Nervous about Southwest Early Bird Check In

[2disneyfans]

There are 11 of us flying SW and we all paid for early bird. However, I am having a tough time "trusting" the system that we are really going to be checked in ahead of time!

Has anyone experienced a time when they paid for EB and were NOT checked in by SW 36 hours in advance for some reason?

Can you only print your boarding pass at the 24 hour ahead mark? Do you think I should print them at a few minutes after the 24 hours ahead of our flight just to be sure we have a good boarding spot?

I KNOW I'm obsessing . . . DH and I are the only ones that have flown SW in the group and grandparents of the group haven't flown since 1994!! DH and I are trying our best to make sure all goes smoothly!

[BugeyedMuggy]

We have used EB check in many times and never had a problem. It appears on your SW reservation so I'm sure they would have to make good on it. The only way it goes away is if you cancel your original flight and rebook it.

[GusNJacque]

I've never had any problems either. You've got your receipt that you paid for eb right? If anything goes wrong you can bring that to the attention of the sw people.

It doesn't matter when you print them they will have already have taken care of you. You should be able to print them at the 24 hour mark.

I love sw! Have a good time!

[faline]

While I wouldn't worry about Southwest not including you in the early bird grouping, be aware that your placement is a function of both when you bought your tickets and how many folks who bought tickets earlier than you did opted to pay the extra price. You could potentially be partially in the B group (based on the size of your group) or even all in the B group.

[RBrooksC]

While I wouldn't worry about Southwest not including you in the early bird grouping, be aware that your placement is a function of both when you bought your tickets and how many folks who bought tickets earlier than you did opted to pay the extra price. You could potentially be partially in the B group (based on the size of your group) or even all in the B group.

This is very true. I have seen more than one person complain becasue they bought the early bird and had a "B" boarding pass. Remember there are "A" listers who will get "A" boarding passes first. Then the "Early Bird." and then everybody else.

[AvaNellMouse]

Also, keep in mind that you are going to Orlando and lots of folks opt for the Early Bird check in for their vacation to WDW or Universal. I purchase my tickets TO Orlando as soon as they are available and choose EB at that time. As mentioned, the EB assignment is based on when you purchased your tickets. On the way home I don't do EB because by then, I don't really care if I sit with my travel companions or not. I'm sleeping all the way home!
Regardless, don't let it stress you. You will have a great time and the flight is just transportation, brief ride on a plane, no biggie.

[DizneyRox]

Actually, I've noticed, it seems to be a function of when you buy EB (you don't need to buy it when you get your tickets). It seems to pop you to the end of the line if you alter your booking (to get a flight credit for example).

I've also heard that the fare you pay also has an impact. Web fares are lower on the list that full fares of course.

[Fangorn]

I am having a tough time "trusting" the system that we are really going to be checked in ahead of time!

Don't worry about it. SW has been doing the Early Bird thing for 3 years now, and they've been doing the A-List thing for several years before that. EB is just a one-time purchase into the A-List queue. I have never heard of any problems with the system.

Can you only print your boarding pass at the 24 hour ahead mark?

Yes, you can only see your boarding pass after the 24-hour mark, even though your position will have been assigned 12 hours earlier.

Please note: purchasing the Early Bird option will not guarantee that you'll get an "A" boarding pass, but it will help.

You should be just fine. But there are a number of factors that could effect the actual outcome.

I KNOW I'm obsessing

Yes. Yes you are. But I understand the desire to have everything go smoothly.

Oh, and as for the fare you pay having an impact, unless SW has recently changed their algorithm, I'm pretty sure it doesn't. I've had a couple of instances where this would have shown up, and it didn't matter.

Steve

[Sylvia]

It seems to pop you to the end of the line if you alter your booking (to get a flight credit for example).

I've also heard that the fare you pay also has an impact. Web fares are lower on the list that full fares of course.

Actually, this may not be entirely true. I booked my most recent trip in March and purchased EB at the same time. Approximately a month later, I checked the SW page, and discovered that the lowest fare was available for the evening nonstop flight home (it wasn't when I originally booked and had to settle for an early afternoon flight), so I changed my flight home. A couple of weeks before my trip, I discovered that the fare had changed again (a substantial savings), and I was able to rebook at the lower fare.

So, even though I paid the lowest fare on my flight, and changed my reservation twice, I was assigned A18 going to Orlando and A17 coming home. Rebooking didn't seem to affect my boarding assignment.

[DizneyRox]

Its possible... I booked the first day fares became available for a trip once, EB a that point as well. Got three credits on that flight over the upcoming months, and when we checked in, we were two numbers short of B. Nobody in business that trip either. The last rebooking was a couple months before the trip too.

We are usually second or third in line, this trip was the exception, and the only thing I know was different was our 'rebooking' lower fares.

We usually travel around the fourth, and travel to Orlando when we fly. So i assume the same clientele... Strange coincidence maybe...

[Fangorn]

We are usually second or third in line, this trip was the exception, and the only thing I know was different was our 'rebooking' lower fares.

We usually travel around the fourth, and travel to Orlando when we fly. So i assume the same clientele... Strange coincidence maybe...

One thing that can affect your position and of which you will probably never be aware (unless you survey everyone), is how many people on your flight actually made connections to get on that plane. Anyone connecting to your flight who is an A-list or EB passenger will be ahead of you, regardless of when you purchased your EB option. This happens because boarding passes are assigned for all flights on an itinerary at the 36 or 24 hour mark. So the 36 hour mark of the first flight for someone making connections will always hit BEFORE the 36hour mark of your flight.

I once made connections in Las Vegas (this was before EB, but the principle is the same) going to Baltimore, where the first local passenger had B-41 (yes, we actually asked people). The A-list folks were first (about 30 of us) and in the order of their initial flight time that morning. Then all the rest of the people making connections. Finally, the local passengers.

This may not apply, of course, since it depends on the airport you're using and how SW is routing traffic on any given day, but it can affect your position.

Just something else to throw into the pot when trying to make sense of how things work.

Steve

[antngoof89]

I just flew with Early Bird last month and in January, it's fantastic. I didn't check in until I was in my hotel room after a day in the parks and still got boarding group A. Southwest ROCKS!