Southwest Early Bird Checkin

[Lewisc]

I hope to never fly SW, and now want to fly them even less. Any incentive I had is gone as I usually buy tickets last minute, and even if I book the higher fare if the early boarding is assigned by fare class combined with date of purchase, I wouldn't be that high on the list. I wouldn't be able to control my destiny.

While this was done to increase revenue, I suspect that it was also done to try and lure travellers like me away from legacy carriers. But why would I switch loyalty for an airline which doesn't even make it clear that if I pay the fee I may still be person #63 to receive an early boarding pass? No thank you...

Saving the first 15 BP numbers for passengers who pay for "business select" was done to (try to) lure business travelers. Offering automatic BPs starting with A16 to frequent fliers (A listers) was designed to lure business fliers.

I think this was done for revenue. Posters on FT asked how to sync their computer clocks to WN's time. Southwest decided that since checking in at T-24 has such much value to some passengers offering to do that for passengers who're willing to pay $10 makes sense.

AFAIK SW isn't changing family mid-boarding. JMO but it makes no sense for posters like DisNae to pay $10. There isn't much of a difference between a high A BP and boarding between the A and B passengers.

 

[Bobo912]

have only the adult in the party pay for early boarding, since SW 'won't make' their small children stand in the boarding line alone while Mom boards, thereby getting three people on board for the price of one

I decided to go ahead an fork over the $20 for our return flight from Orlando so I wouldn't have to check in from WDW. The thought occurred to me to just buy the early bird boarding for one of us, since it's just me and a 9-year-old. But then I decided that if it were two adults doing the same thing and I lined up behind them, I would be really annoyed. So I did what seems right to me and paid for both. It's a little more covenient, but overall I don't like the whole early bird boarding idea. I've got two SWA flights booked to Orlando before the end of the year and the fares for both are much higher than I've paid on our many trips in the past. So I'm not real happy about having to pay even more for an early boarding pass.

 

[Moomduck1]

And let me state here again: the child in question is a 3-YEAR-OLD. I am not talking about needing to sit next to a 10-year-old!

3 year olds still qualify for family boarding, so you shouldn't have any issues at all, even with the new early boarding policy.

 

[n2mm]

I have to say that I've only flown SW 3 times over this year and I have seen them enforce the sequence (BWI and IAD). Just last month we were A 26-30 (group of 5). Since we were the end of the row for side one we had this family of 12 standing behind us. My husband said, "you're in the wrong line, the other half starts up there". They kept say yes, yes, and we were not sure if they understood English. We are by no means SW boarding experts, but we were A30. So the lines starts and we move forward and yes the big family is still behind us. One by one we go pass the gate agent, then we turn around....hey the family is gone. Nope, the gate agent didn't let them in and guess what? They were all "C" boarders because we saw them get on near the end of boarding. If I had a different boarding number than a family member, we would all step back to the last boarding number, not the first because that would not be fair to the folks between us. Are we the only ones who think like this? As for sitting with kids, last month we traveled on SW with our 2 yo and 4 yo granddaughters and if you were on our flight out of Dulles I apologize now! My daughter and 2 yo granddaughter sat behind us and they sat in the middle and aisle seat leaving the window open. After waiting an hour to board, most of the folks waiting knew to get so far away from the terrible two monster. So we were surprise when this young lady came up to my daughter and asked to sit in the window seat. My daughter say it was free, but warned her about the 2 yo. She said she was OK with it. I think this young lady may never want children after that ride. My 2 yo GD has flown 3 times prior, but this was the first time she had to wear a seatbeat....OMG. For 2 hours it was hell. So there are brave people out there that choose their own fate. We are flying with them again next month and no one is looking forward to that flight again. But this time Jetblue both ways. I'm bringing my earplugs.

