Ampurp85 Posted August 10, 2023 Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 I know a decent amount of people fly SWA and thought I would post this here. https://www.thestreet.com/travel/southwest-airlines-making-huge-boarding-process-change?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO Basically, they are cutting down on EarlyBird to sell more expensive seats. Yo2slick and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montemy2419 Posted August 10, 2023 Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 This will work if you are willing to pay for a Business ticket but if there are a lot of people in wheelchairs/needing extra time or active duty military then there will still be people boarding before you. As there is no paperwork or proof required for a wheelchair their usage will continue to grow as that is a work around instead of buying a Business ticket. WAAAYTOOO and Ampurp85 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted August 11, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 I have flown SWA 3x and I saw this in full effect. I was A3, A4 and A14, with Business tickets for two and the Anytime for the other. I counted over 20+ people in front of me either in wheelchairs or needing extra time, which meant I was the 30th or so person boarding when I was A3. My friends love SWA, but I want to know my seat, so I am not going to fly them if I can help it. Their Business class seats are often $300+ each way, AA and UA first class is often the same. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted August 11, 2023 Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 10 hours ago, Ampurp85 said: Their Business class seats are often $300+ each way, AA and UA first class is often the same. AA economy fares from where I live are sometimes $300+ each way for departures that don't involve missing sunrise because you're already in the air to a connection in Charlotte. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo2slick Posted August 11, 2023 Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 Yeah the entire I need a wheelchair thing and then walking off the airplane with no assistance is total crap and needs to be addressed. That being said, being able to reprice my ticket at anytime and receive a credit or refund that never expires and can be transferred to another rewards member it pretty freaking awesome. I had to call SWA yesterday to ask a question about an upcoming flight and was off the phone in 5 minutes. Last time I called AA it was 4 hours. I guess its give and take but for the money SWA offers a ton of value. Southern Waters, Neesa, Montemy2419 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted August 11, 2023 Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 1 hour ago, Yo2slick said: Yeah the entire I need a wheelchair thing and then walking off the airplane with no assistance is total crap and needs to be addressed. Maybe make it a policy that those who wheelchair on (first) must also wheelchair off (last). Would require the crew to pay attention, but there should be a way to enforce it. Maybe the air marshal assigned to a flight could be the "muscle." PPPJJ-GCVAB, Neesa and Yo2slick 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeachGal Posted August 11, 2023 Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 @Yo2slick I agree about the benefits that SWA provides. After some big whoopsies on the part of SWA, I have definitely looked at other airlines, and even other modes of travel (car or train), but I always come back to SWA because of the customer service, the bags fly free (for now), and the fact that I can use points for an almost free flight. We'll see how long it takes before I am simply driving to port cities and not even bothering with flying! Yo2slick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted August 17, 2023 Report Share Posted August 17, 2023 That seems dumb. Why would I want to pay an extra $100-$200 for a business class ticket because the $20 upgrade for Early Bird isn't available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted August 17, 2023 Report Share Posted August 17, 2023 51 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: That seems dumb. Why would I want to pay an extra $100-$200 for a business class ticket because the $20 upgrade for Early Bird isn't available? Probably targeting business and frequent flyers who were "hacking" the system by purchasing EBC as an add-on instead of business fares. Solution? Make EBC less convenient. It's all about new streams of revenue. Maintaining revenue isn't popular on Wall Street. What are you doing to make more money? A. New fees. Except new fees don't fly well with WN. Ampurp85 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted August 17, 2023 Report Share Posted August 17, 2023 I did see they added "free" wifi to the business select fare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted August 17, 2023 Report Share Posted August 17, 2023 And now they are reducing the size of carry on items allowed: https://yourmileagemayvary.com/2023/08/15/southwest-quietly-changed-the-size-of-allowable-personal-bags/ Without much fanfare or even an announcement, Southwest’s policy for the maximal size of personal bags has changed. It had been a generous 18.5″ x 13.5″ x 8.5″. But now? It’s a skimpy 16.25″ x 13.5″ x 8″. WAAAYTOOO, PPPJJ-GCVAB and rjweber3 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted August 17, 2023 Report Share Posted August 17, 2023 On 8/11/2023 at 11:10 AM, Yo2slick said: Yeah the entire I need a wheelchair thing and then walking off the airplane with no assistance is total crap and needs to be addressed. Waiting to board a flight yesterday (not SWA), I came up with the solution to people doing this. A credit card is required to use a wheelchair for boarding. Your card is swiped, but not charged, for double the early boarding fee to use a wheelchair. You are handed a voucher. At the end of the flight, if you use a wheelchair to exit the plane you hand in the voucher and your card is not charged. If you do not use a wheelchair, your card is charged. PPPJJ-GCVAB and rjweber3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo2slick Posted August 17, 2023 Report Share Posted August 17, 2023 14 hours ago, twangster said: And now they are reducing the size of carry on items allowed: https://yourmileagemayvary.com/2023/08/15/southwest-quietly-changed-the-size-of-allowable-personal-bags/ Without much fanfare or even an announcement, Southwest’s policy for the maximal size of personal bags has changed. It had been a generous 18.5″ x 13.5″ x 8.5″. But now? It’s a skimpy 16.25″ x 13.5″ x 8″. That's because the personal item needs to fit under the seat and if it doesn't it has to go in the overhead bin. So many people are traveling with carry on only now that the bins are filling up before everyone boards resulting in checking carry on bags. Or people just shove their personal item bag into the overhead bin and take up space either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPPJJ-GCVAB Posted September 6, 2023 Report Share Posted September 6, 2023 I wonder if that size is what fits under the aisle seat so they are making it the general size altogether. I love the aisle seat but if I am traveling alone my typical carryon does not fit under the seat in front of me! That under seat area is narrower than the middle and window seats! So perhaps the new size they have announced must be closer to that aisle seat area! Ughhhh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo2slick Posted September 7, 2023 Report Share Posted September 7, 2023 On 9/6/2023 at 8:15 AM, PPPJJ-GCVAB said: I wonder if that size is what fits under the aisle seat so they are making it the general size altogether. I love the aisle seat but if I am traveling alone my typical carryon does not fit under the seat in front of me! That under seat area is narrower than the middle and window seats! So perhaps the new size they have announced must be closer to that aisle seat area! Ughhhh I purchased a new personal item bag for my last flight on SWA. Sat in the aisle and it fit no problem. Also had my carry on in the overhead bin. https://www.amazon.com/ECOHUB-Backpack-Personal-Airplanes-Airlines/dp/B0C8TV9ZB5/ref=sr_1_44?keywords=personal%2Bitem%2Bbag%2B16%2Binch&qid=1694113539&sprefix=personal%2Biitem%2Bbag%2B16%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-44&th=1 PPPJJ-GCVAB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Waters Posted September 25, 2023 Report Share Posted September 25, 2023 I have SWA flights to and from FLL next spring and I added EBC just last week with no problem. Now I'm wondering if it will be honored or be taken away between now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted September 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2023 1 hour ago, Southern Waters said: I have SWA flights to and from FLL next spring and I added EBC just last week with no problem. Now I'm wondering if it will be honored or be taken away between now and then. It will be honored. The change is they will not offer it on all flights, if it is offered then it will be honored. PPPJJ-GCVAB and Southern Waters 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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