Same day check in return flight

[mricci]

Can I check in for my same day return flight on a round trip ticket 24hours before it’s departure or do I need to wait to complete the outbound?

[TheMiddleSeat]

Check-in 24 hours prior as usual, no need to wait 

[chgoflyer]

With one exception: Connecting flights. 

Southwest's systems don't allow anyone to have more than two boarding passes at any given time. So if you have a connecting flight you'll have to wait until you complete the outbound. (Or you can have a gate agent print them for you at your departure gate.)

[clardae2]

Leaving Midway today, 850am

Leaving Sacramento to come back tomorrow 530am.

How do I get boarding pass for return trip?

[ILV2fly]

Hi @clardae2,

You can manually check in online for any flight 24 hours in advance. I believe it’s local time, which means you should be able to check in for your return flight at 7:30AM Chicago time today.

Safe travels!

ILV2fly

[ILV2fly]

Hi @clardae2,

If that doesn’t work, @chgoflyer suggested having a gate agent print your boarding pass for tomorrow’s flight before departing Midway.

ILV2fly

[DancingDavidE]

Southwest has a long history of being a shuttle airline in Texas between Houston, SA, and Dallas, I'm sure that there is a way to complete your check-ins even with a day trip.

I had a day trip recently to ATL and was able to check in, although I forget the details on the timing, and being A-list I wouldn't have cared if my return flight position wasn't good, I'd just board at A61.

[chgoflyer]

You can always check in for your flight 24 hours prior to departure. If that departure is in a different time zone, just adjust accordingly.

(The only issue is with connecting flights. Southwest's system won't allow a passenger to have more than two boarding passes at any given time.)

[ihightow]

I had the same question and problem.  I had a flight from San Diego to Sacramento in the morning (6:25AM) had checked in 24 hours in advance no problem and received an A-37 boarding pass.  I then attempted to check into my return flight which was for 5:30PM the same day and all that kept showing up was my morning flight and boarding pass.  I called Southwest to be told it was a 15 minute wait so I agreed to a call back in the same amount of time.  I then exited my screen and resubmitted the information - about 5 minutes after trying and attempting to call Southwest and low and behold I had a check in for the 5:30 PM flight, but now was a B-19 boarding pass of course because of the time that had passed. When the service representative called me back he said sometimes it never recognizes the second flight and it won't work until you complete your outbound flight.  I asked if it would have been better to have a separate confirmation number and he agreed it would have been cleaner.  Will keep that in mind if I ever have to do this again. Southwest should think about how to clean this up. This did NOT have a connecting flight by the way.  

[Passenger1C]

@ihightow  I would be completely frustrated as well. Just for understanding... you did attempt to check in 24 hours before the later flight? 

I never call SWA... all my questions/interactions are done through Twitter. Immediate response and service. Try that next time.