Southwest Airlines Increases Charge for Early-Boarding Fees

[Nohal]

Just booked for October and had to pay $20 for EB from PHL. So I'm thinking the days of finding a lower price are over.

 

[Donnainnj]

Guess that's another factor to see if the price is worth it. We don't usually add early check-in on the way out, but sometimes do coming home.

Nope. I booked from the middle of the country to LA (so half way across the country) and EBCI was $25. Both on a Tuesday evening (slower traffic time) and on a busy Sunday evening. Highest fee in their range.

Just booked for October and had to pay $20 for EB from PHL. So I'm thinking the days of finding a lower price are over.

 

[mummabear]

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.

I would assume the side they are going to take is that if a passenger has paid for early boarding, then another passenger cannot hold a seat for someone who didnt.

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.

It is a crappy thing to do, I wouldn't have caused a fuss just to prove a point, it if those seats were they only ones where my party who had all paid early boarding could sit together, then I would just sit there, they can say what they like but they cant actually hold the seats.

I still can't figure out why Southwest hasn't formed some official policy. They claim that they don't want to an take it on a case by case basis because they don't want the flight attendants to consistently have to enforce a policy that will take them away from their safety duties.

I've seen some fairly reasonable policies. One at at the general admission section of a baseball game, only one can be saved per person. An entire row seems just crazy, and takes good seats away from people who already paid for EBCI.

Surely it is, you can only early board for the one seat you have paid to early board.

I'm so glad that no one was that confrontational on my SWA flight. My mom and I were flying together and she wanted to use the restroom real quick before takeoff. When there was a break in the line of people coming in, she got up and used the cabin restroom in the front of the plane. Since we had paid for the tickets that automatically put us in 1-15, we were in the second row with boarding numbers #3 and #4 (or maybe #4 or #5, whatever). While she was gone, several people asked if the seat was taken even though she left her jacket and iPad on the seat. I responded, yes my mother is sitting there. They either said okay or shrugged and went to the multitude of seats available behind us. I would have been livid if someone moved her jacket and Ipad on the ground and sat in her seat simply because she was not in the seat at that very second. Personally, I would never make an assumption that I'm more entitled to an "open" seat that has stuff on it than someone who got there first.

I hear what you are saying, I think there is a difference between she has boarded and gone to the bathroom and she hasnt boarded yet though.

 

[dish rag]

I would assume the side they are going to take is that if a passenger has paid for early boarding, then another passenger cannot hold a seat for someone who didnt.



It is a crappy thing to do, I wouldn't have caused a fuss just to prove a point, it if those seats were they only ones where my party who had all paid early boarding could sit together, then I would just sit there, they can say what they like but they cant actually hold the seats.



Surely it is, you can only early board for the one seat you have paid to early board.



I hear what you are saying, I think there is a difference between she has boarded and gone to the bathroom and she hasnt boarded yet though.

I don't get boarding then useing the bathroom, it's something I see sometimes and it just doesn't make any sense.

 

[sonnyjane]

I don't get boarding then useing the bathroom, it's something I see sometimes and it just doesn't make any sense.

If you have a tight connection due to a delay, etc. you don’t always have time to go between flights!

 

[mummabear]

I don't get boarding then useing the bathroom, it's something I see sometimes and it just doesn't make any sense.

Me either, I always make our kids do a pre emptive visit to the bathroom prior.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I don't get boarding then useing the bathroom, it's something I see sometimes and it just doesn't make any sense.

So sometimes I didn't get the opportunity to go to the bathroom before boarding starts or unfortunately I drank too much and it's going straight through me and who knows how long it will be before I can get up and go during the actual flight.

I'd much rather have someone go before the flight if it meant they didn't have to get up and go to the bathroom after I've settled down as we make our cruising altitude and then I've got to move all my stuff and get up so they can go to the bathroom. Doesn't happen often that I've boarded then had to go to the bathroom (I'm thinking probably 3 or so times in all the times I've flown) but it has happened.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I would assume the side they are going to take is that if a passenger has paid for early boarding, then another passenger cannot hold a seat for someone who didnt.

it if those seats were they only ones where my party who had all paid early boarding could sit together,

Surely it is, you can only early board for the one seat you have paid to early board.

