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Early Bird Check-In and Got C44 - what's your highest? Zin

mikearmand
Explorer B

Paid for early-bird check-in and was assigned C44-C47 for those in my reservation. It seems that at some point Southwest should stop accepting payment for early check-in knowing it won't provide much benefit.  For example, would they charge the last person for early bird check-in?  This was my first time paying for this.

 

Just curious, has anyone gotten this or higher with EB check-in?

29 REPLIES 29

Re: Early Bird Check-In and Got C44 - what's your highest? Zin

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Reminder, the primary benefit of EarlyBird Check-In is automatic check-in so you don't have to worry about doing it. There is guarantee of any specific boarding position. To guarantee improved boarding position, the upgraded boarding option which can be purchased within 24 hours of departure is the best option.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Early Bird Check-In and Got C44 - what's your highest? Zin

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

@mikearmand how far in advance did you purchase EBCI?

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Early Bird Check-In and Got C44 - what's your highest? Zin

mikearmand
Explorer B

Hey TheMiddleSeat -

 

I bought it just under seven weeks from the flight. I'm sure many had bought their tickets and EB check-in earlier than that, but still surprised at the result!

 

mikearmand

Re: Early Bird Check-In and Got C44 - what's your highest? Zin

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

I agree, at that timing it is a little surprising to get such a high C position unless it was a nearly full flight to a popular vacation destination. My recent experience on a flight from Cancun indicated a very large percentage of the flight purchased EBCI and did so long before the flight as it was nearly sold out months before departure. Additionally, there are many more people being assigned to A-List positions with the sequential boarding benefit that is in place now. Basically, double the number of people are assigned A-List positions now which are all in front of EBCI passengers. That certainly has a huge impact and will almost always prevent any non-A-List passengers from getting A boarding positions unless the flight is rather empty. High B and low C will be the new norm for EBCI and high C for manual check-in. 

 

You didn't make any changes or re-price the tickets within that 7 weeks? That would also drop you to the back of the EarlyBird check-in queue.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Early Bird Check-In and Got C44 - what's your highest? Zin

mikearmand
Explorer B

@TheMiddleSeat No changes made to the reservation in that 7 week window, but this was a flight out of a spring break destination (Punta Cana).  Knowing it would be a full flight was the only reason I bought EBCI, but ironically also made it worthless.  In hindsight I could have guessed that, as I knew the flight was nearing capacity when I booked, but I had no idea so many people actually bought EBCI.  Fortunately, I still grabbed a pair of seats to sit with my 8 year old, and my wife got a pair of seats with the help of a flight attendant in the last row with our other kid.

 

(At this point I'm more fascinated than annoyed by this, and so did confirm boarding that plane that the guy in front of me had bought EBCI too, despite only about 10-15 people remaining to board behind us!  And in chatting with Southwest customer service confirmed the flight had a lot of A-listers.) 

 

I'm looking forward to the DOT rulemaking to address family seating, and curious how Southwest responds.  For the "LUV" airline, they should be concerned that United is actually way ahead of on that front!

Re: Early Bird Check-In and Got C44 - what's your highest? Zin

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@mikearmand wrote:

@TheMiddleSeat   In hindsight I could have guessed that, as I knew the flight was nearing capacity when I booked, but I had no idea so many people actually bought EBCI.  Fortunately, I still grabbed a pair of seats to sit with my 8 year old, and my wife got a pair of seats with the help of a flight attendant in the last row with our other kid.

...

I'm looking forward to the DOT rulemaking to address family seating, and curious how Southwest responds.  For the "LUV" airline, they should be concerned that United is actually way ahead of on that front!


Is your other kid also 8 or older? There is family boarding for groups with 7 years old and younger kids but that does put a different spin on it with kids older than that but still young.

 

Regarding your other thought I guess you could see the flight was full, but you had no way to know that so many other people had already bought EBCI before you. It would be nice to see a "counter" or other indicator. 

 

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Early Bird Check-In and Got C44 - what's your highest? Zin

floridaguy
Aviator C

I've been saying for months now that the EBCI is a total waste of money.  You'd be better to donate that money to a charity and then take a tax deduction, you'd receive more benefit.

 

Stop wasting money.  Check in 24 hours before the flight.  I have never had a position that far down the line even when I checked in much later.

 

You are only feeding Southwest's bottom line and receiving NOTHING in return.

Re: Early Bird Check-In and Got C44 - what's your highest? Zin

mikearmand
Explorer B

@floridaguy I fully agree.  I made this bad bet once, but not again!

Re: Early Bird Check-In and Got C44 - what's your highest? Zin

TobyLibby
Explorer C

The only logical reason to purchase EB seating is to avoid a poor boarding position.  Besides a poor selection of remaining seats, overhead bin space is hard to find as well. 

 

My daughter had a similar experience.  She went the the gate agent to complain and he said "off the record" that SW continues to sell EB checkin knowing all the early boarding positions (after Business select or upgraded boarding 1-15) are already sold.  He believed at some point they should be considered sold out.  We were on the same flight.  My wife and I purchased Anytime seats and received positions A56 and B3.  We purchased these seats 4 hours after the booking window for this flight opened.  

 

The mad dash for checkin 24 hours before flight has now been replaced by the mad dash to book the flight the second the booking window opens!