Southwest Early Bird Checkin

[DISNEY FIX]

Yes, you can print them at gs or at the airport. SW dose have an app for that. If all tickets were purchased together under 1 con # make sure you go down to the bottom of the page there will be option to check in all.

Is the app specifically for that? When we checked in via phone last year there was no way to select all it only let us check in one at a time and had you same problem. (below) Anyone else have some input on this one? Wife has Blackberry any ideas about how we can get it to work?

The first time I did this on my iPhone I did not realize that and chose the first name checked in and then the next. We all ended up with nonconsecutive numbers but all A's. We stood in line together under the lowest A, no problem. Good luck.

 

[carmie3377]

Yes, you can print them at gs or at the airport. SW dose have an app for that. If all tickets were purchased together under 1 con # make sure you go down to the bottom of the page there will be option to check in all. The first time I did this on my iPhone I did not realize that and chose the first name checked in and then the next. We all ended up with nonconsecutive numbers but all A's. We stood in line together under the lowest A, no problem. Good luck.

We used the check in all option and we still ended up in non-consecutive order. There were quite a few in between mine and the kids.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Well, I got on right at the exact time....3:15. I checked the four of them in...got B6-9. I have never seen a B before, not in any of the times I've checked myself in online with SW. I was flabberghasted to say the least. I was actually afraid they were going to be really peeved...especially when I didn't hear from them right away. Well..it turns out they were having so much fun riding Shriekra, at Busch Gardens, that they forgot to listen for my call. They were thrilled with the pass numbers. Seems they got B39 or such on the way down.

Two weeks ago we flew on the earliest direct flight out of MHT to MCO - it is usually a full flight and it was this time. At 24 hours before, we got mid B's. We did all sit together, toward the back of the plane. There are three of us.

My niece checked us in at 24 hours prior for the return flight (last direct MCO to MHT of the day). Same result - mid B's. Again, we sat together toward the back of the plane.

We fly in and out of MHT as well so this is interesting. PatsMom, we seem to really like the same flights as those are the ones we generally choose as well unless there's a HUGE difference in price (though they're usually cheaper which I love).

We flew from MHT to MCO 12/17 without EBCI and got A36 - A39. Looking at both of your experiences, I'm now amazed that we got these at T-24. Goofy4tink, did your family check in at T-24 or did they wait a little bit?

For our return flight from MCO to MHT on 12/29 with EBCI we got A28 - A31. We purchased EBCI within the first couple of weeks that it was available (I bought the tickets before EBCI was announced and was annoyed that they didn't send any notification to those of us with tickets, but thank you DISBOARDS for letting me know). I assumed that anybody who didn't purchase EBCI was likely getting B boarding passes but it's nice hear actual accounts.

We'll definitely always fork over the $40 for our return flights. I was thinking it may not be necessary for our departing flights, but now it's looking like a lot of people out of MHT use EBCI even in slow periods (mid January is pretty slow here) so I'm starting to rethink that.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[mousefan1972]

We fly in and out of MHT as well so this is interesting. PatsMom, we seem to really like the same flights as those are the ones we generally choose as well unless there's a HUGE difference in price (though they're usually cheaper which I love).

We flew from MHT to MCO 12/17 without EBCI and got A36 - A39. Looking at both of your experiences, I'm now amazed that we got these at T-24. Goofy4tink, did your family check in at T-24 or did they wait a little bit?

For our return flight from MCO to MHT on 12/29 with EBCI we got A28 - A31. We purchased EBCI within the first couple of weeks that it was available (I bought the tickets before EBCI was announced and was annoyed that they didn't send any notification to those of us with tickets, but thank you DISBOARDS for letting me know). I assumed that anybody who didn't purchase EBCI was likely getting B boarding passes but it's nice hear actual accounts.

We'll definitely always fork over the $40 for our return flights. I was thinking it may not be necessary for our departing flights, but now it's looking like a lot of people out of MHT use EBCI even in slow periods (mid January is pretty slow here) so I'm starting to rethink that.

