@dadcali wrote:
Your explanation, as well as that of the agent I spoke to about my similar complaint makes no sense. My wife and I booked a trip with my daughter. All on the same confirmation number. I paid for Early Bird for my wife and I, as I wouldn't be in a location where I could check in 24 hours prior to the flight. My daughter, who has no Rewards account, and no airline status, recieved an A boarding position, along with her friend also on the same flight, with no RR account or status. My wife and I were given B48/49, almost 50 positions behind! That makes no sense. If we were slotted 12 hours before my daughter could even login, how were we given a position BEHIND them? Early Bird is a waste of money, and has to be fixed or scrapped. Southwest does so much to be THE airline without hidden fees and tricks, yet this service seems no better than a $15 lottery ticket that never wins!
It is distressing to pay for a service that you think gives you a better boarding position, and then discover that people who didn't pay anything extra are given a better position than you. Sadly, that's just how Southwest's system works.
Southwest re-issues the positions of passengers who have been checked in but then cancel prior to departure. It's not fair, but Southwest doesn't really care much, as EarlyBird Check-In was created only to make money for the carrier in the first place. Southwest earned $400 million on EBCI fees alone in 2017. At this point, it's best to consider EBCI as only a way to be automatically checked in -- not a way to receive a better boarding position or earlier access to overhead bins, despite advertising as such.
EBCI customers often now get B positions, but B48/49 is particularly bad. Do your printed boarding passes actually say "EarlyBird Check-In" on them? Perhaps it dropped off via infamous Southwest "glitch." Did you make any changes to your flights within 36 hours of departure? That can cause EBCI failure as well. If it dropped off you are due a refund of the fee.
