Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

Do those of you travelling on adult-only trips buy EBCI? My dh doesn't let me. lol It's always nerve-wracking checking in at the 24hr mark, but we've always been able to sit together. We usually get high A's or low B's. Once we got B30 or something like that, and just barely got seats together. We're only a party of 2 though. It's just not worth it to us to spend the extra money. It wouldn't be the end of the world if we can't sit together for a short flight to Florida. I can see it being different with children.
No, never. We had B20's going to Florida last week (got exit row seats) and got A54 and 55 coming home a few days ago. We can handle not sitting together but it has never happened.
 
Do those of you travelling on adult-only trips buy EBCI? My dh doesn't let me. lol It's always nerve-wracking checking in at the 24hr mark, but we've always been able to sit together. We usually get high A's or low B's. Once we got B30 or something like that, and just barely got seats together. We're only a party of 2 though. It's just not worth it to us to spend the extra money. It wouldn't be the end of the world if we can't sit together for a short flight to Florida. I can see it being different with children.

We weren't going to get it for our honeymoon, because like you said there's just 2 of us and it's an extra $100. Then we realized, on our trip down we'll be in the middle of our ceremony at the 24 hr mark and then on our trip back we'll be at Disney, soooo we're going to get it.
 
Hi everyone, we are flying Southwest from MCO after our trip to Vegas next year. I'm from Australia so not sure how it works with boarding (we just get assigned seats here), I just know you aren't assigned a seat. I don't really mind where we sit on the plane but I'd like to be next to my partner. What do I have to do to have a good chance of being next to him?
 
Hi everyone, we are flying Southwest from MCO after our trip to Vegas next year. I'm from Australia so not sure how it works with boarding (we just get assigned seats here), I just know you aren't assigned a seat. I don't really mind where we sit on the plane but I'd like to be next to my partner. What do I have to do to have a good chance of being next to him?
You can purchase the Early Bird Check-in, as soon as possible. The sooner you purchase, the better the boarding position assigned to you. Here is the info and a place to add to an existing reservation:

https://www.southwest.com/early-bird/
You will just select any open seats you want, after boarding the aircraft. Purchasing the Early Bird Check-in will assure you of getting two seats together, as there will be many others boarding after you.
 


Hi everyone, we are flying Southwest from MCO after our trip to Vegas next year. I'm from Australia so not sure how it works with boarding (we just get assigned seats here), I just know you aren't assigned a seat. I don't really mind where we sit on the plane but I'd like to be next to my partner. What do I have to do to have a good chance of being next to him?
It's pretty straightforward, albeit different. It's also very efficient.

You check in online for your flight 24 hours prior to departure. It's in your best interest to checkin as close to 24 hours as possible. Boarding assignments are detirmined by the order of check-in. Missing that 24 hour mark by an hour will put you way at the back of the pack. (This is where buying the Early Bird Check In option comes into play)

When you check in, you will be assigned to one of 3 boarding groups - A, B, or C. You will also be assigned a boarding number from 1 to 60. Boarding will be in the following order A1-A60, B1-B60 and C1 to C60.

At the gate, you will see numbered poles. These are where you will line up when the gate agent asked to.

Once on the plane, you can sit in any empty seat. Obviously, a boarding position of A26 is going to give you a lot more options for seats that a boarding position of C26.

There are a lot of nuances and situations that can affect both your boarding assignment and how many pairs of seats are actually available when you step on the plane, but generally speaking any boarding position in the A or B groups will get you two seats together.

Here's a link to the SW FAQ regarding boarding: https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/faqs.html?topic=boarding_the_plane

Have a great flight!

Steve
 
Some data points on check in, boarding position and available seats. My DW, DD and I flew from MCI to Chicago on 10/25. I wasn’t paying attention and ended up checking in 20 minutes after the 24 hour mark. We were in the mid B40s; B45, B46,B47. We got the very last empty row on the plane in the very back of the plane. It has been my experience that families have a better chance of getting seats together when on flights with lots of families; as families tend to seat together and fill up entire rows while singles tend to set window, aisle, window, aisle... and leave only the middle seats.
 
... It has been my experience that families have a better chance of getting seats together when on flights with lots of families; as families tend to seat together and fill up entire rows while singles tend to set window, aisle, window, aisle... and leave only the middle seats.

It's not just your experience, it's math. I did a whole analysis of this once, but basically if there are only singles flying, then only middle seats will be available around about B35 or B55 depending on the model of aircraft and the number of Business Select passengers. Each pair traveling together pushes that point up by one.

So yes, if you have a C boarding position, you really want there to be lots and lots of families. :thumbsup2

Steve
 


Flying to MCO on Saturday over April school vacation. Purchased tickets on release day, Oct 30th but have not purchased early bird. In the past we have always purchased early bird. We are able to check in at exactly 24hours. We are traveling as a family of 3 and would like to sit together but we don't qualify for family boarding. EBCI is $25per person each way. Not sure if it's worth purchasing or take the risk and check in at 24hours and save the money ($150). Any frequent Southwest fliers have any thoughts? I am assuming since it is Sat of school vacation, the flight will be full and will also have a lot of families.
 
Flying to MCO on Saturday over April school vacation. Purchased tickets on release day, Oct 30th but have not purchased early bird. In the past we have always purchased early bird. We are able to check in at exactly 24hours. We are traveling as a family of 3 and would like to sit together but we don't qualify for family boarding. EBCI is $25per person each way. Not sure if it's worth purchasing or take the risk and check in at 24hours and save the money ($150). Any frequent Southwest fliers have any thoughts? I am assuming since it is Sat of school vacation, the flight will be full and will also have a lot of families.

