SW Check-in With Kids

[wildfan1473]

Help! My 2 boys and I are leaving for Anaheim on Wednesday. I haven't flown SW in years, and I just realized it is open boarding

What is my best option to make sure we are sitting together? I see you can check in online now, and they also have the Early Bird thing. Is one better than the other? DH will meet us there next weekend and fly home with us, so I'm not terribly concerned about that flight, but me with the 2 boys, and the older one has an anxiety disorder, I am just slightly stressed out right now.

Thanks!

 

[Tara]

Help! My 2 boys and I are leaving for Anaheim on Wednesday. I haven't flown SW in years, and I just realized it is open boarding

What is my best option to make sure we are sitting together? I see you can check in online now, and they also have the Early Bird thing. Is one better than the other? DH will meet us there next weekend and fly home with us, so I'm not terribly concerned about that flight, but me with the 2 boys, and the older one has an anxiety disorder, I am just slightly stressed out right now.

Thanks!

Yes, Early Bird Check-In (EBCI) is better than checking in at 24 hours. It will automatically check you in before the 24hr mark (at about 36hrs), giving you a better boarding position than those checking in at 24hrs. There are 137 seats, and 60 are in the A group, so if you are in that group, you are pretty much assured of having plenty of choice. Is one of your children 4 or under? If so, you will be able to board between the A and B groups if you want. (Obviously, you'd only want to do this if you have a B or C boarding pass - if you have an A, board by your number.)

 

[wildfan1473]

The boys are 5 and 8, so I can't use the age thing. I just checked the flight, and it is sold out, so it's going to be a full flight.

 

[Tara]

I'd spring for EBCI if I were you. The only challenge is that it's apparently done on a first in, first assigned basis, so when you add EBCI determines where you are in the queue for your boarding number. All the people who already bought EBCI are ahead of you. That still gives you a good advantage over the people checking in at 24hrs, though. $30 is worth it to me to not even have to worry about being at the computer at the 24hr mark.