As Southwest Airlines continues to offer the best prices for airfare passengers, it has recently begun limiting a service commonly used for convenience. The service, called “EarlyBird Check-in,” was designed to let passengers pay a fee for priority boarding in order to guarantee a better spot in the boarding line.
The change was announced earlier this week and affects all flights, both domestic and international, booked on the airline. Passengers who purchased the service for more than three trips in a one-month period will no longer receive the benefit of EarlyBird Check-in. Instead airline officials recommend that customers check-in 24 hours before their scheduled departure in order to get a “premium boarding spot” or use one of the many flight-specific upgrades available on the Southwest App.
The concept of EarlyBird Check-in became popular with “points and bonus” customers who were looking for guaranteed seat selection at a lower price. Now, those passengers will have to determine if they can afford to pay for it or take their chances with a regular boarding position.
Southwest Airlines has been offering EarlyBird Check-in for over 10 years and has seen the service become more and more popular with each passing year. But the airline has determined that the cost and inconvenience of creating separate lines for EarlyBird passengers outweighed the benefits of providing such an amenity.
The decision to limit EarlyBird Check-in has been met with mixed reactions from customers, many of whom understand the cost of keeping the service, but also feel like the advantage of being able to secure a better seat has gone away.
It remains to be seen if other airlines decide to limit similar services in the future, but it is clear that Southwest Airlines has become a trendsetter in the realm of customer experience by making this innovative decision. As the airline industry continues to evolve, it is likely that we will see more companies striving to provide the best services possible while also attempting to keep costs low.
