@2O1OO wrote:
Very interested by this thread and whether the assignment logic has changed this year: I'm an ALP and I fly between 90-100 flights a year, mostly between SAN & SJC. I usually book my tickets months in advance for the next few months.
For the last few years, I've consistently been assigned A16-A18. An then suddenly since the beginning of the year, it's been pretty much all A21-A26 (9 flights so far)
I bought my January flights at the same time as my November or December flights, so I'm positive something has changed in the way those seats are allocated since Jan 1.
I initially thought that they had extended Business Select until 20, but this doesn't appear to be the case.
I wonder whether the assignment within the ALP pool used to be based on travel frequency (the more frequent travelers would get priority) and is now based on purchase price (I bought my current set of flights during a $29 promotion).
Has anyone noticed a change?
Hello from SoCal-
Nearly all of my SW flights are short-hauls, many to/from Northern California that also originate out of SAN. I don't have ALP but currently have A-List. My understanding based on my prior reply and an official SW Twitter/X response was ALP members get first take of the Priority Boarding Positions 36 hours before departure after the A1-A15 group (I assume placed in order when the flight was booked). A-List follows, then Anytime fares, then EBCI.
Based on my experience, I tend to notice many frequent ALP's and A-Listers traveling on SW short-haul flights in between SoCal and the Silicon Valley/Bay Area regularly which can impact my position if many ALP's book. I found that number to fluctuate. For example, I can score an easy A16-20 on some of these flights. Other times, I may not even make it to "A". For example, I had an October '23 SAN-SJC flight that was booked during a $29 sale four months prior in July '23. Despite the early booking, I was placed in the early B-Group (but had the "A61" benefit as A-List). On the day of travel out of SAN, it was evident that were at least 45 ALP's on this flight and many A-Lists. I'm guessing a boss from one of those big tech companies wanted their staff to come to work. It's likely that your first few January flights too have been loaded with ALP's with 6-10 booking ahead of yours.
Lately, I've been placed anywhere in between the A20's to A40's as A-List. Even if I have to settle for "A61", I still get a great window seat with overhead bin space near the seat. I don't think the amount paid has anything to do with the position as my most recent short-haul flight to OAK was $39, flown just a few weeks ago, and booked last October. I got A23 as A-List. The folks ahead of me appeared to be ALP's.
Long answer short: I think it fluctuates. Hope this helps.
