Southwest Early Bird Checkin

[n2mm]

Does anybody know if there is any way to see before possibly purchasing how many EarlyBirds there already are on a flight?

And I think it SUCKS that SW did this in one fell swoop. I'm with the poster who wished Southwest would have announced this when the next selling window opened up.

Gonna be fun when all the A's or even some B's are gone via the EarlyBird fees and all those travelers are wondering why in the world they paid extra to board in the B or C Groups.
Gonna be fun when one person in a party EarlyBird boards and tries to save seats for others in their party, you just *know* that's going to happen!

Fun fun fun ...
agnes!

I agree. It would've been nice to know this before I purchased my tickets on Monday this week for my January and March trips. I will most likely purchase the EB for my January trip, but not until I'm certain of my itinerary. Since Disney has not offered any AP rates yet, I may have to change my departure date. The FAQ said your EB pass is tied to your reservation number, so if I change and get a new reservation number, I can't be certain that my EB will work for the new change. If I purchase an EB and I get a B, that would really bite ... any I don't plan to move for anyone if I have to pay the fee to board earlier and they didn't. At least Airtran only charges you $6 for a seat assignment and you get a specific seat. With the SW EB purchase you are not even guaranteed an A BP.

 

[ICan'tWait]

Sounds like a lot of people are liking this for the convenience out of Orlando. Seems like you will pretty much have to pay in when leaving Orlando if you want to be together. C passes at the 24 hour mark out of Orlando???

 

[DisNae]

I really hate when airlines pull this crap. What choice does it leave those of us flying with young kids? We have no choice but to pay the fee if we want to be sure we can sit with our child, as apparently there are plenty of folks who will refuse to move if they paid for EB. Well, I guess if that's the case, they can have fun taking care of my kids for the flight!

I refuse to pay for EB because I did not factor $10 per person, each way for my entire family into my costs when I bought these tickets, BEFORE this change was implemented.

I'm just going to have to take my chances I guess. I'm sure 15 minutes with my whiny 3-year-old will convince someone that they do in fact want to move seats.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Families with kids under the age of 5 get to board between A and B groups. Fear not, you can't get rid of your whiny child that easily!

I'm just going to have to take my chances I guess. I'm sure 15 minutes with my whiny 3-year-old will convince someone that they do in fact want to move seats.

 

[dudspizza]

I Well, I guess if that's the case, they can have fun taking care of my kids for the flight!


I'm just going to have to take my chances I guess. I'm sure 15 minutes with my whiny 3-year-old will convince someone that they do in fact want to move seats.

You are out of line. If you choose not to pay, you deal with the consequences instead of taking it out on other people who are trying to get from point A to point B just like you. You have no way of knowing if someone needs the seat they are in due to a disability you can't see. Having children does not make you any more special than other families or adults traveling together. I have children and want to sit with them too..... if I want to sit with them bad enough, I pay the fee or fly an airline with assigned seating.....

If you chose not to pay, you have no right to judge someone who chose to do so.

 

[Lewisc]

I really hate when airlines pull this crap. What choice does it leave those of us flying with young kids? We have no choice but to pay the fee if we want to be sure we can sit with our child, as apparently there are plenty of folks who will refuse to move if they paid for EB. Well, I guess if that's the case, they can have fun taking care of my kids for the flight!

I refuse to pay for EB because I did not factor $10 per person, each way for my entire family into my costs when I bought these tickets, BEFORE this change was implemented.

I'm just going to have to take my chances I guess. I'm sure 15 minutes with my whiny 3-year-old will convince someone that they do in fact want to move seats.

Your child is under 4, you'll be entitled to use family "mid-boarding" and you'll be able to sit next to your young child. The issue will be with parents who want to sit next to older children, who don't want to pay and expect passengers who paid extra should be willing to move to a middle seat.

Who should get BPs with lower sequence numbers? Passengers who pay extra? Passengers who are willing to check in at exactly T-24? I know which makes more sense to Southwest. Give the lower numbers to passengers who paid more for their tickets (BS) and to passengers who pay the extra $10. I'm surprised Southwest doesn't make DING passengers wait until they get to the airport to get a BP. Pay less but basically run the risk of getting middle seats.

 

[richmo]

I'm not too happy about this either. Southwest was really standing out as the "no-fee" airline (remember last winter's advertising campaign). Now they're starting to back off -- of course they won't spin it that way.

I suppose those of us that stick to the 24 hours before will have to be prepared to start somewhere in the B group, but the way I'm looking at it, my kids are old enough that they can sit by themselves in a plane for a couple of hours and it isn't going to make or break our trip. I'm going to try to resist spending this $10 a ticket, and if I have to sit in the back of the plane by myself, so be it.

 

[Moomduck1]

I'm not taking care of anyone's kid if they end up sitting next to me!! If they whine, I'll put my earplugs in. I have just as much of a right to a seat as anyone else. And since those with kids under 5 pre-board, they will more than likely be with their parents. I would want to sit with my child if they were young (but older than pre-board age) so I would cough up the money for the EB pass.

