SW If you want to sit with your kids

[Huff]

It depends on where you're flying to. I didn't pay for EBCI on my last SW flight, PVD to MCO. I completely forgot to check in at the 24 hr window..missed it by an hour or so. I ended up in the last B slot!

That's the main issue. I always check in exactly at 24 hours.

Issue I have is that SW doesn't guarantee anything with EBCI. They appear to sell as many as people will buy. Your boarding assignment is in the order of EBCI's purchased. If you request EBCI late you can still end up with a high B. They should limit EBCI to A boarding only in my opinion.

At the gate you can purchase A1-A15 seating if seats are available. It used to be a flat $25. It's now $30-$50 based on flight.

 

[jo-jo]

I just checked my digital boarding pass from my SW flight on 3/23 and it does not show I had EBCI. It shows TSA Pre, my name, and flight info.

Thanks for checking....I would have bet it would have been there ....and I would have lost.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

If you request EBCI late you can still end up with a high B. They should limit EBCI to A boarding only in my opinion.

The only thing that I think would be an issue with that is how SWA's Boarding position assignment algorithm works. You have A-listers too that get added to the bunch.

Under your thought process there would be 45positions left over to split amongst A-listers and EBCI. Neither are guaranteed A-Boarding but in terms of priority A-listers have it over EBCI. If you would be ok with having your EBCI extremely limited and potentially the EBCI removed even after you purchased it to accommodate an A-lister (as long as the A-lister purchased more than 36hours in advance) that's fine but I don't think many people would be for that.

I see the issue of EBCI as a complicated one. Any change to how it functions would alter their system and be a domino effect to everyone. I don't know if people are willing to accept any and all unintended consequences.

 

[Pooh2]

Just completed our first SW flight, round trip to MCO.
We both purchased Early Check in and got toward the end of A group both directions. We sat towards the back of the plane on both flights due to seat savers. Most seat savers were saving two additional seats.
Wish they would offer an option to choose your seat for an upcharge.
At this time, it is the only direct flight from our local airport to MCO so will make do for now.

 

[mom2rtk]

Just completed our first SW flight, round trip to MCO.
We both purchased Early Check in and got toward the end of A group both directions. We sat towards the back of the plane on both flights due to seat savers. Most seat savers were saving two additional seats.
Wish they would offer an option to choose your seat for an upcharge.
At this time, it is the only direct flight from our local airport to MCO so will make do for now.

Wow! That's a lot of seat savers. I was worried the increased price for EBCI might increase the seat saving. That's crazy.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Just completed our first SW flight, round trip to MCO.
We both purchased Early Check in and got toward the end of A group both directions. We sat towards the back of the plane on both flights due to seat savers. Most seat savers were saving two additional seats.
Wish they would offer an option to choose your seat for an upcharge.
At this time, it is the only direct flight from our local airport to MCO so will make do for now.

I don't think on average there are a lot of seat savers per flight. Maybe MCO as a destination could be higher though. Sorry for your experience. FWIW technically any seat is available as it is open seating though for the hassle of it most aren't going to push to sit in a seat that is being saved.

Also FWIW while it may sound nice to upcharge for seat selection that would be altering what how SWA operates. I don't want SWA to have a charge for selecting my seat like the other airlines have. I fly them because I don't have that charge. And I can hope that we don't come to the day where SWA adds on the structure.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Also FWIW while it may sound nice to upcharge for seat selection that would be altering what how SWA operates. I don't want SWA to have a charge for selecting my seat like the other airlines have. I fly them because I don't have that charge. And I can hope that we don't come to the day where SWA adds on the structure.

They could make EBCI an all-or-nothing, though.

 

[Huff]

I see the issue of EBCI as a complicated one. Any change to how it functions would alter their system and be a domino effect to everyone. I don't know if people are willing to accept any and all unintended consequences.

True but there has got to be a limit to number of EBCI such that I can know what the worst boarding assignment I will get if I purchase. Would most people be ok with paying the EBCI fee and receiving a high B or C? I do not think so yet that is what can happen with current system.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

They could make EBCI an all-or-nothing, though.

I'm not sure what you mean by that

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

True but there has got to be a limit to number of EBCI such that I can know what the worst boarding assignment I will get if I purchase. Would most people be ok with paying the EBCI fee and receiving a high B or C? I do not think so yet that is what can happen with current system.

