How does the Southwest Airlines boarding process work?

distro_dave

I'm flying this week on Southwest Airlines for the first time. I paid for "Early Bird" automatic checkin and the FAQ mentions something about "A" boarding passes. I have no idea what that means, and I know that Southwest doesn't have assigned seats. How does the boarding process work and is there anything I should be aware of?

Originally asked by Nicole on Stack Exchange (travel) (CC BY-SA 3.0).

uphilltech

Great question — answering as the UphillTech team:

The Southwest website has a tutorial on how their boarding process works. There are no assigned seats, but when you check in online you are assigned a boarding group and number. Groups are boarded in alphabetical order (so "A" is the first to board), and the number (like "A-14") indicates your spot in line within that group (here, the 14th person). There will be signs that tell you where to stand based on your number. (Online check-in starts 24 hours in advance for some reservations; for others, you have to check in at the airport. The earlier you check in, the better your number is. ) When you board, you just pick whatever seat on the plane you want that doesn't already have someone...

Full answer by Laura: https://travel.stackexchange.com/a/2309 (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Need it done for your business? UphillTech.