The well-known airline has recently decided to raise the fees for early check-in and boarding.
Early bird gets the… Higher price? Southwest Airlines increases check-in fees
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The airline has implemented a new pricing structure for their EarlyBird Check-In and Upgraded Boarding services. Customers can now expect to pay between $15 and $99 per passenger, per one-way trip, for the EarlyBird Check-In option. In addition, the cost for Upgraded Boarding has increased to a range of $30 to $149 per passenger, per segment. These new prices are determined based on factors, such as flight duration and demand, as confirmed by a representative from the airline.
The updated pricing represents a significant increase from the previous range of $15 to $25 for early check-in and $30 to $80 for upgraded boarding, as reported by the airline site One Mile at a Time.
According to a Southwest spokesperson, the decision to raise these prices is part of the airline's ongoing evaluation of pricing for its ancillary products, taking into account market trends and customer demand.
Southwest first started limiting the availability of the popular EarlyBird Check-In feature last year as part of its efforts to "modernize" the customer experience. As a result, the airline has capped the number of EarlyBird Check-In spots that can be purchased on certain flights, routes, or days.
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Travelers who purchase the service are automatically checked in for their flight before the standard 24-hour check-in period. This ensures they receive a more desirable boarding slot, as Southwest doesn't assign specific seats. Instead, the airline uses an "open seating" approach, assigning travelers to boarding groups (A, B, or C) and a position (1 through 60 or more) when they check in.
Passengers who opt for the Upgraded Boarding service, which Southwest introduced in 2022, have the opportunity to improve their boarding number when checking in. Those who take advantage of this feature are assigned a boarding position from A1 to A15, allowing them to be among the first customers to board and claim the seat and overhead bin space they prefer.
The decision to increase the cost of these extra perks coincided with Southwest making its flights available on Google Flights. However, travelers must still book their flights directly through the airline's website.
Southwest has also been considering changes to its open seating policy in general. CEO Bob Jordan has previously indicated that the carrier is "looking at new initiatives, the way we seat and the way we board our aircraft."
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