Southwest Airlines Community

This thread started back in the spring 2023 -- but since then Southwest seems to have  realized that selling EBCI to nearly the entire plane dilutes or eliminates its value.  Personally I bought it once, learned my lesson and won't purchase it again.  The credit card upgraded boarding credits are a much better route to bypassing the normal check-in process, granted they won't probably won't be available on a particularly busy flight. ... View more

The only intent of my initial post, really, was to raise awareness that "better" can also mean C47.  (Probably not what the average consumer pictures after reading the FAQ, even if understanding nothing is guaranteed.)  And in a possible (though perhaps unlikely) scenario, you can still be the last to board.   Appreciate all the various comments and robust discussion! ... View more

@floridaguy I fully agree.  I made this bad bet once, but not again! ... View more

@TheMiddleSeat No changes made to the reservation in that 7 week window, but this was a flight out of a spring break destination (Punta Cana).  Knowing it would be a full flight was the only reason I bought EBCI, but ironically also made it worthless.  In hindsight I could have guessed that, as I knew the flight was nearing capacity when I booked, but I had no idea so many people actually bought EBCI.  Fortunately, I still grabbed a pair of seats to sit with my 8 year old, and my wife got a pair of seats with the help of a flight attendant in the last row with our other kid.   (At this point I'm more fascinated than annoyed by this, and so did confirm boarding that plane that the guy in front of me had bought EBCI too, despite only about 10-15 people remaining to board behind us!  And in chatting with Southwest customer service confirmed the flight had a lot of A-listers.)    I'm looking forward to the DOT rulemaking to address family seating, and curious how Southwest responds.  For the "LUV" airline, they should be concerned that United is actually way ahead of on that front! ... View more

Hey TheMiddleSeat -   I bought it just under seven weeks from the flight. I'm sure many had bought their tickets and EB check-in earlier than that, but still surprised at the result!   mikearmand ... View more

I paid for Early Bird check-in and got C47 (?).  Seems it's just not worth it. ... View more