Southwest Early Bird Checkin

[dburg30]

The only 'downside' to adding EBCI is that everyone else that bought will be ahead of you. Still, you wont have to worry about it, I added it to our return this saturday not for the BP number, but just so I didnt have to worry about it!

Flying from chicago, there is a chance that there are other flights connecting with yours and those folks would have gotten their BP numbers at t-24 before you could. Those would have been assigned for those flights. Or, there is a chance that many people bought EBCI.

 

[billysmommy]

I just checked us in for our flights tomorrow BOS-BWI-MCO

No EBCI and we got A27-30 for the first leg and A29-32 for the second leg

 

[Candy Apple]

Just checked in at the 24 hour mark for IND-MCO and got A35, A36, A38, and A40. Wonder what's up with the skipped numbers??

 

[twinklebug]

Just checked in at the 24 hour mark for IND-MCO and got A35, A36, A38, and A40. Wonder what's up with the skipped numbers??

Each ticket is considered a separate request in the software's view. EBCI or not.

Other requests to check-in came in at the same time as yours since the system sees everyone as the same and doesn't group you'll soon know who was punching the check-in button at the same time as you.

 

[Candy Apple]

Each ticket is considered a separate request in the software's view. EBCI or not.

Other requests to check-in came in at the same time as yours since the system sees everyone as the same and doesn't group you'll soon know who was punching the check-in button at the same time as you.

Maybe A37 and A39 are in the same travel party. I've just never had that happen before. We always get four numbers in a row. DS9 is A40 and he wondered if he really had to be by himself. I had to remind him that this was just the boarding pass number, not his seat!

 

[twinklebug]

DS9 is A40 and he wondered if he really had to be by himself. I had to remind him that this was just the boarding pass number, not his seat!

That's cute (they want to grow up so bad, but when given the opportunity to "be on their own" they're scared stiff hehe.) I'd simply offer the person in front of him the opportunity to move up the line by 1 and swap spots so I could join my son.

Now me, I need to be sure I'm NOT sitting with my kids - DD is a teen who loves to hate everything I love... grrr... she will not dump on my time off.

 

[keishashadow]

on 1st flight out of PIT tomorrow, EBC purchased 9/1, received

A-16 thru A-18

 

[Anal Annie]

I am a little late to the game on this one. We usually fly Air Tran from BWI and I DO get assigned seats (but book thru Kayak.com so we never actually PAY for them...). Anyway, SW going down over spring break was about $70 cheaper pp (for an evening flight out of BWI) so I booked us one-way on Oct. 13 when the schedules were released. During my initial purchase I breezed right past paying for the EBCI because it still wasn't an assigned seat, just an advanced way to get a boarding number. We don't normally use SW but so I figured I'd just deal with it later. I just started looking into it more yesterday and I added the EBCI for our March flight. I became concerned about the possibility of it being an evening flight with others connecting thru BWI in essence beating us on the T-24 check-in. The flight is not sold out yet but all of the cheaper fares are gone. I called SW yesterday & they said there are still 50 seats left but that the EBCI feature has become very popular. She couldn't tell how many people have used it on this flight.

So now I am feeling like I dropped the ball. I hope I didn't just waste my money by purchasing it so late in the game. I mean the flight is still almost 4 months away but it's 3/4 sold already. Anybody have experience with adding EBCI almost 2 months later but still several months before the flight? I am wondering how many people are purchasing it at the time of initial purchase VS how many are adding it later on like I just did?? I also wonder if it's of more value on an evening flight when the odds are higher of it being a connecting flight for many. That is just not something I thought about when I made my initial purchase. I am glad we're using Air Tran for our return. At least I have my seat assignments & they definitley participate in RAC. If we use SW again I would probably definitely sign up for this at the time of initial purchase. I like to save a buck where I can too but I am not a fan of the SW check-in / boarding process. I can see it being especially valuable for a return from Disney.

 

[Anjelica]

We did the EBCI for our flight(s) from LAX to STL this past Saturday (Thanksgiving weekend). We had a plane change in Las Vegas. Our boarding passes for the leg from LAX to Las Vegas was A16, A17, A18 and A19. Our boarding passes for the leg from Las Vegas to STL (which WAS a full flight) were A19, A20, A21 and A22.

