Southwest Early Bird Checkin

[bstnsprts]

I posted this in The FB Thread but figure it fits here also.

Out of all these posts stating that I have to sit with my kids, I have to have a window seat, I have to have an aisle seat, I need to sit at the front, I don't want to be stuck in the middle, and so on and so on. Not one has indicated that they would purchase bussiness select seats and take care of thier own needs. All want to buy the cheap seats, that come with the price of maybe not being able to sit where you want, then expect a total stranger to satisfy your need to sit in a certain seat. The person that had a need, purchsed bussiness select to take care of that need, should now move to accomodate you, who choose to buy the cheap fare. Checking in at 24 hours is not the answer, EB is not the answer. When flying SW the only answer to satisfying your requirement for certain seats is to purchase bussiness select with a direct flight to your destination. Does it cost allot more.....yes. But if your need is so great and so important to you, then you need to pony up the money and not expect someone else to take care of your or your families needs.

 

[bavaria]

I have posted here many times that I DO pay more out of my pocket. And that is what is so annoying about the people who demand my Economy Plus seat - they had a chance to pay for those seats, but chose not to, and got scattered middle seats in Economy Minus.

Then they try and force me out of my 'good' seat which costs more.

I don't understand how anyone can think that they are in the right to do so, yet there are 16 pages of people justifying that type of action.

 

[Bobo912]

I posted this in The FB Thread but figure it fits here also.

Out of all these posts stating that I have to sit with my kids, I have to have a window seat, I have to have an aisle seat, I need to sit at the front, I don't want to be stuck in the middle, and so on and so on. Not one has indicated that they would purchase bussiness select seats and take care of thier own needs. All want to buy the cheap seats, that come with the price of maybe not being able to sit where you want, then expect a total stranger to satisfy your need to sit in a certain seat. The person that had a need, purchsed bussiness select to take care of that need, should now move to accomodate you, who choose to buy the cheap fare. Checking in at 24 hours is not the answer, EB is not the answer. When flying SW the only answer to satisfying your requirement for certain seats is to purchase bussiness select with a direct flight to your destination. Does it cost allot more.....yes. But if your need is so great and so important to you, then you need to pony up the money and not expect someone else to take care of your or your families needs.

I agree. We all have the option of paying for business select or flying a different airline. I added EBCI to another flight last night because I decided that it was just so much more convenient not to have to be sitting over my keyboard at the 24 hours mark, but was still feeling a little unhappy about paying the extra dollars. But then I thought, in comparison to other airlines I'm still getting a pretty good deal. The real issue is that I have become so spoiled with SWA low fares that anytime I have to pay more than $80 or $90 for a flight to Orlando, I feel like it's too much. My Oct trip on SWA is $255 RT per person including the EBCI fee for a non-stop flight. In comparison American Airlines is $645 RT per person plus the $20 checked bag fee and I would have to fly through Dallas. This trip is the most I've ever paid on SWA to fly to Orlando, but for me, it's still much better than fares on other airlines.

 

[bavaria]

And I will admit that for me it is really hard to read the comments about the airfares over the years here. Many of you are reasonable and sensible and recognize a bargain, but if someone is hesitating over paying $59 and thinks that is a 'high' fare, maybe they need to wait some more and save up a few more dollars before taking their vacation.

In most of the rest of the world your fares are unheard of. Last week I paid what most here wouldn't pay for a round trip ticket - $370 - to upgrade a ticket which cost over $800 for a five hour flight. That money came out of my pocket but it was the only way I was going to be able to fly that day and I really needed to be somewhere.

But back to the EB $10 - if that $10 on top of a bargain fare is too much, then maybe it isn't the right time to take that trip. That is not a judgement on personal finances, but I know that if $10 made the difference between such a critical thing as getting the 'right' seating arrangements or not, I would pay it. If I couldn't afford the $10, then maybe I cut my finances too close.

 

[safetymom]

Once again I so agree with your thoughts!!!

 

[twinklebug]

...if someone is hesitating over paying $59 and thinks that is a 'high' fare, maybe they need to wait some more and save up a few more dollars before taking their vacation.

