Southwest's new $10 Early Bird Option...

[SorcererJim]

... anyone upset at this new "option"? I am one of those people that took great pride in getting "A16's" (since A1-15 were the business select spots) when checking in 24 hours ahead of time. I would syncronize my clocks to the southwest servers and hit it on the nose.... now I am going to have to "fight" with people buying there way to the front of the line for $10? I thought that was what their Business Select fares were? why on earth would anyone buy one of those tickets now if they can get the same thing by buying a regular ticket and then add on $10?

Now I know what some of you will say... well, then pay the $10 like the them and you wont have to worry... because then they might as well just call it a FEE and be done with it!

Anyway, just felt like venting to my Intercot friends

[Gregandmel]

I'm with you!! I love Southwest and I, too, prided myself with logging in exactly 24 hours prior to boarding and getting a good "A" slot. I was on their website today reading their Q&A on the $10 fee and what I do NOT know - is what if EVERYONE bought the $10 Early-Bird option?? HOw in the WORLD would the seating assignments be assigned?? I love being able to get a good seat and my kids love getting a window seat. I'm not sure how it will work, and I probably need to call them to find out exactly how the "assigning" of the A,B or C works. Is it who books their flights first?? Hard to say. I'm still a bit confused on it.

[swampfox28]

Jeez - I never heard of this until just now.

We're flying SWA in November - does anyone have more info?


-Sarah

[SorcererJim]

There's an "Ad" for it right on their main webpage. Agreed... very confusing!

[teambricker04]

They have to increase their rates some where... if they aren't willing to add bag fees, it is going to come from some where. Even Southwest isn't immune.

[Gregandmel]

[QUOTE=swampfox28;1951357]Jeez - I never heard of this until just now.

We're flying SWA in November - does anyone have more info?


I you go on their main website southwest.com look on the right side about the middle of the page and there is a link about the "new" early bird check in option.

[SurferStitch]

I read through all of the info on this at the SW website.

Sounds like it's more of an "automated checkin" fee (each way) rather than an actual early bird fee. You aren't guaranteed A seating since business select and Rapid Rewards A-List people get first priority. It also depends on how many Early Bird buyers there are. There is no limit to how many Early Birds can be purchased per flight. ALL eligible customers can purchase it.

It's also non-refundable if you cancel your flight.

Also, there is a pecking order for who gets assigned first under the Early Bird program (AFTER business select and Rapid Rewards): "Customers who have purchased Anytime Fares will receive priority over other fare types during the initial boarding position assignment." So, Ding people, Wanna Get Away customers, and so forth are assigned last under the Early Bird.

Hey, SW has to start assigning fees somewhere. I also noticed that since they started the Early Bird option, they are again prominently advertising their "no charge for 1-2 checked bags" to help ease the pain.

[Belster]

This is why I do not fly SW they are all too confusing.....

[aurora, ariel, and bell]

I love Southwest. I just heard about this here on intercot and went to website and called southwest. We fly out on Tuesday sept 8. I went ahead and did the early bird. It gets assigned in order of purchasing the early bird. i actually like it because i've been stressing that i might forget to call at 24 hr mark, and wasn't sure how I would do it coming home. Now it is all taken care of.
I'll let you know how it worked...hopefully as smooth as I am planning!

[TheRustyScupper]

... anyone upset at this new "option"?

1) I think it is a good thing.
2) There are folks who cannot call at 24-hrs to get a good number
. . . they work
. . . they can't get to a computer
. . . they have another appointment
3) This gives them the ability to get a great seat.
4) For others, they will have to pay the $10 or take their chances.
5) Like any other company/business, money talks.

[BMan62]

For us, this is a good thing. DW just can't stand the thought of something happening and we wouldn't be able to sit together. I would hope that this would alleviate the worries of that ever happening.

[luvDaMouse]

I too fly Southwest and I think (Imho)this is a dumb idea. I was reading about it and it says that you can pay individually so whats to stop people from having one person in the party pay the 10 fee gets on first and then kinda saves seats for the rest of the party??? if people see bags on a seat they will move on to find another seat. I will book my seat assignments 24 hours in advance and take my chances and see how it goes.

[Marceline]

Is it 10 bucks per seat each way or per reservation each way?

[TheRustyScupper]

Is it 10 bucks per seat each way or per reservation each way?

Each way, per person.

[gueli]

Go Jetblue.
still no baggage fees (yet...)
Assigned seats...



Hey just a question- anyone ever see the tv reality show airline ?

[badkitty]

So much better than the "old days" when first come, first serve meant arriving insanely early to the airport and standing in line for hours... I will pay the $10.

[fanofdisney]

Thank you so much for posting this. I booked our trip on Tuesday for our January trip (the first day our dates were available) and was never asked at the end of booking if I wanted to add this on. If there was info available on the homepage I never noticed it. I was wondering the same as luvDaMouse, what is to stop a person from purchasing this option for a couple of people in their party to save seats for the others? I think they will have some adjustments to make. Thanks again!

[Fangorn]

what is to stop a person from purchasing this option for a couple of people in their party to save seats for the others?

The answer is nothing. And I think that's kinda the point.

I don't believe this option is primarily about money anyway. I think it has much more to do with addressing concerns from a segment of SWA's customer (and potential customer) base that feel if they don't get on the plane first (or pretty close to it) their 4 year old will end up sitting between two total strangers 10 rows away from either parent. This option gives those customers the assurance they want that they will get on the plane toward the front of the pack. They're still not going to be first. Business Select and A-List members will still be assigned ahead of the Early Bird folks. But it's something, and it will take some of the worry away.

Remember, SWA experimented with assigned seating a year or so ago, mostly due to customer requests. Apparently they have decided NOT to implement such a system. I suspect they found that assigning seats slows down the process of boarding the aircraft, and that's counter to SW's business model. This option sort of addresses the issue.

BTW, it's this same quick boarding process that is responsible for SW not charging for baggage. More checked bags means fewer bags brought on board, which means less time people spend trying to stuff all their earthly possessions into the overhead bins and less time gate-checking the bags of the last 20 people to board.

I've been an A-List member coming up on 2 years now, and believe me, knowing that I'm going to be automatically checked in regardless of where I am or what I'm doing is a great perk. The fact that I can now buy that same sense of ease for my wife (not an A-List member) on certain flights is a good thing. In fact, I just added it to my wife's return flight from WDW later this month. That way I don't have to worry about checking her in while we're enjoying ourselves at Epcot the day before.

One interesting thing about this option is the fact that it's non-refundable if you cancel a flight (there are some provisions if you change your flight). You don't get flight credit for the $10. You also cannot use flight credits to pay for the option - credit cards only.

Steve

[wildernesslady]

Would a person know if they are A-list status? Just curious. What happens if you are one of the first to buy the early bird special, but you are later in checkin in. Does is pre-assign numbers ahead of time? I hope I'm making myself clear.

[thumperbug]

This is new to me....I booked my feb 2010 tickets on 9/1 as soon as they became available....all the internet specials/wanna fly away were gone so my option was biz class or anytime. I went for the anytime which was only $20 cheaper then biz class. I should have just taken biz class then I would have that A1-15 boarding and a cocktail.

Regardless, I still think SW is the best way to go. I was checking out another "cheap" airline and they wanted $200 more for the same flight time, day...plus I'd have to pay for car service there since the airport they fly out of is an hour away.