Southwest Airlines Increases Charge for Early-Boarding Fees

[jdb in AZ]

(copy/pasted from a news release)

"Early Bird Check-in" was created by Southwest to give travelers an opt-in option for a better boarding position. Their unique process allows passengers to sit wherever they wish, depending on their boarding order. To get an Early Bird pass, the price is increasing from a flat rate of $15 to a range of $15--$25. Prices will differ depending on a particular flight's length and the popularity of Early Bird for that trip.

The increase will begin on Wednesday, August 29.

Early Bird Check In was first introduced in 2009, when the price was a low $10. It has since increased to $12.50 and then $15. Southwest maintains, however, that the increases are in the interest of their customers, "We're making this change, so we can continue offering a product our customers love."

 

[kaytieeldr]

"Early Bird Check-in" was created by Southwest to give travelers an opt-in option for a better boarding position.

Yeah, what they don't tell you is that it was created in response to some enterprising individuals checking in passengers at 24 hours for $5 each way

 

[sonnyjane]

I hope less people will utilize it! I’m a 24-hour checker-inner (how’s that for grammar?) and I’m usually mid-B boarding group even though I check-in the second I can just because of all the early birds.

 

[rwdavis2]

Yeah, what they don't tell you is that it was created in response to some enterprising individuals checking in passengers at 24 hours for $5 each way

I used to use that until Southwest shut them down.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

(copy/pasted from a news release)

"Early Bird Check-in" was created by Southwest to give travelers an opt-in option for a better boarding position. Their unique process allows passengers to sit wherever they wish, depending on their boarding order. To get an Early Bird pass, the price is increasing from a flat rate of $15 to a range of $15--$25. Prices will differ depending on a particular flight's length and the popularity of Early Bird for that trip.

The increase will begin on Wednesday, August 29.

Early Bird Check In was first introduced in 2009, when the price was a low $10. It has since increased to $12.50 and then $15. Southwest maintains, however, that the increases are in the interest of their customers, "We're making this change, so we can continue offering a product our customers love."

How altruistic of them to increase prices just for our benefit.

 

[SaintsManiac]

This will encourage the seat saving even more.

 

[rwdavis2]

This will encourage the seat saving even more.

Which anyone can ignore.

How altruistic of them to increase prices just for our benefit.

The increase will cut down on the number of users. I'm reading reports these days of EBCI users getting mid-B and higher boarding passes.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Which anyone can ignore.


The increase will cut down on the number of users. I'm reading reports these days of EBCI users getting mid-B and higher boarding passes.

If they really wanted to cut down on the number of users. they'd only offer a limited number for sale.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind so much of they raised the price (to make up for the lost revenue of selling fewer) while also then limiting the number sold to 25 or so.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Which anyone can ignore.
.

Yeah. And when the argument ensues and escalates then at best they're both in trouble. Better yet, whose side are the stewardesses going to take and who are they going to blame for the situation? Who are they going to tell to sit somewhere else? Big guy or little entitled granny shrew who turns on the charm when the stewards come? So the reality is there are many of us that can ignore only in theory.

The increase will cut down on the number of users. I'm reading reports these days of EBCI users getting mid-B and higher boarding passes.

$10 won't decrease the number of users appreciably.

 

[NHdisneylover]

This will encourage the seat saving even more.

poniting at seat with a bag or jacket on it: "is someone sitting there?"

"my wife"

"where is she?" looking around for her---if no actual person is already on the plane to be pointed out to me, I shrug, move the bag/jacket to the floor and sit down.

(OK, I only did that once---but I would again if someone were saving seat inappropriately. I'Ve done it in the theatre on ships many times. For a while there it was common to walk inn to find 1-2 people saving entire rows. )

"

 

[SaintsManiac]

Which anyone can ignore.

Except when you're a party of 3 and 2 people have saved up 2 entire rows for people with C group boarding passes. It wouldn't make sense to "ignore" that.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Yeah. And when the argument ensues, they toss both them and the person they ignored.



$10 won't decrease the number of users appreciably.

Don't participate in an argument, Sit down and ignore. Refuse to engage.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Don't participate in an argument, Sit down and ignore. Refuse to engage.

Just sitting there IS participating in a dispute. And when the person you're next to escalates it, it is escalated regardless.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Except when you're a party of 3 and 2 people have saved up 2 entire rows for people with C group boarding passes. It wouldn't make sense to "ignore" that.

Bingo. The only thing you can do in that situation is find somewhere else or deliberately not sit together to teach them a lesson. Even if you're a single, have fun flying among a whole family being jerks because that was their saved seat and they were entitled.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Just sitting there IS participating in a dispute. And when the person you're next to escalates it, it is escalated regardless.

