
Early Bird Check-in – available for purchase for $15-25 one-way, up to 36 hours prior to scheduled departure time.There are two options that can be purchased by the other passengers in order to benefit of priority boarding privileges: They are also one of the benefits of being a Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred or A-List member. Priority boarding privileges are included for Business Select customers. Does Southwest Airlines offer priority boarding privileges?

Usually, recommended time for arriving at the airport is 120 minutes before your flight but may vary from 3 hours to 60 minutes prior to scheduled departure. The earlier you check in, the earlier you board the aircraft and choose from more available seats. That is your boarding position, and it will be displayed on your boarding pass. Boarding order is given by the time of check-in, when you are assigned a boarding group (A, B, or C) and a number (1-60). Each passenger chooses his seat upon boarding the plane. There are no reserved seats on Southwest Airlines flights. Passengers who do not meet this check-in limit will not be permitted to check in or board the flight.Īlthough you can check in anytime within the time limits above, you must know that Southwest Airlines has a “no assigned seat” policy. Southwest Airlines reserves the right to restrict Boarding Pass distribution at the departure gate podium.įor international flights, the check-in deadline is at least 60 minutes before scheduled departure (at least 75 minutes before scheduled departure for flights departing Aruba). You can read more about how and why the service was built, along with what happens with your information here.When must I check in when traveling with Southwest Airlines?ĭepending on the option you choose, you can check in anytime starting 24 hours (Online or Mobile check-in) and up to 10-20 minutes (at the boarding gate podium) prior to the scheduled departure of your flight. Not having a flight in the next 24 hours, I can't confirm how well this works, so if you use the service, please leave a comment below stating what your experience was like. So with that in mind, you should be ready to check yourself in should you not get an e-mail from Southwest with your boarding number immediately after the 24-hour mark. But as the developer, Andy Jiang, pointed out this morning, the service is in its infancy, and there are going to be issues. If all goes right, you'll get a boarding pass in the A group. You'll also receive a confirmation e-mail from the service outlining all of your information and giving you the time the service will check you in.

