Changes with SW

[Dznypal]

I just booked our flights for Jan. From MKE to. MCO. A few weeks ago. I like to keep watching to see if the fare comes down. Checking today there’s still nothing about not being able to buyEBCI. Maybe ours in one of the runs that’s not going to change.

On another note they really need to make things fairer to those buying the ebci and family boarding. Why should families buy EBCI when they know they can usually board after As. And why 13. That’s going to push everyone back even farther. Time will tell I guess. Anyone fly since the changes

 

[wilkeliza]

I just booked our flights for Jan. From MKE to. MCO. A few weeks ago. I like to keep watching to see if the fare comes down. Checking today there’s still nothing about not being able to buyEBCI. Maybe ours in one of the runs that’s not going to change.

On another note they really need to make things fairer to those buying the ebci and family boarding. Why should families buy EBCI when they know they can usually board after As. And why 13. That’s going to push everyone back even farther. Time will tell I guess. Anyone fly since the changes

It use to be that EBCI "guaranteed" a group A boarding group. Now that it doesn't and they will let everyone one the plane buy it if so wished when offered, I agree it creates issues when there is family boarding. I have to imagine if the family boarding acts being worked out pass then South West will have to change their entire policy. I love the affordable nature of Southwest but really wish they would just go to assigned seats. Everyone tries to game the system and it just does not work most of the time.

 

[focusondisney]

It use to be that EBCI "guaranteed" a group A boarding group. Now that it doesn't and they will let everyone one the plane buy it if so wished when offered, I agree it creates issues when there is family boarding. I have to imagine if the family boarding acts being worked out pass then South West will have to change their entire policy. I love the affordable nature of Southwest but really wish they would just go to assigned seats. Everyone tries to game the system and it just does not work most of the time.

Southwest never guaranteed you would get an A boarding number. The only thing SW ever promised was you would get checked in at 36 hours & before anyone who didn’t buy it. Some people assumed they would always get an A but that was never advertised or promised by SW. That’s why it is called Early Bird Check In…. It is not Early Boarding as some people call it.

 

[RedHead0186]

I just booked our flights for Jan. From MKE to. MCO. A few weeks ago. I like to keep watching to see if the fare comes down. Checking today there’s still nothing about not being able to buyEBCI. Maybe ours in one of the runs that’s not going to change.

On another note they really need to make things fairer to those buying the ebci and family boarding. Why should families buy EBCI when they know they can usually board after As. And why 13. That’s going to push everyone back even farther. Time will tell I guess. Anyone fly since the changes

Reading between the lines (and this is just my assumption/guess), I think they will offering EBCI for a particular flight once they reach a certain number. That way they can curb how many get it. So people that book right away when the flight opens will probably still get it, it's people that wait to book (or wait to add EBCI) may be out of luck. I just can't figure out why they wouldn't offer EBCI at all on a certain flight (but maybe I'm missing something there).

To your second point, I think families doing family boarding shouldn't buy EBCI. I mean, it's up to them, but in all likelihood it's only going to get them on about 30 people faster (rough estimate). I guess maybe if they have a large group that all wants to sit together, have some of them do EBCI and then the two parents can board with the children? Then that dips into the seat-saving debate which I know this thread isn't really about . . .

 

[sam_gordon]

Anyone fly since the changes

Didn't the EBCI change literally just happen, like in the last day or so?

 

[RedHead0186]

Didn't the EBCI change literally just happen, like in the last day or so?

I think they said the changes started Aug 15.

 

[EACarlson]

Didn't the EBCI change literally just happen, like in the last day or so?

The alleged change was supposed to start yesterday. There has been no announcement although I did get an email telling me about Same Day Standby for all beginning yesterday and internet included in BS fares. I guess we will see here and at FlyerTalk if this has actually changed. It started as a Reddit post allegedly by an employee.

 

[wilkeliza]

Southwest never guaranteed you would get an A boarding number. The only thing SW ever promised was you would get checked in at 36 hours & before anyone who didn’t buy it. Some people assumed they would always get an A but that was never advertised or promised by SW. That’s why it is called Early Bird Check In…. It is not Early Boarding as some people call it.

May have been a misunderstanding. Of course they could have said something like would you like an early boarding group so not necessarily A but heavily implying it was A. I know it hadn't been that way in years and they have made it more and more clear that it was not a guarantee.

 

[sam_gordon]

I think they said the changes started Aug 15.

So someone purchasing August 15 probably wasn't flying today (or if they did, wasn't going to purchase EBCI).

