![]() ![]() The Southwest Airline’s boarding process is a strange, new way of traveling by air for many of us Hawaii residents. Southwest Airlines Boarding Process, Final Thoughts You might get some flack from unexperienced Southwest fliers, but I hear this is pretty normal for regulars. Oh, and if you’re running late and your boarding group is or has already gone, walk to the front of the line and scan your boarding pass. I don’t know, but I’m assuming Group B is even more simple with a single line of B1-30, and another line of B31-B60. So, instead, they have you line-up in Groups A1-15, then A16-30, and finally A31-60. There, they don’t have all of the columns available. After you hand-in your pass, you walk out to and onto the plane. Once you have your pass, you walk out through the fenced area and return your pass to an employee waiting near the gate in the fence leading to your aircraft. Find your range on the column and stand there until your range is called.īecause there’s only one gate (door) leading to the ramp at Honolulu, you’ll be issued a yellow pass once your ticket is scanned. At Honolulu, A1-A60 stands on the left side facing the gate, with B1-B60 on the right. When boarding time comes, look at the displays on the first column to determine which side of the column you’ll need to stand. So, when flying out of Honolulu, you’ll see a bunch of columns in front of the gate. But, the overall concept remains largely the same. The Boarding Processįrom what we’ve seen on our two Southwest flights, the boarding process varies from airport to airport. Interestingly, Companion Pass members get no boarding position benefit. ![]() And, finally, if available, you can purchase Upgraded Boarding for $30-$50 at the gate. Rapid Rewards A-List (25 segments or 35,000 qualifying points), and A-List Preferred (50 segments or 70,000 qualifying points) receive free EarlyBird Check-In. This is their most expensive fare type that, not only grants you access to boarding positions A1-A15, but also gives you FlyBy check-in counter access, expedited security, a complimentary premium drink, and accelerated points earnings. You can also buy Southwest’s Business Select fare. That doesn’t guarantee you a boarding position, but automatically checks you in 36 hours before the flight and will give you a Group A or B position. One of those perks is EarlyBird Check-In, which you can pay $15 to $25 for, for each way. Now, I mentioned a few perks that negate the need to psych yourself out over checking-in on-time. And, if you want Group A, you absolutely must check-in right when the window opens. That’s right, Group A goes BEFORE Family Boarding. Family Boarding (with children under 6) + Military Boarding.Why? Because this is how Southwest boards its planes: And, as any seasoned Southwest passenger will tell you, unless you enjoy certain perks, you HAVE TO check-in as soon as the window opens. The Check-In ProcessĪs with any other airline, Southwest’s online check-in begins precisely 24-hours prior to departure. ![]() ![]() So, the time in which you check-in for your flight, along with a few other potential factors, determines when you board, and as a result when you get to pick your seat. Unlike Aloha Airlines, though, Southwest assigns you a boarding position at the time of check-in. Like Aloha Airlines, Southwest doesn’t allow seat assignments at all. When I've had to make a last minute change, I was glad that someone out there was going to get an unexpectedly good boarding position.Southwest Airlines Boarding Process, Final Thoughts The Short Explanation I'm a tiny bit surprised by the fact that there was customer feedback opposed to the recycling of boarding numbers. Please remember that some of those empty spaces are also attributable to preboards, no shows, last minute a-listers, families traveling with children, active duty military, and others who may be invited to board earlier than their assigned position.Thanks for the info! Out of curiosity, do you know if anything is in place for the boarding numbers that are abandoned by A lister cancellations to be recycled for other A listers who missed the T-36 cutoff? In order to protect your status benefits, and the purchased EB product those numbers are no longer assigned to the next check-in.Īs someone noted above, they get added to the end of the C group. This was based on Customer feedback when someone would check-in last minute and end up in front of an a-lister, or someone who purchased Early Bird. I don't have the exact date, but we did stop re-using (re-issuing, recycling) boarding pass numbers a couple years ago. ![]()
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