Yes. Sure, Southwest’s decision to begin charging for early boarding is taking it down a slippery slope toward a la carte fees, but what a ride it is, according to passengers like Jennifer Rigdon.
What is EarlyBird? Southwest describes it as follows:
With EarlyBird Check-in, you’ll receive a better boarding position that is confirmed for your trip. Since you’re boarding earlier, there will be more open seats and overhead bin space from which to choose. Then you can sit back and relax as the other passengers board.
Rigdon emailed me shortly after Southwest’s announcement to let me know she wanted to try it. I asked her to report back.
For $20, it’s not a huge loss if it’s not a benefit. I signed up, paid and will know when I print my boarding pass on Saturday whether it was worth it.
Before getting to Rigdon’s experience, a little context: Southwest has always been the most egalitarian domestic airline. There’s no first class section, no seat assignments. In fact, until it revised its boarding procedures in 2007, getting on a Southwest flight was pretty much a free-for-all — you got there first, you boarded first.
It was clear that Southwest wanted to go with assigned seating, but it stopped short of that, maybe because assigned seats ran contrary to its corporate culture.
But the airline still wanted to segment its customers, giving business travelers first crack at the best seats, so it compromised. Its revised policies allowed business travelers paying the most for their tickets to board first. EarlyBird is a natural outgrowth of that decision, turned upside-down. Instead of paying more money for your ticket and getting on the plane early, you’re paying a fee after you’ve bought a less expensive ticket. (Either way, Southwest makes money.)
AirTran, Spirit and Allegiant already offer a comparable fee. You pay an extra $15 or more for a confirmed reservation. Somehow, EarlyBird doesn’t feel as bad, though.
Here’s what Rigdon told me about being an EarlyBird:
I did the Southwest early bird check-in for both legs of my trip to Tempe, Ariz. The order of check-in priority is: Business Select, A-Listers and then those of us who paid the up-charge as early birds. Both flights were full. I was A-28 there and A-25 on the return. There are few Business Select passengers, leaving a gap in the numbering to begin with.
I think the hard part is there is nothing to compare it to. I print my boarding pass as soon as it’s available, so it is hard to know what would happen if I printed it later. Next time I’m going to wait a while and then print the pass – Early Bird doesn’t guarantee an A group boarding pass, but I’m thinking that it wouldn’t/shouldn’t be a C group pass.
I’ll definitely do it again – it’s more reasonable than the upgrade to Business Select, and for $20 I think it’s worth it.
Would you pay an extra $10 to get on the plane early? Under the right circumstances, I might.
The better question is: Should I have to?
(Photo: flygraphix/Flickr Creative Commons)
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
Saying that “It’s clear Southwest wanted to go with assigned seating” is a pretty big assumption to make. Southwest polled the passengers and the majority said they like open seating. When an online service popped up a few years ago that allowed Southwest pax to pay for early check-in, Southwest had it shut down. Southwest has now taken that concept and adopted it as a new service.
Of course, this fits perfectly with the economic model of those who desire a service should pay for it and those who don’t find that service useful should pay for it. As anyone who uses seatguru knows, not all seats on a given plan, even a single class one, are equal. Perhaps I am tall, or wide, or hate the rear of the plane, but you don’t.
The economic model is that I pay a little (or a lot) extra, get the seat that I want, while you, who don’t care, haven’t been hurt.
Win-Win situation. The only person who’s not happy is the person who wants the better seat without paying for it.
Note: Just because I think that Southworst is right in this instant should NOT be taken as indicative that I will ever set foot on the crappy airline.
The only advantage I can see to this is if you know you won’t be around a computer/printer in the 24 to 12 hours before your flight. The last time I flew Southwest, I checked in about 23 hours before my flight, and was between A45 and A50 both times. That left me my choice of seats, and plenty of overhead space. I wouldn’t pay $20 to be a few slots further ahead, but if I knew I wasn’t going to be able to check in until much later in the process, then I might do it.
That said, if more and more people do this, then checking in 24 hours ahead of time won’t get you nearly as good of a place in line. But, similarly, the more people do EarlyBird, the less benefit there is because you might end up at the back of the EarlyBird pack.
The problem with this fee is that it is difficult to know how much good it is doing you, or if it is doing any good at all.
Since SW does not limit the number of early-bird seats, you could end up in a situation where you still have a C-class pass, even with the fee, and little better off than you would have been just showing up at the airport.