 

[RedHead0186]

May have been a misunderstanding. Of course they could have said something like would you like an early boarding group so not necessarily A but heavily implying it was A. I know it hadn't been that way in years and they have made it more and more clear that it was not a guarantee.

From my experience, sure it's been heavily implied (or heavily assumed) that ECBI gets you an A boarding position. I remember the first time I got a B from EBCI, I was bummed but also remembered A was never a guarantee. Maybe in the earrrrrrrrly days of EBCI it was a guarantee, but I don't think it's been that way for a while. Doesn't mean people didn't mistakenly make that assumption (and then unknowingly perpetuate it). I do agree SW has made it more clear in recent years it's not a guarantee.

 

[keishashadow]

I did get an email telling me about Same Day Standby for all beginning yesterday and internet included in BS fares.

Same, haven’t seen much reported yet about it as to RL experiences

I was bummed but also remembered A was never a guarantee. Maybe in the earrrrrrrrly days of EBCI it was a guarantee, but I don't think it's been that way for a while.

i’m of the it was implied also lol. stopped buying it when we got a tail end B spot awhile ago.

Only true advantage I could see at that point was you had a jump on those checking in for the flight…I had assumed would be in better position if flight was oversold.

however, I’m also the one to listen carefully to any offers they have to give up seats. They seem to do that far less frequently that other airlines we utilize, whom seem to consistently oversell our market to MCO.

 

[MrsHammer]

May have been a misunderstanding. Of course they could have said something like would you like an early boarding group so not necessarily A but heavily implying it was A. I know it hadn't been that way in years and they have made it more and more clear that it was not a guarantee.

Last June, I bought Early Bird for our flights from Nashville to MCO and back when I purchased the tickets. We still got B boarding groups on both flights. It was pretty worthless since about half of the plane is family boarding when you fly to Orlando. So, even with buying it, we ended up in the bottom 1/3rd of boarding.

 

[wilkeliza]

Last June, I bought Early Bird for our flights from Nashville to MCO and back when I purchased the tickets. We still got B boarding groups on both flights. It was pretty worthless since about half of the plane is family boarding when you fly to Orlando. So, even with buying it, we ended up in the bottom 1/3rd of boarding.

This is one reason they really need to adjust. I've never seen them actually enforce the family boarding is for under 6 and only 2 other traveling companions can go, so like you said if half of the flight family boards then it makes the other boarding groups useless.

I have recently only started buying it when I won't be able to check in (usually flights leaving a cruise) or I use one of my free ones. Other than that I'll take my shot.

 

[RedHead0186]

Last June, I bought Early Bird for our flights from Nashville to MCO and back when I purchased the tickets. We still got B boarding groups on both flights. It was pretty worthless since about half of the plane is family boarding when you fly to Orlando. So, even with buying it, we ended up in the bottom 1/3rd of boarding.

Yeah, flights to MCO are especially bad with this because there's so many families with young kids going to Disney, etc. I always buy EBCI right away when I book to/from MCO to get as high up in the 'queue' as I can. If end up with a B boarding position I'll definitely upgrade boarding (thankfully I get four free with the SW credit card I have). I can deal with a B for flights to/from some other locations, but with family boarding at MCO it's just awful if you're not in A.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

May have been a misunderstanding. Of course they could have said something like would you like an early boarding group so not necessarily A but heavily implying it was A. I know it hadn't been that way in years and they have made it more and more clear that it was not a guarantee.

I think what happened is people had the experience enough times of getting A's and assumed that's how it worked but it was never stated as a benefit of purchasing EBCI. And to make things even more clear the only status SWA has is A-list and even they are not guaranteed an A boarding position. They are only guaranteed that if they get higher than A's they get to board between A's and B's before Family Boarding.

There's only 45 slots after Business Select. To sink that in you basically assumed that there was never any more than 45 people on any flight that had automatic check in (via their status or purchasing of EBCI) at 36 hours.

Certainly years ago EBCI wasn't utilized as much, and A-list promotions were given out less so your pool of people may have been less in the past but SWA never could guarantee that the amount of people who got check in at 36 hours in advanced never exceeded the 45 slots they had available in A's after Business Select took the first 15.

Over time SWA would add random promotions to either get a short or long term A-list, maintain your A-list, etc similar to Companion Pass promotions. Then you had the pandemic in which case extensions of A-list were done, then random promotions again then last year Anytime Fares were given EBCI included in the fares.

Really just over time the amount of people who have check in at 36 hours grew as a default which pushed people further back. The product of EBCI never changed in how it worked, the amount of passengers (not necessarily through fault of their own) who utilized it increased.

