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Question about the automatic checkin for earlybird

kbluebig
Explorer C

This has probably been answered before but I am new here.

So I purchased my first earlybird checkin for me and my wife.

 

I learned the hard way that even though the southwest website says the earlybird checkin will AUTOMATICALLY check me in, it does not really do that.

 

It merely reserves your position 36 hours before your flight departure time but you still need to MANUALLY checkin.

 

This is VERY misleading using the wording of automatic checkin.

 

My question or request is, why can't southwest send some kind of confirmation showing your position or showing the earlybird option actually worked ? If this is an extra feature I paid for, why am I not actively seeing the benefit of it ? Why do I still have to manually check in for a service that is advertised that it will automatically check in for me ? 

11 REPLIES 11

Re: Question about the automatic checkin for earlybird

dfwskier
Aviator A

@kbluebig wrote:

@

 

 

My question or request is, why can't southwest send some kind of confirmation showing your position or showing the earlybird option actually worked ? If this is 

an extra feature I paid for, why am I not actively seeing the benefit of it ?

 

You see the benefit of it when you obtain your boarding pass. 

 

Why do I still have to manually check in for a service that is advertised that it will automatically check in for me ? 




  

TSA requires every passenger to personally obtain his/her boarding pass. That's what you are doing when you "check in." with any airline. That's what TSA calls it.

 ? 

 

Re: Question about the automatic checkin for earlybird

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

You could buy a ticket, not buy EarlyBird, then show up at the airport without checking in and I guarantee you will see the value and difference EarlyBird offers.  Your complaint points to some poor wording on Southwest's part regarding the check-in process, but nothing more than that.  One way or another you need to obtain your boarding pass.  You can call that checking in or you can call it obtaining your boarding pass.  Either way, your boarding position is already assigned unlike those that do not purchase EBCI who are assigned a boarding position when they go through the process to obtain the boarding pass.  A-List flyers are notified of their boarding position via a mobile app notification so it's possible Southwest could expand that capability to those who have EBCI, but that is not currently available and even A-List flyers still have to obtain their boarding pass.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Question about the automatic checkin for earlybird

aMomTo6
Adventurer B

I think this is good clarification about the "checking in/getting your boarding position" vs. the "checking in/getting your boarding pass" .  I am sure a lot of people will find this info helpful. 

 

I also think it's an interesting point here that SWA could potentially offer a notification to EBCI customers in the same way that A list gets notified.  I have never used the EBCI option, but for those who do and pay that extra bit of money, it would be a great feature and probably  would smooth out some of those concerns that EBCI customers have. 

Re: Question about the automatic checkin for earlybird

dfwskier
Aviator A

@aMomTo6 wrote:

I think this is good clarification about the "checking in/getting your boarding position" vs. the "checking in/getting your boarding pass" .  I am sure a lot of people will find this info helpful. 

 

I also think it's an interesting point here that SWA could potentially offer a notification to EBCI customers in the same way that A list gets notified.  I have never used the EBCI option, but for those who do and pay that extra bit of money, it would be a great feature and probably  would smooth out some of those concerns that EBCI customers have. 


Actually, neither A-List nor A-List Preferred receive any more of a notification than anyone 

else. Everyone finds out their boarding positions when they get their boarding passes

Re: Question about the automatic checkin for earlybird

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

@dfwskier wrote:

Actually, neither A-List nor A-List Preferred receive any more of a notification than anyone 

else. Everyone finds out their boarding positions when they get their boarding passes


Disagree, I have previously received a notification on my phone which included my boarding position, without me completing the check-in process.

 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Question about the automatic checkin for earlybird

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@dfwskier wrote:


Actually, neither A-List nor A-List Preferred receive any more of a notification than anyone 

else. Everyone finds out their boarding positions when they get their boarding passes


 

This is incorrect. Around t-24, A-Listers receive a pop-up via the app that tells them their position, and directs them to obtain their boarding pass.

 

Re: Question about the automatic checkin for earlybird

gsking
Aviator C

Well, if you have the app, you get boarding position as a push notification.  Not sure how this works with EBCI, but I would suspect it's the same.

 

The push notification is useful as a reminder of a flight in 24 hours, but knowing the boarding position is kinda meaningless.

Re: Question about the automatic checkin for earlybird

kbluebig
Explorer C

My point exactly @aMomTo6

 

I do understand that you do potentially get a better position and yes my wife and I did get A27 and A28. That is not my issue.

 

My issue is, if we still have to press check-in then that nullifies the advertising stating EBCI does AUTOMATIC checkin for you. If you purchase EBCI and there still needs to be a way for the customer to obtain their boarding pass online, then change the wording of it on your website and app, to say something like, "receive boarding pass"

 

And also, the fact that you do not SEE the benefit until you press the checkin button within 24 hours of your flight but the advertisement says they reserve your position 36 hours before your flight. I want to SEE that added benefit right when it happens. I want to see my position 36 hours before my flight. Since that is how you are claiming this earlybird service works.

 

Can you imagine if you paid for a 3 year extended warranty for a cell phone but you do not get any confirmation that you received that extended warranty or that you are covered, until you have to submit a warranty claim within that 3 years ?

 

That's all. Sorry to vent on about this but the customer service person I spoke to when I called Southwest really did not explain all this as well as you all did in the community board and it felt like she did not understand how early bird was supposed to work herself. Since she told me I WOULD receive an email showing my position confirmed, within 24 hours of my flight (whether I pressed checkin or not) and that definitely did not happen.

Re: Question about the automatic checkin for earlybird

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

Ok, if what you want is confirmation that you have EBCI on the reservation then that's easy.  Log into your Rapid Rewards account, view your reservation, and you will see an icon showing that EBCI is in fact on the reservation.  If you don't have it, you will instead see an option to add it.  That seems to address your issue that you related to the cell phone warranty.  I'm pretty sure EBCI is also indicated on the boarding pass.

 

Everything else seems like not liking the semantics and how EBCI is presented.  Feel free to send Southwest a suggestion, Contact Customer Relations 

 

--TheMiddleSeat