Southwest- seating issue

[sam_gordon]

I’ve seen over well 20 preboards… 6 wheelchairs & their companions, then several people walking on & families groups of 4 -5. This happens on many flights. We buy Business Select on opening day & have gotten A 1& 2 many times. Even then, we’ve had to go to row 5 or 6 to get 2 seats together.

Still seems like a really high number. Is it possible? Sure. Likely? I'd say no.

 

[Dug720]

I got EBCI for my flight to Nashville tomorrow purchased not long after they went on sale. I have A37 - which isn't horrible, but we'll see how many people are doing the 1 or 2 buying it and saving seats (as well as pre-boards). It may bump up a little since they're still selling positions in A 1-15, but for $104 no thank you. We'll see what I end up with coming back to NYC.

To me, it's even more annoying that I can't see how full the flight is with open seating. LOL. On a legacy where you purchase seats, you get an idea as to how full a flight is going to be by checking the seating chart.

 

[pooch]

I try to purchase 8 tickets, not a great barometer but at least I get an idea.

 

[Akck]

I’ll throw in something else to consider. For our next flight, we went ahead and applied for the SWA credit card. They offered a $400 credit, so our tickets ended up costing around $200 for the two of us, including the $69 annual fee on the card. I didn’t know it at the time, but the card included 2 free EBCI each year so that was another savings. There’s also points we’ll get for charging $750 on the card. We’re also supposed to get 1 free checked bag for each of us.

My wife hates the boarding process. We were flying to Cancun with a son’s family and of course, our son refused to get EBCI. So, dutifully at 24 hours, we both checked in. Unfortunately, there was a glitch/feature where we had to input passport information and it failed the first time. By the time we finished, we ended up in group C. I immediately paid for the group A upgrade and we were able to save a seat so our granddaughter could sit with us. Her parents were seated separately. The last time we flew on SWA, EBCI got us group B, but we were able to sit together at the back of the plane.