Skip to main content

Southwest Airlines Community

Early bird

Peanutbunny
Explorer C

What a scam.   Buy it and end up at the end of boarding group B.  Really?   Put 20 bucks in a slot machine, it’s better use of your money.  At least with 20 at the machine you may get lucky. 

3 REPLIES 3

Re: Early bird

dfwskier
Aviator A

Since EB purchasers are allocated boarding positions in the order the EB was bought, the longer one waits to buy EB, the worse the boarding position will be.

 

Wait til a few days before departure, and it isn't going to be a lot better than checking yourself in. Even then it will be better as EB buyers ALWAYS get better boarding positions than people that check themselves in.

 

Moral of the story: instead of buying EB days before departure, you might be better off paying the money to get A1--A15 on the day of departure.

Re: Early bird

floridaguy
Aviator C

Yes, we have heard several complaints on this board about EBCI.  I agree with you that it is a total waste of money and you'd be better off to make a donation and take the associated tax benefit of the donation.

 

With the Holiday DISASTER of 2022, Southwest is looking for revenues to offset what appears to be a near $1 BILLION hit.  However, I do not see any value for EBCI.

 

On my trip to New Orleans, I am going to do the EBCI and then request a refund since I preboard anyway.

 

I will let everyone know how that goes.

Re: Early bird

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Keep in mind your boarding position would have been worse without EarlyBird. Why it continues to be seen as primarily a way to improve your boarding position baffles me, its main purpose is to check you in so you don't have to worry about it. It's perfect for times when you are on vacation or have an early morning flight and you don't want to deal with checking in 24 hours prior to departure. For improving boarding position, upgraded boarding within 24 hours of departure is the way to go.

 

--TheMiddleSeat