SW/EBCI

[dancin Disney style]

I flying home from MCO on March 18th at 9:30pm. I don't usually buy EBCI as my DD is 16 so we don't need to sit together although, we much prefer it. I'm wondering what the Disers think about the number of little kids that might be on a flight at that time of night. If I buy the EBCI I would want the jump on the family boarders. My last couple of flights it seemed like half the people boarding were in the family line....whether they should have been or not. I've also had a seat kicking kid on a recent flight. My thought is that if I got an A I could sit closer to the front and less chance of a kid behind me. That I would happily pay for.


I hope that didn't sound harsh. I love little kids but not when they kick my seat constantly for 3 hours.

 

[wink13]

I did the EBCI on my last flight and ended up with B boarding pass after the family boarding. Wasn't very happy as I also had my 16 year old son, we ended up sitting on aisle seat one behind the other. Unlikely to purchase EBCI again as if you don't get an A boarding there is really no value. It might be worth it for you but you could end up like me with expense and no value.

 

[debster812]

I think the lateness of your flight might help to eliminate some little kids, but flying from Orlando, you know there will be loads of kids on the flight.

You could also hedge your bets, see what the gate area looks like, and pay to upgrade to Business Select at the gate (I think it's $30 or $40 depending on the flight/route).

 

[Disneylover99]

We always take the latest flight home on SW from Orlando to Buffalo. There are still lots of kids. Family boarding lines are long. We always buy EBCI and thankfully have been in A boarding group every time. I too would be peeved if I bought EBCI and was in B boarding behind all the families.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I did the EBCI on my last flight and ended up with B boarding pass after the family boarding. Wasn't very happy as I also had my 16 year old son, we ended up sitting on aisle seat one behind the other. Unlikely to purchase EBCI again as if you don't get an A boarding there is really no value. It might be worth it for you but you could end up like me with expense and no value.

Thats' what I'm afraid of...paying for it and still getting a B

I think the lateness of your flight might help to eliminate some little kids, but flying from Orlando, you know there will be loads of kids on the flight.

You could also hedge your bets, see what the gate area looks like, and pay to upgrade to Business Select at the gate (I think it's $30 or $40 depending on the flight/route).

For sure there are always lots of kids.
There's no way I would pay the $30-$40 upgrade. I'm Canadian so I have to add an additional 40% for the exchange rate. It's really not that big of a deal anyway.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We always take the latest flight home on SW from Orlando to Buffalo. There are still lots of kids. Family boarding lines are long. We always buy EBCI and thankfully have been in A boarding group every time. I too would be peeved if I bought EBCI and was in B boarding behind all the families.

I think part of my dilemma is that it's so late in the game to buy EBCI. That return flight (to BUF) is only about 27 days away.

 

[Disneylover99]

I think part of my dilemma is that it's so late in the game to buy EBCI. That return flight (to BUF) is only about 27 days away.

I know what you mean. It's a crapshoot. Is it common to log in at exactly 24 hours and still get A boarding group?

 

[debster812]

Thats' what I'm afraid of...paying for it and still getting a B


For sure there are always lots of kids.
There's no way I would pay the $30-$40 upgrade. I'm Canadian so I have to add an additional 40% for the exchange rate. It's really not that big of a deal anyway.

I'm American, and I'd be hard pressed to pay that as well.

And you're right, you are pretty late in the game for an EBCI checkin.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[dancin Disney style]

I know what you mean. It's a crapshoot. Is it common to log in at exactly 24 hours and still get A boarding group?

I would say no but I did get one in December on a 10am flight out of MCO. I think we had A48-49. If I remember correctly the last time I got an A was in 2010.

 

[DebbieB]

I had a flight in December, I got B26 at 24 hours. The family boarding line was huge. I prefer a window seat, I assumed I could get one in the back. Nope. Took an aisle two rows from the back. Between seat savers and couples sitting aisle-window (leaving the middle open), no window seats. They changed the family boarding to ages 6 and under (used to be 4 and under) and looking at the line, some of the families were probably 8 or 10 and under. The descent into Orlando was really bumpy, probably worse since I was in the back. After I got there, I decided to buy EBCI for the return and take my chances. I got A58, so before the families. I still ended up behind the exit row but got a window. I'm buying EBCI from now on. I haven't got an A at 24 hours in a long time.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I had a flight in December, I got B26 at 24 hours. The family boarding line was huge. I prefer a window seat, I assumed I could get one in the back. Nope. Took an aisle two rows from the back. Between seat savers and couples sitting aisle-window (leaving the middle open), no window seats. They changed the family boarding to ages 6 and under (used to be 4 and under) and looking at the line, some of the families were probably 8 or 10 and under. The descent into Orlando was really bumpy, probably worse since I was in the back. After I got there, I decided to buy EBCI for the return and take my chances. I got A58, so before the families. I still ended up behind the exit row but got a window. I'm buying EBCI from now on. I haven't got an A at 24 hours in a long time.

One of the things I love about posting is that you, sort of, get to think out loud. Earlier I thought that I would take my chances and if the family line was out of hand I would upgrade one of us(prob me) at the gate then save a seat for my DD.