Like I said on another thread this may be SWA's way of trying to bring back how it was years ago with it being less utilized. Still though unless they change EBCI do not assume that you can get an A. Even their most valued customers (outside of Business Select) don't get that.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Only true advantage I could see at that point was you had a jump on those checking in for the flight

We rarely purchased EBCI until my husband's company reimbursed for it so when I would visit my husband while he was away on field assignments and I used his plane ticket we'd do that for me. However, there were a few times we'd purchase it for the way home either because of concerns over internet connectivity (like when we were in Jamaica) or when we knew we just couldn't get that 24 hour mark as easily (I believe we did that for Disney once or twice).

The way home was more important than the way there if we're talking about a vacation, at least to us it was, so we could be more concentrated on the fun.

 

[kristenrice]

The way home was more important than the way there if we're talking about a vacation, at least to us it was, so we could be more concentrated on the fun.

^^^THIS^^^

I will always buy it for the way home, simply because I do not want to stop what I am doing while I am at WDW to try and check in. I did that once and I will never forget huddling under Spaceship Earth, in the rain, trying to get a signal, waiting for the clock to strike T-24 so that I could hit "check in", while my DH and kids were waiting for me so that we could go on the ride. Never again....EBCI all the way! That way, I don't even think about it.

On the way to MCO, I usually buy it as well, simply because I am usually working the day before we leave and there's no way to guarantee I'd be available to check in if I'm at work. I am also a very anxious flyer (claustrophobic), but I can manage it fairly well as long as I have an aisle seat in front of the wings, my noise-cancelling headphones, and 0.25mg of xanax right before takeoff. The aisle seat is actually very important because the window or middle seat magnifies my claustrophobia and if I am near the back of the plane and can SEE the "tube" of people I am in, it's awful. It's difficult for me when I have to use the restroom because I have to look at the entire length of the plane while I am walking back to my seat and it gives me the heebie-jeebies. I don't have panic attacks and it's not "crippling" anxiety, it is just very uncomfortable for me.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

^^^THIS^^^

I will always buy it for the way home, simply because I do not want to stop what I am doing while I am at WDW to try and check in. I did that once and I will never forget huddling under Spaceship Earth, in the rain, trying to get a signal, waiting for the clock to strike T-24 so that I could hit "check in", while my DH and kids were waiting for me so that we could go on the ride. Never again....EBCI all the way! That way, I don't even think about it.

On the way to MCO, I usually buy it as well, simply because I am usually working the day before we leave and there's no way to guarantee I'd be available to check in if I'm at work. I am also a very anxious flyer (claustrophobic), but I can manage it fairly well as long as I have an aisle seat in front of the wings, my noise-cancelling headphones, and 0.25mg of xanax right before takeoff. The aisle seat is actually very important because the window or middle seat magnifies my claustrophobia and if I am near the back of the plane and can SEE the "tube" of people I am in, it's awful. It's difficult for me when I have to use the restroom because I have to look at the entire length of the plane while I am walking back to my seat and it gives me the heebie-jeebies. I don't have panic attacks and it's not "crippling" anxiety, it is just very uncomfortable for me.

Agreed!

I'm sorry you have all the flying issues

 

[leebee]

I don't know if there's a good answer to all this. Maybe just assign boarding positions as tickets are purchased? SW always does A1-60, B1-60, C1-60. Hold out 15 spaces for A-list, then assign boarding passes as the fares are purchased; first come, first served? It IS highly annoying to pay fro EBCI, get a high B position, but have to wait for 30 family boarding passengers to board ahead of you.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I don't know if there's a good answer to all this. Maybe just assign boarding positions as tickets are purchased? SW always does A1-60, B1-60, C1-60. Hold out 15 spaces for A-list, then assign boarding passes as the fares are purchased; first come, first served? It IS highly annoying to pay fro EBCI, get a high B position, but have to wait for 30 family boarding passengers to board ahead of you.

If your issue is Family Boarding there's no way that your first come first serve even works. What incentive would you give for families to even purchase tickets at that point if it's based on when someone purchased it? The concept of families boarding is normal and when I read comments about complaints about family boarding the base seems to be more timing of when they board. No one (except families) wants to board after family boarding.

Your suggestion would bite the hand that feeds SWA which is business passengers. My husband almost always purchases tickets anywhere from 2 weeks to just a few days ahead of a flight, it's reflective in the price trust on that. But if business passengers were always assigned a boarding position based on when they purchased the flight you'd see that segment go elsewhere and it would hurt SWA and would then hurt us all in the end.