https://www.yahoo.com/finance/m/c302f33 ... un-at.html

I like everything about Southwest except their boarding process. No other major airline has this chaotic process. They need to reconsider the boarding process. But even with United, those who board Group 4 and many times Group 3, all the overhead bins are full. So they are not that much better either, except that you know which seat you will get (except those Basic economy fares).

Paywall. Cannot bother with that sort of link.

Will this help:

https://notgroupc.com/

You can actually book an automated courtesy call 24 hours in advance!

Airline advertising is rarely creative these days, and this is really funny and original. Planned to initially run in the ORD, DEN, and IAH markets unsurprisingly. Southwest is a great airline, but having to set an alarm 24-hours in advance is totally annoying, especially if you have a very early departure and thus have to get up at dawn two days in a row (United points this out by showing a snooze alarm screen on your phone with a dozen alarms set between 5:00am and 5:21am).

Believe it or not I am starting to be proud to say I worked for United. Now that is a real difference from the David Dao days.

I fly about 50 trips a year, is A list, with companion pass on SW, silver on DL ( former Plat for 5 years), and does about 2-3 trips on each UA, AA, and Spirit annually. I always board in A group and always pick the seat I want. I have never seen Southwest gate check carry on bags, ever. I would say about 50% of the time I have an empty middle seat. I feel like Delta, AA's and UA's boarding process is much more disorganized. Swarms of people in a big mass clumped up out into the walkway of the concourse even though they are boarding group 4 (8) after pre-boarding, elites, first class, comfort. I think over 60 people on my last Delta flight were medallions based on the upgrade list. If your'e in group 2 or above, good luck finding overhead space. Plus Southwest doesn't treat me like garbage and the companion pass is the best deal in the industry. I'll take SWA over any other carrier.

Two free bags, no change fees, and the crew don’t hate you. I know who I’d rather fly with

not the first time. i loved these Denver-centric ads.
https://news.yahoo.com/united-going-off ... 35981.html

CMHSRQ wrote:

I feel like Delta, AA's and UA's boarding process is much more disorganized. Swarms of people in a big mass clumped up out into the walkway of the concourse even though they are boarding group 4 (8) after pre-boarding, elites, first class, comfort. I think over 60 people on my last Delta flight were medallions based on the upgrade list. If your'e in group 2 or above, good luck finding overhead space.

I flew to Atlanta last week, going on a full WN 738 and coming back on a fullish DL 739, so probably a similar number of passengers on the two flights. The Delta boarding process--which if anything is a little more streamlined than AA and UA--was noticeably more chaotic and difficult to navigate than was the WN process. I arrived at the gate in ATL when Main1 was starting to board and almost could not make my way through the throng of confused standees to the agent. That kind of thing virtually never happens on WN.

"Unassigned seats are suboptimal" is a fair criticism of WN. "WN doesn't have F" is a fair criticism of WN. "I board later/get a worse seat on WN than on AA/DL/UA when I have status on neither carrier" is a fair criticism of WN (though not true of everyone depending on the specific ticket purchased.

"I'm more likely to have to gate check my bag on WN" and "WN's boarding process is more chaotic than AA/DL/UA" are not truthful or fair criticisms of WN.

I love WN's boarding process - quick, easy and efficient and not time consuming, cumbersome and complicated like most other airlines that have half the plane standing around the gate waiting for their "group" to be called out, which makes boarding by other airlines even more deplorable, the endless number of groups airlines invent to slow the process down even more, almost as many fare "options" they invent every year.

We did the same type of boarding for my work charters, open seating and group assigned boarding - amazingly efficient.

ACDC8 wrote:

I love WN's boarding process - quick, easy and efficient and not time consuming, cumbersome and complicated like most other airlines that have half the plane standing around the gate waiting for their "group" to be called out, which makes boarding by other airlines even more deplorable, the endless number of groups airlines invent to slow the process down even more, almost as many fare "options" they invent every year.

