Southwest Early Bird
Southwest Airlines offers a service called Early Bird Check-In. For a fee ($15–35/person depending on flight) you can ensure that you will be among the first to board and therefore first to choose your seat. (It's an open seating policy.)
While booking an itinerary on southwest.com, there is no way to only purchase Early Bird for certain passengers or certain legs. Selecting Early Bird will purchase it for each passenger and each leg, which can quickly add up.
Lately, when booking flights for 4 people on Southwest, I have split my booking in two, selecting Early Bird for two of them and not purchasing it for the other two. Obviously, I get two different boarding positions when checking in, but the two people with Early Bird save a seat for those who don't have it.
Whenever I do this, it feels unsettling, probably from all the stories on this site about itineraries booked separately. Is there any way this could reasonably backfire?
Best Answer
Well, it's theft of service. You are trying to collect 4 seats of early bird service, but you only paid for two. Southwest has every right and incentive to not support this in the most sincere way they can. All that to say, it's all on you to make sure this stays under the radar, and no quarrel develops that might attract staff attention. That means if another passenger objects, let the Wookiee win.
I would expect the consequence of staff attention to be that all four of you board last. Unless you double down on indiscretion, in which case all four of you board Delta.
Pictures about "Southwest Early Bird"
Is Early Bird access worth it on Southwest?
Many people fly Southwest because they want to save money with low fares and don't mind the trade-offs that come with them. If you'd rather have money in your pocket than the seat of your choice, it's probably worth it to skip early check-in.What does early bird give you on Southwest?
Customers who purchase an Anytime fare will automatically be checked in to their flight 36 hours prior to scheduled departure\u2014that's 12 hours before our traditional 24-hour check-in. You will receive an earlier boarding position, improved seat selection, and earlier access to overhead bins.How does early bird check-in work with Southwest?
Southwest EarlyBird Check-In is an automatic check-in process. Passengers who have purchased EarlyBird Check-In are automatically checked in for their flight starting at 36 hours before departure. Passengers do NOT have to perform self-check-in at 24 hours if they purchase EarlyBird.What boarding group is early bird on Southwest?
Family Boarding on Southwest is after the \u201cA\u201d group but before the \u201cB\u201d group. Remember that you are not guaranteed an \u201cA\u201d boarding group position by purchasing Early Bird Check-In, so you will be better off with family boarding. 2.How to use EarlyBird Check-in with Southwest Airlines - Everything you need to know
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Steve Johnson, Fidan Nazim qizi, Pixabay, Couleur