In addition to listing fare classes and RRs availabilty add Companion Pass availability / booking in the reservation process. It's usually available, but would be unfortunate to book your ticket only to find out that the companion pass is unvailable on one of the flights.
Would like to have login on the home page instead of clicking through another page to get it.
Would like to have multiple city reservations in one intin. instead of booking separate intineraries. For example I want to fly into SFO and return via OAK.
Another thing is when booking you can select the general time of flight...would like to select specific time or when the flights to choose from come up have an option to change the times searched for under modify your search.
Need a link to bring up a printer friendly ticket confirmation page at purchase.
My real wish is for them to allow pets on board. I can't fly my Frenchie on Southwest.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frenchie Flyer
In addition to listing fare classes and RRs availabilty add Companion Pass availability / booking in the reservation process. It's usually available, but would be unfortunate to book your ticket only to find out that the companion pass is unavailable on one of the flights.
CP has "last seat" availability. That means that CP is available if and only if Anytime is available.
I have two important recommendations regarding the A-List program.
1) A-List designation should be printed on boarding passes so that carrying a card around is not required to get access to priority security lines.
2) Priority boarding should be given to A-List passengers even if the reservation is made less than 36 hours before departure. This could be accomplished a number of ways such as leaving certain A boarding slots unassigned in case additional A-List passengers add the flight OR it could be accomplished by not assigning boarding assignments to A-List passengers and instead simply calling A List passengers to board before regular boarding. Making new plans or switching plans less than 36 (or 24) hours before departure is quite common for business people.
I think Versions recommendations are better than mine. A-List on the boarding pass would be much more useful than carrying around a membership card. All BS has to do is flashing their boarding pass to bypass security lines, so should we! Besides, this is 2009. No one wants to carry a membership card for 20 different companies and retailers that they are loyal too. I store all my membership numbers in my BlackBerry for quicker and less bulky reference.
As for boarding slots. I agree that A-Listers should always be allowed to board before General, even if changes are made less than 24 hours before a flight. However, I do like that higher-ranking A-Listers can board before lower ones. Especially since many of my flights will have 10+ A-Listers who often seem to snag my coveted seats. Not a huge deal, but I definitely do think we should not be pushed toward the back of the boarding list if we make new plans or a change of plans less than 24 hours before a flight.
Thanks again for listening Southwest and fellow FTs.
I have two important recommendations regarding the A-List program.
1) A-List designation should be printed on boarding passes so that carrying a card around is not required to get access to priority security lines.
2) Priority boarding should be given to A-List passengers even if the reservation is made less than 36 hours before departure. This could be accomplished a number of ways such as leaving certain A boarding slots unassigned in case additional A-List passengers add the flight OR it could be accomplished by not assigning boarding assignments to A-List passengers and instead simply calling A List passengers to board before regular boarding. Making new plans or switching plans less than 36 (or 24) hours before departure is quite common for business people.
The only problem I can see with that is that once the 24 hour mark hits, the boarding passes start getting released (or even earlier with inbound connections). That's probably one reason there's the 36 hour restriction. And any time there are gaps in the boarding lines, it tends to confuse the general masses. On flights I've boarded with no BS, when I call for A1-30 there is usually a gap of at least 10 seconds before people start moving.
Purely from an employee's point of view, I'd like to see more information easily found on the online checkin page. We have so many passengers who checkin online and check their bags at the kiosk that are missing some of the information that they need, i.e. passengers traveling with infants or wheelchairs. If it's in their reservation, a pop-up box or something is needed to inform them of checkin procedures, and not just the "fine print." I realize the reason for having the ads on the online-printed boarding passes, but I miss the info that used to be there.
Well, one way to do it would be to reserve the entire A group for BS and A-List. First non-BS/non-A-lister would be B1. You'd have to add the possibility of a D group of up to 17.
A better way to quickly see what TTF I have. If I book a ticket while logged in to the system and later cancel it, the PNR's for the TTF would appear on a web page that I could get to with one click from my account management page. They would show PNR, expiration date and outstanding balance.
I could also add any PNR to the list that I wanted, should there be a PNR that I booked while not logged into the system.
The system could also associate any TTF booked to the credit card that I have on file in the system to me and my TTF management page.
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Southwest's own clock!
Especially in the early days of the new paradigm, there was a lot of discussion of what Southwest's official time is. As the OLCI "lottery" gets more and more intense, this matters a lot. I realize that this would merely move the goal line up for everyone and concentrate the lottery effect, but we would feel less as though we were operating in a black box.
Now, there is currently somewhat of a workaround, which I am going to bring up in a new thread... another of my "Another way to 'A'" threads.
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Another thing that counts...
And a counter showing how many people already have checked in, or better, what boarding positions are taken already.*
The latter would be valuable also to BSers and A-Listers, and also show the rest of us when another person who previously checked in has bailed, thus re-opening, say, A20. And I think I remember someone saying way back at the beginning of the new paradigm that the number who already have checked in isn't very useful.
Why does this count? If you find that you've really blown it, or think you have, due to a distraction, you might want to change to another flight.** Conversely, as is often the case SFO-LAX, you might find that there's nothing to worry about despite checking in just a few hours before the flight.
* Just as other airlines have constantly evolving seating charts.
** Or, Southwest, a passenger might want to buy-up to BS.....
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Firewind
...also show the rest of us when another person who previously checked in has bailed, thus re-opening, say, A20.
Or maybe just drop the practice of re-cycling these BP's. Why reward someone with this legal way of line poaching when they would otherwise have gotten C32?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Firewind
** Or, Southwest, a passenger might want to buy-up to BS.....
That's a great idea! Specially if I can buy up for ~$25 or so from a Ding! fare.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ClueByFour
Not that it's at all germane to this thread, other threads on FT, or the interweb in general--but what makes this thread "official?"
Not to be officious, but the idea of "official" is to indicate that people are supposed to post their title-related material in that thread rather than starting a new thread. This saves work (thread merging) for the moderators.
Our first such was the schedule extension prediction thread. We now have several. Ideally they are all linked from the Wiki FAQ but I'm not positive about that.
As I just wrote to ftnoob, this might evolve into a FAQ section that jumps to other material in the FAQ, but let's just see where it goes. As a general matter, semi-permanent tips should end up in the FAQ, and current information (news) should be posted in threads. The existence of a new FAQ section or a new technique is news, but by the time it's old news it really belongs in the FAQ.
Southwest's own clock!
a passenger might want to buy-up to BS.....
