I know you can do EBCI for that standard award, I always did it since I used the tickets for long flights and didn't want to have to deal with having to be at my phone or a computer at exactly t-24.

I am pretty sure you can do it for a companion pass also. I would do EBCI for one of the people in your party, not take an exit row or a seat towards the front or other highly desirable row. If you board with a-list you should be able to find 3 seats together. take the aisle and then have the person on ebci take the window. Even if the third person is in late C most people aren'tgoing to complain if you have a center seat saved in a certain row and will just move on to another row.

If I see one of those cards on a middle seat and the person is in the window and the aisle is empty I grab that aisle seat up:) Only has happened twice, but I liked it both times. Meant no one in the middle seat. Both times there were people boarding in C that tried taking the seat since both times it was near the front, when it was the first available middle seat available but when the person in the window seat pointed out it was reserved, the people never gave them a hassle and just kept moving back.

Is seat saving enforceable?

I understood WN had no policy to prevent one from saving a seat for a family member. "This seat is taken" it is difficult to dispute during the boarding process.

And nothing beats actually sitting next to the person you just had the dispute with for the next hour or 2 or 3.

Enforceable? No one seems to know with certainty. There have been long threads on the matter here with never a firm resolution.

Most of us will say, and there are some that will disagree, that saving a single middle seat, in a non-exit, non bulkhead row will not be objectionable.

The main problems occur when multiple seats are saved or when seats are saved in the very few seats that can be considered "premium" seats (a term defined loosely) on WN. In general, the "premium" seats are the 11A-11C exit row with extra legroom, 12F the infinite legroom seat, the LUV-bird seats 11D-E (which have no special room advantage) and the bulkhead seats.

Or they could board at the same time on WN. WN sells early boarding privileges, correct?

YEs, that would make the most sense is to pay for EBCI. I was referring to the people that were too cheap to pay for EBCI for everyone, and having the one paid EBCI passenger hold the seats for the others.

Even if everyone has EBCI, there is no guarantee they will sit together. Even if there are a lot of a-listers and throughs on the plane, chances are they will find a row of 3 seats together with EBCI, but still n o guarantee like with assigned seats.

The idea of paying for earlier boarding is silly. If I am split up, I carry the other person's bag, sit in the middle, stick the bag next to me. If anyone asks, I say he/she is in the john. Who's to say. Just another reason the whole Southwest experience has worn thin. T'was a time the GA would allow split parties to board together. Sigh.

Yeah, lying is always an acceptable plan.

And you can. Both can buy EBCI at the same time and will probably have consecutive numbers.

Or another thing that will work if you dn't have consecutive numbers. If the personwith the lowest number boards with the person with the higher number instead, the GA can't say a thing and you will be boarding together.

Righto. On CO, US, UA, almost everyone else, you board with the highest class (meaning, first). if you're content with the WN way, that's your prerogative. Me, I'll do what I have to.

The no-frills "fun factor" long ago left the gate. Quirky was appealing when you could reliably save $+ on every ticket.

Guess I need to look harder... I haven't tried it in forever but last time I tried to find a way to EBCI a std award couldn't find anything on the WN site. I've definitely never tried it for the CP and just assumed you couldn't.

Thanks for heads up... going to find this EBCI for std award as we speak. ^

Although... I could save the $ and get a whole new seat saving brouhaha thread started in a few weeks on FT and go and unload some belongings across the exit row! :D Maybe I'll wear saggy pants too and try to move the FA's stuff from the first overhead compartment for my carry-on before I make my way to the ER!!!

I fly as my own companion and I am asked every time if I want to purchase EBCI for my companion. It gives me a chuckle every time. Especially since I preboard.