It's not early board it's early bird. Pre-Boarding and Early Bird Check-In are two totally completely different things. Business Select Fares will get you A1-A15 though.

Also keep in mind A-listers are given higher priority-they didn't pay for that they earned it.

 

[mummabear]

It's not early board it's early bird. Pre-Boarding and Early Bird Check-In are two totally completely different things. Business Select Fares will get you A1-A15 though.

Also keep in mind A-listers are given higher priority-they didn't pay for that they earned it.

Seriously that is splitting hairs. The purpose of early bird is to get an earlier boarding position.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Seriously that is splitting hairs. The purpose of early bird is to get an earlier boarding position.

No it's not splitting hairs. They mean two different things especially when SWA is the only airline to use Early Bird Check-In with a Boarding position the specific way they use it.

Pre-boarding/early boarding the plane on Delta for example is totally different than say getting A21 on SWA by means of purchasing Early Bird Check-In.

It's seen enough on these Boards alone nevermind in real life that people think Early Bird Check-In, especially when used as EBCI, means Early Boarding but that's not what it means at all. You don't board the plane early. You board in whatever boarding position you are given. That boarding position is determined by a variety of factors.

 

[bcla]

Surely it is, you can only early board for the one seat you have paid to early board.

That’s the disconnect here. Some insist there’s an enforced policy because a particular flight crew announced there’s no saving seats. Their PR consistently says there’s no specific policy. Others have found that their flight crew didn’t care if seats were saved and let the passengers “work it out” amongst themselves.

 

[dish rag]

If you have a tight connection due to a delay, etc. you don’t always have time to go between flights!

The flights I use aren't connections.

 

[dish rag]

No it's not splitting hairs. They mean two different things especially when SWA is the only airline to use Early Bird Check-In with a Boarding position the specific way they use it.

Pre-boarding/early boarding the plane on Delta for example is totally different than say getting A21 on SWA by means of purchasing Early Bird Check-In.

It's seen enough on these Boards alone nevermind in real life that people think Early Bird Check-In, especially when used as EBCI, means Early Boarding but that's not what it means at all. You don't board the plane early. You board in whatever boarding position you are given. That boarding position is determined by a variety of factors.

When boarding starts is the best time to go. No use rushing on a plane to use the rest room there and clog up the boarding process.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

When boarding starts is the best time to go. No use rushing on a plane to use the rest room there and clog up the boarding process.

I certainly haven't clogged up the boarding process the times I've done it.

Actually the people I see doing that the most are people who bring more than they are supposed to, the person who isn't really ready to claim that particular seat and now has to fiddle around with their stuff putting it up in this pocket or that pocket but holding up the line to do so, or the person who decided late that they needed a lot of stuff from their item they had already stowed in the overhead bin. Heck today multiple people (not in the same party) who had no clue how SWA worked and thought their Boarding position was their assigned seat.

You said it didn't make it any sense. It does to the people who had to. Maybe you don't like that some do it but that doesn't mean there wasn't a reason behind them doing it. I think most people would rather not go during boarding if they could have gone before- it's not always something that can happen.

 

[mummabear]

That’s the disconnect here. Some insist there’s an enforced policy because a particular flight crew announced there’s no saving seats. Their PR consistently says there’s no specific policy. Others have found that their flight crew didn’t care if seats were saved and let the passengers “work it out” amongst themselves.

Seems silly to me, they are leaving money on the table, what would I pay for early bird for 5 people, if I can pay for 1 and get them to hold the seats....I would have thought it was in the airlines interests to be firm on the rule to ensure everyone coughs up...

 

[bcla]

Seems silly to me, they are leaving money on the table, what would I pay for early bird for 5 people, if I can pay for 1 and get them to hold the seats....I would have thought it was in the airlines interests to be firm on the rule to ensure everyone coughs up...