We did the same type of boarding for my work charters, open seating and group assigned boarding - amazingly efficient.

+1.. While the 24hr advance boarding assignment can be a hassle, I will take that every day with the smooth boarding process WN provides because it works!

There was an episode of Mythbusters where they tried various methods for boarding a single-aisle aircraft, 2+2 for F and 3+3 for Y, with roughly 150 seats.

Calling the entire plane as one group was the fastest way, but virtually none of the passengers liked it.

What they found is that putting groups together randomly was fairly quick and well tolerated by the passengers. I believe American's boarding process organizes groups by check-in times, rather than going back to front or window-middle-aisle.

The problem is the elites. I have been on AA MD-80s where by the time AAdvantage Gold is boarded, there might be 20 people left in the gate. A 150-seat aircraft, with 130 elites who board in groups 2 through 4 turns the process into a free-for-all.

I've also been on AA flights with no Ex. Plat. or Plat, and my family were the sole Gold passengers.

ckfred wrote:

There was an episode of Mythbusters where they tried various methods for boarding a single-aisle aircraft, 2+2 for F and 3+3 for Y, with roughly 150 seats.

Calling the entire plane as one group was the fastest way, but virtually none of the passengers liked it.

What they found is that putting groups together randomly was fairly quick and well tolerated by the passengers. I believe American's boarding process organizes groups by check-in times, rather than going back to front or window-middle-aisle.

The problem is the elites. I have been on AA MD-80s where by the time AAdvantage Gold is boarded, there might be 20 people left in the gate. A 150-seat aircraft, with 130 elites who board in groups 2 through 4 turns the process into a free-for-all.

I've also been on AA flights with no Ex. Plat. or Plat, and my family were the sole Gold passengers.

AA doesn't group folks by check-in time......

I have boarded WN in C and always had room for my bag in the overhead bin.

Why? Because WN does not charge for checked bags.

cedarjet wrote:

Two free bags, no change fees, and the crew don’t hate you. I know who I’d rather fly with

"The crew don't hate you."

You, sir, just made my afternoon

ckfred wrote:

There was an episode of Mythbusters where they tried various methods for boarding a single-aisle aircraft, 2+2 for F and 3+3 for Y, with roughly 150 seats.

Calling the entire plane as one group was the fastest way, but virtually none of the passengers liked it.

What they found is that putting groups together randomly was fairly quick and well tolerated by the passengers. I believe American's boarding process organizes groups by check-in times, rather than going back to front or window-middle-aisle.

The problem is the elites. I have been on AA MD-80s where by the time AAdvantage Gold is boarded, there might be 20 people left in the gate. A 150-seat aircraft, with 130 elites who board in groups 2 through 4 turns the process into a free-for-all.

I've also been on AA flights with no Ex. Plat. or Plat, and my family were the sole Gold passengers.

The fasted boarding I ever experienced was on the United Shuttle from SJC to LAX. They boarded from both the front and back (this was the old terminal at SJC without skybridges), and had boarding groups such that the window seats in the middle of the plane were first, then middle seats in the middle of the airplane and window seats at the ends, then aisle seats in the middle and middle seats at the ends, then aisle seats at the ends. They boarded a 737-300 in about 10 minutes. There was no jam up in the aisle at all.

I just signed up for a call.. Just for fun.

I got a phone call, but I also had a text message that gave me the link to the same recording: https://notgroupc.com/courteccall.mp3

Its fun and a bit cheeky.

meh130 wrote:

The fasted boarding I ever experienced was on the United Shuttle from SJC to LAX. They boarded from both the front and back (this was the old terminal at SJC without skybridges), and had boarding groups such that the window seats in the middle of the plane were first, then middle seats in the middle of the airplane and window seats at the ends, then aisle seats in the middle and middle seats at the ends, then aisle seats at the ends. They boarded a 737-300 in about 10 minutes. There was no jam up in the aisle at all.