.... <snip>

if $10 made the difference between such a critical thing as getting the 'right' seating arrangements or not, I would pay it. If I couldn't afford the $10, then maybe I cut my finances too close.

I really dislike it when anyone comments on the finances of others & mentions that perhaps they need to rethink a few things.... however... your post has a great point: In the scope of things, adding $20 per person (Assuming round trip) should not break anyone's vacation budget. I suggest everyone ignore the "for 5 people this will pay for another ticket" attitude and think about each person in your family as an individual. Are they worth an extra $20 (rt) to have them sit with you (or not ). Now, perhaps some folk who are on the outs with their significant others might opt to put them at the back of the line

For my upcoming 2 trips I have 3 of the 4 trips with EB added for the 2 kids and myself. I'm leaving one without EB out of curiosity to see what happens. My kids are 16 & 12 and will be fine on their own if that's how it ends up. I will still be checking in at the 24 hour mark.

QUESTION for those who know: when transferring planes Do I still have the same boarding # applied to my transfer? We switch at BWI & have less than 35 min to do so. (RUN!) providing we make it before they start boarding, will we be in the same spot in line?

 

[jodifla]

It's hard to see how this is going to work out well for SW. SW fliers want deals, and paying an extra $80 for your family to fly isn't much of a deal, particularly if you end up getting a C boarding pass anyway out of Orlando, as everybody rushes to pay extra.

It's also lilke throwing money away if you get a DING, since all your money is lost and you have to repay for the early booking.

For us, now that SW has killed most of the nonstops, it is much less appealing to fly them. We just did this weekend, and it was OK, but adding in the stops adds in too much potential for delays....we were delayed at each stop.

So, for us. who had just migrated over more to SW, now SW will be second on our list of airlines to fly.

The exceptions will be when the trip is iffy, or if it's a flight to one of the few cities that have a direct flight.

 

[bavaria]

jodi, I agree... They may be losing a large chunk of customers, both due to this change and due to a lack of goodwill. The debates really differ based on the audience, even here and the familiy board, and then compare to Flyertalk.com

Over on FT some posters are upset if they pay EB and end up having to board after the A group and after the family group, and I can understand why that would be frustrating.

To me the biggest challenge is the opaqueness of the EB list - you pay the fee but have no idea if your $10 is going to get you a high A or a low B number (and hopefully not worse!)

If they DO raise it from $10 to $20, they only need 1/2 as many people to pay the fee to make the same revenue, and they potentially tick off fewer customers. That is why I can see them raising the fee...

 

[Bobo912]

I think I would prefer a system where SWA offers early bird boarding but limits the number of boarders so that you are guaranteed an A boarding pass. They would have to charge more, but then you would know that you aren't throwing your money away on a C boarding pass. And, if you don't want to pay for early check in, you would still have a reasonable chance of getting an early B if you check in at the 24 hour mark. I would pay more for the convenience of not having to interrupt my vacation to check in at 24 hours. But there are other times when I would be perfectly happy to check in at the 24 hour point to get a B.

 

[LuvMy3Monkeys]

This may have already been asked... but I'm wondering if this will affect people who preboard with a disability? Do we now have to pay $10 per person to ensure we will have seats together since you are now able to pay extra to get first selection?

 

[bavaria]

No, it will not impact current blue sleeve boarding (although there may be more people utilizing it now)

RyanAir used to charge 25 Euros to those boarding in a wheelchair and lost a lawsuit (and had the nerve to appeal) Now they charge every flyer 0,50 cents 'wheelchair fee' on every ticket.

SW is taking on some of the RyanAir model but I certainly hope that they have more respect for their passengers than RyanAir does.

 

[Tara]

QUESTION for those who know: when transferring planes Do I still have the same boarding # applied to my transfer? We switch at BWI & have less than 35 min to do so. (RUN!) providing we make it before they start boarding, will we be in the same spot in line?