If SW sells few early-bird/business/FF seats, then it could still be quite easy to get an A pass, even without the fee.
I would appreciate it if SW published the current stats for the flight, so each traveler could make an informed decision about their purchase.
For myself, I have paid the fee for a return trip coming up, as we will have little to know access to the website 24 hours prior to the flight, but have not paid it on the way out.
Here’s the catch: Anyone who buys this option clearly knows the good seats. This means, whereas before A-25 might score you an exit row, now that menas there are 24 frequent, most likely knowledgable travelers already onboard the plane. Bulkheads, gone. Exit row seats, gone. The exit row seat with the ridiculous leg room? Definitely gone.
I used this option on 4 flights last week and had no worse than A-25. The best seat I was able to secure was an aisle bulkhead seat, and that was for only one of the flights. The rest of the time, I got the same seats I could’ve gotten with B-52 as with A-25.
Not worth it.
I don’t pay fees period. Not for seats, not for luggage, not for food, nada, nothing period. I don’t pay for the credit cards I have and I won’t pay the airlines any more than the ticket price to get me from point A to B. If everyone did the same the fees would go away, the ticket price may be a little higher but then at least all would know up front prior to the purchase what the actual cost is. I remember many many years ago, the boycott of beef at the supermarkets, it really worked, prices came down, so with the airlines, boycott the fees, don’t buy anything extra and the fees may go away, and for those airlines that survive on the extra fees, well maybe they should go away also, airlines should survive on the good service they provide to the consumer, just like any other business, and if they don’t they don’t deserve to be in business.
It’s just sad to see Southwest starting down this road . . .
Ian’s comment, along with a few others, makes me suggest that if they want to continue with this idea, they have to limit the number of early check-ins available for each flight, or at least tell you where you’ll be in the pecking order before you fork over your $10.
While I understand the pros and cons of this fee, in the final analysis, I am sure Southwest would prefer not to have to go to fees. But since the flying public won’t accept higher ticket prices then fees becomes an alternative revenue source that people can choose…or not. The reality is all our domestic airlines are suffering financially. At least Southwest has been well managed. When Southwest is in trouble financially, then you know how bad off the industry is as a whole. I’m grateful there are no baggage fees on Southwest…..yet. Everyone has their preferences of airlines. I fly Southwest whenever it is convenient to where I am going and when it is within $25 of another airline’s price. It’s my first preference. If I have to use another airline, I pay for upgrades because the seats are so uncomfortable.
I think what you are really paying for here, should you choose to, is convenience – not necessarily a better seat.
Anyone who flies SW knows that it is all about completing the on-line check-in at exactly 24 hours before the scheduled flight departure. If you do that, you’ll be somewhere in the A group or at worst the front of the B group. Either will prevent you from getting stuck in a dreaded middle seat.
Paying the extra $10, just like paying extra for Business Select, guarantees you a decent spot in the boarding line regardless of when you check-in. So if you are going to be too busy 24 hours out to get online, or if you are forgetful, the $10 fee allows you to not worry about it and still get a decent spot in the queue. It’s a convenience, nothing more.
I have flown Business Select on numerous occasions and rarely has it produced a bulkhead or exit row seat. It simply allowed me to not worry about checking in while I am in the middle of a business meeting. I would probably pay the extra $10 for the same peace-of-mind.
does s.w. still allow early boarding for people with medical problems?
to Bernard Cantor,
I BELIEVE that because of the ADA, it is illegal not to allow people with medical problems to board early. Otherwise, everyone behind us would be pushing and shoving to get by us. Having had 4 joint replacements, I always travel in my own motorized scooter or secure an airlines wheelchair. The TSA folks put us through so much humiliation- I actually had one look down the inside of my underwear,
feel my breasts with her hands and check my hands for bomb residue- that they at least let us get on the plane first to make up for it. Also, I’m completely unable to scoot over to a window or middle seat which is what could be available. Does anyone out there know of anyone to contact about the ridiculous TSA treatment of seniors with joint replacements? As I pointed out to the agent, anyone who has gone through the extreme pain of a joint replacement, only wants to live.
Well, I’m not a Southwest rep, but I do recall very clearly the public discussion Southwest made regarding the changes to boarding when they were adopted a few years ago, and I recall them differently from Chris. Southwest did experiment with assigned boarding, not because *it* wanted it, but because customers frequently complained that the worst part of flying Southwest was the free-for-all boarding process. A person could show up at the airport hours before they started giving out boarding passes, wait in line at the gate, and get pass A1, but when boarding was announced, all the other A’s could rush the gate and get ahead of you. Or they could crowd the gate before boarding was even called.
