Once again, Southwest Airlines is introducing a new product to make traveling a little easier for our Customers. Many of you have told us how important it is to get an early boarding position so you can find that coveted seat without having to watch the clock for your 24-hour window to check in. Today, I am excited to introduce EarlyBird Check-in - one more way Southwest is providing convenience during your travel experience. For just $10 (one-way), EarlyBird Check-in Customers will automatically obtain a reserved boarding position before general check-in begins. You no longer have to worry about checking in for your flight as we will do the work for you to help you get a better boarding position, which of course leads to improved seat selection and earlier access to overhead bin space.
This project is one of many that we have been working on to bring you more options. The process has been fast and furious, but with the help of several Southwest Teams, we were able to bring this new product to life in just a matter of months. It started with just an idea on the whiteboard, but quickly went from an idea to a creative concept online that is now EarlyBird Check-in. The fun part was coming up with the name for the product. Check out just a few that didn’t make the final cut, and let us know what you might have called the new product.
- Shotgun
- Leapfrog Check-in
- Jet Ahead
- Gimme a Lift
- First Dibs
- Jump Seat
Of course, we continue to offer Customers our premium Business Select product, which guarantees that you will be one of the first Passengers onboard your flight—with a drink; extra Rapid Rewards credit; and FlyBy Security Lane access (at select airports) as added benefits! EarlyBird Check-in Customers will begin boarding the plane after our Business Select and Rapid Rewards A-List Customers. For more information about EarlyBird Check-in, visit our web site: http://www.southwest.com/flight/early-bird-retrieve-reservation.html
Comments
I love SWA, and fly often, but I dislike this new fee very much. In fact, I was about to book two tickets to MCO for January for business and have decided to spend a little more money on Delta to avoid the huge hassle that I envision at MCO's SWA gates. One person in a family will be buying EB and saving seats for the rest. I've always been happy checking in 24 hrs ahead of time and getting a decent A boarding pass, but I can't imagine it working out very well anymore, out of MCO anyway.
Until this month, we have loved Southwest and always used them if at all possible. Because of early bird check-in, we have decided to no longer fly with Southwest. We always check in at exactly 24 hours and know we will be pretty high up in the A group. With Early Bird check in, you no longer can have any idea where you stand. Southwest does not limit it, so theoretically every person on the plane can pay the $10 fee, making it a total surprise where you will wind up. I would think that a large number of people who are not traveling alone would fork over the extra fee to try to sit together. We have no intention of forking over the extra fee only to find out we are in the B or C group. We will not take the chance. With early bird check in we can no longer insure that our family will find seats together even by paying the fee; therefore we will no longer fly with Southwest Airlines. It's a shame because we really liked Southweest.
For someone who is flying to a destination that doesn't have access to a computer 24 hours before their flight, this is great. It gives us a chance to purchase EBCI and not be worried about printing a boarding pass. It is automatically assigned to you. Just print it when you check in at the airport. Alot of resorts and hotels charge you for printing boarding passes. This is actually cheaper than the fee you pay. This is totally an optional program. the $10 fee each way still doesn't add up to what other airlines are charging for the same flight.
EDWARD
ONCE MORE PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE EARLY BIRD CHECK-IN I AM SURE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH EARLY BIRD WILL INCREASE. AGAIN I LOVE SWA AS I FLY IT EXCLUSIVELY BUT NOT SURE IF THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA. TIME WILL TELL. I WILL BE HAPPY IF I AM WRONG.
Edward,
It is a fee. It is a fee if the experience you have had all along is now at extreme risk of being lessened unless you pay for the new "service".
Your analogy to the new car does not hold. If I have always got a car with power windows, and then they suddenly tell me on my next car that if I want power windows, I have to pay more, then the analogy would hold.
Previous to now, checking in at T-24 was nearly guaranteed to get you a low-to-mid A. Now, because other people are willing to pay the $10 fee, you have the option of either paying it too (and if you do, it's still a crap shoot what you'll get), or of accepting that you will no longer get a low-to-mid A by checking in at T-24.
Take a look at the threads I linked to on Flyertalk.com. Both people checking in at T-24 and using EBCI are getting B boarding passes. That did not happen before this "optional service" was introduced. Any time you have to pay a new amount to maintain the level of product/service you're accustomed to procuring, it's a fee.
