Southwest question about Early Board Fee

[Moms3sons]

If I pay for the Early Bird Boarding fee for me and hubby only - will they not allow young kids (4, 5, 9) to board at the same time?

We are flying Southwest for the first time this May. I am going to do the 24 hour check in for our flight down since I can easily do this from home. We will surely be in the parks 24 hours before our return flight and I'm thinking of paying the $10 early booking fee for the two adults only so not to worry about this process. Will they allow our young children to board with us or would they hold us back to board with the children later (which defeats the purpose of paying such a fee)?

I hate paying any fee when I'm still not able to choose a specific seat, but I'm concerned about getting all 5 of us seated together.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Everyone boards by number. If you pay for EBCI you'll have a lower number. If your children have higher numbers and you want to remain together, they will suggest you board with them, not the other way around. If you buy EBCI for one adult and one child, those two can board early but then you may run into issues with seat saving.

Pay the money or don't pay the money... but don't try and circumvent the process they have established.

 

[Hannathy]

Everyone boards by number. If you pay for EBCI you'll have a lower number. If your children have higher numbers and you want to remain together, they will suggest you board with them, not the other way around. If you buy EBCI for one adult and one child, those two can board early but then you may run into issues with seat saving.

Pay the money or don't pay the money... but don't try and circumvent the process they have established.

And you said it much nicer than I would have.




You need to decide on your priorities and act accordingly. If sitting together is your top priority then pay for it, if saving money is your top priority then accept what goes with it and that is not sitting together possibly.

 

[bumbershoot]

I was on a flight from San Diego to San Jose then up to Seattle (can't recall which flight it was when this was said) and it was going to be full, and the FAs were telling us to make sure to take items off the seats so that people boarding knew what seats are free, and if we were hoping to save a seat for someone, that that wasn't going to be possible... And that was just a Monday flight without Disney on either end....


if you have a smartphone, get familiar with the mobile site for checking in. Then set a few alarms for the hours before the 24 hour mark, and check in from your smartphone. Or if you have a tech-savvy person at home, have them check you in from afar! You don't need to print the boarding passes at the time of checkin; you can print them (it will say "reprint" but don't let that bug ya) either later when you get back to your resort, or even at the airport...

 

[goofy4tink]

Let's think of it this way......you book SW knowing that you can't choose a 'particular' seat. BUT...with other airlines, you can choose a 'particular' seat...and you tend to pay more. AND...you may very well find that 'particular' seat changed....legacy airlines do that all the time. It is a constant complaint here.
Most seasoned travelers like SW simply because of their boarding policy. You get to choose your seat when you see what's available. If it's important to have a specific seat, or to be seated with someone else, then you can pay an addtl $10 per person and be able to board before the general passengers who didn't pay the fee.

But, you really shouldn't think that if you and your dh pay that fee, your children will then be able to board with you. If I pay that $10 fee, I am not going to be happy to find that 3 non-paying passengers got to board before me.

Here's the thing....if you manage to get into the middle of the B group, you shouldn't have any issue finding seats together. BUT, with all the passengers paying that $10 fee, more and more 'regular' passengers, checking in at the 24 hr window, are getting pushed further and further back in the groupings. Just pay the addlt $30 for the kids and be done with it.

 

[Danibelle]

Everyone boards by number. If you pay for EBCI you'll have a lower number. If your children have higher numbers and you want to remain together, they will suggest you board with them, not the other way around. If you buy EBCI for one adult and one child, those two can board early but then you may run into issues with seat saving.

Pay the money or don't pay the money... but don't try and circumvent the process they have established.

I would pay the money. Seat saving might not work. I think EBCI is worth it if you are having a hard time making the 24 hr. checkin on your return flight. I have used EBCI and think it is worth the money.

 

[Dacky619]

Everyone boards by number. If you pay for EBCI you'll have a lower number. If your children have higher numbers and you want to remain together, they will suggest you board with them, not the other way around. If you buy EBCI for one adult and one child, those two can board early but then you may run into issues with seat saving.

Pay the money or don't pay the money... but don't try and circumvent the process they have established.

That says it all right there