Thanks for sharing.

We also fly MHT-MCO frequently and I gladly forked over $80 to purchase EBCI for both legs of our trip April 16-24. Why both ways, you ask? Because that is MA school vacation week and it is going to be crazy. Both our flight segments are showing no availability at all to purchase seats, so I'm glad I got it. I bought EBCI immediately after buying our tickets the day the schedule opened for April, so I'm hoping we are somewhere in the A group.

 

[paras4ri]

We're flying in 3 weeks and purchased EBCI for our return flight. I wasn't planning to get it for our flight to MCO as we are traveling the week after our local school vacation but I just learned that our high school cheerleaders are on the same flight. From past experience with SW they will allow large groups to board first as long as the fill up the back of the plane - and that's where we planned to head so we could sit together.

I'll share our experiences!

 

[twinklebug]

We're flying in 3 weeks and purchased EBCI for our return flight. I wasn't planning to get it for our flight to MCO as we are traveling the week after our local school vacation but I just learned that our high school cheerleaders are on the same flight. From past experience with SW they will allow large groups to board first as long as the fill up the back of the plane - and that's where we planned to head so we could sit together.

I'll share our experiences!

Cheerleaders? Seriously? and ones you know?

Good luck - Buying EBCI is a good decision for heading home anyway so you don't have to interrupt your trip to check in. I look forward to hearing your report.

 

[paras4ri]

yup - my kids go to the same high school and know some of the cheerleaders who will be on the flight.

 

[DISNEYNY]

We're flying in 3 weeks and purchased EBCI for our return flight. I wasn't planning to get it for our flight to MCO as we are traveling the week after our local school vacation but I just learned that our high school cheerleaders are on the same flight. From past experience with SW they will allow large groups to board first as long as the fill up the back of the plane - and that's where we planned to head so we could sit together.

I'll share our experiences!

My friend flew with a school group in December and they had the opposite experience. They were told ahead of time that they would board last and that was how it worked for them. She said they were scattered all over the plane and hardly any of them sat together. They were in high school - maybe the age of the kids was a factor.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Two weeks ago we flew on the earliest direct flight out of MHT to MCO - it is usually a full flight and it was this time. At 24 hours before, we got mid B's. We did all sit together, toward the back of the plane. There are three of us.

My niece checked us in at 24 hours prior for the return flight (last direct MCO to MHT of the day). Same result - mid B's. Again, we sat together toward the back of the plane.

A month ago this would have surprised me. However, after flying, I can believe it.
January 10, I took the earliest nonstop from MHT to MCO. Full flight. I purchased EBCI about a month before the flight, and got A27. I have to say, I was REALLY surprised to have a number that high. That's in the same range as pre-EBCI days checked in at T-24. There were A LOT of people around me stating they'd checked in RIGHT at 24 hours out and gotten very high As, or Bs.
January 15, I took the latest nonstop from MCO to MHT. Again, a full flight. This time I had A26. It was purchased at the same time as the first flight.

I would have expected my number to be higher for the return trip than the departing trip; I figured more would have bought EBCI (and earlier) from Orlando. I think I'll always just factor in the cost of EBCI to the cost of the airfare from now on. It's usually just me when I'm traveling, so it's not a budget breaker.

 

[Jestocost]

A month ago this would have surprised me. However, after flying, I can believe it.
January 10, I took the earliest nonstop from MHT to MCO. Full flight. I purchased EBCI about a month before the flight, and got A27. I have to say, I was REALLY surprised to have a number that high. That's in the same range as pre-EBCI days checked in at T-24. There were A LOT of people around me stating they'd checked in RIGHT at 24 hours out and gotten very high As, or Bs.
January 15, I took the latest nonstop from MCO to MHT. Again, a full flight. This time I had A26. It was purchased at the same time as the first flight.

I would have expected my number to be higher for the return trip than the departing trip; I figured more would have bought EBCI (and earlier) from Orlando. I think I'll always just factor in the cost of EBCI to the cost of the airfare from now on. It's usually just me when I'm traveling, so it's not a budget breaker.

