Boarding pass services on Southwest
 

We came across this bording pass service for Southwest on BoardFirst.com. For the price of $5 per seat a boarding pass is provided ahead of time. Has anyone used this service before and is it a legit organization? Obviously we are not concerned about the cost involved but since we have to provide them with personal information i.e. credit card no. etc. we are ascertaining their legitmacy.

How long before day of departure can we acquire a boarding pass from this company? We are flying SW this coming June

jet29..............I have heard of these guys but have no personal experience and I dont know anyone who has.You can go online EXACTLY 24 hours prior to your flight and print your BP.This could change between now and June, but Southwest is not likely to.I would not do it as it is something I can easily do myself.

Go on line and print out your own boarding pass and save the $5. It's been my experience that if you do print it out within 24 hours before the flight, you get an "A" boarding pass that lets you board with the first group.

On a return flight, most hotels have a business center where you can go on line and print out your boarding pass first thing in the morning. Just make sure you have your confirmation #. ((b))

Pay someone to do what you can do yourself?? Doesn't make sense to me.

Just check in from home -- or from the hotel if you are on the road.

meant to add - while you CAN check in up to 24 hours in advance - you don't have to do it that early if it is a really inconvenient hour.

I usually take early a.m. flights on Southwest so I check in the afternoon/evening before. For a late afternoon or evening flight I usually check in when I get up in the morning. Have always been in group A.

jet29, you were very smart to check this out before just taking their word for it that this is a good service. I wonder how many people are foolish enough to think this is a good deal. I hate to see these people getting rich by making it look like they are they are providing a service that the average person cannot do for themselves. This "service" might be legal, but it's still a scam.

That boarding pass service won't get you a specific seat assignment. Southwest just doesn't offer seat assignments.

Why is this service "a scam"???? there are lots of 'services' that provide things to people, for a price, which they could otherwise do themselves...hauling their own bags comes to mind.

I think the service is not a scam as long as people understand what it offers. It does not offer you any better seating than you would get yourself checking in 24 hours ahead of time. I think this sort of service made more sense (if any) back when Southwest wouldn't let you checkin online until 12:01AM the day of your flight. Unless you absolutely cannot get near a computer 24 hours before checkin and think it's worth $5 to get in the A group, I don't see how this service is worth anything.

Andrew

Unless you do not have internet access and a computer to check yourself in & print your boarding pass 24 hours before your flight, I don't see that this service provides anything more than you can get on your own.

SW does not assign seats, only 'preboarding' and groups A, B, then C.

Just show up with crutches and let them wheelchair you to the gate so you can preboard and get an seat up front. :-) ((b))

OK, maybe rip-off would be a more accurate description.

I look at it this way. If a person has enough computer skills to go on line and order this service, then I see no reason why they can't print out their own boarding pass. I see it as a rip-off because I can't understand why such a person would pay someone else to do something for them that's so easy. But to each their own.

Now that we have our answer, we have another question.

If we were flying from home we wouldn't need this service but being that we'll be travelling and perhaps not have access to the Net with a printer at our hotel, we will require a place i.e. Internet cafe in which to print out our boarding pass. The hotel we are considering in San Diego doesn't have any public PC with Internet connection and they suggest that we use Kinko's services. Anyone know if Kinkos provide this type of service?

I can't believe the hotel doesn't have capability for that. Even at Hampton Inns and LaQuintas I've been invited to use the manager's office to print things off from the web (if there is no business office or if the lobby computer is down). I would ask at the front desk if you could use on of the office computers to print a boarding pass.

But, to answer your question, yes. You can access the web on a Kinko's computer and print anything you want. Put a credit card in the reader to access the web and printing is usually 49cents a page.

SW allows to pring boarding passes 24 hrs before the flight. Sure you can do it yourself!

BoardFirst will provide a pass? How will they give it to you? E-mail? FedEx overnight?

Even that will only put you in group A - same as you'd done it yourself. They will not treat you like a celebrity getting you in with the pre-boarding crowd.

jet29, I do not know what kind of hotel you will be staying in while traveling, but even the least expensive hotels will have internet service, either free or cheap. My hotel budget is generally less than $100/night, and I can't remember the last time I stayed in a hotel that didn't provide internet service. That's because most people expect it these days.

SW's check-in time used to be 12:01am on the date of travel, but that has recently been changed to 24 hours before flight time.

I've heard it said that you don't need a printer to check in with Southwest online. At least, you can check in then "lose" your boarding passes and get new ones at the airport, but I think that preserves your standing in (presumably) group A.

Andrew

Andrew makes a good point. For my most recent flights, I did the early online check-in and printed boarding passes - but opted to print out new passes at the airport at the kiosk when I was checking my luggage.

Absoultely correct...You check in on line, get your Griup A status,get your BP's at the airport....So I could check you in as far as that goes!!

I always manage to find either a Kinko's or an internet cafe on the night before my return trip, and I print out my own pass. Works like a charm!

Yeah, how would these guys get that boarding pass to you???

I agree you do not need a printer. I have several times checked in online and just printed my pass at the airport kiosk. You can tell the difference with a reprint as they add an A to your number on the bottom, for example if you are the 4th person to check in and you reprint at the airport your number will be 4A...

You people are amazing in that you cover every aspect of our internet connection dilemma. If our hotel doesn't offer internet services - which it doesn't appear to - we will search out the nearest Kinkos or equivalent.

Thank you all, again.

No, I don't think we've covered it all.

I usually call my sister (whom I trust) to do OLCI for me at the 24-hour mark. Then I go to airport to reprint my BP.

WOW!

NOW we are covered :)

The worst possible that can happen is you arrive the airport without any preparation and are given a boarding pass from Southwest, likely in the 'C' group... right?

You don't HAVE to take care of this ahead of time, correct?

and yes i realize this likely means you're squished in a middle seat with no space overhead for your bags... but it doesn't cancel your ticket or anything like that.

Suze, that's right!

rkkwan, can you post your sister's phone number? I will be flying Southwest in May - I mean, just in case I can't get to a compuer... :-)

Andrew

LOL Andrew what a great idea!!

Andrew and FainaAgain - While my sister's a long-time fodorite, I think I actually spend more time in front of the computer than she does now. So, you guys can give me your FF numbers, PINs, credit card numbers and SS#. I can help you two all the time! ;)

just go to www.swasnipe.com and enter your data the web server will snipe you an a pass and email a confirmation to you.

GetABoardingPass.com is the site you want to check out, they are offering more for your Money.....very simple.

I find it curious that someone would take the time to register, pull up a 2 week-old thread, and for their very first and only post recommend a commercial website . . . .hmmmm.

Good observation, janis. Welcome to the board, epop.

i was just curious hoping jet29 came and posted how things turned out

As mentionned in our opening posting we will be flying SW this coming June. We plan to go on-line the day before our flight and print out the "A" boarding pass.

Actually, who cares if one is A, B, or C?
Oh, I guess if you live in Houston or Dallas that might be significant.
Southwest is a flying bus with way fewer amenities than Mexico's first class and exec class bus service.
M

mikemo:
because it will affect where you sit. If you're a family and get stuck with a C pass, you'll be the last to board and will not be sitting together. Plus you'll be stuck in a center seat.

One time flying back from Florida on Southwest my girlfriend and I got stuck with a C pass on a 100% full flight. I was stuck in a center seat in row 22 between 2 guys weighing 300+ lbs. My GF got stuck in the very last row between a large woman and a guy with bad body odor.

Every time I've gotten an "A" I've managed to snag an exit row or something towards the front and with my GF sitting next to me.

dweebe,
Yes, of course, but it's all "trash class" (as you so astutely noted).
M