Man, you people are hysterical! Automatically assuming the worst before the product has even been rolled out. Reminds me of when SWA went to A-B-C boarding, and then the numbers in between, and the internet check-in, and the move to Family Boarding, and, and, and....
And guess what? Everything turned out just fine.
I have been an employee for quite some time, so I've seen it all. Will people find a way around the rules? Will they discover a loophole? Of course they will, it happens every day, in *every* industry. It's human nature. But it's not every human.
By the way, I've checked in nearly 100 people today on 4 different flights, and 2 people--count 'em, that's TWO--had Early Bird. So why the drama on these posts?
I do think that eventually, if EBCI gets more popular, that we should limit the number allowed on each flight. Until then, simmer down!
NOT SURE I LIKE IT AS THE MORE PEOLPE WHO PAY THE EXTRA $10 THE LESS LIKELY ONE WILL GET A BETTER "A" POSITION. I NORMALLY DID GET AN "A" BOARDING PASS WHEN I LOGGED IN 24 HOURS AHEAD. BUT NOW I THINK THERE'S EXTRA STRESS NOT KNOWING WHAT I WILL GET IF I DON'T PAY THE EXTRA $10. I THINK I LIKE PICKING MY OWN SEAT AT THE TIME OF TICKET PURCHASE THE BEST. THAT WAY I KNOW WHERE I WILL BE SITTING, NO ARGUMENTS, NO STRESS. I'M A BIG FAN OF SOUTHWEST AND USE THEM EXCLUSIVELY UNLESS THEY DON'T FLY WHERE I AM GOING. I THINK I WOULD RATHER GO BACK TO THE FORMER WAY "24 HOURS BEFORE" OR PICK A SEAT AT TIME OF PURCHASE. I ALSO THINK SOUTHWEST NEEDS TO BE MORE FORCEFUL WHEN LETTING PEOPLE BRING RIDICULOUS SIZED BAGS ONBOARD BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH CHECK IN OR WAIT AROUND FOR THEIR BAG ON LANDING. THERE WOULD BE PLENTY OF ROOM IF ONLY CORRECT SIZED BAGS WERE ALOUD IN THE OVERHEAD STORAGE.
This is hands down the most disappointing news to come out of SW. I absolutely love flying with SW. Any time I fly I always check SW to see if they fly to the area I'm heading. Part of what I like about SW is that if I do my part in paying attention to check in times I can at least make sure I'm in A group. This new option is terrible. Paying the money doesn't even guarantee getting into A group. I have no control at this point. Just give them my $10 and hope to stay towards the head of the pack. The only way to make sure I don't get stuck in C group is to pay the much higher fares and if I'm going to have to pay those prices I might as well look at other airlines that have comparable prices but will let me choose my seat.
I don't like the idea of paying $10.00 extra but I am even more bothered by the fact that if I choose to pay the money I still don't really know where I'll board.
I really like SW and have very happily flown SW for years, but I can't see myself committing to flying without having any real control over where I sit.
I hope SW realizes how much this new policy goes against everything that makes SW great.
To those who are saying that the $10 early bird check in is a fee, in reality it is not. It is an optional add-on that is the choice of the passenger when he or she books a flight on Southwest.
Let's look at it this way: When you book a flight on Southwest, you get a choice of fares depending on how soon you purchase and how much you want to spend. Of course you want to pay the smallest fare possible and you have a choice from the low "Wanna Get Away" fares to the higher unrestricted fares. If you take the higher unrestricted fares you have the option of upgrading to Business Select which puts you anywhere in A-1 to A-15 among other things.
It's like options that you get when you buy a new car: Hand crank windows or power windows? Radio or Radio/CD player? Hand seats or power seats? Automatic transmission or manual transmission? You start with a base price for a car and then add the options you want. It's the same thing with Southwest: You start with a fare you want to pay and add the options you want.
The key word I am emphasizing here is options. One can choose to pay the extra fee for the convenience. Now that's my opinion.
I am delighted to see the number of negative responses. I just found out about this new "option" when checking in 24 hours before my flight yesterday. Needless to say I was not happy to receive a low B number at as close to T-24 as possible. I agree with others that all the kinks have not been worked out and I paid $10 to $20 dollars extra and still received a B or C I would be very cranky. I always check SWA first when traveling and have dealt with having to camp out in line for an hour and now do my utmost best to be at a computer or mobile device to check in for a reasonable chance at a good seat. Now I will be checking many airlines before committing to SWA. What was broke SWA?