This is a variation on the Reverse Pyramid Boarding scheme, which America West had a university research and they adopted it. After the AW-US merger, US Airways used as well. Although in their case they were only boarding from the front.

According to this summary of the Mythbusters episode, the reverse pyramid had the highest satisfaction, although it took about a minute longer than random with unassigned seats, which is pretty much what Southwest does.

TW870 wrote:

Will this help:

https://notgroupc.com/

You can actually book an automated courtesy call 24 hours in advance!

Much better, yes.

N626AA wrote:

cedarjet wrote:

Two free bags, no change fees, and the crew don’t hate you. I know who I’d rather fly with

"The crew don't hate you."

You, sir, just made my afternoon

+1

Having multiple times checked in 24 hours on the dot to the seconds, yet still ended up with Group C on Southwest drives me nuts. Boarding Southwest at their new destinations is not a smooth process either. Multiple recent flights I have been on left late because of boarding. My preference is AA boarding, might be because I get group 5. Worst is Delta for the majors, even though I like everything else about them. Of course if you have the top elite everything with any airline you have no issues boarding.

CMHSRQ wrote:

...Swarms of people in a big mass clumped up out into the walkway of the concourse even though they are boarding group 4 (8) after pre-boarding, elites, first class, comfort. I think over 60 people on my last Delta flight were medallions based on the upgrade list. If your'e in group 2 or above, good luck finding overhead space. Plus Southwest doesn't treat me like garbage and the companion pass is the best deal in the industry. I'll take SWA over any other carrier.

In ABQ both AS and DL do not have a really big presence and their gates are next to each other. As an AS Gold I have no issue with overhead space but the wide multitude of boarding groups cracks me up - reminds me of this:



AS Gold ='s One World Sapphire, which I thought would count for something until we que'd for a flight from BCN to LHR. 2/3's of the damn plane were Emerald! wat. I asked another traveller and it is a glitch in BA's setup as a lot make weekend trips from Blighty to Spain.

They can poke fun all they want, but I was on UA and WN last week. Although I have premier status, I was in an economy seat on UA. The pitch difference was enough that I could do work on my laptop on the WN flight. Not so much on the UA one.

Do airlines other than WN fly a/c without middle seats? If we follow the constant complaints of the WN boarding process, it always comes down to middle seats...so common sense not being that common... there should be no middle seats on other airlines since no sane person would book a middle seat.
Imagine going on to a WN plane and getting stuck in a middle seat, at least you could say I shudda book A or call in, what exactly are you going to say on the other airlines when you actually booked a middle seat and they held it for you?

par13del wrote:

Do airlines other than WN fly a/c without middle seats? If we follow the constant complaints of the WN boarding process, it always comes down to middle seats...so common sense not being that common... there should be no middle seats on other airlines since no sane person would book a middle seat.
Imagine going on to a WN plane and getting stuck in a middle seat, at least you could say I shudda book A or call in, what exactly are you going to say on the other airlines when you actually booked a middle seat and they held it for you?

This is mostly a strawman argument, but the one advantage of the other airlines is if you book early enough you’re spared a middle seat, even if you arrive after boarding begins. On WN, it doesn’t matter if you’re A1, if you’re not there when boarding begins, you’re at the mercy of whatever is available when you do arrive.

I've flown DL, UA, and WN in the last few months. I'm not impressed with any of their boarding processes, but I do think at least with WN, you know what you're going to get. The others change it on a whim and have nonsensical numbering. For example Zone 1 on Delta is really like the 5th-6th boarding group to be called. On a Monday morning half the flight is full before Z1.

cedarjet wrote:

Two free bags, no change fees, and the crew don’t hate you. I know who I’d rather fly with

Frequent fliers don't check bags, no one charges change fees anymore (in the US), and I'd take DL's crew 5x over WN's. I also never get an upgrade or cross an ocean on WN. To each their own.