When you check in for your first flight, you'll get your boarding pass for the second flight. This means that you'll be ahead of anyone who is originating in BWI for that flight, but behind anyone who is connecting through BWI on flights that departed earlier than your flight to BWI (assuming they have EBCI - you'll be ahead of most connecting passengers who don't do EBCI).

35 minutes is not a lot of time, but BWI is not huge and so you shouldn't have too far to go.

 

[ironz]

I agree with Bobo...
If they are going to offer it, just have it available for those people up to A60. Then, stop selling it...and let everyone else check in at T-24 hours and get the best they can.

I also agree with Bavaria and many of the FT posters...it doesn't make sense to pay for it if you really don't know where you are going to end up. If you end up mid-B, it almost seems like no point to it. Would be nice if they gave you some clue.

I still fly SW a fair bit. They have nonstop flights to MCO from my home airport. I mostly travel alone or with one other adult, so the seating is not a huge deal, esp on my shorter flights. I won't care if I get middle seats from AUS-HOU, for example, as it's less than an hour. For MCO, an aisle or window would be more comfortable, but I'll make the call then as to if I want to pay the extra $10 or not.

As for those who cannot stand the thought of paying more than $59-79 one way....seriously, they have been spoiled by low airfares. Even from TX, the best we get to MCO is $99 each way on SW, and I consider that a great deal! People have been able to do quite a bit of travel for their hard-earned dollars lately, which is wonderful, but you see where it's getting the airlines (i.e., into the red). I certainly agree with my friend Bavaria, that those who pay a premium to choose their seat shouldn't have to move to accommodate those who don't (or don't bother to check in early, as with the previous system).

I do think SW had made a great improvement when they went from general boarding groups (A/B/C without the numbers) to the numbered system, so I'll give them credit for that.

Time will tell how this goes. No one said it's permanent in it's current form. There will be growing pains, I'm sure.

 

[yrdlyprincess]

. Many of you are reasonable and sensible and recognize a bargain, but if someone is hesitating over paying $59 and thinks that is a 'high' fare, maybe they need to wait some more and save up a few more dollars before taking their vacation.

But back to the EB $10 - if that $10 on top of a bargain fare is too much, then maybe it isn't the right time to take that trip. That is not a judgement on personal finances, but I know that if $10 made the difference between such a critical thing as getting the 'right' seating arrangements or not, I would pay it. If I couldn't afford the $10, then maybe I cut my finances too close.

I don't think that it's about finances-- at least not for me and many other people on this board--I don't think it's about a bargain either...I like flying SW, enjoy their employees, and they are rated fairly high.

 

[PatsMom]

I just signed up for EB for our return trip on October 4. We are flying to Orlando on 9/26. I didn't bother for the trip down because I'll be working on the computer at the 24 hour mark and will just check us in then and see what happens. But for the trip home it is nice to think that we'll be automatically checked in and not have to bother stopping at guest services to ask them to take care of it.

There are only two of us so I figured $20 was worth it. Not that my husband and I are obsessed with sitting together! We've been together a long time so a few hours on a plane being separated wouldn't really bother me but he likes us to be together. When our daughter is with us, he likes her to sit with us as well. I think because when she was younger we had C passes (this was back when they handed them out at the airport) and she ended up sitting in a middle seat, I was in the middle seat across the aisle, and he was in the middle seat behind her. She was fine - she was a pretty mature 5 year old so we couldn't see asking people who planned better than we did to move! Our own fault for being late arriving at the airport. But ever since, DH has like to try to obtain A passes.

 

[Bobo912]

I just signed up for EB for our return trip on October 4. We are flying to Orlando on 9/26. I didn't bother for the trip down because I'll be working on the computer at the 24 hour mark and will just check us in then and see what happens. But for the trip home it is nice to think that we'll be automatically checked in and not have to bother stopping at guest services to ask them to take care of it.

There are only two of us so I figured $20 was worth it. Not that my husband and I are obsessed with sitting together! We've been together a long time so a few hours on a plane being separated wouldn't really bother me but he likes us to be together. When our daughter is with us, he likes her to sit with us as well. I think because when she was younger we had C passes (this was back when they handed them out at the airport) and she ended up sitting in a middle seat, I was in the middle seat across the aisle, and he was in the middle seat behind her. She was fine - she was a pretty mature 5 year old so we couldn't see asking people who planned better than we did to move! Our own fault for being late arriving at the airport. But ever since, DH has like to try to obtain A passes.

