SWA Early Bird Check-In

[EKW]

We fly SWA all the time...but since I'm unemployed right now, this question is strictly for future reference: Is there a limit on the number of preboarding passes they sell?

Seems like they'd have to, or else everyone will pay for them and it will defeat the purpose.

Even boarding in group B we've never had a problem getting 3 seats together...so I'm not going to stress one way or the other. Just curious.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You aren't supposed to save seats for others as it defeats the purpose of SWA boarding policies.

I've used early bird and it was nice--we were actually first after the blue cards/business folks boarded.

But at 24 hours, I have had good luck getting high B/low A and have found seats for me and my 3 kiddos (4 flights total) no problem at all. When I was in B, I just did family board between A/B b/c I have a 3yo.

But please--don't save seats...it's not fair. Pay for all for the early bird or get to the 24 hour mark on the nose.

 

[lsutigger2]

Okay, I just added the EBCI to my flights to WDW in just three weeks

What should I do now?
Check-in/print boarding passes before we leave home for the airport on the way over?

when we are ready to return, it is necessary to print/check-in on line before going to the airport?

this is the first time we've used EBCI and I want to make sure we do it correctly.

thanks

 

[torinsmom]

I had never use EB until February. I had a connecting flight both ways, with only 30 minutes between them. The only reason I used EB was to get close to the front, so I could get off the plane and to my connection more quickly. I even got front row on the way back, which was really nice---extra leg room, ahh.

Other than that trip, I have checked in at 24 hours and 1/2 the plane(at least) was still empty when I sat down. I usually sit near the back, where there is less chance of people sitting in the middle. Typically, people will sit in the window seat, then the aisle and last the middle. The front and middle of the plane middle seats seem to fill up first, and the back is last. I'd rather have a little space between me and people I don't know, LOL

Marsha

 

[squeaky_penguin]

Does SWA do preboarding? We will be flying with a 6 month old and a 2 year old.

 

[javaj]

Does SWA do preboarding? We will be flying with a 6 month old and a 2 year old.

We haven't flown Southwest in a while (we'll be on SW this July though), but last time we flew with them, their family boarding was after Group A.

 

[disneyfan2kids]

Does SWA do preboarding? We will be flying with a 6 month old and a 2 year old.

Not exactly. As stated - there are 3 boarding "groups" A, B, and C.

Handicapped goes first.
A goes next(60 spots)
Traveling w/ infant goes next (however many - LOTS on MCO flights)
B goes next (60 spots)
C goes last (60 spots).

#'s are estimated +/- a few depending on size of plane.

In short - people who buy Early Bird OR check-in exactly 24 hrs prior (for the most part) will almost ALWAYS be seated before "traveling with infant" IF those people don't buy EB or check in 24 prior (which, I believe you also aren't even permitted to check-in online if you have a "lap baby." Only ticketed passengers may check-in online. Mommy/Lap Baby are not permitted to do so.

 

[rksbb]

We flew SW last month and opted not to buy EBCI. I was fortunate to be able to check in for the outgoing flight at the 24 hour mark and got A-48,49, 50. Then for our return flight a family member check us in and we boarded A-52,53, and 56. Not sure what caused the separation. But, that worked out well for us and saved $60 (extra souvenir money ). Our boarding passes were included with the ME documents under our door the morning of checkout at BWV. This was our first time flying SW and using RAC was painless.

 

[jodifla]

We checked in at 24 hours recently and got 33, 35, 37A. Glad I didn't spend the money on EBCI!!

 

[Dizneydaz]

When we went last Sept. they offered EBCI just before we left and we jumped at it. For the first time, ever, we finally got A (both ways). We leave from ONT and fly into MCO, both pretty busy airports.

Previously when we've flown SW (we had switched to Delta since we can pick our seats but since they started charging for luggage, we have switched back) we have never gotten anything better than "B". And I always check-in right at the 24 hour mark. Never got an "A".

Another thing to consider, especially for those of you in the middle of the country, if you are joining a flight already in progress everyone continuing on will be able to check-in before you. For example, say we leave ONT at 8 a.m. PST and arrive in Nashville at 1 p.m. then onto MCO. I can check in, for both flights, at 8 a.m. the day before. If you are boarding in Nashville then you can't check in for 3 more hours. So everyone who is connecting through Nashville will be able to check in before you therefore diminishing your chances of getting "A". Make sense? So, if you are leaving from one of the airports that SW does a lot of connections through, you definitely should consider EBCI.

When we considered whether or not to do EBCI, we figured doing it from MCO to ONT was a no-brainer since MCO is so busy, plus I would have to rely on my DSis to check us in at the 24 hour mark. Since we were doing it one way we decided to go ahead and do it both. The $60 extra (3 of us) still made our tickets a good deal.

One thing I wish they would make one change (maybe they have??) is to allow you to use SW credits (we had some when our ticket prices dropped) for the $10 EBCI fee.

BTW, we are going to SF next week from ONT but we are not doing EBCI. The flight is only 1-1/4 hours so even if one of us can't sit with the other 2, it's a short flight. The $20 add-on would be a substantial % of our ticket price ($98/r.t.) amounting to 20%. Flights from ONT to MCO run about $250 or so so then the add-on is only about 10%.

Love that all the resorts will be doing SW Airline resort check in. Now that we've used that service (first on Delta, now on SW) I've really gotten to count on it. So nice to not have to lug all our luggage around from the car rental return to check-in. Saves so much time and aggravation. I plan carefully and make sure we have some spare clothing just in case (read of a guest who's DD got sick and they couldn't access their suitcases-had to buy her new clothes.).

I think a lot of whether or not you should get EBCI depends on your airport. Leaving form MCO I plan on always using it.

 

[bridget]

My parents did it and thought it was worth every penny. I'm not convinced