Southwest airlines, the popular airline just increased prices for early check-in and boarding, and we have all the information you need!
The airline will now charge customers $15 to $99 per way per passenger for early check-in, and $30 to $149 per segment, per passenger for upgraded boarding. The cost will still vary based on the flight length and demand. The new price is significantly higher than the previous cost of $15 to $25 for early check-in and $30 to $80 for upgraded boarding.
According to our sources at Southwest, the decision to raise costs was made as part of the airline's routine assessment of auxiliary product pricing in light of consumer demand and market trends.
Travelers who do purchase the service are automatically checked in for their flight before the airline’s typical 24-hour check-in period. This ensures a more desirable boarding slot since Southwest doesn’t assign seats and instead offers "open seating," assigning travelers a boarding group.
The airline has also been kicking around the idea of changing its open seat policy in general, with CEO Bob Jordan previously saying the carrier was “looking at new initiatives, the way we seat and the way we board our aircraft.”
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