WN used to, at least, have a solid FF program, but then they devalued it like all the others as they all race to the bottom. Or should I say race to prostituting themselves to the credit card companies...

USAirKid wrote:

par13del wrote:

Do airlines other than WN fly a/c without middle seats? If we follow the constant complaints of the WN boarding process, it always comes down to middle seats...so common sense not being that common... there should be no middle seats on other airlines since no sane person would book a middle seat.
Imagine going on to a WN plane and getting stuck in a middle seat, at least you could say I shudda book A or call in, what exactly are you going to say on the other airlines when you actually booked a middle seat and they held it for you?

This is mostly a strawman argument, but the one advantage of the other airlines is if you book early enough you’re spared a middle seat, even if you arrive after boarding begins. On WN, it doesn’t matter if you’re A1, if you’re not there when boarding begins, you’re at the mercy of whatever is available when you do arrive.

Yeah, but if you book early enough is a huge caveat. On WN, passengers with status board before B no matter when they book so are all but guaranteed a decent seat (aisle or window in front of the wing). Not so on any of the legacies. And let's be real, the percentage of passengers who show up at the gate less than 25 minutes before but more than 10/15 minutes before is pretty low.

I loved the old PE back in the 80's ... board from the front and rear on their 737 ... the plane was emptied in 10 minutes, refilled again in 15 ... churn and burn ...

TW870 wrote:

Airline advertising is rarely creative these days, and this is really funny and original. Planned to initially run in the ORD, DEN, and IAH markets unsurprisingly. Southwest is a great airline, but having to set an alarm 24-hours in advance is totally annoying, especially if you have a very early departure and thus have to get up at dawn two days in a row (United points this out by showing a snooze alarm screen on your phone with a dozen alarms set between 5:00am and 5:21am).

Gotta love all the disclaimers:

Basic Economy tickets are not changeable. Applies to flights within the U.S. and between the U.S. and Mexico or the Caribbean. Lie-flat seats only available on select long-haul flights.

Of course, United doesn't mention that if you don't have status or pay for the credit card, you're paying for checked bags. Oh, and the assigned seat is extra unless you're willing to sit all the way at the back. And the airport lounges cost extra. And if you book Basic Economy you don't get to put a carry-on bag in the bin above your United Middle Seat(sm) -- you get slapped with an extra charge to gate check it. Oh... and if you booked Basic Economy, you have to check in at the airport unless you pay up to check a bag.

Always an enjoyable customer experience on Spirit I mean United.

Cubsrule wrote:

USAirKid wrote:

par13del wrote:

Do airlines other than WN fly a/c without middle seats? If we follow the constant complaints of the WN boarding process, it always comes down to middle seats...so common sense not being that common... there should be no middle seats on other airlines since no sane person would book a middle seat.
Imagine going on to a WN plane and getting stuck in a middle seat, at least you could say I shudda book A or call in, what exactly are you going to say on the other airlines when you actually booked a middle seat and they held it for you?

This is mostly a strawman argument, but the one advantage of the other airlines is if you book early enough you’re spared a middle seat, even if you arrive after boarding begins. On WN, it doesn’t matter if you’re A1, if you’re not there when boarding begins, you’re at the mercy of whatever is available when you do arrive.

Yeah, but if you book early enough is a huge caveat. On WN, passengers with status board before B no matter when they book so are all but guaranteed a decent seat (aisle or window in front of the wing). Not so on any of the legacies. And let's be real, the percentage of passengers who show up at the gate less than 25 minutes before but more than 10/15 minutes before is pretty low.

I feel like this thread is conflating two separate issues.

The first: the actual act of boarding will never be "easy" because humans follow a herd mentality and are such creatures of habit that none of the nuances between the boarding processes will really have a material impact on the time spent boarding. Which is why, for the most part, airlines have coalesced around similar boarding schemes which combine some aspects of fare class, loyalty status, dollar amount, and/or check-in time.

