Southwest EB Check In

[jackal]

I did the Early Bird Check in for our flight tomorrow. I signed up a few months ago for the early bird. We got number A52,53, 54, 55. That seems awful far for picking early bird a few months in advance??? Last time I did it in August, we got A32-35. Should I be concerned? DD8 hates to fly and shel likes to be closer to the front, at least before the exit rows. Do you think with A52 there is still a possibility of getting before the exit rows?

 

[Jestocost]

I did the Early Bird Check in for our flight tomorrow. I signed up a few months ago for the early bird. We got number A52,53, 54, 55. That seems awful far for picking early bird a few months in advance??? Last time I did it in August, we got A32-35. Should I be concerned? DD8 hates to fly and shel likes to be closer to the front, at least before the exit rows. Do you think with A52 there is still a possibility of getting before the exit rows?

Hard to say, really. There certainly should be four seats close together--at least two sets of two seats, if not a whole row plus one--somewhere on the plane well into the Bs. However, there are only 60 seats before the exit rows on most SWA planes, so it certainly could be that you'll have to go farther back in your spots. One wild card will be if there are passengers continuing their flight on your plane that started on it earlier and how many of them there are. They will stay on the plane and be in their seats before anybody at your airport has a chance to board. On the plus side, there usually are only a couple of people in tha A1-A15 slots set aside for Business Select ticket holders, so you probably will be somewhere around the 40th people to board vs. 52-55.

You don't say where you are flying out of, but it's possible that you have people connecting on to your flight from somewhere else that have used EBCI. That means they got their seats assigned 36 hours before their first flight, which would be a couple of hours ahead of when you got your assignments.

Bottom line is that as more and more people use EBCI they are getting higher numbers. However, you should have no trouble getting seats together somewhere; even if it's not in front of the exit rows.

 

[jackal]

We are flying out of Milwaukee and it's a 7:00 am flight. I doubt there will be people on their from a previous flight.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Remember too that passes A-1 though A-17 are reserved for business select passengers. Usually, all those positions aren't filled prior to boarding so you move up about 10 people in line.

 

[Jestocost]

We are flying out of Milwaukee and it's a 7:00 am flight. I doubt there will be people on their from a previous flight.

I agree, which helps your chances. There still are going to be 40-50 people on ahead of your group, with many vying for the 60 seats ahead of the exit rows and taking two out of three seats in any given side.

You WILL get seats together; just maybe not ahead of the exit.

 

[TJA]

We did not have the EB, but we just flew SW last week and were B25-28 and had no problem getting seats together. However, on our flight home, I lost track of time and checked in 15 minutes late and we were in the B40's and still got seats together but in the last few rows of the plane, so it was a close call.

 

[Cherinva]

I flew SW 2 weeks ago...my boarding was A57 (did not do early bird, and I checked in exactly 24 hours before)....I was able to sit in the 2nd row.

 

[dester]

You should have no problen sitting together but forget about exit row seats.

 

[Denise W]

I recently flew roundtrip PVD to TPA and bought Early Boarding in both directions. I purchased them about 6 months ago. On the way down I got A20, on the way back I got A58. I got an exit row seat on both flights.

Denise

 

[Jestocost]

I flew SW 2 weeks ago...my boarding was A57 (did not do early bird, and I checked in exactly 24 hours before)....I was able to sit in the 2nd row.

Single seats will be available up toward the front of the aircraft for quite some time. Four seats together, not so much.

You should have no problen sitting together but forget about exit row seats.

The OP has an eight year old who will not be allowed to sit in an exit row regardless.

 

[poohbear2]

I purchased my tickets the first day they were on sale within the first 15 minutes and got A 59 60 and B1.

 

[LidoDeck]

We purchased our tickets the day they went on sale and immediately added EBCI. We flew LAS - MCO Wednesday April 20 - non-stop, but there were through passengers from San Diego already on board. We got A52 & A53, but still got aisle and middle just ahead of exit row. Because the window seat does not recline in that row, we hoped it would stay empty, but that was not to be.

 

[Dizzyworld]

We purchased our tickets the day they went on sale and immediately added EBCI. We flew LAS - MCO Wednesday April 20 - non-stop, but there were through passengers from San Diego already on board. We got A52 & A53, but still got aisle and middle just ahead of exit row. Because the window seat does not recline in that row, we hoped it would stay empty, but that was not to be.

We like the row in front of the exit row - "no kicking the back of my seat kid" will be in it. My kids would rather have a kick free ride than be able to recline their seat.

 

[magicaldisney]

We are flying out of Milwaukee and it's a 7:00 am flight. I doubt there will be people on their from a previous flight.

Not necessarily so. When we fly Southwest, we fly out of Minneapolis and stop at Milwaukee before heading to MCO. When we land in Milwaukee we are able to change seats before you board. For the most part, those of us already on board will move up to the front.