WN's new Boarding Procedure update
Hello All-
Now I'd like to make a disclaimer, if your biased against or for WN, your view is clearly not going to change of your opinion on Southwest Airlines, whether its a "real" airline to some or not.
But the fact remains, we changed our boarding procedure and online check in, and the feed back has been amazing.
First and foremost, we changed to allocate the A passes for the new business select and A list people for A1-24. So for those checking in online and you checked in right at the 24hr mark you are almost assuredly going to get straight to A25 and beyond.
This will be adjusted based on how many Business Select fares were actually booked, against the history of how often Y fares were booked on that specific route. Keep in mind if your flight is the 2nd leg of a connection from an incoming flight, THOSE people will also get to the A passes before you do.
I recently flew on a trip, observing the new procedures in STL, MDW, IAD, BOI and SLC. Those airports of course had questions but most seemed to understand it immediatly and actually welcomed the change. Not at one station I flew to, passengers were standing in line "hours before the plane got here". Everyone sat down or went off to do other things knowing with confidence that they did not have to stand in line anymore to hold their place.
It was very weird to not see anyone stand in line ahead of time and often times mouth dropping. We have become more orderly, and when its time to board, like any other airline, those in the group, stand up to their spot, then they start boarding. It is much quicker and faster.
So to recap the boarding..
If your on A list or Business Select Fares, your automatically assigned A1-25 (depending again on the number of people flying this route).
Go online and print your boarding pass or go to airport to print it.
If you booked a business select fare, you will be given a coupon to print online to recieve a drink for free (alcoholic wise)
Familys if they do NOT have an A card are invited to board after A and before B, and F/A are SUPPOSED to help them out in allocating them seats together, unfortunatly the F/A have not been THAT helpful but some do remain to be helpful also.
That's basically it. Questions or comments about it feel free to ask me here.
WN is very excited about this, and Nov 8th (the day WN launched Business Select) was a record booking for southwest.com, beating WN's previous southwest.com bookings record by 20 percent. Overall, for total sales, this day ranks in the top ten.
There is more to come in the future for the business folks! Intl code sharing announcements will be coming soon, as well more new routes, internet on board is also being checked out to!
Alex
Re: WN's new Boarding Procedure update
Interesting, I've never flown Southwest but I am a LUV shareholder so I'm always interested in what they do. Not quite sure I understand what the boarding procedure is for those NOT on business select, guess I will have to check it out sometime (on a very short flight).
I must say that onboard wifi, even at some extra charge, would be a great idea, probably more cost-effective than installing a custom IFE system in the seats like B6 or Virgin America.
Re: WN's new Boarding Procedure update
Alex,
Thanks for the update. I look forward to checking it out soon and will offer my opinion then.
My wife is flying back RDU-PHL tomorrow, so I'll ask her opinion, although she probably can't tell the difference!
Has it eliminated the cattle call even partially yet?
I'm presuming that even though the boarding passes are numbered, that you don't actually have to go down the line and see who has what number and then jump in front of those with a higher number in the same boarding group?
Re: WN's new Boarding Procedure update
Quote:
Originally Posted by markg
Alex,
Thanks for the update. I look forward to checking it out soon and will offer my opinion then.
My wife is flying back RDU-PHL tomorrow, so I'll ask her opinion, although she probably can't tell the difference!
Has it eliminated the cattle call even partially yet?
I'm presuming that even though the boarding passes are numbered, that you don't actually have to go down the line and see who has what number and then jump in front of those with a higher number in the same boarding group?
Eliminated the cattle call, not sure.. Cause at WN we never saw it as Cattle Call ;)
However, peoiple still stand in line when its time to board and get on in orderly procces. I assume you mean people dont stand in line longer then an hour correct?
As for the last statement you actually DO just that. If you have A15, you may jump ahead to anyone who had A16 to A60, go to the line look up at the post find the A10-15 sign and you lign up straight in that. You don't need to be in specific number order you just have to be at that A10-15 group. It does sound a bit confusing but once you see the layout it really shouldn't be THAT confusing to anyone.
Alex
Re: WN's new Boarding Procedure update
Does this process reduce the amount of moo's I can hear in the terminal at ISP when I board my CR2 to sit in my assinged seat? (Sorry, it was irresitable to say)
Re: WN's new Boarding Procedure update
Quote:
Originally Posted by hiss srq
Does this process reduce the amount of moo's I can hear in the terminal at ISP when I board my CR2 to sit in my assinged seat? (Sorry, it was irresitable to say)
I Don't know, I am Deaf, I never heard any mooing to start with! :mrgreen:
Alex
Re: WN's new Boarding Procedure update
Quote:
Originally Posted by hiss srq
Does this process reduce the amount of moo's I can hear in the terminal at ISP when I board my CR2 to sit in my assinged seat? (Sorry, it was irresitable to say)
I'll let you know Ryan. What is US doing to reduce the amount of irrate customers you hear in every terminal in US's route structure? Honestly dude you prob should drop the WN bashing when your own airline is a laughing stock and now considered the worst airline in the U.S. You know the old saying "People in Glass houses shouldn't throw stones." ;)
Re: WN's new Boarding Procedure update
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex T
Eliminated the cattle call, not sure.. Cause at WN we never saw it as Cattle Call ;)
However, peoiple still stand in line when its time to board and get on in orderly procces. I assume you mean people dont stand in line longer then an hour correct? Correct! I actually prefer the Southwest way of boarding!
As for the last statement you actually DO just that. If you have A15, you may jump ahead to anyone who had A16 to A60, go to the line look up at the post find the A10-15 sign and you lign up straight in that. You don't need to be in specific number order you just have to be at that A10-15 group. It does sound a bit confusing but once you see the layout it really shouldn't be THAT confusing to anyone.
OK, I had visions of going up and down the line, "are you number 50" yes! "well I'm number 49 get to the back!"
Alex
Give me Southwest any day over USeless Airways. If there's a way of avoiding flying any flight on US, I'll take it, even for a few dollars more. I guess Ryan has swallowed the cool aid and is trying to pass it on to others!
Re: WN's new Boarding Procedure update
Quote:
Originally Posted by markg
OK, I had visions of going up and down the line, "are you number 50" yes! "well I'm number 49 get to the back!"
Give me Southwest any day over USeless Airways. If there's a way of avoiding flying any flight on US, I'll take it, even for a few dollars more. I guess Ryan has swallowed the cool aid and is trying to pass it on to others!
Hahaha, No Mark
Admittedly some people have done that, but the numbers are indicated above you in the post sign, simply take the time to look at the Post, find your group number, and walk into the line and thats it and immediatly they will start boarding.
Again, reading it I am sure sounds complicated but once you get to the airport, (and I'll assume your not one of the passengers who leave common sense at the door like most do ;),) it will be easier to follow!
Good Luck and I hope it is a pleasant time on SWA! :)
Alex
