dpb132

So says the Points Guy.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/southw...00000283516778

kennycrudup

If getting suckerspeople to pay more for EB means more profit (which hopefully gets put into more routes, or better WiFi or even snacks, etc.) then I'm all for this! 348 MILLION dollars in EB taxes last year alone!

flyer4512

I love EB, we buy it for every flight. I figure $60 R/T to board ( 90% of the time) A-30 or better is worth it since we have never paid for a WN flight and are also using CP

We book all our flights the day they go on sale so I'm guessing we will still be paying $15 each

dmbolp

I'd rather check my wife in at exactly T-24 and get A-55 thru B-20ish instead of paying $15 for A-30 thru A-50ish

LegalTender

That's Transfarency®

737MAX8

I don't think you understand what the Transfarency campaign is.

LegalTender

Actually, I do.

kennycrudup

❤️❤️

formeraa

I would fly WN even more often, but my employer will not pay for EBCI. Therefore, I usually just go with AA or AS and choose an assigned seat for business travel. I've tried talking to my employer's travel contact, but they will not budge (and I like my job so I had exactly one nice conversation about it).

WillCAD

For the routes that you fly, is there a noticeable difference between WN fare+EBCI vs AA or AS fare + bag fees, oxygen fees, and quarters for the lav?

jk88usa

No doubt this is in large part due to Hawaii and the growing Mid/Transcon numbers...Can't imagine how many folks will buy EBCI on those Hawaii flights especially with families and such. Not sure $25 will deter folks but maybe it'll keep non early-bird boarding assignments somewhat within the realm of reasonable boarding positions

Had a DAL-DEN one last year where I checked in at T-24 and was B-45! Early-Bird must've cut off around B-40 because the guy lined up a few in front of me was really not pleased about it...

flyer4512

For the same price ( in miles as we have millions) I would choose an assigned seat every time. It's near impossible to beat 2/1 pricing using CP

When I fly alone often use DL and now AA has jet service to a local airport that I can use for 12.5K mile O/W

vike16

I have yet to ever buy EBCI but I don't usually take long-haul flights, something more like 400-600 miles usually and I always get a window seat and I usually travel alone so I have no one I need to sit with. I usually get betweeen A50-B30 using T-24 which gets me what I want. More power to everyone else though.

ursine1

"Pricing will depend on a combination of two factors: length of route and EarlyBird demand on that particular route."

So, unfortunately no. Buying early won't mean you're not impacted. If your particular route has lots of EBCI demand (or is a longer flight, presumably), you'll be paying more -- regardless of your individual EBCI buying habits.

This part is very odd to me: Prices will remain the same on any given route and “will not change by day of week or time of day.”

Meaning that, if there are a few flights on a particular route (and by "route" they presumably mean "city pairs"?) that have deep EBCI penetration, all flights on that route -- including, say, the less-busy Tuesday 5:30am or Saturday 10:30pm ones -- will see an EBCI price increase. This is very different from how they currently price fares.

I wonder how this will work when changing an itinerary that has EBCI attached to a new routing? Will the system know enough to charge (or refund) the difference?

Or, will EBCI simply no longer be transferrable?

DCP2016

Someone should promote everyone who works in WN's marketing department, the spin on this is amazing.