Advanced Seating on Southwest

[violetsmile]

Wait so if you don't get EB, you get group C for boarding??? Or are you just saying that?

 

Sorry but there's alot of conflicting information when you start asking questions about flying with SW. Just like someone said that if you buy EB that you still need to make sure you check in 24 hours before. I didn't know you still had to check in. Isnt that what EB does for you? Much less still needing to be right by a computer. I figure you only need to print your boarding passes. This went around and around on another page until the discussion just died. Never got any clarity on that. Now I'm hearing no EB puts you in group C. Some people buy EB and get group B. Others don't and get A. So what are you paying for??:eek:?

 

I don't mind what I spend on vacation or anything else so long as it makes a measure of sense.

 

Here's SW's explanation of EB: https://www.southwest.com/flight/early-bird-retrieve-reservation.html?clk=GFOOTER-PRODUCTS-EARLYBIRD&forceNewSession=yes

 

In case that link doesn't work, here's what it says about early boarding:

 

BETTER BOARDING POSITION

We'll automatically check you in and assign your boarding position within 36 hours of your flight's departure - that's 12 hours before general boarding positions become available. While EarlyBird Check-In doesn't guarantee an A boarding position, it improves your seat selection options to help you get your favorite seat.

 

You DO NOT need to check yourself in. Although this is my first time using EB, it says so clearly on the SW website.

 

Doing the normal check in, I've always gotten early B group (as good as position 5, and "bad" as position 25, maybe?). Most of my flights, I would also say A group hasn't been full, and they've offered the upsell while you're waiting. Although you might not get A if there are lots of A List flyers, this definitely increases your chances of being a low number in B.

[Star24K]

I always buy early bird on Southwest for the return flight after a cruise.

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

It also DOES NOT permit saving seats for family/friends in Boarding group C.

Sorry.

 

Exactly my point! With EB no one is owed anything and no one has a right to anything on the plane. If you want to start an argument with the person saving the seat, it's your choice. If the steward says move, you move or risk being taken off the plane by the local police. Open seating is just that. I also like to get benefits for which I paid for, but I won't be malicious about it and force a family apart.

Edited February 28, 2016 by ATL_Miami_Cruiser

[zdcatc12]

And as stated before... Southwest is open seating so you and your husband are owed nothing, whether you board first or last you're just like everyone else on that plane.

 

Which also means that the seats you are saving for the rest of your party that hasn't boarded yet because you thought that you could beat the system are also fair game. You can't have it both ways.

[Love-to-ride]

No won't effect your boarding position. SW checks you in 36 hours in advance and at 24 hours prior to departure you can click the check in button as many times as you want and your boarding position will stay the same.

Thanks, no heavy suitcases to hull around. [emoji1]

 

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[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

Which also means that the seats you are saving for the rest of your party that hasn't boarded yet because you thought that you could beat the system are also fair game. You can't have it both ways.

 

You're absolutely right, the seats are fair game. The point is that Southwest's system is flawed and doesn't have a good way to seat families together other than to charge extra money for that "privilege". If you came across a mother with a young child who boarded first and she was saving a seat for her husband or grandmother or caregiver (pick one) who was 20 positions back, would you tell her that's your seat and to get out of the way? I sure hope not.. There are so many people out there that don't have the funds to pay for this "privilege" and for us that do have it, who are we to force them to move?

Edited February 28, 2016 by ATL_Miami_Cruiser

[lizardhowson]

It's a measly $12.50 per person to guarantee you will get decent seats for your flight home. It's a no brainer - and should be for everyone else. :cool:

[cruizinisthebest]

It's a measly $12.50 per person to guarantee you will get decent seats for your flight home. It's a no brainer - and should be for everyone else. :cool:

Thank you to those that helped answer my questions. I appreciate it. This sarcastic answer was not needed nor helpful. It's not measly for families round trip. Not for me. I ask questions when spending my money on things that are new to me. That's how you learn.

 

Thanks again everyone else. I know what to do.

 

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[Roscoe13]

Let me clarify somewhat as to "saving" seats.

 

First of all, every time I fly SWA I head all the way to second to last row on he right hand side. This is my tried and true method of possibly getting a row where the middle is unoccupied by someone filing in later. Everyone wants to sit up front, because they can get off quicker. I'm not in that mindset because I am almost always checking a bag, no hurry to get off as the bag won't be on the carousel yet anyway.

 

Since I'm way in the back I might as well have been in C rather than A and it's quite easy to save at least one seat, usually for my wife.

 

In my original post I did state that it is easy unless you have a large number in your group.

 

I have never had anyone ask if the seat I'm saving is taken because my wife or whomever I'm saving for is on board way before passengers start settling for seats clear at the end of the plane.