Southwest tried assigned seating and found it slowed the turnaround time at the gate too much – so they abandoned the idea. In other words, the positions of the airline and the customers (at least the vocal ones SW was trying to appease) were the reverse of what Chris suggested.
I’m opposed, not because of the fee involved, but because it’s essentially a line-cutting service: pay us a small bribe, and we’ll let you cut in front of other people who played by all our (other) published rules. Unlike the A-listers and the Business Selects (who are paying the stiff walkup/fully refundable rate) who generate a lot of revenue for SW, this is a small drop in the bucket for the airline and a major spit in the eye to all the rest of the passengers. I think for that reason it’s a bad idea, going against that egalitarian culture Chris described.
Sally: the traveling public accepts fare increases at times – usually, in fact, when led by Southwest. The fact is, SW fares in most markets usually set the cap, and other airlines raise above theirs at their peril; but when SW moves first, the others follow and the increase usually sticks. Southwest prefers not to raise fares more because it dilutes their competitive edge than because they “can’t”.
For what it’s worth: you can also check in for a flight on SW on a smart cell phone, even if you don’t have access to a computer. Complete the checkin there, get to the airport, and print your boarding pass at a kiosk.
Carver: Sorry you feel that way, perhaps you regularly fly in business or first class. Otherwise, I haven’t seen any difference between coach on the dinosaur carriers and coach on Southwest in almost a decade – that is, except that the flight attendants I’ve had on Continental and Delta in the last few years were a lot surlier and less helpful than those on Southwest. Not saying their treatment by the airlines didn’t perhaps justify some of it, but I’ve gotten better treatment on Southwest than on either of the others.
My Sister flew from Baltimore to San Diego on Saturday. They checked in on line as soon as they could, 23:59 before the flight. They got boarding numbers B45 & B46. So, it looks like a lot of people are paying the $10 fee. Don’t expect it to go away soon, the airline is making a lot of money.
I flew Southwest this past Friday. I paid the $10 for Early Bird, mostly because I knew that I’d be on the road to work at the 24-hour mark the day before my flight. I signed up for it for my already-purchased flights within a day or two of the program’s announcement.
For my two legs that day I got A18 and A22. On the A18 flight, there were only 4 people in front of me, in the Business Select spots A1-A4, and I was able to get an Emergency Exit row. But our plane got stuck in a long line for takeoff (12th with only one runway open for takeoffs and landings), and my 50-minute layover at BWI became a scant 15 minutes. I had to power-walk through the terminal, and when I got to the gate they were just finishing the C group, and I was one of the last onto the plane so my A22 pass was useless. Luckily I found an open window seat next to a husband and wife in the aisle and center seats.
In the future, if I fly Southwest again I may just take my chances with checking in at the 24-hour mark.
I just purchased the “so called” Early-Bird-Checkin for a recent flight. I kicked back like they said and didn’t worry about checking in. OOPS! My bad. There was a screw up in their system and it didn’t check me in and I got stuck in the last boarding group. Have no worry, just call customer service right? NOT! Customer service was rude and told me it didn’t work because they made a change in their system and it was a mistake but they will give me my 10 bucks back. What the?! Isn’t this about boarding early for business, not the 10 bucks and a middle seat??? Seriously folks, check yourselves in and don’t get caught in this 50/50 gamble on a middle seat, it doesn’t always work!
Anyone know if you can simply pick up the boarding pass at the airport? My return trip from Dallas may not allow time to go online and print out the pass before I leave for the airport.
Anyone know if one can simply pick up the boarding pass at the airport versus online prior to the flight? My schedule is such that I may not be able to get online and print it out before I leave for the airport.
Re: above…the SWA agent in Dallas answered my question. And yes, you can pick up your “pre-paid” boarding pass any time up to flight time at the airport.
I have used the Early Bird process several (around 10) times with great success. It works equally well on paid tickets and Reward tickets. It is worth the extra 20 so that on the return trip I don’t have to spend time and effort finding somewhere to get on the internet to check in so that I am in the A group. You can tell if your purchase has taken effect and you will be in the early group by checking your reservation online — if you see “EB” next to your flight, you are in the Early Bird group. For paid tickets I have been in the A 20 to 25 group and for rewards it has been A 25 to 30. So far no issues, problems or disappointments.