Unless the flight crew has asked you to move, I do not see how just sitting in an available seat is participating in engaging in an argument.
would that be the same if I boarded first, sat in bulkhead and then someone in group B came on and yelled at me to move out of their seat? Me remaining seated would be participating?
Are we seriously expected to bow to the whims of other passengers now? I mean, I only fly southwest every 2-3 years---but that isn't how it works on any flight I have ever been on. If it comes to that on SW at some point, then I will stop flying them ---which is too bad because as of now they are my favourite for domestic lflihts in the USA.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Unless the flight crew has asked you to move, I do not see how just sitting in an available seat is participating in engaging in an argument.
would that be the same if I boarded first, sat in bulkhead and then someone in group B came on and yelled at me to move out of their seat? Me remaining seated would be participating?
Are we seriously expected to bow to the whims of other passengers now? I mean, I only fly southwest every 2-3 years---but that isn't how it works on any flight I have ever been on. If it comes to that on SW at some point, then I will stop flying them ---which is too bad because as of now they are my favourite for domestic lflihts in the USA.

You're completely desperate to defend a price increase at all costs aren't you?

When two people want a seat that seat is in dispute.

And tell me. Why are you going to insist on sitting right next to someone like that just to teach them a lesson when several other seats are available? Yeah. That's going to be a fun flight. But you sure taught them a lesson in saving seats? You are in fact arguing when you do that. You're just doing so through actions rather than words.

 

[NHdisneylover]

You're completely desperate to defend a price increase at all costs aren't you?

When two people want a seat that seat is in dispute.

And tell me. Why are you going to insist on sitting right next to someone like that just to teach them a lesson when several other seats are available? Yeah. That's going to be a fun flight. But you sure taught them a lesson in saving seats? You are in fact arguing when you do that. You're just doing so through actions rather than words.

I am not even defending a price increase---I started off with agreeing that it is not for the benefit of customers or to limit use unless they actually place a hard limit on sales, which so far as I know, they have not. It is clearly a money grab.

I commented about the seat saving as a general thing, building on someone else's post---I am just not someone who caters to jerks who save seats when they are not supposed to. No, I do not intentionally choose seats that will annoy people for me to sit in them---but if it is the only bulkhead left, or one of 2 and i am with my tall husband, or it is the only aisle left---yeah, I prefer to sit next to someone annoyed with me that I played by the rules and didn't let them push me around than to sit in a window or middle.
The one time it happened one person was on and had sat in the bulkhead and placed a jacket also in bulkhead, leaving the middle empty. we asked who was sitting there---he said his wife, we asked where she was, um, well, she be on soon, we sat down. As it turned
out, we did not sit next to an annoyed jerk as he decided to move back to sit with his wife (I wouldn't have cared if he stayed and they sat apart).


I find it odd that we are discussing others are breaking the rules and circumventing the system saving seats and you think I am in the wrong for simply not catering to it. Why on earth am i the bad guy in that scenario?

 

[NHdisneylover]

Except when you're a party of 3 and 2 people have saved up 2 entire rows for people with C group boarding passes. It wouldn't make sense to "ignore" that.

It took me a while to figure out the issue here----I think i have it now, you need/want three seats together and the 2 people who have boarded are each sitting in one row, thus only leaving two unoccupied ("Saved") seats?

In tht case, IMO, it is not the saved seats which are keeping your parts from sitting together in one of those rows--it is that one seat in each row is actually occupied. Could just as easily happen if two people travelling alone happened to sit in those rows, or if a couple who prefer aisle chose to sit in two aisle seats across from one another, etc.

Or, am I failing to understand the situation properly (quite likely)?

 

[SaintsManiac]

It took me a while to figure out the issue here----I think i have it now, you need/want three seats together and the 2 people who have boarded are each sitting in one row, thus only leaving two unoccupied ("Saved") seats?

In tht case, IMO, it is not the saved seats which are keeping your parts from sitting together in one of those rows--it is that one seat in each row is actually occupied. Could just as easily happen if two people travelling alone happened to sit in those rows, or if a couple who prefer aisle chose to sit in two aisle seats across from one another, etc.

Or, am I failing to understand the situation properly (quite likely)?

My issue with it is that 2 people bought EBCI. They proceeded to board in A group and each save an entire row. We were also in A group, but behind them.

People in C group then boarded and sat in those rows saved for them.

We were not prevented from sitting together. I just think it's a crappy thing to do.

 

[NHdisneylover]

My issue with it is that 2 people bought EBCI. They proceeded to board in A group and each save an entire row. We were also in A group, but behind them.

People in C group then boarded and sat in those rows saved for them.

We were not prevented from sitting together. I just think it's a crappy thing to do.

I agree it is a crappy thing to do. I pretty much think people who try that are entitled jerks. That is why I feel no qualms about sitting in a "saved" seat and ignoring the saver.

If a party of 1 or 2 had felt that was a good place to sit and sat in some of those saved seats, thus ignoring the saving, I would think they were fully within their rights.

My point was just that had the number of saved seats been a number your party could sit in, you could have ignored the saving. What you couldn't ignore was the people actually legitimately on the aircraft and sitting there.