I think you're going into the hyperbole stage here. Not saying that in a rude way just saying with the C boarding group part.

The one way they have started to attempt to control it is by increasing the price by route and demand. I feel like $25 though is the most often mentioned rate.

I don't know how you can know what your worst boarding position will be. I mean it's flying. You're never going to have each flight be the same in terms of passengers. Some will have more business select fares purchased (or upgraded boarding purchased), some will have more A-listers, some will have more EBCI passengers, some will have more pre-boards, some will have more family boarding, etc, etc.

I guess if you want to be really extreme you could say no more than 15 passengers can purchase EBCI per flight like Business Select is structured. You still wouldn't know what your worst boarding position is but you'd severely limit the number of passengers that can purchase it.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm not sure what you mean by that

Everybody in your group gets it, or nobody does.

 

[kwdw]

This all reminds me why I don't mind getting a boarding position in the C's. I just don't care where my seat is as long as I am on the plane! And when you are one of the last to board - that middle seat is yours and the pretending you are holding it for someone is over.

And if I did care because it was a long flight - I'd book an airline with assigned seating instead.....

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Everybody in your group gets it, or nobody does.

Oh I see.

Group defined as reservation number? I could see that from a system standpoint easy to apply.

Traveling group with separate reservation numbers? Totally different.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Just completed our first SW flight, round trip to MCO.
We both purchased Early Check in and got toward the end of A group both directions. We sat towards the back of the plane on both flights due to seat savers. Most seat savers were saving two additional seats.
Wish they would offer an option to choose your seat for an upcharge.
At this time, it is the only direct flight from our local airport to MCO so will make do for now.

The "seat savers" would have made me really upset. I haven't encountered it myself on a flight, but I've heard about it a lot. SW should have a firm policy on it.

 

[Lilsia]

We have been fly SWA exclusively for 20 years. When they introduced EBCI, we started purchasing it. It was for peace of mind and so that our chances where much greater being able to sit towards the front of the plane. We travel mostly to MCO and always have to connect somewhere. We have never had an issue with getting seats together. My 2 girls and I would take a row and daddy would be across from us. We have seen many families that do not purchase EBCI and then want others to switch. I know many of them did not because they come right out and say that they did not think that an airline would allow families to be separated so they did not "waste" their money. Of course this is not everyone's situation. But I am betting that a good chunk of families think this way.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Oh I see.

Group defined as reservation number? I could see that from a system standpoint easy to apply.

Traveling group with separate reservation numbers? Totally different.

Sure. It's not a perfect suggestion, but better than what they do now.

 

[jo-jo]

The "seat savers" would have made me really upset. I haven't encountered it myself on a flight, but I've heard about it a lot. SW should have a firm policy on it.

I've written to SW about it and they have a firm "we don't care" policy. They just say that with open seating, anyone may sit anywhere.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Sure. It's not a perfect suggestion, but better than what they do now.

I'm guessing they don't force it now because not everyone in a given reservation cares about it. I guess they could run the risk of turning people off to their airline. BUT of course (edited) the way they do it now opens up to people not using EBCI in the best ways.

It is a way to do it for sure though. Maybe they could do it for a time period to see how it goes over.

 

[serenitynow]

I sat down in a “saved” seat once. I said excuse me, and started to step over the seat saver on the aisle, picked up the jacket on the window seat and set it on the middle seat. The woman, of course, said “ that seat is saved” and I very sweetly said, “Oh I’m sorry - there’s no seat saving on Southwest”. She called over the flight attendant who loudly said there is no seat saving and people all over the aircraft begin switching around seats.

The seat saver got up in a huff and moved further back on the plane, opening up a middle seat and the aisle seat which were promptly taken by a mother and pre-teen daughter who thanked me.

I had purchased EBCI and prefer to sit in the front to middle of the plane for motion sickness purposes. Many of the seats already had bags or jackets in them when I boarded with an A-22. I just decided that I had paid for early boarding and I was going to sit where I needed to sit, regardless.

 

[serenitynow]

I've written to SW about it and they have a firm "we don't care" policy. They just say that with open seating, anyone may sit anywhere.

Yep, that is what the flight attendant said when I sat in a “saved” seat. Southwest has open seating. Anyone can sit anywhere. There are no saved seats.