or something I'll need as soon as I reach my destination. Perhaps I don't want to wait 4 hrs to get that bag.

My dd traveled from MCO to Providence last Friday....I didn't book EBCI for her. She checked in about 2 hrs past the 24 hr window (she forgot), and got A57. I checked her in right at the 24 hr window for her flight back to MCO, from Providence. She flew home on Tuesday, she got A34. So a lot depends on when and what time you're flying.

 

[Spencer Wright]

I don't care where I sit and everything worked out fine by checking in at the 24 hour mark! There was one angry person on my flight back today who paid and got b2 and b3 and we had b9 and b10.without it.

I could see why a family with small children might see benefit but with 24 hour check in... and I mean exactly 24 hours... it seems things should work out.

 

[HarperLeigh]

I heard that if you use EBCI you cannot check into your return flight from the resort (meaning you have to take your bags to the airport yourself). Does anyone have a different experience?

Incorrect.

 

[Kaytie]

I imagine they generate the boarding order right at 36 hours out. If someone with EBCI cancels prior to that time, then they are never assigned a boarding position

That would make sense, but it doesn't appear accurate. Imagine a list of people, say on a computer spreadsheet. They're listed in the order they made the purchase, even though the service isn't being delivered then. So, say there are 50 people on the list (50 passengers paid for EBCI.) When it comes time for the computer to assign boarding positions, the first passenger to purchase will get the first number, second person gets second number...

Now the tenth person in the virtual line/on the list cancels a week before the flight. Passenger 51 then buys EBCI - either after the ticket purchase, or as part of a new ticket. Passenger ten's name was erased from the list/line, but the line wasn't deleted. There's an empty spot. Passenger 51 is inserted into that spot.

 

[LisaS]

That would make sense, but it doesn't appear accurate. Imagine a list of people, say on a computer spreadsheet. They're listed in the order they made the purchase, even though the service isn't being delivered then. So, say there are 50 people on the list (50 passengers paid for EBCI.) When it comes time for the computer to assign boarding positions, the first passenger to purchase will get the first number, second person gets second number...

Now the tenth person in the virtual line/on the list cancels a week before the flight. Passenger 51 then buys EBCI - either after the ticket purchase, or as part of a new ticket. Passenger ten's name was erased from the list/line, but the line wasn't deleted. There's an empty spot. Passenger 51 is inserted into that spot.

I don't know how Southwest does it. I can only say how I would implement it, and that would be to write code that executes a database query 36 hours out, creating a list of passengers with A-List status or EBCI, sorted first by A-List status, then by fare class and then by date/time of purchase. That way you get the correct list, in the correct order at the exact time it's needed with no holes due to cancellations. I wouldn't maintain a virtual line because that would be redundant -- the database already contains the information needed to generate the boarding list when it's needed, 36 hours from departure.

If anyone on the list cancels their flight after that list is generated, that does create a hole in the list. When a passenger checks in for the flight, Southwest's software appears to assign the first available boarding position to that passenger. In the event of a hole in the boarding list, that slot goes to the next passenger to check in.

 

[laurabelle]

I used to buy it, but stopped after I booked a flight for myself and youngest dd, added EBCI. A few weeks later booked flights for oldest dd and friend who joined us. Paid for EBCI for them as well. Oldest dd and friend both got earlier boarding even though their flight was booked later. Even before that instance, Southwest would break up our group, getting various numbers within the group, even though we were on the same reservation. I haven't had any trouble checking in at the 24 hour mark myself.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Nobody can tell anybody if it is worth the cost of EBCI. We buy it as a family of adults- sons 22,20 and hubby and myself. We like to sit near each other on aisles. We cruise frequently and we don't have to worry about internet on checking in for return.

If you choose not to purchase and get a high boarding position it's not fair to complain that you can't sit with your family.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I used to buy it, but stopped after I booked a flight for myself and youngest dd, added EBCI. A few weeks later booked flights for oldest dd and friend who joined us. Paid for EBCI for them as well. Oldest dd and friend both got earlier boarding even though their flight was booked later. Even before that instance, Southwest would break up our group, getting various numbers within the group, even though we were on the same reservation. I haven't had any trouble checking in at the 24 hour mark myself.

That does happen from time to time regardless of presence of EBCI or not at least for our traveling party.

Just this past March we went to Colorado. It was my husband on one reservation, myself on another (because of using companion pass) and then my sister-in-law and mother-in-law both on the same reservation. Well on the way there sister-in-law and mother-in-law had positions in order. However on the way back there was 3 spots between them.

That's not the only time it's happened though. Even for my husband and I on same reservations it has happened before (though prior to him getting the A-list back in late 2015 as A-list checks in for you).

 

[SL6827]

I don't think we would really need EBCI with me, hubby and two 13-year old girls. I know the two girls would like to sit together but me and hubby can sit apart. I wouldn't be buying tickets much earlier than 3-4 months out, maybe less than that. So EBCI might be a waste. And if the ticket prices got way to high, we could drive down with no problems. Checking in at 24 hours would not be an issue for me as well. So I'm not feeling that it would be worth it for us at all.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I added it to our return flight on MLK day. It's the first time we've ever purchased it, but my daughter can be anxious sometimes and she's too old for the family boarding now. This way we don't have to worry about it while we are enjoying ourselves at the MK