The second issue, and reason why WN is constantly dragged about its boarding process, has to do with the element of uncertainty that, generally, humans don't like. Yes, if you book a basic economy fare or book close-in, you're more likely to end up with a subpar seat on AA/DL/US (with the caveat that elite status clearly changes the calculus on any airline). But that inferior seating selection is expected whereas the hope on WN is that you'll end up seated next to your travel companion(s), in a non-middle seat, etc. It's a simple game of expectation versus reality. WN advertises an egalitarian boarding process but it really is just as broken as the others; the effect of its inefficiencies is viscerally felt when boarding the plane, whereas passengers on other airlines have an idea of their situation upon booking.

cedarjet wrote:

Two free bags, no change fees, and the crew don’t hate you. I know who I’d rather fly with

Must not be the crews I’ve had this year. WN has had consistently the worst crews of the 40 segments I’ve flown this year. So bad that my girlfriend who never pays attention to these things commented how mean WN crews are last time we flew with them.

Obviously its all anecdotal but it sure doesn’t feel like it used to.

JRL3289 wrote:

The second issue, and reason why WN is constantly dragged about its boarding process, has to do with the element of uncertainty that, generally, humans don't like. Yes, if you book a basic economy fare or book close-in, you're more likely to end up with a subpar seat on AA/DL/US (with the caveat that elite status clearly changes the calculus on any airline). But that inferior seating selection is expected whereas the hope on WN is that you'll end up seated next to your travel companion(s), in a non-middle seat, etc.

Everyone booking on WN knows that they have no assigned seats so those who want to avoid middle seats book early groups, everyone booking on AA/DL/UA etc. know that they have to book early possible weeks in advance to avoid a middle seat, each requires something additional, I honestly do not see why one is more onerous than the other. I do agree that the WN boarding gates are less congested or more orderly than those of DL/AA/UA.
One thing that never happened to me on full WN flight is another pax having the same seat assignment resulting in the FA trying to sort us out.

The boarding process is terrible on pretty much everyone for a variety of reasons. Even as First class passenger or elite its still pretty miserable.
If I check luggage I will be the absolute last person to board the plane

ckfred wrote:

There was an episode of Mythbusters where they tried various methods for boarding a single-aisle aircraft, 2+2 for F and 3+3 for Y, with roughly 150 seats.

Calling the entire plane as one group was the fastest way, but virtually none of the passengers liked it.

What they found is that putting groups together randomly was fairly quick and well tolerated by the passengers. I believe American's boarding process organizes groups by check-in times, rather than going back to front or window-middle-aisle.

The problem is the elites. I have been on AA MD-80s where by the time AAdvantage Gold is boarded, there might be 20 people left in the gate. A 150-seat aircraft, with 130 elites who board in groups 2 through 4 turns the process into a free-for-all.

I've also been on AA flights with no Ex. Plat. or Plat, and my family were the sole Gold passengers.

As I recall, Mythbusters totally overlooked the trickle of late arriving customers (late check-ins, late connections, etc.).

Cubsrule wrote:

USAirKid wrote:

par13del wrote:

Do airlines other than WN fly a/c without middle seats? If we follow the constant complaints of the WN boarding process, it always comes down to middle seats...so common sense not being that common... there should be no middle seats on other airlines since no sane person would book a middle seat.
Imagine going on to a WN plane and getting stuck in a middle seat, at least you could say I shudda book A or call in, what exactly are you going to say on the other airlines when you actually booked a middle seat and they held it for you?

This is mostly a strawman argument, but the one advantage of the other airlines is if you book early enough you’re spared a middle seat, even if you arrive after boarding begins. On WN, it doesn’t matter if you’re A1, if you’re not there when boarding begins, you’re at the mercy of whatever is available when you do arrive.

Yeah, but if you book early enough is a huge caveat. On WN, passengers with status board before B no matter when they book so are all but guaranteed a decent seat (aisle or window in front of the wing). Not so on any of the legacies. And let's be real, the percentage of passengers who show up at the gate less than 25 minutes before but more than 10/15 minutes before is pretty low.