 

[Henlady]

I signed DH and I up for our return flight on Oct 4th from MCO to PIT. I saw two weeks ago that that flight is sold out, and I really don't feel like trying to be at guest services and getting in line at the perfect time to try to snag an A boarding pass. For us it was well worth the $20 to let SW automatically assign our boarding pass. If we get a B, it's no problem. I just don't want to have to structure my whole morning around getting that boarding pass. Our flight down isn't a problem. I'll check in at 24 hours and if something happens that we end up "at the end of the line" it's OK, DH and I don't have to sit beside each other, we've had 34 years to do that. If someone else doesn't mind sitting next to the old boy, I have no problem with it.

 

[blissventure]

I signed DH and I up for our return flight on Oct 4th from MCO to PIT. I saw two weeks ago that that flight is sold out, and I really don't feel like trying to be at guest services and getting in line at the perfect time to try to snag an A boarding pass. For us it was well worth the $20 to let SW automatically assign our boarding pass. If we get a B, it's no problem. I just don't want to have to structure my whole morning around getting that boarding pass. Our flight down isn't a problem. I'll check in at 24 hours and if something happens that we end up "at the end of the line" it's OK, DH and I don't have to sit beside each other, we've had 34 years to do that. If someone else doesn't mind sitting next to the old boy, I have no problem with it.

You've taken a potential problem, and figured out an acceptable solution. You must be a glass half full kind of gal.

 

[RMAMom]

I paid it and just consider it a convenience fee. We fly to Orlando at 7:30 in the morning and we fly home at 6:30 PM. They way I see it is I won't have to jump out of bed the morning before we leave to jump online and check in and for the return flight DH and I can enjoy our last dinner in Disney.

I'm not sure though if we were flying at different times if I would have bothered!

 

[pooch]

and reassurance that, having signed up for early bird, I DON"T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING to check in and that I can get my already issued boarding passes at any time past the 24 hr mark.

 

[bavaria]

AFAIK SW isn't changing family mid-boarding. JMO but it makes no sense for posters like DisNae to pay $10. There isn't much of a difference between a high A BP and boarding between the A and B passengers.

I'm not as up on this information as you Lewis - do we know if they limit the EBs, or if ALL EBs board before families?

Based on this thread, there is a good chance that by the time the families board, there may not be a lot of choice left for seats. There may be a lot of middles, or a lot of saved seats, and not a lot of two or three seats together. For a family of three or five or seven with small children, they may have a challenge, even with family boarding.

 

[Rags]

<----A16 and A17. Yay early bird!

Did you get an email at the 36 hour window or did you need to log in to Southwest???

I feel this will be such a benefit for my upcoming trip!!

 

[Nennie]

According to the folks on FT, there is no way for the gate ops to tell if someone has an EB or not, so they will just go with the regular A, families, B, C approach.

At EB who gets B-listed will board after the families.

 

[blissventure]

According to the folks on FT, there is no way for the gate ops to tell if someone has an EB or not, so they will just go with the regular A, families, B, C approach.

At EB who gets B-listed will board after the families.

If this is true, there are going to be some very angry B listers who paid up but are left behind anyone who brought at least one child 5 and under and chose not to pay.

 

[bavaria]

What about blue sleeves? I know that your laws prohibit asking anyone to prove that they need a GAC. Does one have to prove that one needs a blue sleeve? are people who in past didn't really feel that they needed a blue sleeve because they check in at the 24 hour mark now going to claim a blue sleeve because they do qualify? are other people going to claim they qualify?

blue sleeves + EB + business + families = not much left for those who aren't paying

Add in seat saving and it is even less

 

[TCups4Me]

We bought our tickets to MCO for Oct a long time ago so we didn't book the EB and won't b/c we have a 2 yo and will do the family boarding. Perhaps, Orlando will be the only destination where this is an issue, but will the family boarding really put EB passengers that far behind since only one parent can board per eligible child? Or is it a bad habit for many families to try and get away with all boarding at once?