 

[crashbb]

I'm not taking care of anyone's kid if they end up sitting next to me!! If they whine, I'll put my earplugs in. I have just as much of a right to a seat as anyone else. And since those with kids under 5 pre-board, they will more than likely be with their parents. I would want to sit with my child if they were young (but older than pre-board age) so I would cough up the money for the EB pass.

My noise canceling headphones are very, very effective.

 

[Laurabearz]

I just purchased it for our upcoming trip, Sept. 11-18 from St. Louis to Orlando. There are 5 of us - 4 adults and one 3-year-old. Even though we could board after the A group with the 3-year-old, my understanding is only one adult was allowed to do this with the child...which means the other 3 members of our party could have been split up from us. It was worth it to me for two reasons:

1. All members of our party can sit together...very important since this is our first trip together and my 3-year-old's first ever flight.
2. We don't have to mess with checking in for our flight home at WDW 24 hours before our trip. That would have been right in the middle of our 'Ohana dinner, which would have been a pain.

We'll see how it goes. I must say, if we pay for this and we board and there are individuals saving seats for others, I have NO problems confronting them.

Trouble is there is no guarantee that even if you buy the EB you will have low enough numbers to sit together.

There's never any guarantee adults will sit together. At least one adult WILL sit with the little one. You've paid for a pass (not a guaranteed seat location). About seat "savers"...If you can't see seats together, but do see ones that appear to be "saved", quickly talk to a flight attendant. I think your chances of working things out in your favor are far better if you use the attendant to speak to them, rather than you confronting folks who are boldly saving seats.
This early pass will be especially annoying if one party in the group pays, and then hops on and saves a row. I have to believe the attendants will stop this. I hope it doesn't happen, but some people will likely attempt to save a buck AND make sure they get what they want, because they're special.

Nope.. SWA doesnt make that promise at all... And SWA pros have been dealing with seat savers for a while now... while it might surge again, it will settle down.

Okay, still lost here.

If people pay the new extra fee, then when other people go to sign in at the 24 hours mark, it is possible there will not be any more "A" passes correct?

Exactly. In fact it's posible to BUY the EB and not get an A pass.

Does anybody know if there is any way to see before possibly purchasing how many EarlyBirds there already are on a flight?

And I think it SUCKS that SW did this in one fell swoop. I'm with the poster who wished Southwest would have announced this when the next selling window opened up.

Gonna be fun when all the A's or even some B's are gone via the EarlyBird fees and all those travelers are wondering why in the world they paid extra to board in the B or C Groups.
Gonna be fun when one person in a party EarlyBird boards and tries to save seats for others in their party, you just *know* that's going to happen!

Fun fun fun ...
agnes!

They wont show us, because why should we pay the same amount to get a B that someone paid to get an A

Families with kids under the age of 5 get to board between A and B groups. Fear not, you can't get rid of your whiny child that easily!

Its 4 and up I think, and beleive me 6, 7, and 8 year olds can whine too

You are out of line. If you choose not to pay, you deal with the consequences instead of taking it out on other people who are trying to get from point A to point B just like you. You have no way of knowing if someone needs the seat they are in due to a disability you can't see. Having children does not make you any more special than other families or adults traveling together. I have children and want to sit with them too..... if I want to sit with them bad enough, I pay the fee or fly an airline with assigned seating.....

If you chose not to pay, you have no right to judge someone who chose to do so.

We will not be buying the EB for many reasons, and will take the chance that we will not sit next to our children, when we check in at the 24 hour mark. If you dont want the chance of sitting next to my child, with me 3 rows away, please book another airline.

 

[Lewisc]

I'll be happy to turn your child's reading light on (or off) once at the beginning of the flight. After that I'll have my noise cancelling headphones on. I'll be listening to music or watching a movie. I won't be watching a Disney movie. You know your kids. Pay the $10 if they need to be next to you. Save the $10 if your kids know how to behave.

Some parents not anyone posting in this thread make threats regarding their kids potential behaviour in an attempt to motivate a seat switch. Tell me I should switch because your child may throw up and the airline may decide your child is too sick to fly. I won't argue with the parent, I'll just repeat the story to the FA.

I suspect a lot of 8 year olds have a MP3 player, video game or DVD player and don't really care if they don't sit next to a parent. I'd rather sit next to a child then an overweight adult, who didn't think they're a *** (DIS doesn't like the abbreviation for customer of size) but manages to get past the GA.

Its 4 and up I think, and beleive me 6, 7, and 8 year olds can whine too



We will not be buying the EB for many reasons, and will take the chance that we will not sit next to our children, when we check in at the 24 hour mark. If you dont want the chance of sitting next to my child, with me 3 rows away, please book another airline.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Its 4 and up I think, and beleive me 6, 7, and 8 year olds can whine too

Parents with children 4 and younger may board between A and B groups. If your children are still whining in flight at 6, 7 and 8... there's nothing a stranger can do that will harm them more than they already have been at home...

We will not be buying the EB for many reasons, and will take the chance that we will not sit next to our children, when we check in at the 24 hour mark. If you dont want the chance of sitting next to my child, with me 3 rows away, please book another airline.

In cases like this... it's usually the children, rather than their parents, who are better behaved. I've had some lovely conversations with 8 and 10 year kids.