Assuming 2 adults, 1 child are traveling-You can save some cash by purchasing EBCI for 1 adult and 1 child. And then hopefully the other adult without EBCI will find a seat with or near you.
 
Assuming 2 adults, 1 child are traveling-You can save some cash by purchasing EBCI for 1 adult and 1 child. And then hopefully the other adult without EBCI will find a seat with or near you.
I’m not sure that is possible anymore. We booked a trip online a couple of weeks ago and online, EBCI was offered to the entire party but no choice for each individual traveler. So I called Southwest to ask about this apparent change to the online reservation system. The Southwest agent informed me that now all of the people with the same confirmation number, basically everyone on the same reservation, either have to purchase EBCI or none of them can.

I asked if he could tell me why the change in policy - he claimed not to know, but guessed it was to help with the issue of seat saving.Travelers only paying for one early bird check in an attempt to get a lower boarding position then trying to “save” seats for other passengers they might be traveling with who failed to purchase EBCI.
 
I’m not sure that is possible anymore. We booked a trip online a couple of weeks ago and online, EBCI was offered to the entire party but no choice for each individual traveler. So I called Southwest to ask about this apparent change to the online reservation system. The Southwest agent informed me that now all of the people with the same confirmation number, basically everyone on the same reservation, either have to purchase EBCI or none of them can.

I asked if he could tell me why the change in policy - he claimed not to know, but guessed it was to help with the issue of seat saving.Travelers only paying for one early bird check in an attempt to get a lower boarding position then trying to “save” seats for other passengers they might be traveling with who failed to purchase EBCI.
Thanks for posting. I didn't realize there had been a change. Good to know. :flower:
 
We always upgrade at the gate to get my husband a 1-15 position. He is tall and likes the exit row. You can do this at any Southwest gate, if an agent is not at your gate yet. We fly out of Nashville and usually do this at the first gate we see an agent. They let us know if the flight has any passengers going on from the original flight and if so how many. Never have had a problem. Better than buying EBCI for both of us.
 
Assuming 2 adults, 1 child are traveling-You can save some cash by purchasing EBCI for 1 adult and 1 child. And then hopefully the other adult without EBCI will find a seat with or near you.
We are a family of 4 (but bringing my nephews so family of 6 for this trip) flying the Saturday of April vacation as well (out of PVD). I never buy EBCI and we have always been able to sit together- usually it's 3 and 1 or 2 and 2- which is fine. Like you said- it will be mostly families so I think your chances are good if you check in at 24 hours.
 
I’m not sure that is possible anymore. We booked a trip online a couple of weeks ago and online, EBCI was offered to the entire party but no choice for each individual traveler. So I called Southwest to ask about this apparent change to the online reservation system. The Southwest agent informed me that now all of the people with the same confirmation number, basically everyone on the same reservation, either have to purchase EBCI or none of them can.

I asked if he could tell me why the change in policy - he claimed not to know, but guessed it was to help with the issue of seat saving.Travelers only paying for one early bird check in an attempt to get a lower boarding position then trying to “save” seats for other passengers they might be traveling with who failed to purchase EBCI.
I am still able to select which passengers I would like to purchase EBCI for on a reservation I made 3-4 weeks ago.
 
Flying to MCO on Saturday over April school vacation. Purchased tickets on release day, Oct 30th but have not purchased early bird. In the past we have always purchased early bird. We are able to check in at exactly 24hours. We are traveling as a family of 3 and would like to sit together but we don't qualify for family boarding. EBCI is $25per person each way. Not sure if it's worth purchasing or take the risk and check in at 24hours and save the money ($150). Any frequent Southwest fliers have any thoughts? I am assuming since it is Sat of school vacation, the flight will be full and will also have a lot of families.
I would not buy it. I have never bought it and always find it very easy to check in at 24 hours. Even at Disney. I just set an alarm on the phone to alert me 5 min before check in time. While we don't care if we can't sit together we always have been able to. Be it, just 2, 3 or 4. When it's 4 of us, we do 2 and 2.
 
Are any of you familiar with the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales on SW? I was just getting ready to book a flight to Fort Lauderdale from Kansas City for April, and read about the fact that historically, SW has offered really great deals during the week of Black Friday. I know I have time to wait, but the other leg of my trip (not on SW) seems to be filling up really fast, so I hate to wait. Are the sale prices during the Black Friday sale generally apply to a large number of routes? Would you wait to book? Thanks!
 
Are any of you familiar with the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales on SW? I was just getting ready to book a flight to Fort Lauderdale from Kansas City for April, and read about the fact that historically, SW has offered really great deals during the week of Black Friday. I know I have time to wait, but the other leg of my trip (not on SW) seems to be filling up really fast, so I hate to wait. Are the sale prices during the Black Friday sale generally apply to a large number of routes? Would you wait to book? Thanks!
Im not sure if they’ll be Black Friday sales but SW posts some sort of sale each Tues. if it were me I’d wait at least until tomorrow and see what they offer.
 
Are any of you familiar with the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales on SW? I was just getting ready to book a flight to Fort Lauderdale from Kansas City for April, and read about the fact that historically, SW has offered really great deals during the week of Black Friday. I know I have time to wait, but the other leg of my trip (not on SW) seems to be filling up really fast, so I hate to wait. Are the sale prices during the Black Friday sale generally apply to a large number of routes? Would you wait to book? Thanks!

I can’t say I have ever read or seen anything about SW having a Black Friday or cyber Monday sale.
 

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