Used today - both on my wife and I.
Luggage comes out quick too.
That depends on the airport. We have waited up to an hour even on SW flights to get our luggageâŠwhen multiple planes were landing at the same time.
More recently - whether Vegas, Phoenix, Nashville - since they started charging. Maybe just luck. But guessing less bags.
Hereâs how SW (and any other airline) can keep me: Dispense with all the boarding group nonsense and return to the days of boarding by row from the back of the plane forward with all bins closed except those in the rows that are loading. Simple, understandable, stress-free, and quick. You know, like it used to be.
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Back to front boarding is one of the slower methods, according to https://simpleflying.com/fastest-boarding-type-guide/ . Window-middle-aisle order boarding is faster, and random boarding without preassigned seats is still faster.
Theoretically, something called Steffen boarding may be the fastest. It is described at Steffen Boarding Method - Wikipedia ; basically the passengers line up in a specific order based on their preassigned seats that minimizes interference while they store their carry-ons.
This was the $20 upgrade I was referring to. Now it is $40 (when you buy the tickeet)
For A List itâs free.
Yeah, itâs the âtheoreticalâ part thatâs the problem. To gain that speed, staggered patterns require that passengers line up in precise order. But, even a perfect system is doomed to fail because people wonât follow instructions. The real solution is banning all passengers or taking private planes.
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Perhaps when Southwest goes to preassigned seats, it can include a boarding order (the latter could be the same as it has now, but each boarding number would be associated with a specific seat rather than check in order) on the boarding pass, and have passengers line up just like now.
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We usually fly with just a carry on bag. The main reason for liking southwest has been the generous cancel and change policy even on the basic fare, generous points system, and easy to use flight credits. Thatâs not completely gone but the value has diminished. We arenât defaulting to Southwest anymore, and if the service declines, we wonât remain loyal.
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Unfortunately, I think Southwest is okay with passengers being unhappy.
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In the past 20-ish years, I not flown much - usually once a year for work. Occasionally, a trip for personal. I usually took SW because there was a hub near me, the flight times worked for me, and they were always the least expensive.
I have seen SW prices rise over the years (so they are not as competitively priced as in years past), and with the option of automatic check in and the option to upgrade to an A boarding pass, it is harder to get a decent boarding # without paying more. (I donât care so much for a 2 hr flight, but for a cross country, I need my aisle seat. 
)
Since May, I have flown 5 times, all on SW. On every flight, SW has asked travelers to gate check their carry-ons. On 2 flights, the last C group was voluntold. So I guess people are trying to cram everything into carry-ons and not check a bag.
Unrelated note: on my last flight, no one got up at the end of the flight and started getting their bags down when we were able to. I stand up, not because I think am going to get off any faster, but because I like to stretch/stand. But all of the people were all sitting - it was weird! I wondered if they were not at their final destination. But then they started to get up row by row. I think the flight attendant might have been directing them? He was moving towards the back of the plan row by brow. It took forever to deplane!
Yes, overhead bin space became more competitive when they went from 2 to 0 included checked bags.
It appears that they will preemptively ask people to gate check their bags on flights on their older aircraft with smaller overhead bins, based on my more recent flights. They did not ask on a flight using a newer 737 MAX with bigger bins.
From a cryptic note about the benefits of the credit card including âbeing in boarding group 5â, I think they will be doing that. Group 5 doesnât seem that great unless there are 20 groups.
There are some other benefits that kick in on Jan 1, and some that disappear.
I guess a learning period will begin on Jan 1 on what we can and canât do. I expect a LOT of problems.
Seems like they are not going to try to do Steffen boarding or some other optimization by assigning an exact boarding number along with a seat assignment. Expect boarding to be slower. Expect delays to be worse as a result if they try to keep the same short turnaround times (the time between and aircraftâs arrival to the gate to unload passengers and crew until it leaves the gate with passengers and crew for the next flight) in their schedule.
TPG says 8 groups.
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was on a completely full flight late last night headed out of Dallas on Southwest on a 737-MAX plane. They started having people in C group check their roller bags, and then B31-60.
We fly to Texas on Southwest early Wednesday morning. I looked into Early Bird seating, and it would cost the three of us $271 total, going down and coming back!! I guess Iâll be at my computer at 5:45 am tomorrow and just get the best place in line I can.
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My daughter had a broken foot this summer and got to have first boarding. As she was wheel chair waiting in line, a girl came up to her and asked if she needed help and sheâd be happy to be her companion for boarding. Daughter was thrilled to have the help (she had her bag, crutches, purse), the girl got to board early. Everyone happy (except all those who moved back one place in line).
Sometimes it pays to be nice (and smart). This girlâs friends had another reason to board early (maybe one also had a disability, and the other was helping her?)
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I checked into my flight just now. We got B27,28, and 29. Not too bad.
Then something odd happened. I got an email from DELTA saying, âItâs time to check in for your flight to Austin!â What the heck? The itinerary was for the three of us and there was a confirmation number. I panicked, thinking, oh, great, I paid for two flights for all of us! I couldnât find any old email receipts, and the charge didnât appear on my Visa statement. So I tried clicking on âCHECK IN,â and I got an error message that they couldnât find the trip. I must have booked the flight, and then canceled it quickly, but itâs so weird. When I go straight to the Delta site and type in the confirmation number, the trip appears but I canât check in.
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