And yet we flew from STL-MCO on December 23 and January 2, both flights full, and got A17-20 on the way down (first flight in the a.m.) and A18-21 on the way back using EBCI. The return trip I signed up for EBCI the day the service became available, but for the trip down I did it maybe a week or two ahead.

A lot depends on what airport your are flying to/from MCO and in particular the amount of connecting traffic that SWA runs through that airport.

 

[LisaS]

Just got back, Jan 24-31, MHT. I signed up within a day of EBCI being offered. We got A19-20 on the way down, A17-18 on the way back.

We had so much going on the day before we left home, I really appreciated not having to be on the computer ready to check in for our flight. And our last day in the parks was more relaxing than usual since I didn't have to keep looking at my watch and reminding myself we needed to check in for our return flight. I think $10/person/flight is a bit pricey (at $5 I wouldn't even hesitate) but we do plan to use it again, at least for the return flight and probably for the flight down as well.

 

[Denise W]

We flew SW yesterday from MCO to PVD. I purchased EBCI about a week after it was first offered. We ended up with A 16 and A 17. Well worth the price.

Denise

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

We did not do the early bird check-in and I am SOOOO glad I saved a lot of money! I logged in 24 hours before my flight to Orlando, and I had the A category. On my return trip home, I didn't have a place to log in 24 hours in advance, and I ended up with the C category (seat 4,5,6,7) at the airport. We had no problems finding seats together.

 

[vjr]

We used the early bird check in on our last trip from Salt Lake in Sept 09. It worked great for the first leg of the trip, but we had problems on the 2nd leg. We had A passes for the second leg but the flight was late and the plane had already started boarding. We had to find seats where ever and split up our party of 5 on 4 seperate rows. I called to complain and was given a credit for a future flights, so we are going again (without early bird check in) in April.

 

[preschoolmom]

We did not do the early bird check-in and I am SOOOO glad I saved a lot of money! I logged in 24 hours before my flight to Orlando, and I had the A category. On my return trip home, I didn't have a place to log in 24 hours in advance, and I ended up with the C category (seat 4,5,6,7) at the airport. We had no problems finding seats together.

This is very reassuring! Thank you!

 

[dsnymomof4]

Just went a few weeks ago - did NOT do early bird check-in and flight was COMPLETELY FULL - no available seats whatsoever. Checked in right at 24 hour mark and still got A boarding passes.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

Forgive me if this has already been asked... Because our flight prices have gone down, our family of 4 will have an $80 credit. Could we use this credit to purchase the early bird check-in tix? TIA!

 

[miprender]

We flew SW yesterday from MCO to PVD. I purchased EBCI about a week after it was first offered. We ended up with A 16 and A 17. Well worth the price.

Denise

That's great about PVD. I purchased the EB for our flight home in April so I hope we get some great boarding passes too. Hopefully for our flight to MCO without the EB I will still get an A boarding pass.

 

[verticalchaos]

It worked well for me so far. I was definitely going to do it coming back (since my parents thought it was easier for me to get to LaGuardia than Newark...we have since had a long discussion about THAT decision - I HATE LaGuardia...they booked me on Southwest, which would NOT have been my choice) so I didn't have to either hand at the resort to check in or hang at guest services or wherever you can do it in the parks. Thinking about leaving NYC during Winter Break for the public schools, I opted to just pay the extra $10 and do it going down.

Turned out to be a good choice as I slept until almost 10 since a friend had a free ticket to an 11:30 concert last night. I logged in to see my number and I've got A20 to Baltimore and A21 to Orlando from Baltimore.

(Yeah...don't get me started that Continental from Newark would have been the same price or less AND a non-stop flight... I'm not amused with my air travel. Hoping that the Mouse makes up for it. )

 

[ms.ojo]

Forgive me if this has already been asked... Because our flight prices have gone down, our family of 4 will have an $80 credit. Could we use this credit to purchase the early bird check-in tix? TIA!

Did any one answer you via PM? I'd be interested in knowing this too.