Do they assign early bird numbers randomly or is the date you paid for it or the price you paid for the tickets factored in?

I believe it it is based on the date you paid for the early bird service. And keep in mind, that there can be many others in front of you. Business select, A list, are a head of your assignment number. And there can still be people physically ahead of you as far as getting seats. Those already on the plane etc.

I have never paid for early bird and we fly monthly on SW. I cannot remember the last time we had "bad" seats. Never "C" or middle seats.

After Business Select and the "A-List" positions have been assigned, the early bird positions are assigned earliest to latest "anytime fare" then earliest to latest "Wanna Get Aways".

I only paid for it once when I knew we would be in a place where I couldn't check in the 24 hrs before as we would be in one of those areas without cell phone service then. Otherwise I just do the check in as early as allowed and have always got A or B something. There have been plenty of choices for us to sit together.

If you think about it even if you were to get a C, as long as it was a low C there will be about a third of the seats left and since many of the A and B people will be sitting together, there will still be plenty of seats that are not just middles.

I've never paid for an early bird seat. If you check in exactly 24 hours ahead, you are pretty likely to get the A list. This can be difficult to do if your unable to get cell service or internet(espcially on return flights, if your on vacation)

I've ended up with a low C a couple of times(when I haven't checked in) and even then, other passengers have moved so that my wife and I could sit together. They did this without me asking. Of course, they certainly didn't have to. Usually, even checking in at the airport early, I've been on the B's or high C's.

If you sit on the very front, I have noticed that SW attendant may ask you to move for someone that has a physical problem or perhaps traveling child or something of that nature.

Another great point about SW, is that if you are on a plane that is just a stop; Half the plane will get off, then you can always grab whatever seat you want then too.

There isn't nearly the effort for getting an overhead bin, because SW doesn't charge for baggage, so that makes things a bit less crowded for in that area.

Last time I flew SW about a month ago checking in exactly 24 hrs in advance got me B1 & B2.

On the return, about 20hrs in advance got me high B's, but not the C group. Save your $.

I don't pay for early bird . . . Except when I know it ill be inconvenient / difficult to check in at 24 hours. Figure it is worth the $$ in limited situations.

the early bird positions are assigned earliest to latest "anytime fare" then earliest to latest "Wanna Get Aways"

I had not heard this; are you sure about it? Is this stated somewhere? Thanks.

Deb - yes; here is what Southwest's website FAQ says:

Q: Is there an order in which EarlyBird Check-In Boarding Passes are reserved?

A: Yes. Customers who have purchased Anytime Fares will receive priority over other fare types that are assigned their position based on the time stamp of the EarlyBird Check-In purchase.

Thanks for that link! I had never read that before but it makes sense.

I usually get A29 or A30 when I get Early Bird which is OK, not great.

If you know that you're going to have poor or no cellphone service (or internet), you can have someone else check in for you. You'll just need to print your boarding pass at the airport but that's not a big deal. Its better than paying for Early Bird or struggling to figure out how to check in right at the 24 hour mark.

A dissenter here.
I don't like worrying about when to check in and I really like sitting up front.
We use wanna get away fares and are usually A 20 or so because we book way ahead.

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I completely forgot to check in the other day. Remembered about 4 hours after it was possible to check in. We got C8 and C9. We didn't sit together. It wasn't the end of the world.

Unless you are at the flights origin, there is not point in paying extra for early seating. Those from the flight where the city originated will all move up and take the front seats. If you are traveling alone you can always get a middle seat in the very front two-three rows.

You can also book your flight from your city to a city close by - then you can be one of those who moves up and takes the front row seats.

I fly from San Diego and usually if I layover in lets say, San Jose (a relatively short hop) I don't have to sit far back for very long.

Thanks everyone for the SW education.

Here in the DFW area we have not been allowed to fly further than the next state on Southwest (Wright Amendment). They did open it a little further out a couple of years ago but it is still driving distance for most people, especially when you live close to the northern borders as we do.

Starting in October that goes away and we get to fly SW anywhere we want. It will be a new experience for us. Can't wait!

Good for you Connie, sucks for a lot of others who were able to benefit from having a lot of those stops be at their home airport -- like me. We are already seeing less flights here and will expect that to be even more prevalent come October. We were/ are one of the favorite for those must stop in next state flights.

I had always wondered why they didn't offer more flights from Love Field. I fly out of Tulsa on SW a lot. I usually connect in Houston, Denver, Vegas, or Phoenix. Occasionally, St. Louis.
I guess in October, this will change things a lot. I had never heard of the Wright Amdmnt.