Now I'm thinking, based on DebbieB that there might be a chance of getting an A if I buy EBCI now. Hmmm

 

[goofy4tink]

I truly think there are more and more people, like me, who just figure that EBCI fee as part of the total fare. It's certainly not enough of an addtl cost, at least for me, to worry about. It's actually less than the cost of a checked bag in most airlines.
I gladly pay it for peace of mind.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I truly think there are more and more people, like me, who just figure that EBCI fee as part of the total fare. It's certainly not enough of an addtl cost, at least for me, to worry about. It's actually less than the cost of a checked bag in most airlines.
I gladly pay it for peace of mind.

Good point

 

[jdb in AZ]

Last month I didn't have EBCI so I checked in right at the 24-hr mark and ended up in the high B's.

For the return flight I knew I wouldn't be able to check in right at the 24-hr mark so I went ahead and bought EBCI. Turns out the flight was less than half full so even the last person to board had a good choice of seats. Go figure.

 

[leebee]

You could hedge your bets and buy EBCI for your DD and then check yourself in at T-minus-24. That way she should get seated ahead of family boarding and hopefully will be able to hold the middle seat next to hers until you get on. (this is what I did for tomorrow's 6am flight from IND-BOS. Joke's on me... DD w/EBCI is A19, I, without EBCI, just got A20. Oh well.) However, if you are going to do EBCI, do it NOW... don't put it off any longer.

FWIW, I have never bought EBCI for our trips TO Florida but always buy it for the trip home, as I don't want to have to leave a park early or worry about forgetting to get online at exactly T-minus-24 to check-in for our flight.

 

[sam_gordon]

You could hedge your bets and buy EBCI for your DD and then check yourself in at T-minus-24. That way she should get seated ahead of family boarding and hopefully will be able to hold the middle seat next to hers until you get on. (this is what I did for tomorrow's 6am flight from IND-BOS. Joke's on me... DD w/EBCI is A19, I, without EBCI, just got A20. Oh well.) However, if you are going to do EBCI, do it NOW... don't put it off any longer.

FWIW, I have never bought EBCI for our trips TO Florida but always buy it for the trip home, as I don't want to have to leave a park early or worry about forgetting to get online at exactly T-minus-24 to check-in for our flight.

EBCI is NOT a guarantee of getting A boarding. As more and more people purchase it, folks are getting B boarding. I flew SW in January, checked in at T-24 for both directions and ended up with B boarding (once B33).

 

[leebee]

EBCI is NOT a guarantee of getting A boarding. As more and more people purchase it, folks are getting B boarding. I flew SW in January, checked in at T-24 for both directions and ended up with B boarding (once B33).

I know... that's why I said her daughter "should" get seated ahead of family boarding, not WILL get seated ahead of family boarding.

 

[dancin Disney style]

EBCI is NOT a guarantee of getting A boarding. As more and more people purchase it, folks are getting B boarding. I flew SW in January, checked in at T-24 for both directions and ended up with B boarding (once B33).

I've been getting low B number for the last two years checking in right at T-24. I have typically had in the B3-10 range. Once I had something around B35.

You could hedge your bets and buy EBCI for your DD and then check yourself in at T-minus-24. That way she should get seated ahead of family boarding and hopefully will be able to hold the middle seat next to hers until you get on. (this is what I did for tomorrow's 6am flight from IND-BOS. Joke's on me... DD w/EBCI is A19, I, without EBCI, just got A20. Oh well.) However, if you are going to do EBCI, do it NOW... don't put it off any longer.

FWIW, I have never bought EBCI for our trips TO Florida but always buy it for the trip home, as I don't want to have to leave a park early or worry about forgetting to get online at exactly T-minus-24 to check-in for our flight.

I have also bought it when my plans did not allow to check myself in but that was a good 4-5 years ago. With the parks and resorts all having Wifi it's pretty easy to stop for a minute and take care of it. That said, in Dec my DH and I ended up sitting in the resort lobby for 45 minutes waiting to check in because I didn't want to risk being in transit to the park and missing the exact time.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Funny family boarding story. I guess this is when I really became aware of how people abuse family boarding. We parked at the airport and boarded the shuttle to the terminal. Another family also got on with us. They had a boy and girl that I estimated to be 9-11 yrs old. We chatted about the boys hair....he had a really funky hair cut with some purple temp colour. Turned out they were from the same town as us and were going to be on our flight. They sat right next to us at the gate. When family boarding was called, with very clear instructions about who qualified, the dad says " We're a family, lets go". So I watched them get in the family line and were allowed to board. I think we had B3&4. Ever since then I have a good look at the family line and many. many times the adults out number the kids by 4:1.

 

[DebbieB]

Funny family boarding story. I guess this is when I really became aware of how people abuse family boarding. We parked at the airport and boarded the shuttle to the terminal. Another family also got on with us. They had a boy and girl that I estimated to be 9-11 yrs old. We chatted about the boys hair....he had a really funky hair cut with some purple temp colour. Turned out they were from the same town as us and were going to be on our flight. They sat right next to us at the gate. When family boarding was called, with very clear instructions about who qualified, the dad says " We're a family, lets go". So I watched them get in the family line and were allowed to board. I think we had B3&4. Ever since then I have a good look at the family line and many. many times the adults out number the kids by 4:1.

I found the same to be true when I flew in December. Now that they changed the age to 6 and under, people are stretching it to 8 or 10 and getting away with it. Between this and allowing seat saving, it makes it very difficult for those who don't have a child and don't buy EBCI. Used to be I could get a decent seat by checking in at 24 hours and have a number in the lower B's. Not anymore.