[lizardhowson]

Thank you to those that helped answer my questions. I appreciate it. This sarcastic answer was not needed nor helpful. It's not measly for families round trip. Not for me. I ask questions when spending my money on things that are new to me. That's how you learn.

 

Thanks again everyone else. I know what to do.

 

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

 

If you are at home vs out on a sea day the day before your arrival flight to Florida, you can check-in exactly 24 hours early and get decent seats for your flight down to the port. No need for round trip Early Bird.

 

Early saver is a blessing when you have a sea day the day before your return flight. Not sure the size of your family, but $12.50 a person is a small sum to guarantee your family can get on quickly, will find an overhead bin for your carry-ons and you will all sit together.

 

Almost all flights are fully sold in these days. If your family was spread out all over the plane with young or tired kids, the early bird fee would be no brainer.

 

That was my point - not sarcastic at all.

Edited February 28, 2016 by lizardhowson

[violetsmile]

Thank you to those that helped answer my questions. I appreciate it. This sarcastic answer was not needed nor helpful. It's not measly for families round trip. Not for me. I ask questions when spending my money on things that are new to me. That's how you learn.

 

Thanks again everyone else. I know what to do.

 

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

 

Just to clarify (and save you some money), you don't have to buy the EB round trip. I didn't. I just logged in, clicked the button to add EB. It defaults to all passengers having a check mark on both legs for EB, but you can deselect whatever you want. If you have internet access on the front end, you can set yourself a reminder to check in the normal way 24 hours in advance for the first leg. Then you only pay for the EB for the trip home, when you don't have internet access.

[KPfromCT]

Exactly my point! With EB no one is owed anything and no one has a right to anything on the plane. If you want to start an argument with the person saving the seat, it's your choice. If the steward says move, you move or risk being taken off the plane by the local police. Open seating is just that. I also like to get benefits for which I paid for, but I won't be malicious about it and force a family apart.

 

What I am trying to say, and for some reason you are just NOT getting it, is, if my family of 3 pays for the Early Bird Check in, and we board in A or B, and someone is saving seats for someone that DID NOT pay for it, YES, we will ask them to move. That's how it works. Pretty sure the police won't be taking me off the plane. No worries there.;)

 

If the family cannot afford it, then they risk not sitting together. OR, they make an effort to check in 24 hours prior. That's the way it works.;)

[cruizinisthebest]

If you are at home vs out on a sea day the day before your arrival flight to Florida, you can check-in exactly 24 hours early and get decent seats for your flight down to the port. No need for round trip Early Bird.

 

Early saver is a blessing when you have a sea day the day before your return flight. Not sure the size of your family, but $12.50 a person is a small sum to guarantee your family can get on quickly, will find an overhead bin for your carry-ons and you will all sit together.

 

Almost all flights are fully sold in these days. If your family was spread out all over the plane with young or tired kids, the early bird fee would be no brainer.

 

That was my point - not sarcastic at all.

I'm in a bit of a conundrum, because I only want to get it one way. Now, the day before on the time of the flight I will be at work running an orientation. I could rely on my husband to do it but he'll be at work too and not always at his desk.

 

We leave the day after we debark, so I could check in just as we have to leave the cabin in the morning. In this case I think it may be better to get EB for the outbound flight instead. Make sense?

 

No hard feelings. Sorry if I misunderstood. You guys are being a huge help.

 

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[ChristinaN]

We are a family of five and it will be about an extra $80 for Early Bird one way for us with the state of the Canadian dollar. I'm afraid we'll need to take our chances with checking in online when we can. Hopefully the kids can sit near us. Thankfully we have no problem sitting at the back of plane.

[cmukid87]

I do two fold...don't flame me for somewhat cheating.

1. I pay to be automatically checked in ($12 upcharge or whatever)

2. I set the alarm for exactly 24 hours prior to boarding to check everyone else in

3. I get on board, grab a row of seats and save them for the rest of my group.

 

I won't have to do this necessarily coming up because we will have a 9 month old with us and families with young ones usually get advanced seating.

[babs125]

I buy EB and save a seat for the other person/persons in my party. I used to buy EB for all but it was a Southwest agent who told me that I only needed to buy one EB. I'm pretty sure they already know about seat saving.

[ferfoodle]

What I am trying to say, and for some reason you are just NOT getting it, is, if my family of 3 pays for the Early Bird Check in, and we board in A or B, and someone is saving seats for someone that DID NOT pay for it, YES, we will ask them to move. That's how it works. Pretty sure the police won't be taking me off the plane. No worries there.;)

 

If the family cannot afford it, then they risk not sitting together. OR, they make an effort to check in 24 hours prior. That's the way it works.;)

 

Wait, wouldn't with a family of three you would be looking for a whole row of 3? Why would you ask for someone who is occupying one seat in a row of 3 to give up those two seats? Would this be so 2 of you could sit there and the third go elsewhere?