It was good for us to purchase the EBCI for our trip back home as we weren't going to be convienently located next to a pc to do a check in at T-24.

 

[magic2]

Can one person pay the early check in fee and then hold the other 2 people their seats?

 

[Luckymommyx2]

 

[Anal Annie]

Can one person pay the early check in fee and then hold the other 2 people their seats?

I think that's technically NOT how it's SUPPOSED to work. I don't think they will stop you but the seat saving thing is ummm...well, it's kinda cheating. So I guess that would be a moral decision on your part. Personally, I would not. But I'm sure some will.

 

[bavaria]

I think that's technically NOT how it's SUPPOSED to work. I don't think they will stop you but the seat saving thing is ummm...well, it's kinda cheating. So I guess that would be a moral decision on your part. Personally, I would not. But I'm sure some will.

As discussed earlier on this thread, SW has made it very clear several times that they have no policy against saving seats, and their FAs will not become involved in disputes. There have also been first hand reports to support this.

I personally don't agree as I think that SW is creating a potentially negative situation, but they have stated their stance on this issue.

 

[LidoDeck]

I think that's technically NOT how it's SUPPOSED to work. I don't think they will stop you but the seat saving thing is ummm...well, it's kinda cheating. So I guess that would be a moral decision on your part. Personally, I would not. But I'm sure some will.

I totally agree that seat-saving is "cheating". Southwest doesn't even (yet) acknowledge this problem, so folks who experience it need to be very vocal in communicating with the airline.

 

[disneyfreak71]

Can one person pay the early check in fee and then hold the other 2 people their seats?

It is very simple. You can get on, attempt to save seats, and someone else if they want can sit in the seat you "saved". SW will not get involved because they have an open seating policy. If there is not a body in the seat, it is fair game.

 

[CruisinPT]

For our 12/2 flight from PHL-MCO no EBCI check in at T24 we got A30-33.

For tomorrow 12/6 MCO-PHL with EBCI purchased approx 1 month after EBCI was announced we got A20-23. It was nice not having to worry where in the park I was at 1:10.

 

[twinklebug]

Flt down PVD to MCO on Thursday 12/3 5:35 with EBCI: we were assigned A25, A26, A27 - -a couple families in front of us, no business travelers, at least one group behind us with EBCI. Was worth it for not to having to remember to check in at 24hr mark.

Flt on Monday 12/7 2:45pm MCO to PVD: With EBCI we were assigned A40, 41, 42. Full flight - lots of business travelers in front of us. I was glad to be ahead of the family boarders as that line stretched waaaay out into the main isle of the airport.

Side note: I had always wondered what they did with the balloons. One little girl had a Mickey ear balloon from the MK in line. When she boarded my ds reported that they still had it, but it was deflated. Hmm, they'd pop up in the lower pressure wouldn't they?

 

[cbsnyber1]

Just checked in for our 7:05 AM flight tomorrow (Saturday Dec. 12) PIT to MCO, used EBCI: group of six, got A16, 18, 19, 20, 21. Flight must be sold out because the "Wanna get away" fare is no longer available.

Here's the strange thing: one member of our party got "Airport Checkin Required". Why would one member of a six person group get that message?

 

[HelenParr]

I've never had the Airport Check In required -- but I've read from others it is usually a TSA watch list issue. The name is close to a watch list name. They recently switched to checking middle name and initial -- so there may be more people who need to check in at the airport rather than on-line.

Since there are 6 of you (I saw from other post), even if the watch list person has a c boarding pass, you will not have trouble saving that seat..it's mostly an annoyance (but if it does anything to keep us all safer, so be it).

 

[twinklebug]

I think it's random. A couple years back both of my kids had the Airport check in required message on our return flight. I was traveling alone with them but I got my boarding pass number fine.

Airport security was baffled as to why 2 kids would have been flagged & waived them through (SW's system didn't ask ages, so it considered them adults.)