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1st time on Southwest - Questions

W

w.bob

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I will be flying on Southwest for the first time and have a couple of questions I cannot find answers to on their website.

1. I know about on line check in 24 hours in advance but once I check in and head to the airport how do I go about checking baggage. The website only refers to on line check in and if you do not check baggage you can head right to your gate without going to a kiosk or counter. The question is if I checked in on line do I have to wait in line or is there an easier way to check the baggage?

2. I am trying to check the seating using seatguru but I cannot find what type of plane is used for my flight. Is there any way to verify the aircraft? The flight is from Hartford to Vegas - nonstop.

Thanks
 
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If you check in on line, print out your boarding pass also. If you don't have to check in luggage, head for security. If you need to check in luggage, there is probably curb service available or go to the SW counter.

I believe you can print your boarding pass at the kiosh machines also at the airport.

We always check in on line only to get Group A boarding pass. If you wait, you may get C group and wont have many choice seats.

hope this helps

In answer to your question , which i don't think I clarified, you still have to go to a counter to check in baggage. I don't know of anyway around it
 
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Checking in on-line just secures you an 'A' boarding slot. Your baggage options remain the same. Curbside check-in or going to the counter.
 
There are some very slight differences between the 737 models. And for the most part I would say that the differences are irrelevant to the OP. Unless you are Business Select which gets you boarding cards 1-15, your odds of the exit row are pretty slim.

So are far as where to sit, don't sit in the row in front of the exit row and dont sit in the last row. The configuration is 3x3, like most single aisle jets. So if you have 4 people, you have to split up.

What are your seating concerns?
 
Some Southwest counters also have a "baggage checkin only" line if you already have a boarding pass (which you will). Look for this as the line is a lot shorter.

Also, not sure if this was mentioned but your reference to seatguru makes me curious if you are aware: you do not select your seats, they are all unreserved, first-come, first-seat. So checking in 24 hours ahead in the first (A) group is an advantage.
 
check in on line

this does not secure you an "A" - you have to be one of the first 20 or so people to check in and I think the business class might even get the " A " grouping first - check in on line as close to the 24 hr before your flight to get the best loading spot -the airline goes in groups A B C D - they load people who need help first then families with young kids then start the groups - every one gets a group and then a number - that’s how they load by group / number order - there is no assigned seats so its first in gets best seat. As for luggage they are correct you need to do curb side or counter check in of it - get there early - lines are usually long.

Good luck and have a good Flight. :wave:
 
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We flew SW twice this summer and both time were at the end of the A boarding. Every time exit row seats were still available. Once we were flying with kids so couldn't use them but the other time they were still available. The interesting part was that the flight attendant was standing in the exit row almost blocking the seats and many people were just walking right by them. It almost seemed as though they didn't want people sitting there. I came to find that the FA stands there to make sure you are qualified to sit in the exit row. All you have to do is ask. We got exit row seats on 3 of 4 segments this way.

I would suggest you be ready to check-in at exactly 24 hrs prior.
 
LODISCOLEE said:
this does not secure you an "A" - you have to be one of the first 20 or so people to check in and I think the business class might even get the " A " grouping first - check in on line as close to the 24 hr before your flight to get the best loading spot -the airline goes in groups A B C D - they load people who need help first then families with young kids then start the groups - every one gets a group and then a number - that’s how they load by group / number order - there is no assigned seats so its first in gets best seat. As for luggage they are correct you need to do curb side or counter check in of it - get there early - lines are usually long.

Good luck and have a good Flight. :wave:
Click to expand...

There are 60 slots in 'A' and business select gets 1-15. People with certain mobility needs board before the 'A' group. Families with children board after 'A' and before 'B'.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I am not to concerned about the seating. I have a habit of checking seatguru before purchasing but in this case I just wanted to know if there were any seats I should avoid once I do board. I see that all planes are 737 with some slight differences but nothing major.

As far as checking baggage I did not want to wait in line if I could go straight to a kiosk. A couple of weeks ago I flew on Delta (actually NW)but the counters were consolidated into one area and there was a massive line. There were kiosk right up against the counters but you could not access them because of the number of people at the counter. It was very confusing. I eventual made my way to the kiosk and signed in to check my baggage. That probably saved me a 45 min or more wait. I am not familiar with SW. I may call the airline at the airport to double check.

Thanks for the help.
 
Just got off the phone with SW & the only option for checking baggage at my airport is to check it curbside or to get in line in the terminal for counter service. If I choose to go to the counter I am at the mercy of the number of other people in line. There is no other way to check baggage at this airport.


Thought of another question after I hung up concerning the snack. My paperwork states "on nonstop flight segments that are 601 to 1270 miles long you will be served a packaged snack.

Can anyone elaborate on what that may consist of.

Thanks again for the help.
 
Your snacks consist of peanuts, wafers, crackers, cookies. Drinks such as coffee, water, pop are free!!!

Bags fly free also!!!!!!:)

We flew Pit to Vegas and had so many snacks I couldnt eat them all. They came around twice on our 4 1/2 flight.
 
happybaby said:
Your snacks consist of peanuts, wafers, crackers, cookies. Drinks such as coffee, water, pop are free!!!

