SWA, RAC and 24-hour Check In

[Jestocost]

I wanted to post this to see what people's experiences have been with SWA, RAC and the 24-hour check in process since my experience last Saturday was different than some I have read.

We stayed at the Beach Club, had reservations on DME and were flying SWA with EBCI for our flight home. I received the DME package on Friday night with my departure time the next day, as expected, but that was it. I had nothing from RAC beyond that. On Saturday morning I went down to the RAC desk, checked our bags and got our boarding cards with the numbers that were assigned at 36 hours through EBCI.

Now, I'm reading that for some guests RAC appears to be doing the 24-hour check in automatically. Given my experience, however, I would be concerned about relying on them to do that. I had nothing from RAC the day before departure and no indication that they would have checked me in at the 24-hour mark. Maybe it's because I used EBCI, but if they are automatically checking SWA passengers in I assume they would have printed my boarding passes out and delivered them. As a result, I can only assume that in my case they did nothing and if I had relied on them for check in I would have been very annoyed when I went to check my bags (which can be no earlier than 12 hourse before the flight) and found that my boarding number was only then being assigned.

Of course, this could be start-up glitches that are producing inconsistent results as SWA goes fully live with RAC. My point, however, is that at least for now I would not rely on RAC to do my check in at 24 hours. Other posters seem to be suggesting that it's part of the process and SWA passengers don't need to worry about check in, but my experience suggests that--at least for now--SWA passengers may want to continue to make sure they do their own check in at the 24 hour mark or use EBCI lest they be disappointed.

 

[dburg30]

I wont trust RAC for t-24. I wonder if they were just 'doing the paperwork' at it happened to be around t-24 and that's why it seemed like they were doing it for them?

 

[Jestocost]

I wont trust RAC for t-24. I wonder if they were just 'doing the paperwork' at it happened to be around t-24 and that's why it seemed like they were doing it for them?

That's my view, but there are posters on other threads who are saying that checking in at the 24-hour mark for SWA is built into the system.

Not necessarily. They must have components of your return flight information in order to facilitate this process. Many times, this is done even before you arrive when you initially setup your Disney's Magical Express transfers. Having said that, I've seen cases where even though it should have been setup, it wasn't. My suggestion? Once you're at your Disney resort, call Disney's Magical Express at 866-599-0951, option one, then two and ask to see if your return flight information is in the system for the purposes of Southwest resort airline check-in service.

The process is automated and it will begin to work up to 24 hours ahead of time, but that does not necessarily mean that it will snag you an A or a B boarding group. It may or may not get to your reservation quick enough.

Incidentally, if you have a web-enabled phone (which is becoming more and more common today), you can check in online and then pick up boarding passes whenever. You do not need to print to retain a boarding group - once the reservation is checked in, whatever boarding group assigned will stick to the reservation no matter when or how the boarding passes are eventually printed.

It does not appear that this happened in my case, however, so I'm trying to get a broader perspective so that we have complete and accurate information out there. I certainly could be one of the cases where it wasn't set up right, but that to me still just says don't rely on RAC for your SWA check in as it relates to getting the boarding number assignment.