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Early Bird and Checked Luggage

punxsy
Explorer C

Will I lose any "advantage" to having an Early Bird pass if I have to wait in line to check my baggage?  If the plane is boarding and I am standing in line at the Southwesy counter then I have missed any priority I may have had. This should have been poited out beforehand.

4 REPLIES 4

Re: Early Bird and Checked Luggage

elijahbrantley
Aviator A

It is indeed important to be at the gate when you flight starts boarding.  This is true for anyone with any boarding position.  If I miss my priority spot I get because I am A List, they will not hold boarding for me.  The same is true for someone who is toward the end of the boarding lineup.

 

Traditionally, the advice is to arrive at the airport at least two hours before your scheduled departure time.  I would plan accordingly because if you are still checking a bag outside of security at the time when you should be boarding from your EB spot, it is very likely that you would miss your flight.  There are also rules about checking a bad too close to departure time.  From SW's site: 

"When checking baggage, allow sufficient time for it to be placed on your flight. Baggage checked at curbside or at the ticket counter less than 45 minutes before scheduled departure will be tagged with a Late Check-In Tag. Although every effort will be made to get late checked baggage on your flight, in the event your baggage does not arrive with you at your destination, Southwest will not assume delivery charges to get your baggage to you."

 

Keep in mind that SW typically does not start boarding more than 30 mins before any given departure time.  If you do happen to miss you boarding position, you can always politely slip into the line of folks boarding the plane.  

 

I hope that helps!

-A List, Companion Pass holder

Re: Early Bird and Checked Luggage

chgoflyer
Aviator A

FYI: Southwest publishes their suggested arrival times for all airports they serve. While 2 hours is required at some, at others (especially smaller airports) you may need less, and some others (outside the US and when traveling internationally) require more -- up to three hours in some cases.

 

Airport Information

Re: Early Bird and Checked Luggage

dfwskier
Aviator A

Hello.

 

Depending on when your flight leaves, you should have ample time to check your luggage before your flight leaves. Worst case scenario would be you are on the first Southwest flight of the day from your departure airport, and in this case the ticket counter opens at least 90 minutes prior to departure. So if you arrive when the ticket counter opens,  you have a minimum of 60 mnutes to check your luggage and get to your gate in time to take advantage of your Early Bird boarding position..   If your flight is later in the day, you have even more time.

 

The key is getting to the airport early enough for you to check your bag, clear security, and get to the gate a minmum of 30 minutes prior to flight time.

 

There are several things you can do to speed up the process:

 

1) Get your boarding pass before you get to the airport by either printing it at hme or downloading to your phone. If you can't do that, use one of the self service kisks at the airport

2) Use one of Southwests bag tag kiosks. There should be several of them at your airport and they normally move faster than the lines used by people that want to talk with Southwest employees.

 

Again, the key is getting to the airport in time to check your bag, clear security and get to the gate at least 30 minutes before depature. YOU are in control of whether or not that hppens.

Re: Early Bird and Checked Luggage

bgubs14
Frequent Flyer C

If you’ve done this and are already in the position I would suggest boarding as soon as you get there ! Just a couple minutes can make a difference and I’ve dodged my way through airports because I knew I was cutting it close ! Remember if you’re a-list you can board in between a and b and if you’re early bird 🦅 even if they’ve passed your number  you can go up and don’t have to wait at c60 or something to board 🙂