 

[mgilmer]

My guess is SW doesn't think they can defer the extra revenue.

You, of course, are correct. There was a wire story out today that SW is having a money losing year (lost $37 million in first six months) and is on track to post its first money losing year in over thirty years. Some analysts think this new fee will help them at least break even and maybe even make a few bucks for the year. Most of the posters here are showing the same old mindset that SWA is really some sort of charity and not a money making corporation. What would they have SWA do, follow in the footsteps of TWA and Braniff?

 

[Laurabearz]

Oh yes... 4 and YOUNGER... of course lol

And I feel the need to expand on my previous statements, because they were suppose to be light hearted...


My oldest two as mentioned by LewisC are well equipped with iPods, books, and other such novelties, that they are not a burden on anyone (most importantly ME haha), and on the plus side, they are nice and small and fit nicely in the middle seats. They are good kids and in fact better when their parents are not around, than when we are haha

So that leaves the boy (6) and our former golden ticket for early boarding... He needs to sit by me, just because he can't amuse himself as well as the girls. Plus he talks the most, and I wouldn't those 2 hours of uninterrupted chatter for anything

But I think finding two seats together, well into the "B"s is realistic at the 24 hour mark, for the times we travel... if not we will make due

Until the Early Bird fees guarantees us sitting together, we wont pay.

 

[bavaria]

In cases like this... it's usually the children, rather than their parents, who are better behaved. I've had some lovely conversations with 8 and 10 year kids.

Er, are you calling Laurabearz misbehaved?!

Personally I nominate Laurabearz to go transfer her post with all those quotes over to the Family Board. It may have been lighthearted but it was heavily sprinkled with common sense and distinctly devoid of pixie dust (thankfully)

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...

For those of you who were loyal SW flyers, I can see how this will possibly change your experience in future. I'm sorry that you lost your favourite airline. It would take a lot for UA and Lufthansa to lose my loyalty, but I know that I would feel a pang of regret if it ever did happen...

 

[Nermel9]

I'm flying Southwest to WDW on the 26th this month and I just paid $40 for my boyfriend and I to do this ridiculous early bird check in thing. I don't think it's worth that much money and not even be guaranteed an A boarding pass, but whatever. I'm trying it and hoping it works out and we can get on the plane and get the seats we want and sit together. Gonna be really annoyed if I get on the plane and see people saving seats for others who are not yet on the plane.

 

[Hannathy]

I'm flying Southwest to WDW on the 26th this month and I just paid $40 for my boyfriend and I to do this ridiculous early bird check in thing. I don't think it's worth that much money and not even be guaranteed an A boarding pass, but whatever. I'm trying it and hoping it works out and we can get on the plane and get the seats we want and sit together. Gonna be really annoyed if I get on the plane and see people saving seats for others who are not yet on the plane.

So don't let them! if no one is in the seat and you want it simply sit down. Move the coat or bag or whatever and sit down if they start fussing the FA will come over and they can explain how they are saving a seat-which is a no-no- and how you took it. I think we all know where that will go and who will be sitting in that seat.

I will not pay it simply because there is no one that I have to sit next to that badly that I can't say "see you when we land" and that includes my kids.

 

[Dizholic]

Why is saving a seat or two fine? Why is even saving one seat fine? Except for rare TSA spot-check problems, why didn't everyone in the boarding get (roughly) the same boarding number?

WOW! Do you travel alone and don't understand why a couple might want to sit together.
Two weeks ago I checked in my friends son and girlfriend for a trip to Las Vegas from Buffalo. They were on the same reservation number, and when I checked them in their boarding numbers were A34 & A43. A difference of 8 numbers on the same reservation. So I can see the first person going on and saving a seat for the second person.

 

[bavaria]

So don't let them! if no one is in the seat and you want it simply sit down. Move the coat or bag or whatever and sit down if they start fussing the FA will come over and they can explain how they are saving a seat-which is a no-no- and how you took it. I think we all know where that will go and who will be sitting in that seat.

There is mixed information on this. At least one SW FA is reporting that they are advised not to become involved or to prohibit seat saving. So now I have read various posters who say they will

• have only one member of their party pay for early boarding, and save seats for the rest
• not pay, board with their family, and demand that others move (which may be a challenge if so many people on MCO flights do choose to pay for early boarding)
• not pay and wait until the 24 hour mark to check in, risking getting a B or a C pass, but expect to sit with their family
• 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
• not pay for early boarding, board with their group, and disregard a 'saved' seat and take it for their own use

Does anyone see any conflict here? I suspect that with all these tactics and competing interests, tensions will rise when many travellers are already stressed. Sadly I foresee conflict, altercations, denied boarding, or worse in the future on at least a few flights.

Not every family consists of three people so seating is a giant jigsaw puzzle. By the time the B or C group boards there may well only be middle seats left.

And over on the Family board there are readers still convinced that SW FAs will rearrange the entire aircraft so that their family can sit together, even if they didn't pay for early boarding, or the plane simply won't take off. I think that more than a few people are going to be very disappointed.

 

[Rags]

Our flight is on Nov 29th so I think $10.00 will be more than worth it!