Southwest Early Bird Checkin

[disneyfanUSA]

For our family we never pay the extra $10 when flying out......and going home we've only done it once when we knew we'd be in a park and didn't have phones we could use to check in on....yesterday I flew from Islip to Orlando...checked in right at the 24hr mark...and got A36....the person holding A34 had paid the extra $10

And if you are at a park you can just go to guest services and they will check you in. We have never paid the ebci fee.

 

[kmermaid]

Just checked in for our flight tomorrow afternoon, phl - mco. I paid for ebci for myself and daughter we got A17 & 18. Friend did not purchase ebci and they got A34, A36, A37 & A38.

 

[twinklebug]

PVD-MCO:

7/6 5:15pm flight (tues) we did not purchase EBCI and at T-24 got A36,37, 38.

Coming home 7/14 8:25pm. Purchased EBCI a month before the trip for There was a ton of pre-boarders and family boarding was a l-o-n-g line. We got A19, 20 21 with only three men in front of us including the A listers.

Two previous flights had been canceled due to storms so we had a full flight.

IMHO - it's well worth buying EBCI for each traveler for the flight out of MCO.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Has anyone used EBCI lately?

We are using it for the first time on Sept 3rd for our BUF-MCO flight.

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

I'm sorry if this has been asked but how many boarding groups are there?

I did not do EBCI for our flight tomorrow. I got A57 and my friends got B2 and B5. I was wondering if you think we will be able to sit together? If I board first, am I able to save them 2 seats or is that not allowed?


Thanks for your help!

 

[DISNEYNY]

I'm sorry if this has been asked but how many boarding groups are there?

I did not do EBCI for our flight tomorrow. I got A57 and my friends got B2 and B5. I was wondering if you think we will be able to sit together? If I board first, am I able to save them 2 seats or is that not allowed?


Thanks for your help!

You should have no problem. Your friends will be right behind you. It goes up to A60 and then will start over at B1. But yes, I'm sure you could save the seat for them if someone did happen to ask. Just say your friends are right there and they are sitting in those seats.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

If I board first, am I able to save them 2 seats or is that not allowed?

SWA doesn't stop people from saving seats.

 

[twinklebug]

I'm sorry if this has been asked but how many boarding groups are there?

I did not do EBCI for our flight tomorrow. I got A57 and my friends got B2 and B5. I was wondering if you think we will be able to sit together? If I board first, am I able to save them 2 seats or is that not allowed?


Thanks for your help!

Groups are loaded as follows:

• Preboards (those who need additional time due to physical issues)
• Business Class (These are really the start of the A group)
• A
• Family (Those with children under ... not sure here... 4 years old?)
• B
• C

You should all be able to sit fairly close together. Ethically, saving is not allowed and some flight attendants will support this, but SW has no official policy on seat saving. If I were you I'd simply find a seat in an open row with plenty of nearby seating open. If someone comes along who'd like a seat in my row I'd casually mention I had hoped to have a couple friends sit there, but if they would like to sit there they may. I'd then offer to take the isle seat (so I could be near my friends).

 

[DISNEYNY]

Groups are loaded as follows:

• Preboards (those who need additional time due to physical issues)
• Business Class (These are really the start of the A group)
• A
• Family (Those with children under ... not sure here... 4 years old?)
• B
• C

.

I forgot about those family boarders... LOL.

 

[bookwormde]

Preboard are actually used for both visable (physical) and non visable (sensory, social, developmental) disabilites

bookwormde

 

[debbi801]

Preboard are actually used for both visable (physical) and non visable (sensory, social, developmental) disabilites

bookwormde

Do you know if you need documentation of the disability?

 

[twinklebug]

Do you know if you need documentation of the disability?

I doubt they're allowed to ask (HIPAA) but I'd have some just in case.

Back in 2008 my kids had been flagged in the system for additional security screening (error on SW's part) so they were not assigned boarding numbers - leaving them as last to board. I could have worked with this, except DS was down with the flu, so bad that I almost asked for a wheelchair to get him to the ramp. DD was having extreme anxiety and shakes over the flight. I asked the ramp agent if she could help so that somehow I would be seated with both. I couldn't have cared less where we sat. She told me to keep it hushed, and gave me the sleeve to pre-board with them.

