southwest southwest airlines boarding pass

#Southwest southwest airlines boarding pass free

According to Southwest, “preboarding is available for “Customers who have specific seating needs to accommodate a disability, and/or need assistance in boarding the aircraft, and/or need to stow an assistive device”. Those guests will have a preboarding document in addition to their boarding pass. When they are ready to board the aircraft, they will start with preboarding. Lining Up in the A, B, and C Southwest Boarding Groups In recent years, I’ve found that many guests do choose to purchase the early bird option, making it more essential for a good boarding number. Only you will know if Southwest Early Bird is worth it, but it really may be the only way to ensure a better shot at sitting together – especially when traveling with a child who won’t want to sit alone. So you’ll want to think about that added cost when you are evaluating what flights to purchase. I always hate spending extra money after already paying quite a bit for my flight, and $15 per leg per person can add up.

You can also get boarding group A 1-15 if you have a Business Select ticket. The cost for this varies, and you’ll be able to add this when you check in online. To get boarding numbers A 1-15, you have the option to upgrade from 24 hours in advance to 30 minutes before departure. Those with the early bird can get boarding passes with numbers as low as A-16. Note that it does not guarantee an A boarding group, although we did have A boarding positions for our flights during our trip (we purchased EarlyBird for this trip – it didn’t come with our Southwest vacation package). However, pricing varies by the popularity and length of your flight. The EarlyBird option currently starts at $15 per person, per leg of your flight (prices are always subject to change). It’s an automatic check-in, which is great if you don’t want to worry about things.īecause of that, you’ll have an earlier boarding number than those who check in exactly 24 hours in advance. Those with Southwest EarlyBird check-in with have their boarding number reserved in advance (Southwest says that it’s 36 hours in advance of the departure time) and can access the boarding pass 24 hours in advance.

If you can’t check in at the 24-hour point for some reason (after all, you’ll want to enjoy your vacation!), or you have a strong preference as to where you’ll want to sit, you can choose to get the early bird option on your tickets. The longer you wait, the worse your boarding number will be. Those who check-in right at the 24-hour mark are given better boarding numbers – if you care where you sit, you absolutely need to check in right on time, and by right on time, I mean EXACTLY 24 hours in advance. You’ll be given a boarding number when you check in to your flight (24 hours before your flight). The Southwest boarding process is pretty unique – with Southwest, the boarding order is determined by the numbers on your ticket. In fact, no one on the plane will have a seating assignment printed on their ticket, as there are no assigned seats. However, when you purchase a ticket, you won’t be given the option of choosing a seat.

#Southwest southwest airlines boarding pass free

You can definitely get great rates on Southwest Airlines, and your ticket comes with two free checked bags which is almost unheard of in the airline industry. Understanding the Southwest Airlines Boarding Process – Including Southwest Boarding Groups Purchasing a Ticket on Southwest Airlines It was my first time traveling on Southwest Airlines as a family, and so I spent a lot of time learning more about the Southwest Airlines boarding process.Īre you traveling with Southwest Airlines soon? Or perhaps you aren’t sure if you want to try them out? Here’s what you need to know about the Southwest Airlines boarding procedure (including the answer to the question – when does Southwest board families? – hint, it’s not first, which is important to know). It wasn’t until a few years later that, for our spring break vacation, we booked a Southwest Vacations trip to San Antonio, Texas. I knew a little bit about the unique Southwest Airlines boarding process but didn’t get too concerned about it because I was flying solo and wasn’t picky about the seat that I would end up with.

It did take a while to happen though because they initially didn’t fly to many destinations from Boston.Įventually, I traveled on Southwest Airlines a few times for business trips – usually going on one per year or so. I’ve always heard great things about their flights and customer service. When Southwest Airlines started flying out of Boston, I knew that I wanted to book a flight and try them out. Here are our tips for understanding the boarding process, including Southwest boarding groups, family boarding on Southwest, and the Southwest boarding order. Have you ever taken Southwest Airlines? When you book, you don’t get a seat assignment – instead, they use a unique process.