No, I’m not a bot. And yeah, I know this isn’t the popular take here, but some of the changes actually work in my favor.
I’m a single traveler, no kids, no checked bags, and I usually fly during busy holiday periods out of a high connection Southwest city. In the past, I’d pay for EarlyBird, check in right at 24 hours, and still end up with a high B boarding position.
Then I’d stand there watching half the plane board ahead of me anyway. Connecting passengers who checked in earlier at their origin, families boarding between A and B, pre boarders (legit and not), military boarding ahead, all of it. By the time my paid for B group was called, a huge chunk of the plane was already on.
So from my perspective, I paid extra and still got penalized for not having kids, not checking bags, and not originating earlier in the day. During holidays especially, EarlyBird often felt pointless.
With the new setup, if I pay for a higher fare, I actually get what I’m paying for. I don’t care about bag fees because I don’t check bags. I just want predictable boarding and a decent shot at an overhead bin without playing games.
So yeah, I get why a lot of people hate the changes. But for someone like me, I’m honestly looking forward to them.
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