[Roscoe13]

I buy EB and save a seat for the other person/persons in my party. I used to buy EB for all but it was a Southwest agent who told me that I only needed to buy one EB. I'm pretty sure they already know about seat saving.

 

My point exactly!! And it was a SWA agent who also told me that only one in a party of two really needs to purchase the Early Bird Check in.

[l2c4fun]

I am "A" list on SWA, so I've flown them enough to know that only one person in your group actually has to pay the $12.50. Unless you have a huge party that is.

 

BTW, the $12.50 is going up on 3/14/16 to $15.00 pp.

 

Yup saving seats using an item like a coat or bag is how you can get away with buying only one. I do this all the time when I travel with my family or friends. If there are 3 of us, just 1 will buy it and save the seats for the other 2. If 4 or more of us, we'll buy two EB's.

 

I can tell you from personal experience that I will NEVER again purchase for only one person in our group. DH and I have tried this before and always have people upset with us and it makes the entire flight very uncomfortable.

 

If sitting together with the kids is that important to us then we will purchase EB for all of us or fly another airline.

[zdcatc12]

I won't have to do this necessarily coming up because we will have a 9 month old with us and families with young ones usually get advanced seating.

 

Yes, after the A group and before the B group. They used to do it before the A group, but too many people were abusing it, so this is the compromise.

Edited February 29, 2016 by zdcatc12
Added for clarity

[MudbugsTherapist]

If you are traveling for 30 hours to the Maldives, I can see the desire to sit next to your family member.

But for a 3-hour (or less!) flight inside the continental 48?

Unless you have a small child, I don't understand the pressure to sit next to each other.

Almost everyone I see on planes has their face in a phone, tablet, or laptop anyway. Especially teens. :-)

 

Oh well. I never pay the $12 to early board, and if seats are available near each other by the time I board, then woo hoo!

 

If not, then that's less chance that I will hear, "Mom, hand me the..." throughout the flight.

 

Win/win.

 

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[lizardhowson]

I'm in a bit of a conundrum, because I only want to get it one way. Now, the day before on the time of the flight I will be at work running an orientation. I could rely on my husband to do it but he'll be at work too and not always at his desk.

 

We leave the day after we debark, so I could check in just as we have to leave the cabin in the morning. In this case I think it may be better to get EB for the outbound flight instead. Make sense?

 

No hard feelings. Sorry if I misunderstood. You guys are being a huge help.

 

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

 

Yes, you can buy it for either leg individually, you do not have to buy it round trip.

[Mistyhon]

We're almost always traveling with out kids, so we don't bother checking in. We'll just take group C (C as in "check your damn carry-on you aren't getting overhead space", LOL) and then do family boarding before group B.

[cruizinisthebest]

Yes, you can buy it for either leg individually, you do not have to buy it round trip.

 

Great. Thank you!!

[elliair]

What do most cruisers do to get advanced seating on return home trip on Southwest when at sea? Do you buy computer time to get advanced seating or do you pre-pay $12. to get advanced seating before you leave for the cruise? We have never bought computer time on our past cruises but we have heard of poor and slow connections. What's the best way?

 

I haven't read the other threads, and have already answered this on another CC site. YOU DO NOT GET ADVANCED SEATING ON SW! You only pay to check in early. Big whoop! If you think you're going to get in on an "A" list group, think again!

 

From SW website:

 

What do I get?

 

Automatic Check-InWhether you choose to print your boarding pass the day before or just hours before the flight, your confirmed boarding position will be ready and waiting for you. Now you can print your boarding pass as your schedule allows. Better Boarding PositionWe'll automatically check you in and assign your boarding position within 36 hours of your flight's departure - that's 12 hours before general boarding positions become available. While EarlyBird Check-In doesn't guarantee an A boarding position, it improves your seat selection options to help you get your favorite seat.Earlier Access to Overhead BinsGot bags? We've got room. By boarding earlier you'll get your pick of available overhead bin space.

 

"While EarlyBird Check-In doesn't guarantee an A boarding position, it improves your seat selection options to help you get your favorite seat."

 

Didja get that part that doesn't guarantee an A boarding position? I just printed my boarding pass this morning. I DID NOT PAY THE $12.50 FOR EARLY CHECK IN! I am not a newbie at this. My boarding position is B05 & 06. It's a Monday, lots of business travel, and I thought I did good getting B05 going to a major port.