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Early AM Sunday DCA to DAL which ticket should I buy

doug25427
Explorer C

I am not a frequent flyer being my last flight was in 2003.

I need to fly from DCA to DAL early Sunday morning. I have a below the knee amputation needing as much leg room as I can get… so the seating is important to me.

There is a $200 difference between the Business Select and Wanna Get Away tickets.

Do I really need to buy the more expensive ticket to get the better seat?    

Are these early AM flights booked full enough I’ll have trouble getting a better seat with the cheaper fare?

Thanks in advance for any help.

3 REPLIES 3

Re: Early AM Sunday DCA to DAL which ticket should I buy

dfwskier
Aviator A
Solution

Given the nature of your situation, you should be able to "early board" and get a bulkhead seat.

Just tell the gate agent that you need to early board.

 

So no, you do not need to buy a business select seat. People holding the cheapest fares are eligible for early boarding.

 

Just be sure to check in exactly 24 hours before boarding time. An alternative would be to buy Early Bird check in in case you think you won't be able to check in at my suggested time. Remember through that Early Bird boarding spots are allocated based on when they are purchased. So the longer you wait, the worse the spot.

 

To be clear on my opinion, you don't need to buy Early Bird since you'll be early boarding.

 

Welcome back to the skies. Have a great flight!

Re: Early AM Sunday DCA to DAL which ticket should I buy

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A
Solution

I'll take a different view of this and suggest that this is the exact type of situation that preboarding is designed for. Here is Southwest's definition of who should preboard:

 

"Preboarding is available for Customers who have a specific seating need to accommodate their disability and/or need assistance in boarding the aircraft or stowing an assistive device."

 

Since preboarders board first, as long as there are no through passengers from the previous flight you should have your choice of seats, including the first row. Only the emergency exit row seats are unavailable to preboarders.

 

Here is information about how to request preboarding:

 

"Customers should request preboarding from our Customer Service Agent at the ticket counter or departure gate. Our Agents are trained to ask factfinding questions to determine if the Customer meets the qualifications described above. Those Customers who qualify for preboarding will receive a new boarding pass with a preboarding designation. The designation serves as notification to our Operations (Boarding) Agent that the Customer should be permitted to preboard."

 

More information about boarding can be found here: https://www.southwest.com/html/generated/help/faqs/boarding_the_plane_faq.html

 

Hope you have a great flight, 

--TheMiddleSeat

Re: Early AM Sunday DCA to DAL which ticket should I buy

doug25427
Explorer C

Thanks for the advice
I called SW.
They told me given my disability I can buy the cheaper seat and then be preboarded when I check in the day of the flight. They said there is no need to check in 24 hours early either.
Thanks for the help