It doesn’t necessarily result in a terribly early position anyways. Business Select is guaranteed to be in A1-A15, but they’re not always filled. Then those with status. After that EBCI is filled first with “Anytime” passengers, then leisure fare. They claim that for the same fare class, the EBCI order depends on when EBCI was purchased.

I’ve never paid for EBCI. And I’ve checked in at almost exactly 24 hours and gotten late B or sometimes even C. They have no limits for EBCI, and it’s theoretically possible for everyone on a plane to pay for it (other than Business Select). It’s 60 per boarding group letter. Since there are no limits it’s possible to even be in the C group, like this one:

The stories about seat saving can be interesting. Although most crews don’t say a passenger can’t save seats, they apparently won’t enforce a passenger’s claim that a seat was saved either. Then it gets to stare downs, arguments, etc. It’s really playing chicken to see who gives in.

I’m not sure what seat saving was like in the early days. I go back to when they handed out numbered, reusable boarding passes made of heavy plastic sheets. They were strictly handed out in the order of arrival at the gate, so there was an incentive to arrive early. The groups were 1-30, 31-60, etc. where the passengers in each group didn’t need to line up in order like they do now. The holder of boarding pass #30 could be the first passenger in the plane. I saw a few that had been folded, and I’m pretty sure they've dealt with no shows who kept them. After boarding someone would put them back in order.

 

[Shanti]

I think I'm pretty much done with SWA after we take the flights with them that we've already booked. This EBCI price jump is the last straw, as I have a medical condition that makes my seat location important to me. I hate being an official pre-boarder, though, as it's an invisible disability & I don't like people thinking I'm just taking advantage. I've always purchased EBCI as cheap "insurance" against a terrible seat, then tend to purchase the gate upgrade to an A1-15 boarding position. But this price increase makes that stretegy even more expensive. It just isn't worth it at this point.

 

[wgeo]

I think I'm pretty much done with SWA after we take the flights with them that we've already booked. This EBCI price jump is the last straw, as I have a medical condition that makes my seat location important to me. I hate being an official pre-boarder, though, as its an invisible disability & I don't like people thinking I'm just taking advantage. I've always purchased EBCI as cheap "insurance" against a terrible seat, then tend to purchase the gate upgrade to an A1-15 boarding position. But this price increase makes that stretegy even more expensive. It just isn't worth it at this point.

Just curious - if you already plan on buying the upgraded position at the gate, how come you also pay for EBCI? That's paying twice for the same thing.

We are dedicated SW fliers - have the companion pass and all that. I remember when using points/miles to get tickets meant that each person in your group had a different confirmation number which meant that when I checked us in at 24 hours I had to check us in 4 times and even moving as fast as I could, we had some pretty big spreads in our boarding positions sometimes. I've never paid for EBCI but I'm considering starting to do so for our leg home from trips. Twice over the years I've forgotten to check us in at 24 hours for the ride home. Once was years ago when they didn't offer the paid upgrade at the gate. We boarded in C and managed to find seats close enough together. The most recent time we got C45 - 49 and I decided to buy the upgrade at the gate. The agent could see the 4 of us and SHE recommended that we didn't spend 160 for the 4 of us and just save seats. I'm thinking that if I'm starting to get this forgetful, I should just pay for EBCI for those end of vacation flights.

My opinion on SW is that they will say whatever it takes to make the person in front of them feel good in the moment.

 

[Shanti]

Just curious - if you already plan on buying the upgraded position at the gate, how come you also pay for EBCI? That's paying twice for the same thing.

Because the gate upgrades can sell out. There are only 15 spaces for them, including what they sell as Business Select in advance. I've bought the gate upgrade and had us be A13 & A14, so it absolutely can sell out. If that happened & I didn't have our EBCI boarding numbers as back-up, I'd be in a bind.

This is why I'm throwing in the towel for SWA: it's just not a great match for someone who cares about where they'll sit.

 

[declansdad]

As a very frequent flier this thread reminds me why I never have and hope to never fly on Southwest. Westjet, Air Canada, Delta and Allegiant and never deal with this silliness.

Not sure why you would include Air Canada and Westjet in your statement, they use assigned seating on their flights. So does Delta that last time I checked.