Southwest has a different boarding process from other US airlines. Instead of assigning seats, Southwest gives passengers a boarding position and then they’re able to pick any available seat once on the plane. Therefore, the passengers who board first are able to pick the best seats. Southwest passengers are able to check in for flights 24 hours before departure and your boarding position is first-come first-serve.
However, there are several ways to skip the line and get a boarding position before everyone else. The most common way people get a better boarding spot is to buy Early Bird. For a fee, Southwest’s EarlyBird Check-In automatically checks you in for your flight before the 24-hour mark. EarlyBird assignments are determined by when you pay your fee so the earlier you book your ticket (and pay for EarlyBird), the further up in the queue you are for a boarding position. EarlyBird needs to be purchased for each direction you’re flying (but you can choose to get the service on one flight but not the other). If you’re on connecting flights, the fee covers both flights.
Early-Bird costs between $15-$25 depending on the flight. While it will make sure you’ve checked in before everyone else, it no longer guarantees a great seat.
That’s because Southwest is now promoting Upgraded Boarding positions to passengers when checking in for a flight. Those positions can easily fill up the A1-A15 boarding spots previously reserved for passengers buying Business Select tickets.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that passengers needing additional assistance, including those in wheelchairs, get to board first. It’s “possible” that some passengers are taking advantage of this, to the point where Southwest needed to issue a statement stating they cannot question a passenger about their disability if they request early boarding.
But how much better of a seat will you get with Early Bird than checking in at 24 hours before the flight?
If I’m planning to get an Upgraded Boarding spot at check-in, I don’t pay for Early Bird. However, that still means I have to check in 24 hours before the flight to grab any of the available spots. On a recent flight, we only had 1 credit remaining from the Southwest Priority card so I upgraded to boarding spot A4 while Sharon kept the B8 boarding position we received when checking in for the flight.
Even with the A4 boarding spot, several of the front rows were partially taken by those who boarded with wheelchairs and their companions.
The plane was supposedly full so we didn’t expect to get an empty middle seat. The plan was for me to grab an aisle next to someone who already took a window seat. I’d explain that my wife would board later and I’d move to the middle if that was OK with them. I found a passenger who was cool with the plan and I took a seat on the aisle and waited for Sharon to board.
If you’re at the front of a Southwest plane, no one wants the middle seat if they paid for Early Bird. I watched groups of 2, 3, 4 and more head to the back of the plane to find seats together. By the time Sharon boarded, no one had asked to take the empty middle seat.
However, I also noticed there were still plenty of seats for 2 passengers together, further back on the plane. We could have easily sat together towards the rear of the plane without paying anything extra. That doesn’t mean a plan like this doesn’t come without any risk.
You never know how many passengers on a given flight have paid for Early Bird. You could end up with mid-B group boarding positions and hope there are still two seats together and room for your carry-on bags in the overhead. If you are sure that you’ll be able to check in at exactly 24 hours, you should be OK. But what if you aren’t available at that exact time?
In that case, it might be worth the few extra dollars for the piece of mind that you’ll get a decent boarding spot. Just don’t expect too much. What does $15 buy today anyway?
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28 comments
One other thing to remember is that if the flight is coming from somewhere else there may be people on it from a previous flight making even less seats available.
Might be important to share that SWA policy is you cannot hold seats for passengers boarding later.
Southwest doesn’t back that policy up. A number of times I witnessed as I was coming down the isle seeing a person with a bag on the middle seat waiting for his friend to come down the aisle. Discussion ensued with stewardess coming down to saying no that’s for his wife.
I fly southwest because of the credit card point’s.. They need to start assigning seats to stop this madness.
Nope not worth it due to the scumbags who game the preboarding system as well as those cheapos who save seats.
SWA, is near and dear to me because I did a case study in college about the brilliance of this companies business strategy. And Master mind Herb Keller, seemed like a boss anyone would want to work for, dressing up as Elvis, for a team event and his grand entrance, “thank-you, very much”, Herb Keller. This company made it’s brilliance off simplicity. While all the other airlines were offering meals, large seating and large promises, SWA, stayed true to keeping-it-simple. They stayed true to their word and you know what to expect. And we love that about them. Bottomline their still the cheapest and reliable. And you even get witty humor boarding. This is a great company and brilliant business strategy, what you see, is what you get and it’s worked, well done SWA. This was my favorite case study ro this day.
Completely agree. SWA allows too many people to game the system and board after the A group, claiming a disability or that the random stranger they met in line is a family member. I have stopped flying SWA altogether for this reason. Why pay extra when you will end up being one of the last 50 people to board?
My wife and I each have the Southwest Premier Card, so between us we get 4 free EBCIs a year. It’s been several years since I paid for a flight with cash, so even after I’ve used my freebees I still get EBCI for $20 or so. It’s worth it to me to NOT have to watch the clock and check in exactly 24 hours before the flight, especially on a return flight. We usually end up with late-A or early-B boarding positions.
From my experience, as long as you get the first B group (1-30), you definitely can sit together. But if you are in the 2nd B group (30-60), you may or may not sit together with your family. If you are in C group, definitely, you won’t be able to sit together.
I biy Early Bird every time and have NEVER had it for $15.
