Comments on: The Good and Bad of Southwest’s EarlyBird Check-In

By: Cyd

Cyd — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:21:26 +0000

I bought Early Bird when I booked my flight in Jan. Flew 5/14/12 and got B50 & B51. 60 A boarding passes, blue sleeve medical boarders, parents with children – THEN B plus 50 . . . . .

When I asked the counter agent, she basically said that she would never buy Early Bird because everyone on the plane could purchase it and you’d be SOL.

Early bird is a RIP OFF!!

By: CF

CF — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:06:07 +0000

If you check in at the same time, you will get sequential boarding numbers and you will board at the same time.

By: Jean

Jean — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:04:40 +0000

This will be our first time flying Southwest. If I purchase 4 tickets all at the same time, will we be able to board at the same time or will they split us up?

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:19:28 +0000

WARNING – THEY DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY CHECK YOU IN. I paid for this, and was really glad I did because delayed flights in the morning meant I was running late getting back in the afternoon. Got to the airport 50 minutes before departure, went to get my boarding pass and was told I was NOT CHECKED IN. Automatic my arse! I got involuntarily denied boarding. Gate agent agreed website is deceptive, and nobody can explain how this happened. Last time I used EB checkin I was in C group. NEVER AGAIN!

By: RobinM

RobinM — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:48:26 +0000

I haven’t flown in a plane in over 20 years. I purchased the EB, I was hoping to make this a little easier….after reading the reviews, I hope SW does not disappoint me or I won’t be flying again for another 20 years.

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:52:06 +0000

Anyone remember the Dr. Seuss story “The Sneetches”? Well, SW Air is Sylvester McMonkey McBean, selling EB stars to pretty much everyone nowadays. If every px on a flight purchases EB, then what the hell good does it do? Except make SW Air an extra $1,400 or so on such a flight? What’s the tie-breaker? Earliest purchase?

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:17:41 +0000

I threw away $10 for early bird check-in yesterday for my 90-year-old mother flying to Orlando from Chicago. What I did not realize, and what SW does not make clear, is that even if you end up at the top of the B group (my mother was B-1) you could still be among the last to board. On this Chicago-Orlando flight, there were at least 30 passengers (families with children) that boarded ahead of my mother…even though they had lower numbers. Does not make sense. SW needs to make this clear…or offer a refund for a wasted early check-in…or, as suggested in the original posting here, restructure this program. Fool me once, shame on me, Fool me twice…well, I will not be buying early check-in for my mother’s return trip.

By: CF

CF — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:33:28 +0000

Yes, Southwest provides automatic check in with an early number if you pay for this service.

By: Stussy63

Stussy63 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:36:14 +0000

Quick question — I am going on a cruise and flying back SW the evening I arrive back in port – so I will have no way to check in before I get to the airport. If I choose EB checkin — would SW do the check in for me and then I just need to print my boarding passes when I get to the airport? If that is the case, then it’s probably worth the $10 for me.

By: Brad

Brad — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:00:12 +0000

Good lord, I can’t believe how many people complain about the difference between A21 and A40. I mean, seriously. If you REALLY want that “special” seat, just fly business select. To be honest, I think the $10.00 for EB is probably not worth it, but they DO check you in AUTOMATICALLY which seems to have been forgotten in this conversation. I think the automatic check-in service is what you are paying the extra 10 clams for – not just the A-level seating (which ISN’T, nor is it claimed to be guaranteed!). Stop crying.