Eh, you know I mispoke. Even sometimes when you book late you can avoid a middle seat. An example is I booked a HNL-SFO-SEA trip on UA just over a week before it flew. I checked in flew the redeye portion of it and was still damn tired as I ate breakfast at the airport. Just about 70 minutes before the flight left, I realized I had a middle seat, so I paid to upgrade to a window seat, because I really wanted that to sleep in. I wouldn't have had the option to do that on WN.

As for people arriving less than 25 minutes but before 10/15 minutes? I might do that, especially if I need to use the restroom before the flight.

As JRL3289 mentions, I really dislike the uncertainty of where I'll end up sitting if I ever flew WN. That experience doesn't seem comfortable to me, and is something I'll avoid. I might hop for it if it really saves me money on a 60 to 90 minute flight, but beyond there, I want to know what seat I'm sitting in before I step foot on the plane.

And I'm with PSU.DTW.SCE, I love planes, but I really don't want to get on it earlier than I have to.

With DL's new boarding policy they are starting boarding ~40 minutes prior to departure. If I'm in F, whats the point of fighting the cattle heard gate lice, then sitting on the plane while everyone bumps past me. If I have large bags for a camping/backpacking/ski trip I'm checking bags. If I'm on a nonstop, I have no issues gate checking my bag, the only time I really get concerned is on tight connections then I want to carry-on my bag on at least the first leg.

I love flying, but I hate crowds, hate gate lice, and hate gate/boarding scrums.

Looking forward to that call from United on Sunday for my WN flight Monday. So nice of them!

Most of the masses realize that when u book travel on Southwest it is not assigned seating but there are those who book travel on Southwest who know that it's not assigned seating when it's time to board but will continuously Whine about it.
" You mean to tell me that if i go to a Water Park i may get Wet ? " I just can't understand why BK doesn't have Pasta on The Value Menu ", " I'm at Wrigley Field on this beautiful June Day , What time is the Kick Off ? Go Bears ! "

Not trying to sound Condescending but when i was in College at Northern Illinois University our Journalism Instructor taught us a lesson that i still remember 40 plus years later.
The News whether you watch CNN, HLN, Fox News, Bloomberg, Local TV, Radio, Newspaper, etc. it is told to the viewer, reader, or listener on a 4th or 5th grade reading level and that often is The Leisure Traveler.
Leisure Travelers could be Attorneys, Accountants, College Professors, Archetects, Doctors, Politicians, whatever. Using Chicago for example as soon as that Leisure traveler who has a mindset that he was assigned 4A on that WN flight to Tampa exits I-55 at Cicero Avenue to get to Midway normally IQs go 25 to 35 points South and that is of course due to Stress that is related to their Travel.
Quite often you have to take these folks by the hand to get to the ticket counter, check their bags, get them thru TSA and get that $4 of change out of their pockets so the alarm doesn't go off, Have your Boarding pass, Government ID ready, etc. Boarding is a whole other beast. The C32 boarding pass holder is in the A Boarding Group.
I appreciate these folks because they pay our Salaries.

Flying WN is like riding a bus. No hassle, you get what you pay for, and you sit wherever. And that’s exactly why many customers choose them.

PSU.DTW.SCE wrote:

With DL's new boarding policy they are starting boarding ~40 minutes prior to departure. If I'm in F, whats the point of fighting the cattle heard gate lice, then sitting on the plane while everyone bumps past me. If I have large bags for a camping/backpacking/ski trip I'm checking bags. If I'm on a nonstop, I have no issues gate checking my bag, the only time I really get concerned is on tight connections then I want to carry-on my bag on at least the first leg.

I love flying, but I hate crowds, hate gate lice, and hate gate/boarding scrums.