PatsMom, when you check in for your 9/26 flight would you mind posting your boarding pass numbers? I had the same idea as you and I'm really interested in what you get for the flight down to Orlando at the 24 hour point.

 

[jpeka65844]

Wow....I've been following both threads on this and am amazed at how much more CIVIL this board's conversation seems to be......

So, I still don't get the advantage to this. You pay the extra $10 to board AFTER the business class, AFTER the "A" group, and AFTER the families with small children????? We're someone who always checks in at 24 hours (whether we're at home or at a hotel,) Of all the times we've ever flown SW, we've only been in "B" or "C" once and that's just b/c DH thought he was checking us BOTH in and he only got one of us and the other one was stuck in "C" so we had to split up.

I'm traveling with DS4 in January, just he and I. DH wants me to pay the extra $10/piece to board early. But why can't I just check in at 24 hours? Should I do this? The other board makes it sound like if I don't, then my son is going to be sitting 12 rows back next to a child molester.........

 

[smacky1]

I think because when she was younger we had C passes (this was back when they handed them out at the airport) and she ended up sitting in a middle seat, I was in the middle seat across the aisle, and he was in the middle seat behind her. She was fine - she was a pretty mature 5 year old so we couldn't see asking people who planned better than we did to move! Our own fault for being late arriving at the airport. But ever since, DH has like to try to obtain A passes.

Im shocked that happened to you. Not one person in 3 sets of seats would offer to move so one of you could sit with your 5 year old.........although, come to think of it, I would be more than happy if someone would sit with my ds who is 2!! He can be a bit wild!

 

[Bobo912]

Wow....I've been following both threads on this and am amazed at how much more CIVIL this board's conversation seems to be......

So, I still don't get the advantage to this. You pay the extra $10 to board AFTER the business class, AFTER the "A" group, and AFTER the families with small children????? We're someone who always checks in at 24 hours (whether we're at home or at a hotel,) Of all the times we've ever flown SW, we've only been in "B" or "C" once and that's just b/c DH thought he was checking us BOTH in and he only got one of us and the other one was stuck in "C" so we had to split up.

I'm traveling with DS4 in January, just he and I. DH wants me to pay the extra $10/piece to board early. But why can't I just check in at 24 hours? Should I do this? The other board makes it sound like if I don't, then my son is going to be sitting 12 rows back next to a child molester.........

Business select and "A-list" (Rapid Rewards members who fly more than 32 trips per year), get the A1-A15 boarding passes as usual. After that, 36 hours before the flight, SWA starts assigning boarding pass numbers to people who purchase early bird check in. If, for instance, 45 people on the flight purchased EBCI, all the A boarding passes would be used up before you could check in at the 24 hours point. There is no limit on how many people can buy EBCI so potentially all the A's and B's could be gone before you ever got a chance to check in, if you don't buy it. But in your case, since you're traveling with a 4-year-old, worst case scenario you board between A and B, no matter when you check in. So, IMO, you don't need to pay the $10.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Southwest was pretty smart about separating the fee and making it non-refundable so that it could not be applied to Ding fares. Dings were designed to lure additional passengers onto flights with available seats NOT provide currently ticketed passengers a way to pay less for a seat they have already purchased. Clearly Southwest is trying to stem the bloodflow now that their fuel costs are more in line with other airlines.

That being said...

$10 or $20 should not make or break your vacation, budget or lifestyle.

Having a bigger family COSTS MONEY! Just a fact of life. No one is discriminating against you. In fact, the goverment assists you by taking fewer tax dollars from you so that you can support your family.

Look for the second bag free to disappear next.

Be thankful your lives are so uncomplicated that a $10 fee is the biggest thing about which you have to complain.

Always let you conscience be your guide.

Sorry, I was channeling Jiminy on that last one....