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Check In for next flight while in the air

JulieB
Explorer C

I have a 4+ hour flight on a Sunday afternoon. During that flight, the 24-hour check in time for my 2-hour flight on Monday afternoon will occur. I do not have A-List status.

 

Question:

Is there a way to access the SW app for free while in the air, so I can check in? I know access to entertainment is free, but I've never tried to log into my SW account during a flight. (Assuming there are no wifi/connectivity issues on the plane.)

 

If it's not free, I believe I have one of three options:

1. Pay $8 for WiFi on my Sunday flight and check in at the 24 hour mark

2. Pay $20 now for Early Bird Check In

3. Check in after my Sunday flight lands (about 3 hours after the 24 hour mark). If I get a really bad boarding position, pay for priority boarding upgrade for around $30 at the gate on Monday (if available), with worst case being stuck in a middle seat for the 1 hr 50 min flight home. 

 

Has anybody else run into this situation before?  Any suggestions/opinions?

 

3 REPLIES 3

Re: Check In for next flight while in the air

DancingDavidE
Aviator A
Solution

Both southwest.com and this southwestaircommunity.com URL should be available to you without paying for internet.

 

However, you may need to start from within the getconnected.southwestwifi.com link and then go to Southwest.com, and from there to southwestaircommunity.com - it didn't always let me type in the URL to start with without clicking the link from within the portal page, even after I had validated the connection.

 

I believe the app (or at least some functions within it) should also work, but not sure that I've tested this recently. EDIT: To clarify you might need to login to the portal and accept all terms, then use the app. Same thing for messaging, you may not be able to jump in texting right away, but after authorizing the portal page you can use texting and WhatsApp.

 

 

 

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Check In for next flight while in the air

JulieB
Explorer C

Thanks for the info!  Even if the app doesn't work, as long as I can get to Southwest.com, I'll be fine.  And I've got some time in the air before check in,  so if I have to play around a bit with getconnected.southwestwifi.com before I can get to southwest.com, it won't be a problem. 

Re: Check In for next flight while in the air

DancingDavidE
Aviator A
Solution

The portal page should come up automatically when you open a new window, but if not you can type in the getconnected URL, or a general trick is to type 1.1.1.1 which will bring up the portal page for most networks that require acknowledgement of terms or a paywall.

 

The link to Southwest.com will be down at the bottom if I recall correctly.


@JulieB wrote:

Thanks for the info!  Even if the app doesn't work, as long as I can get to Southwest.com, I'll be fine.  And I've got some time in the air before check in,  so if I have to play around a bit with getconnected.southwestwifi.com before I can get to southwest.com, it won't be a problem. 




Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.