We've only flown to Denver with our son and always had an A pass so we've never done the family boarding or had an issue with large groups of families. However, I recall that when we were childless, we used to get very irritated when parents and grandparents were all boarding with the young children together during the preboard. If that practice still occurs then I can see an issue.

Our plan is for me to board with our 2 yo and check in DH at 24 hrs and hope he gets to sit near us. But I may consider paying the $10 for DH for the flight home so we don't have to check him in while at WDW. Thanks to you all for giving me that idea.

And thanks for the reasonable discussion on this thread. I was on another and got nothing but selfish rambling based on incorrect information.

 

[LexiC123]

Did you get an email at the 36 hour window or did you need to log in to Southwest???

I feel this will be such a benefit for my upcoming trip!!

Actually, no...I only received an email confirmation after I'd paid for the early bird check-in. I was still a little fuzzy on how the whole process was going to play out, so I went to the SW site and tried to print out my boarding pass, but it wouldn't let me.

Not leaving anything to chance, I logged on as soon as my 24 hour window opened up. I was happy to see I was in the A group, but didn't realize until later on that A16 is pretty much as good as it gets.

 

[PaDisneyCouple]

What I've been wondering:

As SWA sees what airports are popular for this, will they implement a tiered pricing structure in the future? Meaning: if your destination or origination is MCO, the fee would be greater than the current $10? Law of supply and demand. If everyone going to/from MCO is buying the upgrade, start increasing the price, to generate even more revenue. Although, at some tipping point, you get too expensive, start to lose demand.

 

[Dizholic]

Actually, no...I only received an email confirmation after I'd paid for the early bird check-in. I was still a little fuzzy on how the whole process was going to play out, so I went to the SW site and tried to print out my boarding pass, but it wouldn't let me.
Not leaving anything to chance, I logged on as soon as my 24 hour window opened up. I was happy to see I was in the A group, but didn't realize until later on that A16 is pretty much as good as it gets.

I am in Las Vegas right now, with a SW flight leaving here at 2pm tomorrow. As soon as I read about this new check in policy yesterday I paid the $10 each to precheck-in. Well like you not leaving anything to chance I checked in with SW right at 2 pm and we have boarding #'s A16 & A17. Your right, unless you pay the business select, those boarding #'s are as good as you get.

 

[Dizholic]

and reassurance that, having signed up for early bird, I DON"T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING to check in and that I can get my already issued boarding passes at any time past the 24 hr mark.

I signed up for early checkin yesterday for a flight tomorrow. I just checked in with SW, and I have A16 and A17. Now I am unable to print them because I am on a laptop in a hotel room, but when the boarding pass came up it had an R on it. That means a re-print, which tells me that I was checked in before I checked in. Does that make sense?? I hope I explained that right.

 

[Jestocost]

I'm guessing the usage of EBCI will be relatively low on these first few days, but pick up steam in the coming weeks as people hear about it and figure things out. I did sign up for EBCI for our return trip, since will be on DCL and that eliminates having to try to check in from the ship (which can be a challenge), but am waiting to see how things settle out with EBCI volume as the program becomes more mature before I pony up for our flight in to MCO. If reports start coming in that people checking in at 24 hours are routinely getting high B and C boarding numbers, however, I'm likely to bite the bullet and sign up for EBCI on our inbound flight too. Our kids are older (12 & 15) and experienced flyers, so being split up wouldn't be the end of the world if I gamble and lose.

 

[pooch]

I signed up for early checkin yesterday for a flight tomorrow. I just checked in with SW, and I have A16 and A17. Now I am unable to print them because I am on a laptop in a hotel room, but when the boarding pass came up it had an R on it. That means a re-print, which tells me that I was checked in before I checked in. Does that make sense?? I hope I explained that right.

this is exactly what my anal-retentive mind needed. Since we are at POP, I can also take advantage of RAC. Looks like an easy-breezy return trip (even though I never want to come home!!!)