Because your overhead space will get taken from you by an unscrupulous person who just dumps his stuff and goes to seat 24B or the flight attendant will appropriate it once all overhead space is full.

Ask me how I know? (Hint: I've seen as I board it and experienced it first hand as I find no overhead space after a last-minute upgrade)

USAirKid wrote:

Eh, you know I mispoke. Even sometimes when you book late you can avoid a middle seat. An example is I booked a HNL-SFO-SEA trip on UA just over a week before it flew. I checked in flew the redeye portion of it and was still damn tired as I ate breakfast at the airport. Just about 70 minutes before the flight left, I realized I had a middle seat, so I paid to upgrade to a window seat, because I really wanted that to sleep in. I wouldn't have had the option to do that on WN.

You often do have that option on WN. WN often sells upgraded boarding at the gate.

People selfishly carry way too much stuff on board and that part of the problem will not go away. However since the practice is so prevalent, checked bags get onto the baggage belt in a jiffy and if your checked baggage is free, it's the way to go.

Totally anecdotally, but the biggest issue in any boarding process is the people who 1) try to shove way too large of items in the overhead bin and 2) people who think they are the only ones on the plane so they take their good ole time getting situated at their seats.

Often #1 and #2 involve the same people.

I can't speak to UA's boarding process but if it's anything like AA's it couldn't be worse than Southwest. Free for alls in which Concierge Key members are mowed down by people in Group 1 and others that think Group 9 printed on their boarding pass most surely means they have Concierge Key status.

meh130 wrote:

I have boarded WN in C and always had room for my bag in the overhead bin.

Why? Because WN does not charge for checked bags.

Interesting. Have you ever seen people checking bags at a WN check-in counter? I haven't but maybe it's just the routes I fly them on which tend to be more business oriented routes: BOS/MHT-BWI and BOS/MHT-MDW. I have never been on a WN flight that wasn't delayed a few minutes by people tying to find overhead bin space for their bags. Having sad that, I don't fly WN often.
Yes, they don't gate check but if you can't find overhead bin they'll take your bags anyway. Same thing.
My one and only grip with WN is no seat assignment. I like being able to pick my seat when I buy a ticket. It's that simple. The fact that in my area WN is more expensive than just about everyone else only make my choice to avoid WN, easier.

I know i told the story of The CHS - BWI originator around The Holidays in 2019 when i worked in CHS for Southwest. BWI originator booked to i think 75 on a 700.
Closed out the flight and ready to go 7 or 8 minutes early. There is a runner and they allow him to board he has a small carry on bag.
As i'm ready to exit the jet bridge door to get prepped to push the flight out , The Late runner leaves his carry on Bag on the Jet Bridge. He doesn't tell a Soul that he wanted to check this bag. No idea if BWI is his final destination or if he is transferring in BWI to another City.
The Ops agent has the Flight Attendant call The Late Runner out and we informed him that there was plenty of overhead bin space to place his bag.
We explain to him that if we check his bag that it will result in having to reopen the flight to check his bag and scan it and then the flight will be late in pushing out.
He throws a Tantrum and now were about 2 minutes to push time. We reopen the flight and by the time the Ops Agent and I reopen the flight and then scan the bag and then reclose the flight and get the updated data to the Captain we take about a 5 minute delay pushing out the flight.
It was all about him. That was a day when i thought about Bobby " The Brain " Heenan one time saying that the scariest thing about a person like that is that they are allowed to vote and reproduce plus i totally understood why Al Capone did what he did with a Baseball Bat , LOL.
I wish that Southwest would drop the hammer on these types of Late Runners like United & American and say No you are not going but quite often Southwest caves in and it invites a situation like the late runner who decides to check in his small carry on.

airbazar wrote:

meh130 wrote:

I have boarded WN in C and always had room for my bag in the overhead bin.

Why? Because WN does not charge for checked bags.