I always pay for early boarding even though I can qualify for a medical pre-board. But I am beginning to resent the wheelchair scam going on. Even though I pay I get pushed back farther. It is just plain wrong! If you pre-board
In a wheelchair then you should be required to wait to deplane in a wheelchair. First on and last off! And only one person should be allowed to accompany a wheelchair passenger when pre-boarding, not the whole group!
Gaming the system makes the rest of us victims of the scam.
Southwest better find better solutions or people will be finding other airlines who respect their business as paying customers.
You need diabled permits to park. Show one at the gate for early boarding! 20 ♿️ getting on but 3 getting off? Hardly. I won’t fight for a seat for a truly non ambulatory with a selfish Karen. Wake up Southwest! I will purchase an assigned seat!
That’s not So about the C group we had about 16 members of a family flying together and some of us were in the c group together. And got to sit together.
I have sever osteo arthritis and I am awaiting surgery. I am so thankful I am able to ride my mobility scooter directly to the door of the plane. Last flight I was joined by my sister who accompanied me. When the plane lands I just wait to get off the plane because my mobility scooter doesn’t make it up to me for a while any way. And that is just fine because it takes me a minute to get to the door, even from the front row. Shame on people gaming the system for better seats which may trump families being able to sit together as I have been on that end of the situation also. I look forward to my knee replacement surgery so that I may board just like everyone else. I would much rather be able to walk normally than have special boarding. I believe SWA is doing it right in this regard.
It seems liKe everywhere you go these days, there’s someone trying to game the system.
People who pay for early bird should board before
wheelchairs, most of them deboard without a wheelchair. We were on a recent flight paid for early bird when we got on the plane there were 2 seats in the 1st row but the man said they were taken the flight attendant heard this and just turned away the people he was saving seats for were almost at the end of the groups.
I have gotten early bird and paid extra, I’m not a fan of people asking me to switch or move. This happens with people with children. I think if you want to sit with your children, get Early bird. I always got Early bird when my children were you g
I’m never going to pay extra to sit next to my minor children – FAA requires airlines to sit families with their children at no cost – I will make somebody move every time to ensure im with my kids. Southwest accommodates that by allowing family boarding before B group – they say 6 and under but law is 12 and under so we still get family boarding until our kids are 13.
How are you gonna MAKE someone move? Try that with me and one of us won’t be flying that day
I pay for the early bird check in every time I fly with swa and it just infuriates me that so many people in wheelchairs and their companions are allowed to board before me and free of charge too. I feel they at the very least should be charged the same early bird fee I was. Who knows that might even discourage some of the cheapo’s from taking unfair advantage of the system. I could easily fake an injury and request a wheelchair just so I could pre board but I prefer to be honest and above board.
The beauty is, if everybody on the flight buys early bird, it means everybody is just wasting money for nothing. The best scam!
Saw lady recently in wheelchair and before flight she gets up and walks to the bathroom which was a way from the gate. NO SHAME!
I do require wheel chair, but not by my own choosing and my spouse has to put my small bag up and cane if we are in front row. I have witnessed the gaming twice recently. One last trip to Houston where a tall guy came down in a wheel chair from TSA. The ramp agent promptly told him wheel chairs first, so he told her he just got out of it and she let him go ahead. He miraculously didn’t need it on the deplaning. Another boat load from. Houston to ATL, “needed” wheelchairs, but I saw one lady with her dog walking and nearly running everywhere to go potty and get food for her doggy and her elderly mother. There were others already on the plane. They let me board before them after seeing how she “had” to be wheeled down. What a waste of precious time.
I have seen upwards of 20 wheelchairs lined up for preboarding along with all their family/travel companions. What a scam! Upon arrivalalmost all of them are suddenly fit enough to disembark without the need for a wheelchair. I used to be willing to pay for a business select ticket to make sure I could get a seat in the first 5 rows. Not anymore!
Contrary to “policy,” southwest definitely allows people to save seats. They do absolutely nothing to stop it. Will never fly Lord of the flies airline again (even w savings & availability). It’s really ugly boarding swa
SW better figure out a better system to handle all these scammers or they’re gonna lose a lot of passengers. This is complete and utter bull s”t.
I never ever buy the early bird because it doesn’t make sense to me to pay so much for a better place in line. I do check in right at the 24 hour mark before my flight and usually end up with B boarding, occasionally an A spot. I do fly alone and prefer a forward aisle seat, it usually works out just fine. I have other things to think about besides worrying who is getting on before me, we’re all going to get there at the same time. Relax, enjoy.
The OTHER thing that chafes my butt is the stuff people are being allowed to “carry on” the planes.
I travel quite a bit (nearly a million points) and I have never, not pnce, seen a bag measured in the box at every gate for determining if something qualifies as a carry on.
Watched a guy just this week (July ’23) roll three, not two, bags down yhe aisle, none of which would fit unde a seat. Nobody said a word. THEN the attendants were taking smaller bags out of the overheads to check, just so jerks like this can crowd others out. This is but one example out of many I have witnessed. Just ticks me off.
We really need to pre-qualify for wheelchair access by providing our handicap status from the driver placard or doctor letter when paying for your ticket online. I require assistance but it makes me so anxious when twenty people preload then run off the plane upon arrival. And only one to accompany you. And no I don’t take the first seats I leave than for families and wait to disembark. I just need extra help. SW should be checking statuses and provide ID cards