I was unfamiliar with pre-boarding so we entered with the family boarding. We sat together and that's all I needed. I can't say all ramp agents would have been as accommodating.

BTW - I love SW for this and many other reasons.

 

[runnergrl]

I could have worked with this, except DS was down with the flu, so bad that I almost asked for a wheelchair to get him to the ramp. DD was having extreme anxiety and shakes over the flight.

BTW - I love SW for this and many other reasons.

you brought your probably very contagious son, with the flu, onto a plane? And your biggest issue was boarding? Forget about the health of everyone else on that plane ....

 

[mom2rm]

Sorry if this has already been asked but how do you book just one way (return flight) for EBCI with SW?

 

[miprender]

Sorry if this has already been asked but how do you book just one way (return flight) for EBCI with SW?

I believe when you go to add the EBCI, it brings up all your flight information and there is a box that you can uncheck if you do not want it for one of your flights.

It's been a while, since I purchased this for my mom so my memory might not be that clear.

 

[famsen]

I am annoyed with EBCI now. I have always purchased it but now I see not much of a benefit.
We just returned from WDW. With EBCI for three of us we got A39, 40, 41 for the trip there and A34, 35, 36 for the return trip. On the return trip there were nine people in wheelchairs and several others who needed assistance without wheelchairs pre-boarding; I had never seen so many pre-boarders before.

I'm not sure if paying an extra $60 in airfare for the three of us round trip is worth it anymore. When EBCI first came out, we would get numbers in the upper teens or low twenties. Paying for the "privilege" of being one of the first four dozen or more people to board is a ripoff.

 

[LisaS]

I am annoyed with EBCI now. I have always purchased it but now I see not much of a benefit.
We just returned from WDW. With EBCI for three of us we got A39, 40, 41 for the trip there and A34, 35, 36 for the return trip.

Did you purchase your tickets and EBCI the first day flights were released for your dates or a few weeks later or ??? I'm just wondering what we can learn from your experience about how many people are opting to purchase EBCI, especially among those who purchase tickets right when the schedule is released.

 

[famsen]

Did you purchase your tickets and EBCI the first day flights were released for your dates or a few weeks later or ??? I'm just wondering what we can learn from your experience about how many people are opting to purchase EBCI, especially among those who purchase tickets right when the schedule is released.

I bought my husband's and my tickets in June and my daughter's in mid-August for our flights leaving Sept 25 at 9:00am and returning flight 8:30am Oct 3rd.
I purchased the EBCI for all our tickets in mid-August.

I have done it pretty much this way in the past. I always bought our tickets about two months prior to our trips and I usually have not purchased EBCI at the same time I booked my flights but always got low group A numbers.

 

[goofy4tink]

A few thoughts.....when you get A30-somethings for boarding numbers, can you just imagine what you would have gotten if you checked in at the 24 hr window?? Much higher.
Now....your placement in the automatic 36 hr window lineup is determined by when you bought your EBCI slots. Those who booked a Sept (for instance) flight back in May and bought EBCI at that time as well, will get lower slots in the lineup than someone who bought tickets for that same flight in July, with EBCI. But....if you bought your airfare for that Sept flight, back in May, but didn't purchase EBCI until August, then your spot will be higher than someone who bought their Sept airfare and EBCI in July.
It is a case of first come, first served when determining the slot you get with EBCI.

I don't much care about EBCI for the flight to MCO, but for the flight coming home, I buy it. I just don't want to think about checking in for my flight while in a park or a restaurant.

 

[ccgirl]

EBCI order is determined when you purchase your flight. For example, those that purchased earlier should have better boarding numbers. However, I don't like the idea of EBCI because what if everyone on the plane purchased EBCI? People will be paying extra for the "C" boarding pass too. I don't want to pay extra unless I am assigned an actual seat. That's just my 2 cents.