Originally Posted by
tusphotog
...as an a-lister, I was A-25. My CP, who flies WN at most six times a year, was A-17. Everyone I asked here in TUS was dumbfounded how she got in ahead of me.
Isn't the most likely explanation that immediately prior to your wife checking in, another passenger -- who had originally been assigned A17 -- deleted their boarding pass/cancelled their flight, making A17 available for the next person to check in?
A year or two ago, before the current boarding system, I missed my scheduled LAX-LAS flight but discovered an earlier flight had been severely delayed and the agent reissued my boarding pass for the delayed flight. Although there were people waiting in the A, B and C lines, I received an A boarding pass. The agent's explanation: another pax had given up on the delayed flight and turned in their boarding pass and cancelled their reservation. I got their "A" boarding pass.