Do I have to manually check-in with early bird Southwest?

EarlyBird Check-In is included with the purchase of an Anytime fare. Customers who purchase an Anytime fare will automatically be checked in to their flight 36 hours prior to scheduled departure—that's 12 hours before our traditional 24-hour check-in.



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Customers can add EarlyBird Check-In to their reservation up to 36 hours prior to a flight's scheduled departure, when it is available. Upgraded Boarding guarantees an A1-A15 boarding position and, when available, can be added to a reservation up to 30 minutes before a flight's scheduled departure.

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You'll need to pick-up your luggage, then check it in again for the next flight. Top Tip: A wait at the airport between two connecting flights is called a layover. For more travel advice, check out our guide to dealing with a short layover.

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Southwest EarlyBird Check-In is an automatic check-in process. Passengers who have purchased EarlyBird Check-In are automatically checked in for their flight starting at 36 hours before departure. Passengers do NOT have to perform self-check-in at 24 hours if they purchase EarlyBird.

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If EarlyBird Check-In® is available, we'll automatically check you in and assign your boarding position within 36 hours of your flight's departure - that's 12 hours before general boarding positions become available.

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Southwest Airlines will limit its popular EarlyBird Check-In feature as part of its effort to overhaul its flying experience. Going forward, the airline is limiting the number of EarlyBird Check-In spots available to purchase on certain flights, routes, or days, Southwest confirmed to Travel + Leisure.

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Re: Saving Seats Unfortunately, there's no policy to enforce. Officially, Southwest has no policy for or against seat saving, and in practice actively allows it. Reps will even suggest that passengers save seats for later boarding companions.

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If you check in exactly 24 hours ahead of time, you'll usually end up somewhere in the B group. If you have a B group boarding position, the chances are good that you'll still be able to get a window or aisle seat or find 2 seats together if you're traveling with a companion.

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A Customer Service Agent at the ticket counter or the departure gate can help with this accommodation, and you'll be asked questions to determine if you qualify. You'll receive a new boarding pass marked with PRBD if you qualify, which lets the Operations Agent at boarding know that you can preboard.

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The open-seating policy has been a Southwest hallmark since its first flight, and the benefits were immediately clear. Numerous studies showed that open seating enabled Southwest to get Customers on planes more quickly and efficiently than its competitors.

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Southwest Airlines has long argued that its unassigned seating policy is popular with passengers and facilitates speedier boarding. That means planes spend less time at the gate and more time in the air generating Southwest money. Over the years, the airline has tinkered with the no-system boarding system.

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As such, we do not publish flight loads. If for any reason you're uncomfortable traveling in the current environment and would like to discuss the flight load of your upcoming flight, we strongly encourage you to reach out to our Customer Service Department via any of the options below. Email here.

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Preboarding is available for Customers with disabilities who need a specific seat to accommodate a disability, need assistance boarding the aircraft, or need to stow an assistive device.

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Overselling a flight can occur because of weight restrictions and aircraft type changes. We don't overbook as part of our philosophy of Customer-friendly policies. Will I be compensated for an oversold flight? When appropriate, we'll offer compensation when a flight is in an oversale situation.

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Re: Assigned Seating and First Class Southwest has 52+ years experience that shows that open seating is far more operationally efficient than than assigned seating. Operational efficiency = more flights/day per plane which in turn allows SW to keep fares low.

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Except for a few standard differences — like more legroom in the exit row — Southwest seats are all the same size.

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A strategy that travelers have been trying for years to varying degrees of success is the middle seat trick — when checking in online, two people traveling together will each select the aisle and window seats in a three-seat row and hope that the middle seat remains open.

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After takeoff, passengers are free to move about the cabin without fear of disrupting critical weight distribution. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's OK to take over empty seats without warning.

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