Southwest Online Check-In

[the other micki]

Hi all! I haven't flown since 2000 and never with Southwest. In a couple of weeks (the day before we leave, of course), I'll need to do the Southwest Online Check-In. Is this fairly easy or a long, drawn-out process? Do I actually get to pick which seats we want? What info. do I need to have with me because I won't be home at the time?

Thanks for any and all help!

[PopPhan]

It is a pretty easy process....Log in to the Southwest site at the 24 hour mark (not one second before!! LOL)...go to the online check-in link (on the right side of the main page)...It will ask for your confirmation code...once you enter that, you will check off all your party names and boarding passes will be issued.

With Southwest there is no pre-assigned seating, it is based on the letter and number on your boarding pass -- A1 thru A60 board first, then those with small children and/or needing assistance, the B1 thru B60, and lastly C1 thru C?? (whatever the last actual number would be - Southwest planes do not hold 180 passengers!)

One qualification to this process: If you purchase the Early Bird option ($10/person/flight) your boarding position [not seat assignment] is assigned at the 36 hour mark an you can check in and print your boarding passes any time after the 24 hour window opens.

Boarding positions are given out in the following order:
"A" List,
Business Select,
Early Bird,
'first come - first served'

[the other micki]

Thanks, PopPhan! That helps a lot! :thumbsup:

[BigRedDad]

Everything PopPhan said is accurate. One thing you want to keep in mind is the check-in for the return flight. There are many options for this...

1. Do it yourself on a smartphone
2. Have someone from home do it for you
3. Go to guest relations at the resort or park

You do not need to immediately print the boarding pass, only reserve your slot. You can get it printed at the resort so you can do resort check-in of luggage.

[faline]

Since the early bird numbers are assigned based on date of purchase, there might not be much advantage to your shelling out the extra money given you are so close to your flight. The key, then will be to check in EXACTLY 24 hours before your flight is scheduled to leave. When you check in, your boarding pass will have a A, B or C on it along with a number - such as B12. This would tell you you're in boarding group B and are number 12 in that group.

At the Southwest gate, you will see poles in the floor which have numbers on them. When they call for the "A" group, folks with A group boarding passes will line up next to the pools based on the number on their ticket. Someone with A10 would be ahead of someone with A15 etc. This is the order in which folks board.

The other thing you should know is, if you're traveling with young children, families with young children are allowed to board AFTER the A group but before the B group. If, of course, you have A group boarding passes, you could board with the A group and not need to take advantage of the between A & B groups boarding.

[the other micki]

Thank you so much, Big Red Dad!!! I never even thought about the return flight! :blush:

Thanks for the info., Faline! What is considered "young children"? My youngest is 8. Probably not young enough, huh?

[BigRedDad]

8 is not considered "young child".

[TexansInNY]

As an aside we always pay the extra for early bird check-in when flying SW (figure why not - don't get charged a bag fee..) and never have lower than A20 and do not have to worry about the 24 hr thing - especially helps for return trips.

[EJS-Houston]

On the other hand, I fly Southwest regularly and never pay the extra early-bird fee...but I always check-in right at 24-hours-in-advance exactly (often from my blackberry), and I often still get in at the end of the A boarding group or the beginning of the "B"s. Bottom line, all I care about is getting an aisle seat, and I've never not gotten one, and have usually been very happy with my seating options. Just wanted to throw that out there as another option.

[Fangorn]

Boarding positions are given out in the following order:
"A" List,
Business Select,
Early Bird,
'first come - first served'


Slight correction on this:
Business Select comes first - Always spots A1-A15. Then "A" List. "A" List passengers always start at A16. You could have A20 and still be the 5th person on the plane - or the 20th - or somewhere inbetween.

Steve

[mdricks]

If you want to make sure you have a good seat get the $10 earlybird boarding option. It will get you on the plane in the mid to high A's and you dont have to worry about the 24 hour rush.

Some people will get one earlybird and save seats for the rest of the party but that is discouraged and we would never do that. :blush:

ever.

:marg:

[Fangorn]

The EarlyBird option is really great for the flight home from WDW. Then you don't have to even worry about checking in for your flight at all, let alone at the 24 hour mark. One less thing to think about while you're having fun.

Steve

[Hog]

Is there any chance of not getting a seat, if possibly you check in too late or something?

Also, the lady at customer service told me I could call @ the 24 hour mark and they could check me in on the phone, which I could do the day before I leave as I am walking the park, and I can get m boarding passes when I arrive at MCO

[Fangorn]

Is there any chance of not getting a seat, if possibly you check in too late or something?


If you have a confirmation number, about the only way you would NOT get a seat would be if you didn't check in more than 10 minutes before the flight, the flight was 100% full and they had standby passengers waiting for a seat.

As for calling and checking in, yes, that's an option too. You can print (or re-print) the boarding pass when you get to the airport. I often find it easier when I get to the airport to just reprint the boarding pass rather than seach through my briefcase for the one I printed out at home.

Steve

[faline]

Also, the lady at customer service told me I could call @ the 24 hour mark and they could check me in on the phone, which I could do the day before I leave as I am walking the park, and I can get m boarding passes when I arrive at MCO

Guest services at the parks and the concierge desks at the resorts will also print your boarding passes for you. Just be sure you have your confirmation information and are within your 24 hour window.

On one Southwestern flight (We had a connecting flight), our first flight got in late and we had to run to our second gate. We were literally the last people on the plane. We had seats but they were not together. My husband was way up in the back of the plane somewhere.

[ThanxForNoticin]

Also, the lady at customer service told me I could call @ the 24 hour mark and they could check me in on the phone, which I could do the day before I leave as I am walking the park, and I can get m boarding passes when I arrive at MCO

You might want to double-check this option. I am 99% certain Southwest customer service will NOT take phone calls from folks wanting to check in for their flight. You'll have to do that online, via the web or smartphone access. I know in the past, I checked and couldn't do it. Now, if they have changed their policy (or I'm sharing incorrect information), I'd like to know about it! But I don't think you should count on being able to do this via a phone call from the parks.

[NJGIRL]

I don't know about SW but I always check in with US Air over the phone. I can't imagine that this is not an option for all airlines. There are some people who do not have access to computers and internet.

[Sylvia]

Be careful when you're in the boarding line. On one of my SW flights, a man a couple of people behind me in line decided that, since he had a lower number than the people in front of him, he should board first. His carry-on on wheels tripped several people in line (including me) in his haste to push and shove his way to the front of the line.