Southwest - earlybird check in or not?

[mmbrad02]

We are flying in September from lousiville to Orlando. It's three of us, my husband, myself, and our three year old.

In what cases do you do earlybird? When would you not?

I'm trying to save all the pennies I can, but at the same time I am personally not a huge fan of flying. I have no idea how my three year old will do. Her last flight she had just turned one and was still in her infant carrier and slept the whole way. To sum it up, I really want to sit together.

 

[cramtoer]

Families traveling with small children may board after the A group and before the B group. You should have no problem getting seats together, so you can save your $$$.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I know our airport has canceled family boarding when it was almost all families. so I would not count on family boarding for a Disney trip. plus depending on how many people stay on flight there could be a number of people already on board before medical boarding

 

[goofy4tink]

I know that some have reported that family boarding was suspended for their flight, but that doesn't happen often. If you don't want to pay the extra money, be sure to be ready to checkin right at the 24 hr window. If you're just 5 mins late, your boarding slot will be high. You should be fine with family boarding, and if for some reason it isn't offered, you should still be able to find 3 seats together closer to the rear of the plane.

 

[NikkiV72]

Family boarding or not, the early bird automatically assigns you the best available loading position. So, you don't have to be sure to log onto the website and get your boarding pass at 24 hours to be insured an A pass. We did early bird twice and it was well worth the money not to worry about where we were boarding. We were traveling with two small children each time. If my husband and I traveled alone, we would likely not be overly concerned about early bird.

 

[goofy4tink]

Family boarding or not, the early bird automatically assigns you the best available loading position. So, you don't have to be sure to log onto the website and get your boarding pass at 24 hours to be insured an A pass. We did early bird twice and it was well worth the money not to worry about where we were boarding. We were traveling with two small children each time. If my husband and I traveled alone, we would likely not be overly concerned about early bird.

But, the issue is that with so many people paying for EBCI now, you can very easily end up in the B group! And when you add in family boarding prior to the B group, well, people get annoyed. They 'think' they are getting in the A group when they pay for EBCI...not always the case.

 

[wdwfan874]

You board the plane after the entire a group boards the plane. Enjoy it while it lasts, because once your child is greater than four, you won't be offered family boarding.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Well, I just added EBCI to my late June flight from Chicago to Boston and back.

I just called SW and asked how full the flight was / could they tell me how many people had already purchased EBCI (since my flight is fairly close). She said she could not see how many people had EBCI already, but assured me that there was still "a good amount of available seats" on my flights. (Though less avail. on the return flight). So, assuming not everyone buys EBCI, I should have a decent boarding #. I really think there should be a limit to the # of EBCI they sell. In theory, you could pay for it and still be the last person to board.

I believe she could have told me exactly how many seats were sold, but she wasn't budging. I was sugary sweet and tried to get a little sympathy with the "we rarely fly, my kids have only flown 1 time and hated it," blah, blah. I think the fact that my kids are 12 and (will be) 16 earned me zero sympathy.

I figured I've wasted $75 on other crap before, so I'd give it a shot anyway. We really are all fearful flyers and my DH isn't coming with us, so I am really hoping to get to sit at least within a row of both of my kids. I have not told them that there is a possibility we will not get to sit together. I don't think they'd even get in the car to go to the airport if I did. Also a concern, my DD16 will be carrying on a guitar. The only way this will work is if there is space in the overhead compartments when we board. Ugh.

OP, if it is really important to you, isn't $75 worth it? I would do what I did and call first, though. I would really push to know how full your flight already is. If it's pretty empty, jump on the EBCI.

 

[Gracie09]

My opinion for what it's worth is that is I am traveling with a young child, disabled adult, elderly person or anyone that I may need to sit next to, it is my responsibility as a parent or companion to 1) know the procedure surrounding boarding the airplane. 2) do whatever I can to maximize the chance that we are sitting together. For sw it would be buying ebci. For other airlines it could be upgrading or purchasing seat selections (or choosing seats if there is no cost) and then periodically checking them to make sure they "stick" and if they don't call the airline. The cost for these are built into my pricing of airfare like the cost of checked baggage would be.3) for more complicated special needs call the airline and make any necessary arrangements.
If I do all he above and something still gets messed up at the last minute I can calmly explain what I did to try an prevent the issue and ask for assistance to get an adequate resolution. However, I find it is usually not necessary because I have cover my bases so to speak.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

This question comes up over and over.

There are just too many variables for us to be able to tell you yes or no. It depends on where you are flying out of, if the plane will be empty or if you are a stop to pick up more passengers, how many families and guests with special needs there are, how many business travelers are on the plane, how many other people purchase EBCI, if you will have Internet access to check in exactly at 24 hour for BOTH flights.

You have to decide how much a little extra insurance that you will probably get to sit together is worth to you.

 

[goofy4tink]

Well, I just added EBCI to my late June flight from Chicago to Boston and back.

I just called SW and asked how full the flight was / could they tell me how many people had already purchased EBCI (since my flight is fairly close). She said she could not see how many people had EBCI already, but assured me that there was still "a good amount of available seats" on my flights. (Though less avail. on the return flight). So, assuming not everyone buys EBCI, I should have a decent boarding #. I really think there should be a limit to the # of EBCI they sell. In theory, you could pay for it and still be the last person to board.

I believe she could have told me exactly how many seats were sold, but she wasn't budging. I was sugary sweet and tried to get a little sympathy with the "we rarely fly, my kids have only flown 1 time and hated it," blah, blah. I think the fact that my kids are 12 and (will be) 16 earned me zero sympathy.