Bags fly free also!!!!!!:)

We flew Pit to Vegas and had so many snacks I couldnt eat them all. They came around twice on our 4 1/2 flight.
Click to expand...

And they usually give you at least two snacks each time they come around.
 
w.bob said:
Just got off the phone with SW & the only option for checking baggage at my airport is to check it curbside or to get in line in the terminal for counter service. If I choose to go to the counter I am at the mercy of the number of other people in line. There is no other way to check baggage at this airport.
Click to expand...

Our "home" airport (Oakland) has the quick check kiosks and even though SW is very busy, we usually get through there quickly. For some reason I had kind of assumed all airports were like this. When we flew home from Tampa, I found they are not. It sounds like what you are describing. We probably could have checked at the curb, but being cheap I opted to wait in the long line inside the terminal. Yes, the line was long, but it moved pretty rapidly. And luckily we had plenty of time.

Question as to what you mean by being at the mercy of the other people in line though.
 
You will love SW!. It is our favourite airline. We are from Toronto, and gladly do the 3 hour drive just to fly with them from Buffalo. Although the snacks are not too substantial, at least they do provide them. In May, we flew Air Canada from Toronto to Vancouver on the first leg of our trip to South Korea (a visit to our son who is teaching English there). The trip was almost 5 hours, and during that time, we were served one beverage, and that was it!

SW rocks! :cheer: :cheer:

Dori
 
Luanne said:
Question as to what you mean by being at the mercy of the other people in line though.
Click to expand...

I would be at the mercy of the number of people in line. I meant that if I bypassed the curbside check in I would have to wait in line in the terminal and depending on the number of people in that line would dictate how long the wait would be. I don't even know if that makes sense. Looking forward to trying SW in order to compare it to some of the others I have flown.
 
w.bob said:
I would be at the mercy of the number of people in line. I meant that if I bypassed the curbside check in I would have to wait in line in the terminal and depending on the number of people in that line would dictate how long the wait would be. I don't even know if that makes sense. Looking forward to trying SW in order to compare it to some of the others I have flown.
Click to expand...

Got it.

The wait in line depends on a lot of things. The airport, the time of day you travel, whether SW is a major carrier in that airport.

I love Southwest and use it whenever I can. The things I appreciate:

1. No fees for luggage
2. Ability to book one-way segments easily
3. Ease of changing flights online, no change fees involved
4. Ability to use flight credit for anyone, not just the ticketed passenger
5. Attitudes of flight crew
 
I fly SW frequently, and usually check my bags inside at the counter. At times, the line appears VERY long, but it usually moves rather quickly, (due to numerous kiosks being used for check-in). I always try to arrive at the airport at least 1.5 hours before my flight, and have never had a problem with making my flight. However, on our last trip, I noticed many people who arrived within a half hour of their flight time, and then were frantic when they saw the long lines for check in.

I think SW gives ample snacks/drinks, (compared to other airlines), and they are FREE, (except for alcholic beverages). We have always been offered at least 2 items, (pretzels, peanuts, crackers, cookies, etc.) on the "first pass"....and the flight attendants usually came back 2 or 3 times to offer another snack. If you are hoping for something more "substantial", i.e. more "meal-like", then pick up something at the airport before you get on the plane.

Deb
 
While it may not apply to the OP, the Venetian in Vegas has its own luggage checkin for Southwest. I did not use it nor do I know it's limitations, but it may be something for Vegas travellers to check out.

I always check out the size of the line at both curbside and in the terminal. There have been times when the line for curbside checkin was actually longer.
 
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We flew out of and back into the Las Vegas airport on Southwest two weeks ago. We checked in and printed out our boarding passes at home, but had luggage to check. When we got to the airport, there was a long line at Southwest but there were many agents working. There was a line for people who were already checked in but just needed to check luggage. The kiosk gives you the option to print a boarding pass and/or indicate checked luggage. Once the kiosk info was entered, they called our name, printed out the luggage tags, took the luggage, and we proceeded to security. It didn't take long at all.
 
Karen G said:
We flew out of and back into the Las Vegas airport on Southwest two weeks ago. We checked in and printed out our boarding passes at home, but had luggage to check. When we got to the airport, there was a long line at Southwest but there were many agents working. There was a line for people who were already checked in but just needed to check luggage. The kiosk gives you the option to print a boarding pass and/or indicate checked luggage. Once the kiosk info was entered, they called our name, printed out the luggage tags, took the luggage, and we proceeded to security. It didn't take long at all.
Click to expand...

This is a great system, and one that many airports have. It sounds like the airport w.bob is flying out of does not have this. It sounds like Tampa where there is just one line for everyone who needs to check luggage, regardless of whether they have a boarding pass or not. The only folks who could bypass it were those with just carry-one. But, the line (for its length) did more quickly. It's just good to know if you're going to be going through this type of set up so you can allow some additional time.
 
We flew out of Tampa to Vegas & back last April on SouthWest and loved it. When we got to the Tampa airport and saw the long lines I thought it was going to take us forever to get thru, but SW seems to have a great system for moving people thru quickly. What I really liked was that they had at least two staff directing people to keep the line always moving. As soon as a kiosk or counter opened up, they made sure the next person in line moved to the open area. I would definately fly SW again.
 
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