dmbolp

We are at least 99.99% certain that all AL are after AL+, barring anything really unusual

rsteinmetz70112

I can confirm that. My wife is AL+ I am mere AL, when we travel together my usual habit is to book us separately. She always gets a better boarding position that I do, usually about 5 positions after her and she is usually in the teens somewhere.. I have recently experimented with booking us on the same reservation, we then get consecutive positions, but we often have to change our plans so It's easier to have two separate confirmations.

Air Houston

A-51 is the worst position I’ve gotten since having A-list priority. Usually I’m between A-20 and A-30. I have been A-1 on a few of my BS tickets.

jiburi

On my yesterday's flight, I got A27 as AL+(preferred) from LIH to OAK. Never realized there were so many A-listers ahead of me from Lihue Hawaii of all destinations....

Jiburi

dmbolp

A-25 as AL+ on SAT; ATL-DEN, points booking

CMK10

A42. Sunday of Thanksgiving Weekend, CLT-MDW on a 737-MAX8.

Bear96

Low A-30s is the worst I have experienced. Usually about 16-23. Maybe because TPA is my home airport and is where I almost exclusively fly from & to, and which is relatively leisure-oriented.

But this thread is making me curious. I made A+ again for next year. Do A+s get boarding positions ahead of As? I would think so but that is not listed on the website as an A+ benefit. The only difference I can see between A and A+ on the website is free WiFi (and the RR % bonus or whatever it is called, which I don't care about because I have way more RR points than I could probably ever use before I die), and frankly I like being unplugged from work etc. when I am in the air so I don't value on board WiFi very highly.

Maybe when WN's airline ops go tits up I get super priority to be rerouted or something? Although they have always been good with that even just as a lowly A-lister. Or maybe more drink coupons (now THAT I value - should be unlimited as A+ IMO )?

Just trying to understand the differences between A and A+ besides the WiFi thing, which just makes it easier for my employer to harass me while traveling for work .

dmbolp

The exact boarding isn't published, but 99.9% assumed that AL+ is ahead of regular AL

jasonvr

I feel like the 1 month extension of my AL+ status has resulted in just horrible boarding positions for my first 2 flights of the year. SNA-SJC on a Monday morning (first flight, annoyed they removed the 6:45am flight from the schedule, WGA fare) got A-38. Return Thursday evening 5pm, Anytime fare, A-38 again. My experience has usually been that Anytime will get a better position than WGA in a given status group. ANd then the amount of flying done seems to further stratify within the fare class, but it is purely anecdotal.

Of note is that I did not fly enough in 2022 to retain AL+, but did fly enough to keep AL, so maybe I'm at the bottom of the pile for AL+. WNs flight schedule is so terrible to the East coast from SNA now that I couldn't actually fly them. No way to get to IAD without 2 stops for most of the year (looks like that has been resolved now) and no returns after something like 11am (still a problem, not conducive to working the full day and then flying home)

I still have to fly them to SJC (my only option as AS, and before then AA, both pulled out of the market), so thinking of asking for an extension to my AL+ status since they seem to have resolved at least my outbound to IAD issues. Worst they can say is no.

SoCaltravel

My spouse was one flight short of re-qualifying for A List in December and had two paid revenue legs cancelled during the Christmas fiasco. She was told by customer services that she would receive credit for those cancelled flights and retain her A List status for this year. She also took a paid roundtrip flight in early January just in case the Southwest would change their mind. She received the A list extension through January 31 as everyone did and thought her A list would then carry over effective in February. She checked yesterday and she did not have A list status. She called Southwest and was told that it might take Southwest several weeks for their systems to catch up and record her as an A list status passenger. She has two flights in the next week and since she doesn't have status, she asked if she had to check in 24 hours prior to departure to get her boarding position. She was told yes and that since the system didn't recognize her as A list, if she wanted an improved boarding position to pay the early boarding fee. She wasn't happy with this and I am sure there are others who were on the bubble and are waiting for their status to catch up.

sffly

As an AL, A-38 on a sold out KOA-OAK flight on a MAX-8. Oddly enough, my +1 and I got A-16 and A-17 on a nearly full HNL-OAK MAX-8 a few months later, so go figure. Worst position on a -700 was A-28 on SFO-BUR (boarding positions on the smaller planes tend to be better, all other things being equal, in my experience).

sffly

I suspect the January extension increased the population of AL and AL+ a lot, for a month anyway.

dmbolp

The above was from NOV when I was still AL+, had been for 6+ years. This year I moved down to just AL, and checking into my first flight of the year I got A-24 on a flight tomorrow with only 4 open seats to PHX (companion wife got A-25). I was really expecting to be further down the list as just AL. Could it possibly be that AL and AL+ are mixed in the order??? Not gonna complain!!

Edit: This is even on an 800...I'm kinda shocked

Edit2: Or, is this the timing dynamic where lots of people didn't re-qualify from 2022 to 2023, and lots of people will eventually qualify towards the end of the year after flying a lot...I bet that's it

dmbolp

A-17 tomorrow morning ATL-BNA; only 1 person has higher status than me on this flight? I assume it's going to be a pretty light load.

jmw

I was demoted to A-list and my worst is A-57 on a late Thursday afternoon SJC-ONT. Might as well board A61 at that point.