Southwest Questions...please help!

[vicky33006]

Please forgive me. I'm an overly paranoid person who hasn't flown much. We are planning on flying Southwest and I'm hoping to book when they release their prices for March. But, I have some questions. Again, I really don't know much about flying. I haven't flown in ten years...since last time I went to Disney Any help I could find with any of my concerns would be a huge relief to me!

1. Early Bird Check-In- Totally worth it right? And if I do this, I can print my own boarding passes at some point before heading to the airport? When I print the pass I will know where we stand as far as what group (letters or however they work this) we can board with? My DS is six and this will be his first time ever flying, so I need to do everything I can to make sure I can sit with him...shouldn't be a huge problem..hopefully???

2. OK, now I'm really going to show my lack of flying knowledge. We are planning to book non-refundable. What I'm wondering is, what happens in the case of a delay or a flight cancellation?

BTW there are three of us flying. It will be me, my DS, and my adult sister as well. Thanks for any help!

 

[rwdavis2]

Please forgive me. I'm an overly paranoid person who hasn't flown much. We are planning on flying Southwest and I'm hoping to book when they release their prices for March. But, I have some questions. Again, I really don't know much about flying. I haven't flown in ten years...since last time I went to Disney Any help I could find with any of my concerns would be a huge relief to me!

1. Early Bird Check-In- Totally worth it right? And if I do this, I can print my own boarding passes at some point before heading to the airport? When I print the pass I will know where we stand as far as what group (letters or however they work this) we can board with? My DS is six and this will be his first time ever flying, so I need to do everything I can to make sure I can sit with him...shouldn't be a huge problem..hopefully???

2. OK, now I'm really going to show my lack of flying knowledge. We are planning to book non-refundable. What I'm wondering is, what happens in the case of a delay or a flight cancellation?

BTW there are three of us flying. It will be me, my DS, and my adult sister as well. Thanks for any help!

You don't need to do EBCI to print your boarding passes ahead of time. EBCI is just to have SW check you in automatically 36 hours before the flight. If you don't get EBCI you check in at the 24 hour mark, get your boarding group & number then print the boarding pass. Even with EBCI you cannot print the boarding pass prior to the 24 hour mark. Unless you wait until you get to the airport to check in you will not have a problem sitting with your son.

Non-refundable means you cannot get your money back if you cancel your flight. You get a credit if you cancel and you have, I think, one year to use the credit. Flight delays and cancellations by Southwest itself has nothing to do with non-refundable tickets.

 

[francie57]

We flew SW for the first time in June and will be flying SW in two weeks. We purchased the early check-in for all our flights. I am one that will print the boarding passes the day before our trip but I don't want to have to be worried about being on the computer at exactly 24 hours. We really loved this feature for the return flilght since we didn't have to worry about being in a park and having to find a computer at the 24 hour mark. We just took our luggage to the RAC desk on the morning we checked out and they printed the boarding passes then. Since early check-in assigns your boarding no. at the 36 hour mark we were all set - we had A19 and 20. We booked the early check-in on the day our flights were available since others have said the numbers are assigned by when you purchase. SW doesn have family boarding between A and B but at some airports it is discontinued on flights to Orlando since most are families. This was the case with our trip - no family boarding. As for a delay on SW's part, you would just have to sit at the airport until your flight was ready. If SW cancels a flight they would have to rebook you or give you a credit since it isn't your fault.

 

[vicky33006]

You don't need to do EBCI to print your boarding passes ahead of time. EBCI is just to have SW check you in automatically 36 hours before the flight. If you don't get EBCI you check in at the 24 hour mark, get your boarding group & number then print the boarding pass. Even with EBCI you cannot print the boarding pass prior to the 24 hour mark. Unless you wait until you get to the airport to check in you will not have a problem sitting with your son.

Non-refundable means you cannot get your money back if you cancel your flight. You get a credit if you cancel and you have, I think, one year to use the credit. Flight delays and cancellations by Southwest itself has nothing to do with non-refundable tickets.

Thanks so much for the reply! I did hear about the 24 hour thing, but also was concerned that could be very inconvenient for the trip back. I don't want to have to worry about being at a computer while at Disney. Thanks for the info on the non-refundable!!!

 

[vicky33006]

We flew SW for the first time in June and will be flying SW in two weeks. We purchased the early check-in for all our flights. I am one that will print the boarding passes the day before our trip but I don't want to have to be worried about being on the computer at exactly 24 hours. We really loved this feature for the return flilght since we didn't have to worry about being in a park and having to find a computer at the 24 hour mark. We just took our luggage to the RAC desk on the morning we checked out and they printed the boarding passes then. Since early check-in assigns your boarding no. at the 36 hour mark we were all set - we had A19 and 20. We booked the early check-in on the day our flights were available since others have said the numbers are assigned by when you purchase. SW doesn have family boarding between A and B but at some airports it is discontinued on flights to Orlando since most are families. This was the case with our trip - no family boarding. As for a delay on SW's part, you would just have to sit at the airport until your flight was ready. If SW cancels a flight they would have to rebook you or give you a credit since it isn't your fault.

Thanks so much! I really think I might just go for the early check-in. The price isn't too bad, and the peace of mind might be worth it. Thanks so much for the info!