WOW alot of people must pay for early check in for Southwest!

[luvDaMouse]

I just checked in for my flight and I got a B boarding number my DH and I are flying tomorrow I got B12 and he B14! I dont know who got B13?? I have never not gotten an A boarding position and I always check in at the 24 mark! I have considered the early bird check in but for 10$ each it kinda defeats the purpose of cheap flights and I have to admit sitting at the computer waiting for that exact moment to push the button to check in is half the fun

Anyhoo... tomorrow this time I am off to BLT then my dream cruise!!
Dana

[DizneyRox]

Yes, for my summer cruise, we were in the A-30's and I did Early Bird. Remember that boarding numbers will normally start at A16 due to the Business Class. But still... SWA is making a lot of money on this fee!

[mouseketeer mom]

Hey Dana!
We're missing each other in the World, I'll be there for Halloween! You have a fantastic time and let us know all the juicy details when you're back!-Lisa

[Fangorn]

Something to remember also is that the airport and time of the flight can have a huge impact on what the first "regular" boarding position will be. As DisneyRox says, the first 15 positions (A1-A15) are reserved for Business Select no matter what. After that, the A-List members will get their assignments at the 36 hour mark. Then those buying the EarlyBird option are assigned.

So, if you're flying from an airport with a lot of Southwest business travelers and especially on those early morning flights, the entire A group can easily be A-List members.

For example, from Portland (OR), the early morning flights that go to Denver and Chicago will be packed with business travelers, and even as an A-List member I've had an assignment in the B group once or twice.

Steve

[Katzateer]

That is one of the reasons I have flown Air Tran the last 2 trips. For the same price tickets and the same extra fee (picking an assigned seat on AT verses paying the fee for earlier boarding on Southwest). I like picking my seats when I get my tickets purchased.

[disneyfan328]

ok I have a question - I love to fly SW however I didn't know anything about this new "early bird" thing. I did some reading on a website but I am curious - It says that if the tickets are bought at one time and then you buy the early bird later you only have to purchase it for one member of the party - not all 4 (in my case) so that would mean that 1 of the 4 of us could "possibly" get an A assignment. (I know its not a guarantee)

If that is the case, couldn't we do that and then just have that one person hold the 4 seats that we need until we are able to board at whatever seating we get when we check in at the 24 hour mark?

I don't know if this is ok to do or not but that's what it seemed like the rules were saying so thought I'd check with anyone that has flown them recently to see if people are doing this or if its not allowed. I really don't care where in the plane we sit, but for the kids sake the 4 of us need to be together. We normally sit me and a child in front of DH and a child that way each child has a window seat and there is not fighting on the plane!

[DizneyRox]

Saving seats is not allowed for Southwest.

So, yeah, you can purchase it later, but you won't be able to save seats. Also, the order that you buy EB determines where in the list you get assigned. Also, if you make a change to a flight for a credit, you get further bumped down the EB check-in list.

[rubato]

Saving seats is a big no-no on Southwest. Either everyone pays or you all get on when you are assigned and take your chances. The early bird $10 has been around for years. I've done it many times, but only when coming back from Disney. Otherwise, I'm on at the 24 hour mark and get great seats.

[mudpuppysmom]

We just flew SW last week....on the way down the four of us were no in order there was me then two seats, then DS1 then one seat then DS2 then two seats then DH!

A little off topic.....when it came time to line up there was a young couple who specifically asked where we were -- I was supposed to be in front of them and they SHOULD have boarded after DS#1, but instead they just boated their way in front of me while DS#1 whined about the cutting the line. I told him, "no worries dear we're all going to the same place" -- boy did I get a dirty look! We were all in the A group though.

On the way back we were in the B group, which was strange b/c half of A was empty!

[RBrooksC]

A1-A15 are reserved for Business Select. So, General Boarding "A" starts at A16. Even if you do the "Early Bird" you are not promised to get an "A" boarding pass. There are also Southwest A-Listers. Frequent Flyers who get a "A" boarding pass before other general boarding passengers. After the "A" listers comes the the Early Bird passengers and then the passengers that list themselves at 24 hours before the flight.

[Granny Jill A]

A little off topic.....when it came time to line up there was a young couple who specifically asked where we were -- I was supposed to be in front of them and they SHOULD have boarded after DS#1, but instead they just boated their way in front of me while DS#1 whined about the cutting the line.

I've seen that happen so many times. No one at Southwest will tell people they are out of order when they jump the line. It's the same type of irritation when people try to stuff a body bag-sized item in the overhead compartments. I've never seen SW staff say anything about that.

No sense in having rules if no one is enforcing them.

[kakn7294]

I used early bird on my last trip and only because I didn't want to be one of those poor people who forgets to check-in at the 24 hr mark because I was off having fun in the parks. It certainly was worth the $50 for the 5 of us!

[Claudielou]

I was wondering if that was worth it. I purchased it for our SW flights tomorrow, mainly because we will be in a care management meeting for my Mother and I won't be able to print boarding passes at the 24 hour point. We will be at AkL Saturday, and a Disney Dream Cruise Sunday! We can hardly wait!!!!

[wdwaggie]

The SWA app for the iphone is a great way to check in also. We used it while riding the bus back from the park and landed B-4 and B-5 boarding passes, but my DW stated that next time she wants to pay the $10/ea for automatic checkin. We love SWA so either way its a win for us.

[epceddie]

On our last trip, we paid for the Early Boarding for both of our flights and got A passes in the low 40's both times. We flew from Providence to Orlando last month. We use the EB because we like sitting somewhere in the first eight rows whenever we can.