A note on the website would have been nice
Tomorrow, I'm flying to Orlando. I was supposed to fly to Nassau, but there was this hurricane, and the place I was supposed to stay is still closed from the damage. So, instead, I'm flying to Orlando. On Southwest.
On the previous flight, the one to Nassau that was canceled, I'd paid $15 for priority seating, mostly because my mother had it, and I knew she'd be aggravated if I wasn't able to sit near her. Unlike many other airlines, Southwest doesn't charge change fees; it's just that the prices of flights increase as departure time draws near. I was lucky; it only cost me an additional $20 to change my Nassau flight to an Orlando one. But I didn't pay the $15 for priority seating on this one (the $15 I'd paid on the other flight was lost).
Instead, there I was at my computer 24 hours before the flight, because that's the deal with Southwest. If you haven't paid that $15, you take your chances with all the other people who are trying to check in at that magic 24 hours, because your number determines your order to get on the plane and select a seat.
My plane leaves on Sunday at 9:25. At 9:24, I started clicking the refresh button. I got the "it's not 24 hours yet" red warning. I kept clicking. 9:25 passed. 9:26. 9:27. I started clicking every minute or two instead of continuously.
I started feeling paranoid. I checked my ticket again. Yes, it's really leaving tomorrow, at 9:25. And Southwest showed the ticket on the website, so it hadn't been magically canceled.
At 9:55, half an hour after I should have been able to check in, I called Southwest. It took a few clicks through the phone tree, but I got an agent without waiting, and explained the problem. She asked which flight I was on, and I told her. She explained that tonight is the end of Daylight Saving Time, which means the clock goes back, and I'd have to check in at 10:25 instead of 9:25.
I waited the 25 minutes, clicked refresh a bunch of times, and got an excellent number on my first flight and a decent one on the second flight. Paying the $15 probably would have been less stressful on me, but I call it a success.
But honestly, Southwest, a note on the website for 24 hours, reminding people about Daylight Saving, would have been a thoughtful thing to do, not only for check-in, but for the people who don't want to arrive at the airport an hour before they need to.
On the previous flight, the one to Nassau that was canceled, I'd paid $15 for priority seating, mostly because my mother had it, and I knew she'd be aggravated if I wasn't able to sit near her. Unlike many other airlines, Southwest doesn't charge change fees; it's just that the prices of flights increase as departure time draws near. I was lucky; it only cost me an additional $20 to change my Nassau flight to an Orlando one. But I didn't pay the $15 for priority seating on this one (the $15 I'd paid on the other flight was lost).
Instead, there I was at my computer 24 hours before the flight, because that's the deal with Southwest. If you haven't paid that $15, you take your chances with all the other people who are trying to check in at that magic 24 hours, because your number determines your order to get on the plane and select a seat.
My plane leaves on Sunday at 9:25. At 9:24, I started clicking the refresh button. I got the "it's not 24 hours yet" red warning. I kept clicking. 9:25 passed. 9:26. 9:27. I started clicking every minute or two instead of continuously.
I started feeling paranoid. I checked my ticket again. Yes, it's really leaving tomorrow, at 9:25. And Southwest showed the ticket on the website, so it hadn't been magically canceled.
At 9:55, half an hour after I should have been able to check in, I called Southwest. It took a few clicks through the phone tree, but I got an agent without waiting, and explained the problem. She asked which flight I was on, and I told her. She explained that tonight is the end of Daylight Saving Time, which means the clock goes back, and I'd have to check in at 10:25 instead of 9:25.
I waited the 25 minutes, clicked refresh a bunch of times, and got an excellent number on my first flight and a decent one on the second flight. Paying the $15 probably would have been less stressful on me, but I call it a success.
But honestly, Southwest, a note on the website for 24 hours, reminding people about Daylight Saving, would have been a thoughtful thing to do, not only for check-in, but for the people who don't want to arrive at the airport an hour before they need to.