Our upcoming flights to Orlando will be over February break (when a lot of families will be traveling and flights will be full), and will be on Southwest. We've only flown on Southwest once before, and it was years ago, when EarlyBird was a new product, Smartphones didn't exist, and checking in right at the 24-hour mark on your big desktop computer using dial-up service through your screechy modem was all you needed to guarantee a good boarding position. I know times have really changed since then!
We have purchased EarlyBird for our return flight, but not for our outbound flight (nor will we be doing so). I'll be checking in for that on the dot of 24-hours-out. I just had a few questions for those who fly Southwest more frequently:
1 - Which is faster for checking in -- the app or the computer -- or are they the same number of clicks either way?
2 - We are in a group of 5, flying a 737-700 (143 seats). Assuming that when I check in at the 24-hour mark we're able to get mid-B group or better boarding positions, and assuming we split up our group of 5 (2 people and 3 people), do you think we'll be able to find sets of 2 or 3 seats together? Our flight will be originating at our airport (so there won't be passengers onboard already). However, we still won't likely be getting on until after the disabled, the A boarding group (<60 people), uniformed military, etc. and those entitled to family boarding (I imagine that many of those going to Orlando over a school break will have a child -- or several -- 6 or under) get onboard. We'll be traveling with two children (over 6, but requiring supervision) and an elderly aunt (hard of hearing, enough that one of us really needs to sit with her, even though she is not disabled in a manner that would require early boarding), and I want to make sure that neither she nor the kids end up sitting by themselves. Am I being silly to worry about that?
(More to the point, if you've flown Southwest recently sans EarlyBird, what was your boarding position if you checked in at 24 hours, and/or what was the seating situation when you boarded?) If worse comes to worst and we get on and all the remaining sets of 2/3 seats are being "saved" by others, are we entitled to just plop down in them anyway, politely citing Southwest's "open boarding" policy? Or is that a breach of some rule, written or unwritten? (Southwest doesn't make it easy, simultaneously saying on its website that it has "no policy for or against seat-saving," but in the same breath saying you are entitled to sit in "any unoccupied seat" when you board.)
We have purchased EarlyBird for our return flight, but not for our outbound flight (nor will we be doing so). I'll be checking in for that on the dot of 24-hours-out. I just had a few questions for those who fly Southwest more frequently:
1 - Which is faster for checking in -- the app or the computer -- or are they the same number of clicks either way?
2 - We are in a group of 5, flying a 737-700 (143 seats). Assuming that when I check in at the 24-hour mark we're able to get mid-B group or better boarding positions, and assuming we split up our group of 5 (2 people and 3 people), do you think we'll be able to find sets of 2 or 3 seats together? Our flight will be originating at our airport (so there won't be passengers onboard already). However, we still won't likely be getting on until after the disabled, the A boarding group (<60 people), uniformed military, etc. and those entitled to family boarding (I imagine that many of those going to Orlando over a school break will have a child -- or several -- 6 or under) get onboard. We'll be traveling with two children (over 6, but requiring supervision) and an elderly aunt (hard of hearing, enough that one of us really needs to sit with her, even though she is not disabled in a manner that would require early boarding), and I want to make sure that neither she nor the kids end up sitting by themselves. Am I being silly to worry about that?
(More to the point, if you've flown Southwest recently sans EarlyBird, what was your boarding position if you checked in at 24 hours, and/or what was the seating situation when you boarded?) If worse comes to worst and we get on and all the remaining sets of 2/3 seats are being "saved" by others, are we entitled to just plop down in them anyway, politely citing Southwest's "open boarding" policy? Or is that a breach of some rule, written or unwritten? (Southwest doesn't make it easy, simultaneously saying on its website that it has "no policy for or against seat-saving," but in the same breath saying you are entitled to sit in "any unoccupied seat" when you board.)
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