I figured I've wasted $75 on other crap before, so I'd give it a shot anyway. We really are all fearful flyers and my DH isn't coming with us, so I am really hoping to get to sit at least within a row of both of my kids. I have not told them that there is a possibility we will not get to sit together. I don't think they'd even get in the car to go to the airport if I did. Also a concern, my DD16 will be carrying on a guitar. The only way this will work is if there is space in the overhead compartments when we board. Ugh.

OP, if it is really important to you, isn't $75 worth it? I would do what I did and call first, though. I would really push to know how full your flight already is. If it's pretty empty, jump on the EBCI.

The employee could tell you what the number is at that moment, but it caon change substantially...within a minute! I can understand why they are not forthcoming with that info.

Here's the thing....people need to just figure in the EBCI as a part of the fare. The vast majority of people here fly SW because it tends to be cheaper...not everyone but a lot. So, figure your flight is going to be $13 more expensive than stated. You get two bags free of charge, so you don't pay a baggage fee!
If you don't want to take a chance on when you board and able to get seats together, then pay a bit more and fly an airline that allows you to choose your seats when booking. But...be aware. You can't be 100% sure those seats are the seats you will have when you fly. Usually they are, but airlines change equipment, which changes seat configuration.

 

[wdwfan874]

Employees cannot see how many people bought earlybird check-in. Employees can see how many seats are still open for sale and how many standbys have listed.

 

[Minniekins]

So, does matter when you add the EBIC to your acct? Does it matter if I buy, say, when I'm purchasing our tickets, or wait till that week of our flights? Any advantage to buying early or it doesn't matter, because it only matters that I do the early bird check in at the exact 36 hour mark before the flight? TIA!

 

[goofy4tink]

So, does matter when you add the EBIC to your acct? Does it matter if I buy, say, when I'm purchasing our tickets, or wait till that week of our flights? Any advantage to buying early or it doesn't matter, because it only matters that I do the early bird check in at the exact 36 hour mark before the flight? TIA!

We 'think' that the earlier you buy EBCI, the better slot you'll get. But, there are variables. SW has ways of discerning who gets checked in sooner, at that 36 hr window...the fare that was purchased, who purchased it, and when it was purchased, as well as when the EBCI was added. I always book EBCI when I book my flights.

 

[mcd531]

I was reading this because I was wondering about EBCI too but now I'm more confused. Does this mean that when my husband, 8 year old, and I fly in November that if I do not get EBCI that my 8 year old could end up sitting by herself without either parent?

 

[Lewisc]

We 'think' that the earlier you buy EBCI, the better slot you'll get. But, there are variables. SW has ways of discerning who gets checked in sooner, at that 36 hr window...the fare that was purchased, who purchased it, and when it was purchased, as well as when the EBCI was added. I always book EBCI when I book my flights.

The date you purchase EBCI is one of the factors used to determine your BP number. The "geeks" on FT think the "fare bucket" you book is another factor.

I believe she could have told me exactly how many seats were sold, but she wasn't budging. I was sugary sweet and tried to get a little sympathy with the "we rarely fly, my kids have only flown 1 time and hated it," blah, blah. I think the fact that my kids are 12 and (will be) 16 earned me zero sympathy.

They are not suppose to tell you the exact number of passengers booked on the flight. It's considered a trade secret. They will tell you if the flight is overbooked. If you're "sugary sweet", and the CSR is nice, and they don't have a lot of calls waiting they might tell if you the flight is half empty or pretty full. The answer is probably irrelevant. A lot of passengers buy their tickets a few days before the flight.

I was reading this because I was wondering about EBCI too but now I'm more confused. Does this mean that when my husband, 8 year old, and I fly in November that if I do not get EBCI that my 8 year old could end up sitting by herself without either parent?

Checking in at T24 should normally get you at least two seats together, probably near the back of the plane. Three seats together, you might need EBCI.

IMPORTANT. Buy EBCI if your flight will have continuing passengers or connecting passengers. Continuing passengers will be on the plane before anyone boards. Connecting passengers will get their BPs 24 hours before their first flight.

 

[luvmy2babies]

I always get it. I travel alone with 2 children and I've seen family boarding cancelled a couple of times. My son is just 4. My daughter just turned 11; but, has low level anxiety.

I'm just usually busy at the 24 hour mark too. Especially for our return flight, I don't want to stop to check in so it's nice having it done for me. We've been fortunate. We have always been in the A group. We've had numbers as low as A17-19 (October trip) and once we had A58-60 (Thanksgiving week), which is the end of the A group. We'll see what happens on the next one. We're flying out the day before Memorial Day.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

depending on time of your flight, the EBCI can mean very little. depends on how many people are staying on flight from before it gets to your stop. plane could have a lot of people esp if it is headed to Disney. you could be in trouble getting seats together if only few people left in waiting area after A group. I always try for a early flight where the plane overnights at the airport and we are first on. this is not as big a problem headed home but on the way down. I was on a flight were 30 or more stayed on plane and were allowed to change seats before medical boarding by time family boarding happened very few empty rows were left. there were a lot of unhappy parents. so if not an early flight plan on people already on plane

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We always buy the EBCI for the return flight so we don't have to worry about checking in while on vacation. That is totally worth it!

We typically don't buy EBCI on our flight down, but I also check in right at T24 and we've never had an issue not getting seats together.

 

[Hannathy]

I was reading this because I was wondering about EBCI too but now I'm more confused. Does this mean that when my husband, 8 year old, and I fly in November that if I do not get EBCI that my 8 year old could end up sitting by herself without either parent?

yes it could. If there are no seats together when you board they would have to sit somewhere without a parent.

Just make sure they have their own bag of things to occupy themselves and understand not to get off the airplane until one of their parents comes and gets them.

Mine sat alone often at that age, heck they were flying alone at that age.

If you really want to try and avoid this then at least one parent and the child should buy early boarding.