Interesting. Have you ever seen people checking bags at a WN check-in counter? I haven't but maybe it's just the routes I fly them on which tend to be more business oriented routes: BOS/MHT-BWI and BOS/MHT-MDW. I have never been on a WN flight that wasn't delayed a few minutes by people tying to find overhead bin space for their bags. Having sad that, I don't fly WN often.
Yes, they don't gate check but if you can't find overhead bin they'll take your bags anyway. Same thing.
My one and only grip with WN is no seat assignment. I like being able to pick my seat when I buy a ticket. It's that simple. The fact that in my area WN is more expensive than just about everyone else only make my choice to avoid WN, easier.

A WN flight is more likely to be delayed a few minutes by the ramp struggling to load on time than passengers looking for overhead bin space. There are exceptions but the days of 20+ gate checks coming down the slide at push are long gone.

Slow clap, United. This ad campaign of a legacy major going after an LCC (albeit a big one) just shows you how misplaced United’s priorities are.

Southwest has had virtually the same boarding, check-in, change fee and baggage fee policy for decades because it works. It has helped shape its brand and its success. No need for SW to spend millions on consultants every year to rearrange chairs on the Titanic.

United is a nickel-and-dime, disclaimer and hidden fees carrier.

So I may need to set my alarm if I want boarding group 1? Sign me up.

LAXdenizen wrote:

Slow clap, United. This ad campaign of a legacy major going after an LCC (albeit a big one) just shows you how misplaced United’s priorities are.

Southwest has had virtually the same boarding, check-in, change fee and baggage fee policy for decades because it works.

Yeah, I don't quite get it either. Why is United doing this now? Is there anyone really unaware of how Southwest boards?

LAXdenizen wrote:

So I may need to set my alarm if I want boarding group 1? Sign me up.

Surprised that no one has yet mentioned Early Bird Check-In in this thread. Yes, it's an extra charge, but it frees you from having to check in exactly 24 hours before departure. Was pleasantly surprised that on an upcoming WN trip this month (first flight on WN since 2019) the $25 Early Bird fee ($10 more than it was in 2019) was waived because I booked my trip on a RR Visa. Not sure if that's now a standard thing or a limited-time promotion, but I'll take it.

LAXdenizen wrote:

Slow clap, United. This ad campaign of a legacy major going after an LCC (albeit a big one) just shows you how misplaced United’s priorities are.

Southwest has had virtually the same boarding, check-in, change fee and baggage fee policy for decades because it works. It has helped shape its brand and its success. No need for SW to spend millions on consultants every year to rearrange chairs on the Titanic.

United is a nickel-and-dime, disclaimer and hidden fees carrier.

So I may need to set my alarm if I want boarding group 1? Sign me up.

The same change and baggage fee but not the same boarding and check-in. The boarding and check-in process are not the same as it was in the 90's. It was much more simple back then. You go to the gate, get a plastic boarding card and that was it and you board accordingly. Certainly boarding back then was definitely more chaotic and now it is much more orderly. But the check-in process now is just absolutely ridiculous. None of this nonsense about having to stop everything you are doing to check in 24 hours to get a boarding position, that is just absurd. This is one of several reasons I don't fly SW anymore. At least with UA I know which seat I am going to get, that in itself takes away a lot of unnecessary anxiety. AND on UA you can see how full the flight is and select your seats accordingly.

cledaybuck wrote:

LAXdenizen wrote:

Slow clap, United. This ad campaign of a legacy major going after an LCC (albeit a big one) just shows you how misplaced United’s priorities are.

Southwest has had virtually the same boarding, check-in, change fee and baggage fee policy for decades because it works.

Yeah, I don't quite get it either. Why is United doing this now? Is there anyone really unaware of how Southwest boards?

Haha yes! You should see WN boardings at ORD or SRQ!! People will ask me while I’m in my spot, which seat the boarding number gets him, even though the gate agent already stated 3 times it is open seating.

Yeah right, by the time UA group 3 boards, the plane looks to be 60 to 70% full in Y. So many priority groups......